"Me?" Sabrina startled. "Why? Oh. Insurance. And fraud," she said more quietly."Just in case I had something to do with it."
"I'm afraid so, yes."
"Sabrina wouldn't!" Luke all but shouted.
She put her hand on his arm, half smiling at him. "No, I wouldn't, and I'm sure the police will find that to their satisfaction. It's all right, Luke. This is the kind of thing you have to deal with sometimes in the construction industry. Will there be any way to tell when the accelerants were set, Chief?"
"There's a lot of wood in there for the gas to soak into, but since so little of it went up…yeah. The deeper into the wood it is, the longer it's been sitting there."
"The crew was in on Friday, so it couldn't have been before then," Sabrina said to Luke. "And I was gone all weekend. See, now I'm regretting not inviting you to stay last night so somebody could confirm I was home."
Chief Brady looked at his feet abruptly, clearly trying to mind his own business, while Luke grinned at her. "Is that the only reason you regret not asking me to stay?"
Sabrina widened her eyes innocently. "Of course. Why, what were you thinking?"
Brady snorted laughter, and that broke Sabrina, who began giggling as Luke visibly looked for an answer that might not get him in trouble. But then his grin widened, too. "Just trying to be the best alibi I can, ma'am."
"I'm sure you are." Sabrina let her laughter fade, although she'd needed that, in the moment. She turned her attention back to the fire chief, with a glance at the train station along the way. "The whole fire is out now? No more danger?"
"With that much gasoline spread around any spark could be a danger. I can't move that material out until there's been a full investigation, so while Virtue doesn't have a lot of cops to spare, we'll figure out some kind of sentry rotation to keep the site safe."
"I can call Gladiator Architecture," Sabrina said with a nod. "I'm sure they'll help provide security."
Brady looked skeptical. "It's a lot of money for a little project, Ms. Keep. I'd be surprised if a big company wants to put in the effort. But I appreciate the thought, and we'll take the help if they're inclined to provide it."
"They're pretty good people," Sabrina said. "I'll ask, at least."
"Thanks." Brady glanced away as someone called his name, then nodded at both Sabrina and Luke. "If you'll excuse me." He left them standing there, and Sabrina turned to Luke, letting the shock she felt start to show.
"I never imagined anything like this happening, Luke. Who…?"
He opened his arms, and Sabrina stepped in gratefully, comforted and warm as she exhaled against his chest. "I don't know," he murmured above her head. "There's a short list, obviously, but I can't actually imagine anybody on that list being dumb enough todothis. There must be somebody here who's furious about the railroad but has kept quiet."
Sabrina stepped back, pushing the heels of her hands against her hairline as she tried to think about the people who had spoken to her about the railroad over the past months. Her eyes felt hot and tight, and her throat was constricted. She was probably right on the verge of stress tears, but couldn't possibly allow herself to fall apart in public. "I need to talk to Tiffany," she finally said. "And I need to call my bosses. I don't know if I've got it in me to investigate this, Luke. I have to put the whole project back together, assuming the plug doesn't get pulled entirely."
"Hey. Hey, hey." He offered his hand. "You don'thaveto investigate it, okay? Your company will send an investigator, right? And the police and fire departments will have people who do this kind of work. Solving the arson isn't your job. Your jobisto put the project back together, and I've got your back, all right? Whatever you need me to do. I can call…Tiffany? Oh, Wright Construction, right. They built the playground. I don't know her personally, but I know of her."
"No, I'll call. You wouldn't have the right jargon." Sabrina gave Luke a watery smile. "But thank you. Thanks. Knowing you'll be here helps."
"Have you had your coffee yet?"
"…no. I was going to stop for it on the way to work, but somebody called about the fire and I booked it over here instead."
"Okay." Luke lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, a reassuring gesture rather than a sensual one, although it still sent a little shiver over Sabrina's body. "You make your calls. I'm going to get you a cup of coffee, and once you're caffeinated we'll figure out the next step, all right?"
Sabrina said, "Thankyou," gratefully, and Luke strode off toward the town center. She watched him for a moment, then sighed and called Tiffany Quinn, who picked up almost before the phone rang.
"I'm right behind you."
Sabrina turned to find the construction lead coming up the street at top speed, her expression thunderous. Like Sabrina, Tiff was a small blonde woman, although she had a rough and tumble air that Sabrina envied sometimes. They hugged, catching each other up on what they knew about the situation, and, with a promise that she had no intention of abandoning the job, Tiffany stalked over to Chief Brady to have a talk punctuated with a lot of hand gestures. Most of them weren't obscene.
The next call, to her office, left Sabrina drained. She ended up sitting on the sidewalk's edge, eyes closed as she spoke with her boss, and then his boss, and finally the company owner. By the time she'd extracted promises of a security team and assurances of insurance and arson investigators, Sabrina had never been so glad for anything as she was for the cup of coffee Luke arrived to hand her. She drank it in grateful silence as Luke settled down beside her, both of them watching everything going on around them.
Eventually Sabrina said, "As far as Gladiator Architecture is concerned, the project will move forward. They're offering assistance with the investigation, which I have to offer the chief. Everyone's very concerned about our well-being and they'll send trauma counselors if the crew needs them. I said I thought if theycould just figure out who was behind it, that would be enough for me."
"You're pretty resilient," Luke said, quietly admiring. "I think I might be screaming into my cereal, in your position."
She smiled. "Not exactly a situation you can lie down and kick, is it? Though if I thought that would work…!"
