Page 49 of Burning For You

“Yes, it is. That’s why you’re bringing this up to me. What did Sean say?”

“He said I’m nuts. That I’m overthinking things and he’s not sure why I’m doing that. To just move on. It happened and it can’t be changed.”

“He’s not wrong. What’s the other thing? You said there were two.”

“The paper. They said that the cigarette must have been hanging over the ashtray and caught the papers it was sitting on on fire.”

“That could have happened.”

“But what papers? My parents didn’t read newspapers. There were no magazines in the house. Mail? Maybe it was mail, but that was normally left in the kitchen on the counter. Just piles of it. I can’t for the life of me figure out what papers could have caught fire.”

“Damn. Are you sure you heard that properly?”

“That’s what I was told. Is it possible something else could have caught on fire other than paper? Maybe one of the boxes?”

“Yes. If it was close by. It would have been destroyed though. What they can do is say that the fire originated in the ashtray. The remains of the papers or boxes or being told what was in the house wouldn’t be as clear.”

“Is there a way to find out if some accelerant was used?”

“That would be in the report,” he said. She was grinning at him. “And that is where you want my help? You want me to access it?”

“Is that possible? I know I’m crazy, but I really think I need the closure now. Like I’d regret not putting it from my mind as an adult and just accepting it as a teen.”

“Sure, it is. Why don’t you call and ask for it?”

“Because I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Why?”

“I feel like I’m being a pain calling all the time now.”

He laughed. “You’re not doing anything anyone else hasn’t in years.”

“I know. Or maybe it’s just I don’t want it to get back to Corbin. You won’t tell him, will you?”

“Now you’re making it hard. Why don’t you want me to tell my best friend, and your brother, that you want this information? I think they’d understand if you told them what you said to me and why you want it.”

She shook her head. “No, they won’t understand. They’d think I need to put it behind me. I lightly brought it up to my mother and I could see it in her face, she told me everything she had back then. I don’t want to push more with my family and this will help. Do you want some more?”

“I’ll take another slice if you’re offering.”

She reached over for his plate, lifted it and placed another slice on it. “It came out good. And like I said, I’ll be sending you home with some also.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about keeping this from Corbin.”

“How about you don’t tell him unless he asks,” she said, grinning. “And it might show nothing other than what I’ve been told.”

He took the plate back. “You know damn well that he’s not going to ask.”

“Then there isn’t a problem. You’re not really keeping anything from him.”

He wasn’t so sure he thought of it that way. “Is this book you want to write the real reason you want to know what the report says, or does it have more to do with the car fires?”

She let out a breath and that told him what he needed to know. “I doubt they are related.”

“But you think it? These are car fires. No one is getting hurt. The cars are abandoned on top of it. All but the electric one and that was ruled out as accidental. A malfunction of the car.”

“I know. It’s more about what was in my mind when I moved back. But it’s the paper thing that is stuck in my head more than anything else. I think it’s just that I don’t believe that is what happened to my old home more than it tying together with the cars. It’s just making my itch need to be scratched even more until I can rule out my past. You know, people were in and out of our house all the time. Even after I went to bed, their friends stopped over. I’d hear voices but never came down. I don’t know, did they even ask around to see if any other people were there that night? Just things like that.”