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“What about a security alarm? The first patrol officer on the scene said only the fire alarm went off. Why didn’t the security alarm sound?”
“Are we sure they have one?” Collier asked.
“Good question.”
“I imagine they do,” he said, “but we need to make sure. The windows that were shattered were blown outward from heat, not inward as if smashed by someone trying to break in.”
Admiration flared in her eyes. “You’ve picked up a lot, seeing as how you’ve only been able to work with the fire investigator on your days off.”
“After a year and a half,” Terra said, “those days add up. I’m lucky that he wanted the job badly enough to do it.”
“And come Monday, I’ll even get paid for it.” Collier rolled his shoulders against the tautness stretching across his muscles. Russell had a way of looking at him that made him feel as if she were peeling off thin layers of himself that he didn’t want peeled.
He turned away, training his flashlight on the wall of melted aluminum sheeting. He took out his screwdriver and folded back a piece of the warped metal, checking underneath for electrical wires. Even though they believed they’d found the cause of the fire, he would make sure there had been no electrical glitches.
He would like it a lot better if Kiley Russell would move to the other end of the building. Or better yet, leave.
He could feel her behind him and itched to watch her, see how she operated. But he had a job to do and he wasn’t about to screw it up. Especially for a woman.
Kiley had spent the two days since the murder conducting interviews. She, Terra and Collier had split up after the walk-through with the agreement to call each other if they got a lead. Otherwise they would meet at the fire investigator’s office on Monday morning to view the video of the fire scene.
Early Sunday evening, Collier left a message on Kiley’s cell phone while she was asking the owner of Rehn’s warehouse some follow-up questions. He had found something on the videotape of Lazano’s fire scene he thought she and Terra should see.
About an hour after he left the message, she pulled up in front of a quaint rock house and double-checked the address the department secretary had given her. Yes, this charming thirties-style cottage next to an historically registered house was his.
An unfamiliar black Corvette sat at the curb between McClain’s house and his neighbor’s. Terra’s red SUV wasn’t here, and Kiley considered waiting in the car until the other fire investigator arrived. She didn’t relish the idea of being alone with Collier, not now and not in two weeks when Terra went on maternity leave. But staying out here was silly. This was all about the case, and judging from his cool professionalism at the scene the other night, it would stay that way.
She flipped off the ignition, palmed the keys and stepped out of her car. The fat snowflakes that had begun falling while she spoke to the warehouse owner clung to her hair and cheeks as she walked to Collier’s front door.
Whatever McClain had found must be good. For a man whose normal speaking voice was a slow-hands drawl, his words had been crisp and urgent. She wondered if he ever got that hot and bothered over a woman.
Her interviews with the firefighters from Station Two had unearthed some interesting and impressive information about the man who had taken up more of Kiley’s thoughts than she liked. He was a third-generation firefighter and great at his job. He was someone you’d want to lead you into a blaze or watch your back. And until eighteen months ago, he had been engaged to Gwen Hadley, a wealthy, gorgeous blonde Kiley had seen in Oklahoma City’s society pages.
Thanks to Collier, she already knew why he’d broken off the engagement, but his brother firefighters had felt the need to tell her, as well. Her sister, whose job as secretary to the city attorney put her in a position to hear most scuttlebutt, added some bits that Collier and his friends hadn’t shared.
She didn’t blame him for keeping the details to himself. He hadn’t just walked in on his fiancée and his friend kissing. A half-naked Gwen had been wrapped around a half-naked Dan Lazano, and Collier had caught them in the act. The shock and cruelty of such a betrayal made Kiley’s chest hurt.
Standing on his small, protected porch, she stabbed at the doorbell. The night was clear and cold. She shivered under her lined uniform coat.
“Hello?”
A masculine voice sounded behind her, and she whirled. “McClain, you move quieter than anyone—”
She broke off as the man stepped into the wedge of pale-yellow light. He was tall and handsome and not Collier McClain.
A glance back at the large black numbers to the right of the door post confirmed that this was the address she’d been given. “I’m looking for Collier McClain.”
“Just my luck.” The man gave her a flirty smile, startling her with dimples in the exact place she’d seen on Collier. His dark brown hair was mussed, the sleeves of his plaid flannel shirt rolled up. “I’m his brother, Walker.”
“Hello.” She pulled her badge from her coat pocket and showed it to him. “I’m Detective Russell with the Presley PD.”
Amusement glinted in his eyes. “Is this about work or do I need to get him a lawyer?”
She grinned. “It’s about work.”
“He’s inside. C’mon in.” He turned, jamming his hands into the front pockets of his well-worn jeans and hunching his broad shoulders against the cold.
She stepped off the porch and followed him down the sidewalk to the garage. He was as long-legged as his brother. “Do you live here, too?”
“No. I’m helping him put down the floor.”
Ah, that explained the grimy knees of his jeans, and probably the ’Vette. She followed Walker through the garage, struck by the spotless interior. There wasn’t a speck of dirt anywhere on the gray painted concrete floor. A shiny white and chrome pickup was the lone vehicle. A row of cabinets lined the wall in front of her, and tools hung in a precise line to the left of where she entered. “I didn’t know McClain had a brother,” she said.
“And a sister.” Walker opened a door in the garage and ushered her inside the house. “How long have you known him?”
The question was mild enough, but Kiley read curiosity in the man’s eyes. Now she could see they were the same dusky green as his brother’s. “Not long. We’re working some cases together.”
“So you’re not here to arrest him?” Laughter marked his words.
“I could probably be persuaded.”
He chuckled as she followed him through a cozy, charming kitchen done in clean white tile and navy stripes. On closer inspection she discovered that what she thought was wallpaper was actually paint. He must have a great decorator.
Modern appliances belied the decades-old charm of the stone house, and window blinds rode up to reveal a winter-brown landscaped backyard. They passed a small room housing the washer and dryer. An old redbone hound with more gray than red on its face lay in front of the dryer. As she walked past, it looked up sleepily, then closed its eyes again.
They walked through a small formal dining room, which her mom would’ve loved, and into a cozy living area where a fire burned in a stone fireplace. Taupe carpet provided a warm counterpoint to the navy-and-burgundy-plaid sofa and two navy leather recliners.
Walker McClain turned to her. “Can I get you something to drink? He’ll be right out.”
“No, thanks, I’m fine.” If Collier was in such an all-fired hurry to show her what he’d found, where was he? “This house is great.”
“He’s remodeling the whole thing. We put down a new floor in the entryway this afternoon. That’s why I couldn’t let you in the front door. Would you like to see it?”
“Sure.”
They walked back to the small dining room and crossed to the arched opening in the opposite wall. The entryway’s dark red brick was laid in a meticulous herringbone pattern. “Wow. He did this himself?”
Walker’s eyes twinkled. “Well, he helped me do it.”
“Hardly,” Collier said dryly behind them. “You don’t know herringbone from a chicken bone.”
“Whoever did it, it’s beautiful.” She turned, and her words nearly slid back down her throat.
Sweet Saint Christopher. With his bare, muscular chest and low-slung jeans, Collier looked like Mr. July on the city’s firefighter calendar sold to raise money for the new community center. He was Mr. July, she realized with a start. Man, oh, man.
There was something to be said for all the hose dragging and lifting and chopping that firefighters did.
“Sorry to have made you wait, Detective.” His gaze did a slow sweep of her body as he rubbed a towel over his dark, wet head.
“No problem.” He wasn’t wearing socks or shoes, and something about his bare feet made her toes curl. “Your brother kept me entertained.”
Light from an overhead fixture slid across his golden chest. His shoulders and biceps were large, the muscles cut with definition. She’d felt that massive chest before, but she had never seen it. It probably would’ve been better if she hadn’t.
She cleared her throat. “You had something you wanted to show me?”
His brother arched a brow. “Like your etchings? I thought you had better lines.”
Kiley laughed, but a flush warmed her entire body.
Collier grinned good-naturedly. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, bro?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Collier swiped the towel across his chest then draped it over one shoulder. Muscles across his belly flexed with the movement, and the same unwelcome anticipation she’d felt during their dance rose up inside her.
She seriously had to stop looking at him. “Your house is great.”
“Thanks.”
She nodded. He really needed to put on a shirt. Was that a scar just below his navel, peeking over the waistband of his jeans?
From the corner of her eye, she caught a smile on Walker’s face and glanced over.
He slapped Collier on the shoulder. “I’m outta here. Looks like you two have business. Call me when you’re ready to do the hallway floor.” He turned to Kiley, amusement and open curiosity sparkling in his eyes. “Detective, it was nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Maybe so,” she murmured. Doubtful, she thought.
He stepped over to his brother and said in a low voice, “Why can’t you ever leave any for the rest of us?”
“We’re working together,” Collier muttered. “That’s it.”
Oh, yes, Kiley thought. That was so it.
Walker disappeared around the corner with a tuneless whistle. Collier led the way back to the living room. She followed, hearing the garage door close, signaling the departure of his brother.
“Sorry I had to ask you to come here. I’m expecting a delivery from the home store. This’ll be the third time they’ve tried to get my order straight, and I want to make sure it’s right.”
“No problem.”
“You got here fast.”
“Your message sounded important.” She dragged her gaze away from the flex of sinew and muscle, her thoughts going to his disgustingly active and very well-known dating life. Which had no bearing on this case at all. “I’m ready any time you are.”
“Nice to know, Detective.” His voice lowered suggestively.
She arched a brow. “How long before you’re ready, McClain?”
“Let me grab a shirt.”
Please. “Okay.”
The back view had to be as good as the front so she refused to watch him leave the room. He returned wearing a red T-shirt stamped with PFD in faded white letters. The sleeves snugged around hard, sculpted biceps, and she admitted to a little disappointment that his chest was covered.
He glanced at his watch. “I thought Terra would have called me back by now.”
“I don’t mind waiting until she arrives to watch the video.”
“She’s probably on her way. Can I take your coat?”
She shrugged out of it and watched as he hung it in a small closet behind them.
He moved past her to the recliner closest to the sofa and curled his big hands over the back of the chair.
“I—” she started.
“Terra,” he said at the same time. He gave her a crooked smile. “You first.”
“I tried to interview Sherry Vail yesterday, but she’s still away on a business trip.” The former Presley firefighter had been dismissed in disgrace and told she would never work as a firefighter again. After the murder of victim number two, Rex Huffman, Terra and Kiley had learned about a sexual harassment complaint Vail had filed against him, so they’d talked to her back in November.
“When she was fired five months ago, she took a job with a company that sells parts and accessories for firefighting equipment. I think she has to go out of town quite a bit.”
Kiley tucked her hair behind her ear. “I recall that Lazano was one of those called to testify against her at her disciplinary hearing.”
“Yes, just like the other three victims.”
The blonde had ample motive to hate the firefighters from her old station house. Kiley knew the woman’s termination had been justified. Vail had been lazy, frequently absent, undependable at a fire and at different times had filed sexual harassment complaints against two male firefighters who pissed her off.
Collier ran a hand across his nape. “I agree she should still be on our list.”
“I’ll keep trying until I connect with her.” Kiley stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “What were you about to say before I started?”
“Terra told me that the two of you interviewed the coffee warehouse manager and all the employees. The manager said there was a working alarm system.”
“Yes.” Kiley pushed up the sleeves of her dark green sweater, fighting the urge to pace. She could smell the fresh soapy warmth of his skin and couldn’t stop wondering about the line of puckered flesh that disappeared beneath his waistband. She needed to focus. “Their system is computerized, so we were able to get an activity printout from the security company. The alarm was activated last night at closing, just after eleven o’clock, then bypassed at eleven-thirty. They have a backup battery for situations like that, but it was disabled, too.”
“So, we’re talking about someone who knows the warehouse schedule and also how to deal with security systems.”
“Right. And maybe someone who knows electricity in general. Not just some cat burglar who can jimmy open a door.”
“Were any prints lifted from the alarm box?”
“No, no prints anywhere.”
“You’re not still blaming that on the firefighters?”
“No.”
“Good.”
