Chương 10
"Parked across the street."
Sullivan's expression hardened.
"Anybody know your address from tonight?"
"The police."
"Restaurant staff could have your name."
"Video's online."
Sullivan sighed.
"Yeah, I saw that."
"Of course you did."
"Welcome to small-town internet."
"Can we not celebrate it?"
"I wasn't."
The second patrol car returned without the sedan.
The officer stepped out and shook his head.
"Lost it near Jefferson."
Sullivan looked toward Gideon.
"Any reason somebody connected to Harland would follow you?"
"Maybe."
"That sounds like something you should explain."
Gideon glanced at Maisie.
Sullivan noticed.
"Want her in my cruiser?"
"No."
Maisie said, "I can hear you."
"That's the issue."
"I can also understand most words."
Gideon rubbed his forehead.
Sullivan fought a smile.
"She's yours."
"Unfortunately."
Maisie frowned.
"Rude."
Gideon lowered his voice.
"A witness from the restaurant called me."
Sullivan's expression changed.
"Who?"
"Dale Keegan."
"What'd he say?"
Gideon told him.
Not everything.
Enough.
Briggs at the job trailer before dinner.
The comment about files.
Travis's call afterward.
Dale's fear.
Sullivan stopped writing halfway through.
"When did Dale call?"
"About eight-ten."
"You have the number?"
"Yes."
"Did he tell you why he called you instead of us?"
"Briggs had my number somehow."
Sullivan looked up sharply.
"Briggs had your number?"
"According to Dale."
"How would Harland get it?"
"That's one of my questions."
Sullivan looked toward the dark road where the sedan had disappeared.
"Give me your phone."
Gideon handed it over.
Sullivan copied Dale's number.
"You should go somewhere other than home tonight."
Maisie looked at Gideon.
He saw the objection forming.
"We can stay with June."
Sullivan shook his head.
"If someone watched your house, they may know the neighbor."
"Hotel?"
"Maybe."
"That leaves a record."
Sullivan gave him a look.
"You're thinking like this is more organized than we know it is."
"I don't know what it is."
"Exactly."
Gideon took the phone back.
Sullivan continued.
"Take your daughter somewhere public for a while."
"It's past her bedtime."
Maisie said, "I'm fine."
Gideon looked at her.
"You're barely fine on school nights at eight."
"This is different."
"True."
Sullivan leaned on the window frame.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"We got confirmation from fire investigators."
Gideon waited.
"Initial indicators suggest accelerant."
Maisie said, "What's accelerant?"
Neither man answered quickly enough.
She looked between them.
"That means somebody started the fire on purpose, doesn't it?"
Sullivan glanced at Gideon.
Gideon nodded.
"Probably."
Maisie hugged the backpack tighter.
Sullivan straightened.
"I shouldn't have said that in front of her."
"It's okay," Maisie said.
Sullivan looked almost embarrassed.
"No, kid, that's on me."
Gideon appreciated that more than an apology aimed at him.
Sullivan pointed toward the road.
"I'm going to call Dale."
"Don't tell him I gave you anything unless you have to."
"I know how witnesses work."
"Good."
Sullivan's eyes narrowed.
"You always this difficult?"
"Only when tired."
"That tracks."
The officer walked away.
Maisie waited until both patrol cars had pulled out.
"Can we go home now?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because someone may know where we live."
She looked out the window.
"I hate this."
"Me too."
"Did Mom ever hate stuff like this?"
The question came from nowhere.
That was how Maisie's questions usually arrived.
Gideon's hand stopped on the gearshift.
"What do you mean?"
"Scary things."
"Everybody hates scary things."
"Mom wasn't scared of hospitals."
Gideon looked at her.
Maisie rarely spoke about Claire directly.
She had been five when her mother died, old enough to remember fragments and young enough to wonder which fragments were real.
"Your mom was scared of plenty."
"Like what?"
"Spiders."
Maisie frowned.
"That's disappointing."
"She also hated elevators."
"Why?"
"Got stuck in one in college."
"For how long?"
"Twenty minutes."
"That's not long."
"It was with a guy playing harmonica."
Maisie stared at him.
"You're making that up."
"I'm not."
"Why was he playing harmonica?"
"I never got a satisfying explanation."
She smiled.
The smile faded slowly.
"Was she scared when she got sick?"
Gideon looked through the windshield.
Gas station lights made everything outside seem flatter than it was.
"Yes."
Maisie absorbed that.
"Did she tell you?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you fix it?"
"No."
He hated how small the word sounded.
Maisie nodded as though the answer mattered.
"Okay."
Gideon turned toward her.
"Why okay?"
"Because you always act like you're supposed to fix everything."
He stared at her.
She shrugged.
"June says that."
"June needs hobbies."
"She has gardening."
"More hobbies."
Maisie rested her head against the seat.
"What do we do now?"
Gideon checked the time.
8:42.
His mind moved through options.
Hotels.
Friends.
The shop.
The shop had cameras, steel doors, and a back office with an ancient sofa Maisie had slept on during snow days.
It was also a predictable place connected directly to him.
Predictability was not useful tonight.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He almost let it go.
Then he answered.
"Ror."
For two seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn said, "It's me."
Gideon sat straighter.
"How'd you get my number?"
"The police report."
"That seems questionable."
"I asked Sullivan."
"That seems less questionable."
Her voice was tight.
"Where are you?"
"I'm with Maisie."
"I need to tell you something."
"Go ahead."
"No."
A pause.
"Not over the phone."
Gideon looked at his daughter.
"Then it'll have to wait."
"It can't."
"What happened?"
Evelyn lowered her voice.
"Daniel found something in the subcontract records."
"Something about Briggs?"
"Something about your shop."
Gideon went still.
"What?"
Maisie lifted her head.
Evelyn continued.
"Harland Contracting billed Mercer for fleet repairs four months ago."
"Lots of companies repair trucks."
"The invoices list Ror Automotive."
For a moment, Gideon heard only the refrigeration unit outside the gas station buzzing against the night.
"That's impossible."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"Why?"
"Because your signature is on three of them."
Gideon's fingers tightened around the phone.
"I never worked for Harland."
"I know."
"How?"
"I checked your public business registration."
May you like
"That's not what I mean."
"You opened your shop six years ago."
