I jolted awake and nearly knocked Max off the bed when the siren at the firehouse next door
blared in the middle of the night. I had trained myself to sleep through it when I’d first moved
over the funeral
home my parents and brother owned. It also helped that my father had installed soundproofing
up here
at my request.
Tonight, though, I’d had a hard time falling asleep and had wandered to the window a few times
to soak up the moonlight and watch the few cars driving on Main Street. I had been restless
even with Max’s arms wrapped around me in the Murphy bed that I’d lowered from the wall.
So, it was no surprise that I heard it and shot straight up in bed. As softly as possible I removed
myself from under Max’s arm and went to the front windows of my apartment, where I’d be able
to see the direction the fire truck headed. The lights could be mesmerizing as they strobed
across the brick
buildings of Main Street in our small town. Pennsylvania liked its sirens and its volunteer
firemen.
But though the siren blared and the lights flashed, they didn’t get far. In fact, they pulled across
the
street and stopped outside Gina’s.
What on earth?
“Max. Max!” I shook him, then ran to my closet for a hoodie to throw over my pajamas. No time
to waste on a bra, and the hoodie would cover up any sagging. Plus, the dead of summer could
still get a little chilly outside in the middle of the night.
He sat up, his hair going in all directions. “What’s going on?”
“The fire truck is in front of Gina’s house. I have to go over there.”
Points for him that he was out of bed and stepping into his jeans before I’d finished my second
sentence.
“See if you can get a hold of her. She might not be able to answer, but maybe she can. Just
check.” He
went to the window as he pulled a shirt on over his head. “I don’t see flames. But an ambulance
just
pulled up.”
“Oh no. That could mean anything.” They came out for all reasons, generally anything that
involved a
call to the emergency line at the police station. What had happened? Was Gina hurt? Had I left
her alone and Craig had come for her? My stomach tried to claw its way up my throat.
Stepping into shoes, I hit my Gina speed dial as I flew down the two sets of stairs to the main
floor.
Max was right on my heels. By the fourth ring, Gina still hadn’t answered, but then it didn’t
matter because I saw her standing on the sidewalk with her arms wrapped around herself and a
blanket over
her shoulders.
At least she was alive. While I’d booked it down the stairs, horrible visions had flashed through
my head of Craig getting in her house and killing her in her sleep. Seeing her standing there
alleviated that fear at least, but it didn’t indicate what had happened. I didn’t even look for traffic
as I ran across the
street and jerked to a halt in front of her. I opened my arms and she stepped forward. But Chief
Burton
put an arm out between us, keeping her from hugging me. The man was the bane of my
existence.
He still held a grudge over the stuck-up, snobby bitch I had been for the past five years. I’d
thought helping him with a double murder a few months ago might have softened him up, but
that didn’t seem to be happening with the way his eyes were flinty and his stance forbidding.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“This is a crime scene, Tallie.”
“A what? What happened?” Quickly taking in the scene, I saw no blood and no broken windows.
Nothing out of the ordinary, except my friend standing on the street with a blanket around hershoulders.
“Go home. We’re taking care of it. I need you to step back. We don’t want to contaminate
anything
until we have all the evidence we need.”
“Gina?” I met her eyes. Max stepped up next to me and put a hand on my outstretched arm.
“Don’t leave me, Tallie. Please.” Her voice quavered with distress and I wanted to punch Burton
in his shiny badge.
Instead, I glared at him and almost said the scathing words that were positively boiling on my
tongue. But I did not want to make anyone even madder. I settled for taking a step back. “I’m
not leaving. I won’t touch anything, but I’m not leaving.”
Burton sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Not my problem.
“Do you want me to call your mom, Gina?” I asked. “God, no, please.”
“Can you tell me what happened? Why are the police and the fire department and the
ambulance here?”
Burton stepped between us again. “You can stay, but I’ll be asking the questions. Right now,
this is a
need-to-know basis and you are not someone who needs to know anything.” Burton stood with
his back
to Gina, fully blocking her from my sight. Kicking him would be a very bad idea, I told myself
severaltimes, while I fought down the urge to do just that. I tried a different tactic with the silvered-
haired
man who was the strong arm of the law around these parts. “Can you tell me what happened
then? I live in the neighborhood and would like to know what has happened to bring everyone
out before dawn.”
He frowned at me, his bushy gray eyebrows pulling down to form a V. “There’s been a death
and that’s
all you need to know.”
A death? I reeled back into Max’s arms, my brain now going to the threats Gina had made
earlier
toward Craig. No way would she have done that. I knew it in my heart. Plus, I didn’t even know
who was dead. I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions until I had more facts.
And then the gurney rolled past me and Max. A hand flopped out from under the sheet, the
manicured
fingernails masculine and way too clean. It was Craig. To say this was not good was a gross
understatement.
