Page 116 of Let It Breathe
She shook her head, her chest feeling like someone was standing on it. “It’s over. It’s definitely over.”
Chapter 17
Reese wasn’t sure what to expect from the meeting with the fire marshal. Chaos wouldn’t have been her first guess, but it also wouldn’t have been her last.
Everyone gathered in a circle like they expected to play duck-duck-goose instead of discuss who might want to burn down the winery. Everyone except Clay, who’d gotten out of attending because he wasn’t technically employed at the winery.
Thank God for that, Reese muttered to herself.
In their jolly little circle, Jed and June held hands, while Eric sat with his arms crossed and scowled. Larissa wore a neon-orange halter top Reese was pretty sure she’d donned to distract the fire marshal.
Axl beat her to the punch there.
“Be a damn shame if anything happened to that pretty white car of yours,” he said, glaring at the man. “Maybe you should just drop this whole thing and head on out of here.”
“Um—” said the fire marshal.
“Dad!” June warned. “You promised.”
“I promised not to stab him,” Axl retorted. “You see a knife?”
The fire marshal took a step back and cleared his throat.
“Um, good morning, folks,” he said. “Thanks for meeting me here on such short notice.”
“Would you like a brownie?” June offered. “Before we get started, I mean. There are brownies on the tray behind you. Baked fresh this morning.”
“We didn’t even put weed in ’em this time,” Axl added. “In case you need to pass a drug test.”
Reese sighed. “Can we just get on with it? Please? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve got work to do.”
“Right,” the man agreed. “I’ll just get right to it, then. I’ve given you each a copy of the preliminary report, which details our findings about the type of accelerant we found and some of the reasons we suspect arson in this case. Obviously, I’m not laying all our cards on the table—this is an active investigation, after all.”
“So why are you telling us this?” Jed asked.
“Because I want your help putting the pieces together.”
Reese picked up her copy of the report and began to skim, while the fire marshal droned on about the steps in the investigation and the time they’d need to carve out for individual interviews. Reese glanced up at that point, feeling ill as he explained how they’d all be interviewed separately immediately following the meeting, and they should expect tough questions.
The implication was clear, and it annoyed the hell out of her.
“So you think one of us did it?” Reese interrupted. “That’s what you’re driving at, right? You think it’s for insurance money or something like that?”
The fire marshal stiffened. “We aren’t suggesting anything at this point. Obviously that’s one theory we’ll consider, but it’s just one of many.”
“What else?” Eric demanded.
“Well,” he began, “for starters, I’d like you all to think hard about any unusual activity you’ve seen around here lately. Any changes, maybe someone visiting the tasting room more than normal, any strange comings or goings?—”
“Dick,” Larissa volunteered. “He owns Larchwood Vineyards next door and he hates us. He’s always dropping by.”
“And he’s an asshole,” Axl added.
“What about that repair guy the other day?” Jed suggested. “The one who fixed the label machine? I’ve got his card here somewhere.”
“I met with a new barrel distributor two weeks ago,” Eric offered.
“Good, good,” said the fire marshal as he jotted something in his notebook. “Keep going.”
