Page 11 of Smoldering Nights
But even as she said it, a tiny voice inside her whispered that if someone had gone to this much trouble to take down Petal Pushers…
They weren’t done yet.
Chapter5
Mitch sat at his kitchen table, laptop open, screen frozen on the blurry figure behind the dumpster.His cracked rib throbbed, but he ignored it.Pain he could handle.What he couldn’t handle were unanswered questions.
Someone had torched Petal Pushers, and Izzy was inside when it happened.That made it personal.Or careless, but either way, she was in danger, and this should be an attempted murder investigation.
He picked up his phone and dialed Jayson Davis, a former security analyst he served with in the military, and a man who could dig up information faster than most people could blink.
“Mitch.Thought you were done calling in favors.”
“I’ll be done when people stop setting buildings on fire.I need a background check, Delilah Parker, Blossom Springs, Florida.Owns the nail salon next to the flower shop that went up yesterday.”
“Got it.Give me an hour.”
Mitch hung up and scribbled a few notes on a legal pad.The suspect on the footage wasn’t just loitering, they’d waited.Calculated.The fire didn’t seem like some petty revenge stunt.It was targeted.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
He opened it to find Trey Fielding holding a brown evidence envelope.
“You alone?”Trey asked.
“Always,” Mitch said, stepping aside.
Trey walked in and handed him the envelope.“Partial print on the gas can lid.Nothing conclusive yet, but we’re running it through local and state databases.”
Mitch opened the envelope and glanced at the photo and debris inside.“Anything else?”
Trey scratched the back of his neck.“Yeah.We canvassed a couple of the local businesses this morning.Talked to Delilah at the salon.”
Mitch arched an eyebrow."And?"
“She was edgy.Claimed she had no plans to expand, but she got jumpy when we asked where she was around 7:30 yesterday morning.”
“No alibi?”
“Says she was home.Alone.No one was with her.Said her assistant, Travis, was running some errands for her.”
Mitch leaned against the table.“Sadie’s boyfriend's name is Travis.”
"Yes, one and the same.He does night-time security in town for the feed mill.Odd jobs during the day."
"But this was during a time when he should have been working.Or getting off work, depending on his schedule at the security company."
"Actually, he works directly for the feed mill and not a company.I did a bit of digging.Travis isn't an upstanding sort.He's had trouble with the law before, mostly petty theft and an incident with vandalism and forgery.I have a call into the owner of the feed mill to see if he can shed some light on what Travis' actual responsibilities are."
Mitch nodded."Okay.And she called Travis her assistant?"
“Yep.That's the title she used."
“And you spoke to Travis?"
Trey grinned."Said he was visiting his brother in Summerville and didn’t see Delilah until later that afternoon.”
Mitch frowned.“So they weren’t together.And no one can verify where Delilah was.Travis is shady at best.”
