Page 72 of Hoodoo House
Another car arrived on the scene and two officers jumped out of their vehicle.
“You two,” Sergeant Bowen called out, “patrol the area around the house to look for any more firebugs. And be careful, this house is going to collapse.” Then she turned to Declan, Charlie and Henry. “You have to pull back, too. I don’t want any more bodies.”
“We can’t leave him here,” Henry said to Declan, pointing at the burnt man on the ground. “He’s still alive.”
Declan nodded. “We can use the blanket and drag him to safety.”
Moses was moaning and cursing as the three of them struggled to move his huge bulk clear of the heat.
They left him on the blanket beside Sergeant Bowen’s cruiser. A moment later, an ambulance pulled up and two paramedics began tending to his wounds.
Tears streaked Mrs Cameron’s face as she yelled, “Henry! You get your butt over here right now!”
Declan followed the boy as he ran to Mrs Cameron and threw his arms around her. Henry looked at her. “I’m sorry we lost our house.”
“Not to worry, boy. A house and what’s inside it are just things. And you can always get more. What counts is we’re all safe.” She collected him up again in her arms.
“I have to admit, though, if I had a chance I’d have tried to save a few things…” She stared at the fire.
“Like this,” Henry said, retrieving his small suitcase and pulling out the manuscript forThe Ragtag Crew.
“Now, what the hell are you doing with that?” she said, then engulfed him in another hug.
Henry grinned. “I wanted to protect Miss Ellis’ legacy.”
Declan frowned. “So that’s what you risked your life for?”
Henry shook his head. “Yes. But I also went up for this.” He went back into his suitcase, took out a small cigar box and pulled out an old photograph of a young woman. “I needed to save my mom.”
Sinclair approached the group and said, “Now about what we were talking about in the kitchen before the fire—”
“Hold on a minute,” Charlie interrupted. “Before we discuss Malcolm Tull’s death, there’s a few things I need to let everyone know. And I need to do this before we talk to the police.”
Sergeant Bowen approached them. “Are you folks all right?”
Everyone nodded. Charlie gave her a thumbs-up.
“I’m going to have to get a statement from each of you.”
Charlie said, “We’ve had quite an adventure. If you wouldn’t mind, could we do that in the morning?”
“And whereabouts would I find you?” she asked.
Charlie said, “I thought we’d head over to the Rosebud Inn and take rooms there for the night, if that’s all right with you.”
Sergeant Bowen nodded. “That’ll be fine.”
After she’d walked away, Charlie looked at them and said, “Sinclair, you can drive over in your own car, and we’ll take Mrs Cameron and Henry with us in the Beast.”
Declan whispered to Charlie, “What the hell is this all about?”
“Justice,” Charlie said.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
They made the short trip from the remains of Hoodoo House to the Rosebud Inn. Declan and Mrs Cameron rode in the back so that Charlie could give Henry his promised ride in the best seat in the Beast. As Charlie parked the car, Sinclair pulled into the lot beside them. Charlie and the others followed Declan as he led the way into the hotel, where they discovered William-Fergus standing at the front desk. He smiled at Declan.
“Good evening, Mr Hunt and…spouse?”
