Page 9 of The Smart Killer
“Why do you think?” He kept moving, wanting to end the conversation and get out of the dreary weather.
“I thought you were working the Leeman case.”
“I was until I got wind of liquid morphine back in the area.” He stopped walking. “That is, if it ever left. I’m beginning to have my doubts about everything in this town. But I’m almost certain that the Ashfords are tangled up in it somehow.”
“The Ashfords?” Ray tossed a hand up in the air. “I told you to leave that alone.”
“Leave it? I have you involved in God knows what because you won’t tell me, but it was bad enough for them to put a gun to your head.”
“That was a debt, and I’m paying you back.”
“Then we have our father in bed with Luther Ashford’s LLC on some real estate deals that he won’t talk about — which, if Ashford’s daughter is to be believed, is some mutual agreement. Then we have them giving me a place to stay for free because I helped rid the town of corruption? It seems that corruption is still happening; the only question is who else is caught up in it and how deep it goes.”
Noah continued back to his vehicle.
“Listen. Noah! I didn’t just call you out because of a hunch. On the night of the fire, I had them pull the GPS information from the owner’s Tesla. The last place Adam Johnson was at before coming home was an address over on the east side. An apartment. It was rented out to Hannah Thorne.”
Noah turned his head, hand on the door, just about to get in.
“Callie’s sister?”
Ray nodded. “Autopsies were performed on the bodies to determine the cause of death. You know, just in case they were dead before the fire. Dental records confirmed it was her. That’s why I called you.”
“Does she know?”
“No, we only learned about this today.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before I came?”
“Because I wanted you to see the bigger picture before every asshole in this jurisdiction goes traipsing through here. And now you’ve told me you’re suspended, I’m glad I did.”
Noah opened the door to his vehicle.
“C’mon, Noah.”
“I need to tell her.”
“Then you need to know a few things. The autopsy showed they died of smoke inhalation. They were alive. For whatever reason, they just didn’t get out.”
“Or couldn’t.”
“But that’s the thing, they should have. These windows in this neighborhood are made from polycarbonate and are designed to self-eject before firefighters get to them. It’s a similar design to a company in town that makes acrylic windows. The frames are meant to be combustible and burn up, causing the panels to fall off. Except that’s not what happened. When the fire department arrived on scene, steel shutters inside blocked the upper windows. It’s a security feature built into each home, making the whole house a giant panic room against intruders. Most homeowners don’t use them, and from what we were told, Adam Johnson never used them either.”
“So, a malfunction?”
“I’m not so sure about that. The ones on the lower floor were open when firefighters arrived. Just a little before nine, a neighbor heard screams. When she looked out, she swears that all the windows on the lower and upper floors were sealed shut.” He paused. “Even if those fire sensors worked, they couldn’t have gotten out because of the shutters.”
“You think someone wanted them trapped inside?”
Ray stared back at Noah.
“Something doesn’t sit right. That’s all I’m saying.”
Noah knew he wasn’t an officer who quickly jumped to conclusions. Right then, a garbage truck rolled in, and Ray turned his attention toward the guy tossing the contents of cans into the back. “Hey, fella. Don’t be taking that one. We still have to go through it.”
The guy gave a thumbs-up.
“I figured local PD would be on top of that by now,” Noah said.
