Page 25 of Head Room
“Let’s start there.How soon did your crew see it?”
“Been there a couple hours.We’d relieved another group making sure the scene was contained — you know what that means?”
“Not extinguished, but not spreading.”
“That’ll do.”Did he half wink at me or was that a nerve in his eyelid?“With the fire’s intensity, we were relieved it didn’t spread, had some luck that kept the burn inside the perimeter pretty much from the start.It was clear real quick that we weren’t going to save the cabin.We made sure the perimeter held, monitored, and mopped up, while the fire used up the fuel.”
“You said you had some luck that the fire didn’t spread.I’d imagine the rain we had lately helped...anything else?”
He tipped his head, watching me from the corner of his eye.Was that a near wink again?
I returned his gaze steadily.
He straightened his head, but looked entirely unchastened.“Yeah, the wet weather helped.Which made the rest of it more fortunate.It was recently clear-cut all around the cabin.”
I frowned.“People do that regularly, especially around woods.”
He lifted one shoulder.“Not so much this time of year, especially when it’s as wet as it’s been.It’s the sort of chore you put off until things get dry enough for the warnings.And even then, they procrastinate more often than not.”
“Was it a bigger fire than you would have expected?”
He shrugged.“Hard to predict.”
Not helpful.Worse, it might indicate his interest was flagging.
“Did you see the body?”
“Some.”He stifled most of a grimace but enough leaked through to convey he’d have rather not seen what he did.“Something I hadn’t seen before.”
“Were you able to see the bullet hole in his head?”
“Not me.Others did.They were talking how he must have started the fire, then shot himself.”He stopped for the first time, then he hedged.“They’ll have to wait for the report to know for sure that he shot himself before the fire.”
Withthey’ll have to wait,he distanced himself from speculation.
I’d lost him.
But I could leave him with something to consider.Who knew, maybe if we had a second encounter, it might produce something.
“Common sense says he was shot first.Why would someone shoot him after?”
CHAPTER TEN
Possibilities tumbled aroundin my mind.
Was the fire set, as the accelerant pattern implied?
If it was, for what reason?
Destroying forensic evidence topped the obvious list.
Obscuring the identity of the dead body found on the scene stood out as another possible explanation — if a dead body could stand, out or otherwise.
That raised the other factors inside the cabin.
The body sustained damage to the head and torso, yet the boots were intact enough to point toward an identification.
The items in the metal box were in the right location to have the best chance to survive.
