car flipped into the air. With a booming crash that splintered the peaceful night, the BMW landed on its roof and rolled three times before it came to a halt. The smell of spilled gasoline wafted over to her.
She told Austin’s immobile form, “I’m not some possession you can destroy just because I’m no longer convenient.”
In the distance, she heard a shout. Then another. People would be arriving on the scene very soon, but she had one final thing left to do.
Limping over to a wet, spreading stain on the pavement, she squatted, flicked the cigarette lighter, and held the small flame to the liquid. It caught, and a blue flame streaked along the path the liquid had taken, back to the car. Within moments, the BMW was engulfed in flames.
Straightening, she walked away. She made it halfway back across the lawn before the car exploded. The concussion slapped her in the back, followed by a warmth like a spread of fiery wings, and boiling heat and light turned the night into day.
She glanced over her shoulder. Austin hadn’t been caught in the explosion, not that she had stopped to calculate one way or another. He lay prone and unmoving while, several yards away, his car burned in the fireball from the ignited gasoline.
She nodded. There was the closure she’d been looking for.
* * *
She made it back to the house, locked the back door, and turned off the lights. Then she scooped up her phone. Leaning against the counter for support, she punched Josiah’s name with a shaking finger. She listened to it ring. And ring.
Well, shit. Her knees wobbled, and she sank to a sitting position on the floor.
Just when she was about to tap Off, he picked up. “Molly.” His voice was cool and guarded. “I’m surprised to hear from you. What do you want?”
“I might have killed Austin,” she croaked. “Oopsie?”
His coolness vaporized. “What happened,” he demanded. “Did he hurt you? Where are you?”
“At the house. His car’s on fire. The neighbors are disturbed.” Leaning her head back against the cabinet, she said tiredly, “I might know only one magic trick, but it turns out I can do a lot with it. I can’t stay here.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Did he hurt you?”
“Yeah.”
“How bad is it?”
“Do doctors still tape broken ribs?”
He swore, and her thoughts scattered like buckshot. If she went to the hospital, they would ask her questions she didn’t want to answer. Meanwhile, when Austin’s car stopped burning, some bright expert would inspect it.
There were no skid marks on the road, no other signs of impact. What about the extra gasoline? Cars carried a lot of gasoline anyway, so maybe that wouldn’t matter, but the BMW was in park, and that was decidedly incongruent with an accident.
It was going to look exactly like what it was—arson.
“I can hear the approaching sirens.” Josiah’s voice brought her from her mental wandering.
How could he hear the sirens from where he was? Belatedly, she realized she could hear approaching sirens too. He must have caught the sound over the phone. Shock was turning her stupid.
“I could come pick you up, but it would take time for me to get there. It would be better if you could leave before they get organized at the scene. Can you drive?”
She sighed. “Only way to know is if I try.”
His voice gentled. “All you need to do is get a quarter mile away and you’ll be out of the activity. Do that, and I’ll meet you wherever you are.”
“Got it.”
“Stay on the line.”
“Can’t,” she grunted. “Need both hands to get up.”
He swore again, a quiet whiplash of profanity. “Call me back as soon you can.”
“I’m not going to call you back right away. I’m going to try to make it back to my apartment.”
“Fine, dammit. Give me the address and I’ll meet you there.”
She told him, hung up, and concentrated on getting upright, finding her purse and keys, and slipping out the back door.
To her left, the edge of the scene was barely visible. She couldn’t see the car itself, which was around the corner, but she could see the glow from the fire along with a few people who had gathered. Their attention was on the unfolding drama.
She didn’t think anybody noticed as she slipped around the garage to where her car was parked in the driveway.
Climbing in made every injury flare with such intense pain she almost passed out. Hunched over and panting shallowly, she started the ignition,