Burn You Twice - Mary Burton Page 0,17
me on this side of the prison wall. I’m a fair cook and willing to help.” The reminder of the shared meal was calculated. He wanted everyone to remember where he had been when that fire started.
Pickett inhaled, holding the smoke in his lungs before slowly releasing it. He pointed the cigarette toward the sirens. “What do you think is burning?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
“Sounds serious.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I don’t want any trouble.” Pickett flicked the glowing tip into an ashtray shaped like New York State. “I’m taking a chance on you. There are a lot of folks in town who don’t want you around.”
“I doubt I’m wanted anywhere.” There was no self-pity or bravado behind the statement. Life was easier to navigate if a man simply accepted what was fact instead of dreaming about what could be.
Pickett faced him. “Should I ask if you’re behind that fire?”
“I am not responsible for that fire. I was here eating meat loaf with you.”
Pickett regarded him as he inhaled and then exhaled what looked like worry. “Whatever is burning ain’t that far from here, and you look fit enough.”
“Running the yard relieves stress.”
“It can also keep you fit enough to cover distance quickly.”
“I didn’t set the fire.”
He pointed the lit cigarette toward the stain on the sidewalk. “I didn’t say you did. But there’ll be people who will think you did.”
“I have always maintained my innocence.”
“The guilty usually do.”
“If you think I set the College Fire ten years ago, then why take me in?”
He shrugged, stared at the tip of his cigarette. “Because a part of me believes any man can be redeemed. Change the course of his life for the better.” He stubbed out his cigarette on the star marking Albany.
Elijah asked, “Why New York for the ashtray?”
Pickett studied the ashtray, which was already half-full. “You ain’t the only one who did time. I pulled mine in New York.” He let the rest of the story dangle like a baited hook in a fishing stream.
Elijah did not care but heard himself asking, “What did you do?”
“Murder,” he said with no hint of apology. “I was drinking in those days. But I was also defending a lady’s honor in a bar.”
“Delilah’s?”
“I wish. But she drove the two thousand miles to see me. Told me that when I was able to come back home, she would be waiting.”
“And she was?”
“Yes, sir. She certainly was.”
A flicker of envy sparked in Elijah. “I suppose that’s why you married her.”
“A loyal woman is hard to find.”
“You might be right about that.”
Pickett reached for the doorknob. “Delilah gave me a second chance, which is why I’m giving you one. But like she told me nearly thirty years ago, ‘If you fuck this up, I’ll scalp you.’”
Elijah smiled and went inside the house.
As Gideon watched Fire Chief Clarke Mead walk toward him, he thought about the woman he had seen before the blaze destroyed the building. The thunderous flames now hissed as the firefighters sprayed water on the ruins.
Clarke removed his helmet and ran his hand over his salt-and-pepper hair, now damp with sweat despite the cooling temperatures. “It’s still too hot to walk the wreckage and conduct any kind of investigation. That’s likely to be tomorrow.”
“Can you tell what caused the fire?” Gideon asked.
“Hard to say. I did issue the building owner a citation a month ago. Several of her beauticians had rigged electrical outlets to carry a higher load beyond code. They were supposed to hire a licensed electrician to fix the problem. I was due back to check next week. They also improperly stored flammable chemicals, which explains the intensity of the blaze.”
“Who owns the building?” Gideon asked.
“Jessica and Darren Halpern.”
“Names aren’t familiar.”
“They are new to the area. Came here about a year ago from California. They liked the idea of Big Sky Country.”
The building had gone up quickly and burned to cinder. It could have been electrical, but Gideon was not ruling out arson. “How are the Halperns faring so far?”
“They said they’re doing well. Mr. Halpern complained about the winter, but then most of the new folks do.”
“This past winter was fairly mild.”
“That’s what I told him.” Amusement briefly softened the frown lines around Clarke’s mouth before his brow furrowed. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about Elijah Weston. He was released yesterday from prison.”
Gideon’s face hardened. “I am very aware of that.”
“Biggest fire this town has seen in a decade, and Elijah is living less than a mile away.”
“We’re a long way