Death on the Diagonal - By Nero Blanc Page 0,22

cottages farther up the hill. “I’m staying up in Tulip House. The minute I saw the flames, I was out the door and on my way down here. I didn’t bother to look at the clock.”

“And you didn’t consider contacting the fire department.”

Curry shook his head. “I’m a horseman. If my animals are in trouble, I want to be with them. The fire department’s ten minutes away—if we’re lucky. A lot can happen in ten minutes.”

Rosco turned back to Todd. “Did I understand Mrs. Collins correctly when she began to say that you told her not to call the fire department?”

Todd’s jaw tightened, and his eyes turned slit-thin as though he were staring at the sun. Rosco recognized the expression; it was the look of a man trying to decide whether or not to tell the truth—or whether it was more expedient to simply belt the person who’d asked the question.

“Yes,” Todd finally offered. “I’d totally forgotten that the sprinkler system was down. I didn’t think the department would be necessary. Plus, like Jack said, they would’ve never been here in time to save the stock, and all those sirens and noise, they would have spooked the other animals; which they ended up doing anyway when they arrived.” His mouth remained tense as he pointed to the far end of the stable. “As you can see, if the sprinklers are working they can handle just about anything.”

“And just so I can get a clear picture of who was where,” Rosco continued, “Mrs. Collins was watching the news with you? So you both noticed the fire break out at the same time?”

“No,” Collins answered, then paused a second too long before continuing. “Ryan had been trying out a new course in the enclosed arena. She was returning to the house when she saw the blaze and was actually running to get me at the same moment I dashed outside.”

“So her horse was in this stable?”

Collins shook his head and pointed off to his left. “Ryan’s equitation horses are over in A barn. This stable is mainly occupied by boarded animals.”

“But this is where you keep the saddles, right?”

“Most of the competition packages, yes. But casual work-out gear is stored in other barns.”

“Do you have any idea who did call the fire department?” Rosco asked. “As we know, it was a woman, and according to the fire marshal it came from your phone number.”

Jack answered for Todd. “From what I understand, the call came from the central number—which can be accessed from the stables, from Mr. C’s house, as well as from the three main cottages: Tulip, Magnolia, and Gardenia. Technically, the call could have been made from this stable, too—if someone got to the phone before it melted.”

“Are the other two cottages occupied?” Rosco said.

It was Todd who responded. “My daughter Heather and her husband, Michael Palamountain, live in Magnolia; my son, Chip, has Gardenia.”

Rosco glanced at his small pad and the notes he’d made from Belle’s telling of Bartholomew Kerr’s gossip. To confirm one of Kerr’s assertions he asked, “And your other daughter, Fiona, was she here, or are she and her husband, Mr. Applegate, at their home in Florida?”

Both Todd and Jack stiffened at Rosco’s question. After an uncomfortable silence, Todd said, “My daughter and Whitney Applegate are . . . Fiona was here when the fire broke out.”

Rosco pointed to the mansion. “With you and Mrs. Collins?”

“No,” Jack said sharply. “She resides in one of the other cottages. Temporarily, at least. What’s the point of all this?”

“Nothing really, I’m just trying to narrow down who was here, in case I have any follow-up questions later.” He made a note before continuing. “Now, I was under the impression that the barn manager lived here as well?”

“There’s an apartment in the back half of B stable.” Jack said. “Orlando and Kelly live there. Kelly’s his wife.”

“This is the woman Mrs. Collins is picking up at the airport?”

“Right.”

Rosco jotted down the name. “As Clint explained, the Dartmouth Group hired me. I know you’ve got a good relationship with Dartmouth, and that Clint—and you—want to settle the claim quickly. But is there any reason for you to believe that the fire was something more than the accident it appears to be? Is there any chance this might have been arson?”

Both men shook their heads, but a voice behind Rosco said a loud and emphatic, “Absolutely.”

Rosco turned to see a woman striding toward them. She had the ramrod-straight bearing of someone who’d been