Deceived - Laura S. Wharton Page 0,26

only a cop in a chase would. He hit seventy miles per hour before the next stoplight and entrance to Topsail Beach. Bob held on for dear life as Sam jumped on the brakes, then did a U-turn in the middle of the road with the back end fishtailing at the speed.

“You have insurance?” Bob asked just above a whisper.

“Yep.” Sam floored it again and drove back to the car lot, wheeling in at a high speed.

White-knuckled, Bob gingerly stepped out of the truck, clearly relieved to be back. Regaining his composure, he smoothed down the fly-away hair again and smiled. “You see? That truck was meant for you! If you have the title to yours, we’ll go ahead and make a deal today!”

Sam looked over the truck one more time, and then he followed Bob into the trailer where bottle-blonde Glenda warmly greeted him like an old flame and offered him a cup of coffee as he sat at a small table filling out paperwork. After about twenty minutes, feeling like he had gotten a decent deal, Sam was off to a detailer across the street to get his “new” truck cleaned.

Half an hour later, as he was leaving the detailer, Sam saw Bob driving the Blazer into the entrance to the detailer, waving to Sam as he emerged from the truck. Sam was quick to step on the pedal so he wouldn’t have to talk to Bob again.

Chapter fourteen

Driving back down Highway 17, Sam thought about his conversation with Singleton. He exited toward Carolina Beach and headed toward the Golden Sun Hotel. Completed just a few months earlier, the new high-rise was an addition to an older motel with fifty-four oceanfront rooms. The complex stood as a landmark on the beach with two pools, beachfront rooms with balconies, a decent restaurant, and a gift shop. Since Sam had been out of the office for a few days, he knew nothing of the fire. And since he was not officially back on duty, he thought he would do an unannounced drive-by to see what he could uncover.

When he arrived on the scene, Sam saw that the boys had already been there and had cordoned off an area of the new section that contained fire damage. He circled around the parking lot, surveying the hotel and its proximity to the beach.

Sam parked near the two-story motel and casually walked into the lobby of the older low-rise. A pimple-faced teen leaning on the counter looking at a hotrod magazine jumped and stashed the magazine under the counter when he saw Sam approach the desk.

“You want a room?”

“No. Just looking around today. I have a family reunion coming up and wanted to book everybody here, but then I heard there was a fire, so I wanted to see how bad the damage is,” Sam lied.

“The fire wasn’t here. It was in the new part, but it wasn’t too bad,” the kid said, leaning on the counter again.

“Know what happened?”

“I heard someone started it on purpose to get back at the builder, or something like that.”

Sam leaned on the counter, closing in on the clerk’s personal space. “What good would that do? The builder just gets to build it again, more money in his pocket, and all that’s covered by insurance anyway.”

The clerk stood up straight. “You got a point there. I dunno; maybe the guy was stupid or something.”

“Guy?” Sam let the word hang there.

“Well, I’m guessing it was a guy. Most of the construction workers were guys, and it just happened, so I don’t really know what it was. Maybe you should talk with the police. Anyway, are you still interested in booking some rooms?”

“I would be interested, if I knew this place wasn’t a target for repeat fires, or something,” Sam replied. “Was there anyone around when it happened?”

“Yeah, Tracey was on the desk that night. Tracey Ellis.” The clerk checked the schedule behind him on the wall. “She’ll be on the desk of the other lobby this afternoon. You might catch her in the restaurant. They have a staff meeting there.” Then he leaned over and confidentially said, “I didn’t have to go to the meeting because I had to be on this desk.”

“Maybe I will hang around and talk with her after she’s done. In the restaurant?” Sam pointed out the door in the general direction of the restaurant.

“Yeah, just go out those doors, across the parking lot, and into the new building. The restaurant is on your