bad that he’d get it one way or another?
No, no. He hadn’t said that. He’d said, I get what I want, one way or another. What if what he wanted was this lighter? Because, oh hell. It was evidence.
Declan mumbled a rough curse as he threw a look at his phone, furious that he didn’t have a charging cord in the truck, but then, he was a guy who never let his phone battery go below twenty percent. And his radio was at home on his dresser.
A fresh jolt of adrenaline took all the aches out of his body. Who the hell was James—or Jamie—Bell, and why was he so desperate to buy Gloriana House?
Because he’d left his lighter there one hot August night? Was he on the roster back then? Had he been at the fire and dropped it? Did he know something about Dad’s death?
He twisted the key and hit the accelerator, not entirely sure where he needed to go first. The sheriff? The parade to find Evie? The fire station?
Or maybe he’d better haul ass to Gloriana House, because everyone in Bitter Bark knew the house was empty while its occupants were in the parade. And James Bell wanted something there…and Declan wanted him.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Evie barreled up the driveway, grateful to see it was empty, so no open house guests yet. She tried to reach Declan a few times, anxious to share with him the name she’d found on the roster, but the calls again went straight to voice-mail.
He’d been right to have it out with that guy, she knew now. There was something weird about James Bell. He had to know Declan if he’d been a volunteer twenty years ago…but had he mentioned that last night?
No doubt James Bell would be the first in line at an open house, even though Declan had summarily booted him out the night before. Well, they’d handle that later. For now, she wanted the back door locked.
She rounded the side yard, looking around, peering into the sunroom as she passed, but everything looked empty and quiet. When she reached the unlocked kitchen door, she stepped inside, listening for Judah’s bark of greeting. But he must be sound asleep.
She walked past the back stairs and headed toward what she now thought of as her bedroom. The door was open, and Judah’s fuzzy dog bed was empty, the pillow Gramma Finnie had embroidered for him resting against the side where his head usually was.
Had she left this bedroom door open? Had she left those drawers open? She frowned at the dresser, trying to remember even accessing those drawers this morning. For underwear, yes, but the dress she was wearing had been hanging in the closet.
She shook her head. Her memory of this morning was a blur because she’d gotten ready with the single-minded determination to find Declan and set things straight. She walked back into the kitchen, glancing around, noticing some open cabinets. She’d been certain the caterers had left it spotless last night, but again, she’d been in a fog.
Rounding the corner, she headed down the wide corridor toward the front of the house, which still bore evidence of the big party the night before. The staff had cleaned up glasses, but the area rugs looked a little askew on the hard wood, and the museum room…was a hot mess.
“Wow,” she whispered, pausing at the double doors. Had her guests been so rude they’d opened the drawers of Grandmama’s secretary desk and looked through the lighter collection?
She took a few steps toward the display, blinking in surprise at how many were knocked over, and…could some be missing? She couldn’t remember how many there were supposed to be.
Did she have time to get this back in order before the open house and still make the parade? She pulled out her phone to check the time as she walked back into the hall, stopping completely when she heard a sound.
Was that a…growl? From upstairs?
Judah? He shouldn’t have gone up the steps yet.
Instead of taking the time to get to the front and up the massive staircase, she returned to the kitchen to head up the back stairs. They were closer to Granddaddy’s room where, she had no doubt, Judah was not so patiently waiting for his favorite person.
Just as she passed the landing and made it up a few more steps, Judah let out a massive howl, making Evie freeze in stunned surprise.
“Shut up!”
The man’s voice nearly took her breath away. Someone was