Max said, adjusting his Navy ball cap. “But I don’t care since Judah and I are comfortable at Declan’s house and happy to stay there.”
Colleen beamed at him. “Max Hewitt, your spirit is an inspiration to everyone in this town. You know people are still talking about how brave you were during the parade, riding alone like the hero you are, when the fire trucks were flying up to your house.”
“Ah, I loved the attention.” Then he leaned in to ask, “Are my girls here?”
Laughing, Colleen led them toward the back. “Yes, Max, Yiayia and Gramma Finnie are waiting for you.”
They headed into the large addition that Declan’s dad had built with his own hands, including a bar, a wall of bookshelves, and a stone fireplace where a portrait of Captain Joe Mahoney sat on the mantel.
The entire family was here to greet them, including his brothers, sister, uncle, cousins, and, of course, the grannies, who lit up at the sight of their new best friend and, if family rumors were true, drinking and card-playing buddy.
Declan greeted Deputy Jerry Hanson from the sheriff’s department, along with Chief Winkler, a woman who wore an NCSBI polo shirt and carried a clipboard, and an older man who’d taken off his ball cap and settled on a barstool who Declan immediately recognized as the arson investigator who’d helped him.
“Kirby Lewis,” Declan said, greeting him with a handshake, then introduced Evie and Max.
After a moment, everyone settled to let Sharon Baker, who represented the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, walk them through the new report, which confirmed that the first fire at Gloriana House had indeed started because linseed oil-soaked rags combusted in the heat.
In addition, she confirmed that the second fire, two weeks ago, had started because an oil lamp in the kitchen had been tampered with by James Bell, who had taken them apart looking for his lighter.
After answering their fire-related questions, Deputy Hanson took over to fill them in on the suspect, a former volunteer firefighter who’d confessed to attempting to start a fire at Gloriana House twenty years earlier on August 28. He’d failed in that effort, but only because the rags combusted on the other side of the wall that he’d squirted with lighter fluid, starting a fire that trapped him in the sunroom. He also admitted he’d taken the lid off the container of paint rags because he’d planned to use it to fan the flames, so Evie’s mother hadn’t done anything wrong. However, the chemical’s exposure to the heat had started the fire.
From the best they could tell by Bell’s memory, Joe Mahoney and his partner had been momentarily separated as they’d begun to enter the sunroom. Joe had spotted Bell inside and had to make a split-second decision to try to save him. He did, getting Bell out just before the porch collapsed and the flames made their way to the second floor, even touching the attic.
“How did Bell get away that night?” Evie asked.
“He knew enough about the controlled chaos of firefighting,” the deputy said. “He blended in and disappeared, but lost his lighter in the process.”
“And lived for twenty years with no price to pay,” Declan murmured, holding Evie’s hand, but turning to Max. “Until this man provided us with the missing piece of evidence. Without that, we could never have proved his role in the fire.”
“You were the one that made me think of it, son,” Max replied with a denture-filled smile.
“Bell didn’t escape unscathed in those twenty years, though,” Deputy Hanson said as he glanced at his notes. “He’s been treated multiple times for depression and has attempted suicide on more than one occasion. His lawyer will no doubt plead insanity for this last fire, especially if the DA levels homicide charges for the first fire, which is possible, but don’t worry, he won’t walk.”
“He better not,” Kirby Lewis said, crossing his arms and leaning back on the barstool, his gaze on Declan. “Because I wouldn’t be surprised if he started a few other fires in the ensuing years.”
“He doesn’t seem to have the profile of an arsonist,” the sheriff said. “But he was on the scene for two fires at the same place, claiming both were accidents. He did spray the lighter fluid in an attempt at arson, we know that. And the rags combusted outside, and he got stuck.”
Kirby nodded. “That finally makes sense of everything I saw.”
“We also know he managed to gain entry to Gloriana House on