that it had anything to do with Tina’s recent involvement with Sanctuary, but it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
In the last six weeks, Tina had been followed, sabotaged, and shot at.
Maybe those incidents had nothing to do with Sanctuary and everything to do with the clusterfuck her brothers had created. But maybe it did.
“Insurance is my guess,” Cage said.
“Tina wouldn’t burn down her own mill for the insurance money,” Doc said firmly.
“Relax. No one thinks she did. But one of her brothers might have. Financially, they’re fucked, right? What have they got to lose?”
Doc shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. They’d have no claim on an insurance payout. The Mill wasn’t part of Obermacher Farms. It was owned and operated solely under her LLC.”
“Misplaced guilt maybe?” mused Heff. “They had a moment of regret for screwing Tina out of her family legacy, thought it might be too painful for her to stick around and watch the farm go condo, so they gave her the means to start over?”
Church shook his head. “I can’t see Rick doing regret. Or Gunther for that matter. They’re selfish pricks. If they had anything to do with setting the fire, it was in the hopes of getting Tina to give them a handout.”
“Why not burn down their own homes and collect the insurance?” Doc asked.
“I can think of two reasons,” said Cage. “One, because it would be too suspicious. Obermachers are in financial straits, and the family homestead just happens to burn down? No one would believe it was an accident.”
“And the second?”
“There is no insurance on any Obermacher Farms property. We’ve been doing a little investigating of our own. Friedrich let it all lapse.”
“Fucking hell. Is he really that stupid?”
“Apparently,” Smoke said at the same time Church said, “Yes.”
“What about the other one?” asked Heff. “Kiefer? Could he have done this?”
“It’s possible,” Mad Dog said doubtfully, “though from what we know about him, he seems more inclined to do what the others tell him to do than have an original thought.”
Doc had thought so, too, but now, he wasn’t so sure. Tina’s youngest brother was good at being invisible. Almost too good. While the other two had been giving Tina a hard time, Kiefer had been hovering quietly in the background, watching and listening. He hadn’t said a word until they walked away.
But in that moment when he’d asked Tina if she was okay, Kiefer’s eyes had turned to Doc, and his gaze had been sharp and assessing. Perhaps he wasn’t the dullard he pretended to be.
“The likeliest suspects are our buddy Eisenheiser and his cousin, Eddie,” said Mad Dog. “They’ve already demonstrated a mean streak and an appalling lack of intelligence. Based on what Doc said about Tina talking to Eisenheiser about the truck incident, it seems pretty obvious.”
“I don’t know,” said Cage. “Something doesn’t feel right about that. Seems too easy.”
“Or maybe you’re just overthinking it. We’re not dealing with geniuses here.”
“Petraski’s going to rule it an accident, guaranteed. Any hint of arson is going to bring in outside investigators, and he sure as hell doesn’t want that,” said Smoke.
“My thoughts exactly,” Heff agreed with a nod. “Have we heard anything from the Callaghans yet?”
“Not yet.”
The words were barely out of Church’s mouth when the phone rang.
Cage looked at the display. “It’s Ian.”
“Put him on speaker.”
“Ian,” Church greeted. “Are you prescient or something?”
Ian laughed. “Me? No. But Maggie, on the other hand ... Is Doc there? He’s going to want to hear this.”
“I’m here,” Doc responded.
“Good. Maggie gave those items to Lex. Lex was really impressed. She’d like you and Tina to come to the Goddess and talk business.”
“That’s awesome. When?”
“The sooner, the better. Gunther Obermacher’s at it again. He’s decided the offers they have aren’t good enough, and he’s been reaching out in an attempt to foster competition and drive up the price of the land.”
“Greedy bastard,” Smoke muttered.
“He’s an opportunistic prick, for sure,” Ian agreed. “And too stupid for his own good. The buyer he had lined up and has now subsequently pissed off? Anthony Tollino.”
Cage sat up at the mention of the name. “Tollino? As in the mobster?”
“Yeah, I thought you might recognize the name. And heads-up, Tollino is not happy with Gunther’s decision to expand the buyers’ club to include Tollino’s competition.”
“Just what we need,” grumbled Smoke. “Organized crime in Sumneyville. Uh, no offense,” he said, shooting a look toward Cage.
Cage, who had grown up in that world, grinned. “None taken.”