about the fire.
Barry Inman was their prime suspect. Did the police have new evidence against him?
She twisted her hands together, struggling to remain calm as the mountains and countryside rolled past. The rich golds, reds and oranges on the trees were starting to fade and the ground was littered with brittle, dead leaves.
Golden Gardens was situated in a small community called River’s Edge about twenty minutes from Whistler. The quaint little town catered to tourists, kayakers, and featured a special Christmas village and festival each year that drew people from across the country.
With each mile Special Agent Maverick put between her and Golden Gardens though, her anxiety mounted. Just because the FBI wanted to talk to her didn’t mean they knew anything.
But worry for her mother intensified. She’d given Jo strict instructions that no one was to administer any medication to her except Joanna, and that she was not allowed any strange visitors. Joanna had been curious about her precautions, but Peyton emphasized that her mother had anxiety attacks when encountering unfamiliar people.
Not that having strange visitors was common. No one came to see her mother except her.
As they neared Whistler, the haunting memory of that fire hammered at her conscience. Was Inman’s wife’s death related to the fire? Was the fire related to the mistake in the ER?
Had her silence allowed an arsonist and killer to go free?
The agent slowed as they passed the new hospital and images of the terrified patients and staff flooded her. She heard their screams at night when she closed her eyes. Sometimes she saw the families hovering over injured ones. And then there were the graves of the people, both patients and staff, who hadn’t survived. The town council had erected a memorial at the new facility to honor the victims.
They passed a small shopping strip where remnants of a building that had recently been destroyed by fire remained. Joy’s Nail Salon. She’d seen that story on the news a few months ago.
The other storefronts looked like they’d been given a fresh coat of paint. The town square where she’d once enjoyed picnics with her mother looked empty, probably due to the impending storm. A little café called Mitzi’s had opened up, and The Brew, the coffee shop on the corner, still remained, along with the bookstore.
Agent Maverick parked in front of the sheriff’s office, then came around and opened the door for her. She felt eyes of locals watching her from across the street and was grateful he hadn’t handcuffed her and brought her in, siren blaring.
As he led her inside and she faced the sheriff, the past met the present. Sheriff Maverick looked just as tough and intimidating as he had five years ago. Standing side by side, the brothers presented one solid wall of steely resolve and scrutinizing eyes that sent a shiver down her spine.
“Ms. Weiss,” Sheriff Maverick said in clipped acknowledgment.
She murmured hello, but the word barely came out for the emotions clogging her throat.
The sheriff gestured toward a set of double doors. “Let’s go back here to talk.”
Special Agent Maverick gripped her arm and gestured for her to follow his brother. Peyton had the eerie sense that she was walking toward a cell, not a room for a friendly chat. Nerves on edge, she mentally reviewed the statement she’d given the sheriff during her first interview regarding Inman. She had to stick with her story.
Only then would her mother be safe.
* * *
LIAM ESCORTED PEYTON into the interrogation room, battling instincts that she was innocent. She’d certainly seemed worried about her mother when he’d overheard her conversation with her coworker, Joanna.
He needed to speak to that woman in private. She might know if Peyton was keeping something from the police. The fact that Peyton had moved her mother from Whistler shortly after the fire would raise suspicion, except that the hospital had literally been shut down for months during the initial investigation and rebuilding.
Staff had been relocated, transferred, quit. People had been traumatized, dealing with personal injuries and losses and PTSD. Mixed reactions from the town confused the situation. Some wanted to nail the person who’d set the fire, others were too in shock to recall details of what happened that night, and some wanted to move on and forget the tragic event entirely.
Which category did Peyton fall into?
Liam studied Peyton’s body language as she sank into the chair, looking for signs of guilt or panic as if she was on the run.
So far, she had no