Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(20)

“Yes, ma’am. Brenda used to live in Nashville. She thinks she’s got big connections. She forgets it’s Billy’s talent that’ll get that record contract.”

“Have you talked to them since they left?”

“No ma’am. I got their cell phone numbers if you need them.”

“We’ve already tried and left messages.”

He frowned. “That’s not like either one of them. They keep those cell phones on all the time. Don’t want to miss a gig.” He said the last statement in a falsetto, as if imitating Brenda.

Josie ignored the sarcasm. “Can you tell me what time they left the bar yesterday?”

He rested his hands on the steering wheel and looked out the front window for a moment. He finally looked back at her, shaking his head. “I don’t remember seeing them leave. There was so much commotion I didn’t pay any attention.”

“I appreciate your time.”

“I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”

Josie called Otto and told him about her conversations with Hank and John. He and the fire chief had just finished combing the living room for evidence. “Nothing of interest. Cowan’s just beginning his initial examination. The only thing he’s commented on is the position of the victim’s arms and hands, all curled up. We thought it looked like he was trying to defend himself. Cowan called it the boxer’s pose. He says when a body dies with intense heat present, the hand and arm muscles draw up. Makes them look like a boxer in the fighting position. Because of that, Cowan thinks the victim died either in the fire, or was killed just before the fire was started. If the body was experiencing rigor mortis it most likely wouldn’t have curled up like that.”

“Good. That narrows it a little more. I’ll drive by Angela’s place to see if we can get a specific time the Nixes stopped at the Hell-Bent.”

“Call me back in an hour. I should have more from Cowan.”

*

Otto stood just inside the living room with a clipboard and pencil, making a detailed diagram of the house, the furniture, the dimensions of the room, and the location of the body. Cowan stood in front of the body, dictating his observations into a microrecorder. He wore a white mask that made it difficult for Otto to hear what he was saying. Otto was anxious for him to check the victim’s backside in hopes a wallet was still intact since the couch wasn’t completely torched.

Cowan said, “Otto. Interesting find here. Come take a look.”

Otto was intentionally standing behind the couch so that he could construct the diagram without having to view the body. As a police officer, he felt that his weak stomach was an embarrassment, but it was something he had little control over. Earlier, he had looked at the grotesque mask of death that was on the victim’s face and had to turn away until his stomach settled.

Otto stepped carefully over the ash, still leery about walking on the burned floor. He was cautious by nature, and he was certain that his careful ways had maintained his safety through four decades of police work.

Otto stood next to Cowan and peered down at the blackened arm that he had lifted a few inches off the couch.

“Recognize this?” Cowan asked.

“An arm?”

Cowan turned his head to glance back at Otto and raised his eyebrows. “A bit more specific than that?”

Otto clenched his jaws. Cowan had the annoying habit of asking questions of the police officers he worked with instead of simply explaining what he was working on. Otto found it insulting. It made him feel like a student walking through rounds with a physician, being quizzed on his investigatory acumen.

“Why don’t you just tell me what you’ve found?” Otto said, barely concealing his irritation.

“Come closer,” Cowan said. He leaned out of Otto’s way so that he could get a better look. “His wrist?”

“Hmmm. I see the watch now. Let’s get pictures, and I’ll note it on the diagram. It’s located on his left wrist, the face of the watch on his outer wrist. Let’s get that off him and see about the time.”

Cowan didn’t respond. Otto assumed Cowan was annoyed that he hadn’t praised his discovery.

After Otto noted the location of the watch on the diagram of the body, Cowan handed Otto the watch, and he took it outside in the sun. The glass was black with soot and had been shattered from the heat of the fire, but Otto was hoping the face would still be intact. Cowan followed him outside and handed Otto a tiny screwdriver, which he used to pry the blackened pieces of glass away. The hands of the watch were melted into the white face at 7:38. Otto pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket.

Josie answered immediately.

“The victim was wearing a watch. The hands melted onto the face at seven thirty-eight.”

“Any identification?”

“Not yet. Haven’t gotten that far.”

“I’ll call Doug and tell him we need to speak with the firefighters who worked closest to this area immediately. If we know when the fire spread through this general location, we’ll know whether the two fires are connected. I’d love to have this timeline pieced together when we speak to the Nixes.”

“You sound optimistic it’s not Billy Nix lying on this couch.”

“Hank confirmed that Billy at least left with Brenda. I suppose he could have picked up his guitar and returned home while she drove to Austin. That seems unlikely.”