Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(21)

“Maybe that’s why the truck was parked at the house,” Otto said. “Maybe Billy went back home. Couldn’t bear to leave.”

“Or, Brenda dropped him off and set the house on fire,” she said. “The timing works. They made a public appearance at about six and she says they’re headed to Austin so Brenda can establish an alibi. Then she drops him off, maybe knocks him out, sets the house on fire to make it look like it was all part of the wildfire burning through Artemis. She assumed the fire would burn through the area after she left.”

“But, why? She managed his career. If he’s dead, she’s out of a job,” he said.

“Maybe Angela can help us get a better handle on their relationship. I’m on my way.”

“Good. I’ll keep you posted on the timeline.”

Otto put his phone away and Cowan called for him again. The inside of Otto’s nose burned from the sharp smell. He’d been in the house for several hours and could feel his patience beginning to wane. He had no doubt that Cowan wanted an assistant, but he had his own job to do. He’d not even begun to fingerprint and sift through the bedrooms and hallway.

“Help me take measurements,” Cowan said. “I’ll do it again on a flat table at the morgue to give you more precise numbers, but this will be close.”

Otto took the end of the measuring tape and held it at the top of the body’s head while Cowan stretched the tape to its feet.

“I’d put him between five foot ten inches and six feet tall.”

Otto jotted down the numbers on his diagram of the body.

“Let’s take a look at his teeth. We won’t get an exact match, but we can at least get an age range.”

Otto turned his head as Cowan placed a metal tool inside the blackened skeletal remains of the jaw. As Cowan began to discuss the number of teeth, Otto saw a navy-blue pickup pull into the driveway. He both hoped and worried that the Nixes had just driven around the barricade and arrived home. He left Cowan, glad at least for the excuse to leave the body, and stepped outside through the hole in the living room wall.

A man in his midtwenties got out of the pickup truck carrying a clipboard. Otto noted the blue strobe light on the dashboard of the truck and realized he was most likely a volunteer fireman.

“What can I do for you?” Otto asked.

“I’m Derek Lanman. Doug called and told me to bring you the spotter records for yesterday.”

Otto nodded, finally recognizing him. “You work over at the body shop?”

He smiled. “That’s me. I do the custom paint jobs. My specialty’s old Fords.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Otto said. “I appreciate you coming over so quickly.”

Derek had the baby face and pale skin of one who had been pampered as a child, although Otto doubted that was true. His dad owned the business, Bodies by Carl, and Otto knew that Carl was a hardnose with high expectations of his staff, including his son.

Derek tilted his head toward the house. “What’s going on?” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the hearse parked behind them. “Somebody die in the fire?”

“We’re not making any statements at this time. We’ll get information out to people as soon as we can. Meanwhile, until we have facts and have spoken with family members, I need you to keep what you’ve seen here confidential.”

Derek stared into the living room, obviously trying to see what Cowan was doing behind the couch.

“You’ll keep this confidential?” Otto repeated.

Derek turned his head back toward Otto, an embarrassed grin on his face. “Sorry. I’ve never seen the hearse at a fire. Just kind of weird to see.”

“The confidentiality?” Otto was beginning to wonder if Doug had made a mistake telling Derek to come to the scene.

The kid’s expression turned earnest. “Yeah, sure. I won’t say a word.”

Otto pointed toward the road and they walked away from the house and the temptations of Cowan’s work.

“What can you tell me about the fire that burned through here?” Otto opened his steno pad and propped it on top of his forearm to take notes.

“We keep spotter logs. I’m one of the newest volunteers. I haven’t had much experience in the field, so Doug had me logging reports that were called in by the spotters. I keep the information for Doug. He uses it to predict the direction and speed of the fire.”

Otto looked at the clipboard. “Is that the log?”

“Yeah. I don’t have much for this area though. We had a crazy weather pattern blowing westward that finally connected with the Harrison Ridge fire. We were pretty confident the road would act as a firebreak to keep that fire from moving any further west. That’s why I was surprised when Doug said the Nixes’ house burnt. I didn’t think the fire jumped the road over here.”

“Can you look on your list and tell what time the fire reached Prentice Canyon Road?”

Talking quietly to himself, Derek studied the log, running his finger up and down the pages. “A spotter called in up north of here. He said the fire reached their ranch at nine ten. They called in to say the fire hadn’t crossed the road. That means, I’d guess it crossed here around nine thirty.”

“Can you explain what would have made the fire cross the road here when it didn’t elsewhere?”