No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(82)

At the mention of Dawson’s name, Maude hesitated. Sadie knew her former landlady wasn’t quite comfortable with Sadie’s new situation. But Maude couldn’t complain too loudly. Sadie was a grown woman and could make her own decisions. “Sly’s very unhappy that you’re staying out there with the Reeds’ son,” she said at length, shifting the concern to Sadie’s ex so she didn’t have to claim it herself.

After checking to make sure Jayden was still glued to the TV, Sadie walked toward the back of the house and slipped inside the bathroom off the porch so that her voice wouldn’t carry upstairs. “How do you know?”

“He came by here a few minutes ago.”

“Why’d he do that? Please don’t tell me he’s part of the investigation.” She immediately assumed he was there to destroy any evidence he might’ve left behind. “Or did he just want to see what was left of the house?”

“He didn’t even go in back. He came to talk to me.”

Sadie sat on the edge of the tub/shower combo. “What’d he have to say?”

“He told me that Dawson has hired a special arson investigator to determine the origin and cause of the fire.”

Sadie curled her fingernails into her palm. So her ex knew. She’d wondered if and when he’d find out about Damian Steele—and how he’d react once he did.

“Is that true?” Maude asked when Sadie didn’t volunteer a response.

“Yes.” She’d tried to tell Dawson not to spend the money. But once they’d returned from LA, and he’d gone onto the computer to show her more of the website belonging to the investigator he’d found who wasn’t even that far away, she hadn’t been able to refuse. If they could prove Sly was responsible for the fire, he’d never be able to get custody of Jayden. “I feel it’s important,” she explained.

“Who’s paying for it?”

“Dawson. For now. You know I don’t have the money. But I’m going to pay him back. It’s just a loan.”

“Are you sure it’s necessary to spend the money in the first place, Sadie? You can’t seriously believe that Sly might be responsible for what happened.”

Sadie gripped the phone tighter. “Sly told you we think he set the fire?”

“Yes. He was insulted, upset. Swore he would never do such a thing, that he loves the two of you and, as a police officer, he’d never willfully destroy property, etc., etc. He was quite impassioned.”

And convincing, obviously. “He’s a pretender, Maude. He’s pretended our whole marriage to be far more law-abiding than he is. Trust me, he’ll do what he thinks he can get away with. And he thinks he can get away with this.”

“Has he ever hurt you?” she asked, sounding unsure.

“Not yet. But he’s done plenty to lead me to believe that he’s capable of it. One was starting that fire.”

“Why would he risk the lives of people he loves?”

“Because he didn’t think he was risking us. He made sure I was awake, remember?”

“But what about his career?”

“Like I said, he did it because he believed he could get away with it. He never expected me to have the resources to hire my own investigator. He thought destroying the home I was living in would leave me with no choice except to come back to him.”

“You wouldn’t have had the resources without Dawson. But are you sure you can trust him? I mean...it seems to me that you have things backward here, Sadie. We’ve known Sly for years. Whatever his faults might be, I’m convinced he loves you. He’s also on the police force. That should give him some credibility. At least he’s never been accused of murder!”

“Well, I’m accusing him of arson.”

“You’re that certain.”

Sadie wished she had seen more of the man who’d been in the yard Friday night. That dark figure was almost like an apparition—just an amorphous shape with little or no detail that she could tie to her ex. “I have no other explanation for what happened.”

“That doesn’t mean it was him!”

“Who else could it be?”

Maude didn’t answer that question. “He asked me not to permit a secondary investigation,” she said.

“He what?” Sadie cried.

“He says it’s a waste of money, that the work has already been done. So what’s the point? It’ll just drag his reputation through the mud for nothing. And he’s owed more than that after all the service he’s given this town. I’ve always liked him.”

“You barely knew him before I moved in, Maude. And since then, you’ve liked him because he wants you to like him. He wanted you to welcome his visits, think nothing of how often he stopped by, speak to him freely and give him whatever information about me that you would. He can’t be trusted. Please let the inspector come onto the property and do what we’ve hired him to do. I wouldn’t spend money I don’t have if I wasn’t completely convinced it was necessary.”

“But Sly’s a police officer!”

“That’s the problem! Because he’s a police officer, he knows how to get away with things other people might not. And he knows that no one on the Silver Springs force would want to find anything that leads to him, so there’s a little bit of safety there, too.”