Intent(65)

Once we’re a safe distance from the house, I drop to my knees on the ground, cradle Layne in one arm, and grab my cell to call for an ambulance and the fire department with the other. After I hang up, Layne begins to stir and her eyes flutter open. She looks up at me, dazed and confused, then she glances around at our surroundings.

“Ace? What’s going on?” She sits up, still in my lap, and I keep my hand on her back to support her.

“Are you okay? Are you dizzy?” I ask while watching her face for any sign of problems.

She looks over her shoulder and sees the house, the flames growing, and her panic takes over. “The house is on fire!”

I manage to grab her just after she jumps up and before she starts to sprint toward the house. “Layne, it’s too dangerous. You can’t go back in there.”

The fire trucks and ambulance arrive and the men begin rushing to assess the scene. The paramedics approach us, and I insist that Layne allow them to check her out. When all her vital signs show normal, except her elevated blood pressure, the medic still encourages her to be checked out at the emergency room due to possible smoke inhalation. Showing her stubborn side, she refuses to leave until she finds out about the house.

The fire crews immediately get to work, pulling and attaching hoses before rushing to the back of the house. Layne and I follow them around the side of the house and freeze in our tracks when the full roaring fire comes into view. We wordlessly watch in horror and amazement as the fire is eventually extinguished.

The fire chief, Paul Baldwin, and one of the detectives, Matt Ledger, approach us when the firemen start to roll up the hoses and put their gear away. Paul is an old friend and is the first to greet us. “Hey, Ace. Sorry to see you under these circumstances. Were you inside when this started?”

“Thanks, Paul. I wasn’t here, but Layne was. She’s been staying in the cabin for a few months. She was asleep on the couch when I got here, and I couldn’t wake her. I carried her outside then called for help.”

“Have the paramedics checked you out?” Paul asks.

“Yes. I’m fine. Even my oxygen saturation is good.”

She added the last part to remind me that she’s healthy. Or to shut me up before I had a chance to chime in.

“Layne, do you have any enemies in the area? Anyone who would want to hurt you?” Matt asks.

“Are you saying this was intentionally set?” I ask pointedly.

“Let me show you something. Come with me.” Paul walks to the back of the house where the garbage cans were kept. “I’ll have to send samples off to the lab to test for accelerants, but I’ve been at this long enough that I can tell you with ninety-nine percent accuracy that the fire was intentionally set right here. See the scorch pattern on the ground around where the garbage cans were?” He points to the semicircle of blackened earth that extends out from the house.

“Someone used way too much fuel, thinking that would make the fire burn hotter and faster. Lucky for us, they don’t know much about arson investigation because they’re actually making our job easier.”

“So, back to my original question. Do you have any enemies here?” Matt waits for Layne to answer.

“I don’t know if she wants to kill me, but Margot and I have had words recently. And my ex-boyfriend showed up here a couple of days ago wanting to reconcile, and just this morning I made it clear that wouldn’t happen. But honestly, even though I’d never take him back, I don’t believe he’d do this,” Layne replies.

Paul looks satisfied with her answer, and Matt quickly scribbles a few notes. “What’s the ex-boyfriend’s name? We can verify his whereabouts easy enough,” Matt replies. “And I already know the Warner family very well.”

“Bobby Shaw. He was staying in the Hideaway Hotel in Summerton,” Layne replies.

“The smoke damage was fairly extensive, especially on the back part of the house. It’d be best if you stayed somewhere else until the damage can be repaired. The smoke is still strong inside, even in the rooms the fire didn’t reach,” Paul adds.

“She’s staying with me,” I state matter-of-factly.

“You’ve finally moved on. Good for you,” Paul replies.

“Is that why you and Margot had words?” Matt asks. “Because you’re dating Ace?”

Layne recounts all the details of her run-ins with Margot for Matt, including what she heard Margot saying to Zoe before she even knew who Margot was. When she finishes, Matt nods and puts his notepad away. “Are you staying in our fair town for a while, in case I have more questions or updates?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Layne’s reply is directed to Matt, but she’s looking at me.

“Hey, Chief,” one of the firemen calls out to Paul as he approaches. “We’ve finished clearing the house. No one else was inside. There’s no sign of any lingering heat in the walls or anywhere else. We’re heading back to the station now.”

“Thanks for the update. Tell your men they did a good job tonight. I’m proud of every one of them,” Paul replies.

After Paul and Matt walk us through the house to get Layne’s personal items, they both leave with promises to contact us with any updates. With the commotion died down and everyone else gone, I draw Layne into my arms and hold her tightly to me. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. Those few minutes when I thought I’d lost you… I don’t ever want to go through that again. Layne, I never believed I’d love someone the way I love you.”