Neighing with Fire: A Mystery (Colleen McCabe Series) (21 page)

She scanned the ground, spotted the discarded cigarette, and carefully scooped it into the plastic bag. She didn’t have the proper containers for collecting the can, brush, and another bottle but decided to take them anyway. Better to have her fingerprints on them than to not have the evidence at all. She grabbed the items, put them in the trunk, slammed it closed, and jumped.

“What the hell are you doing?” Snelling loomed beside her vehicle with a large plastic garbage bin at his side.

Adrenaline surged through her blood vessels. What could she say that would distract him from the fact that she had been lurking about his business collecting evidence against his son? She noted the plastic garbage can filled with cans of motor oil, paint, and what she suspected were other flammable materials.

“You wouldn’t happen to be disposing of evidence, would you?” she asked, going on the offensive.

He curled his lip. “I’m cleaning up like I always do,” he said, gazing at her SUV with suspicion.

“You were pretty harsh on your son,” she said, trying to divert his attention.

“The kid’s an imbecile.”

Despite the fact that Greg had committed arson and murder, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and wondered how he might have turned out with a more caring father.

“Things might go easier for Greg now that he’s confessed.”

Snelling snorted. “He couldn’t let things play out. The genius had to take matters into his own hands,” he said, more to himself than Colleen.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“And you won’t,” he said. “But that company was going to be mine.”

“You mean Denny’s company? I find that hard to believe.” She knew her last remark could backfire and send him into a fit of anger or challenge his alpha maleness and get him to say something he hadn’t intended.

“Custis was so stupid … didn’t even realize what was happening,” he said, his chest puffing slightly.

“What
was
happening?” she asked, amazed that Snelling was so free with this information.

He squinted at her. “Why the hell are you still here?”

That was it. Time to leave before things got dangerous. “I’m not.” She walked to the driver’s-side door, jumped in, and took off before he could come after her or block her way.

She zipped across the lot—the collected evidence safely tucked away in her trunk. Even if the senior Snelling cleaned his entire office and garage, she would have material for Agent Morgan to use as comparison samples.

It wasn’t until she was back on Route 12 that her pulse returned to normal. Pinky had been right … the Snellings were dangerous. She exhaled. They had caught the man who had murdered Denny and set Pinky’s house and Denny’s vehicle on fire and, best of all, nobody else had been hurt. Time to tell Myrtle that she was off the hook.

She made the left onto Corolla Village Road and drove to the Lighthouse Wild Horse Preservation Society headquarters where Myrtle had her office. It would be good to be free of being responsible for her former teacher. It wasn’t that it had been a big burden, but Myrtle did have a way of stirring up trouble.

She pulled in front of the building and Sparky wagged his tail. The spot was one of his favorites to visit, especially when the society had a rescued horse available for kids to ride and pet like they did today. Not only did the canine love the horses and the children that came to meet them, but he enjoyed chasing Inky, the black tomcat that frequented Old Corolla Village and hung out near the society’s office. She leashed Sparky and spotted Myrtle and Nellie supervising the horse rides inside a fenced area. Sparky tugged hard, leading the way.

“Hello,” Nellie said, warmly.

“Hi, Nellie,” Colleen said.

“My PO,” Myrtle said to Nellie in a hushed tone.

“I’m not your probation officer,” Colleen said. Sparky whimpered at one of the horses walking near the fence. “No,” she said, not wanting him to harass the horse.

“It’s okay,” Nellie said. “That’s Creed. Nothing bothers him.”

Creed had been removed from the herd as part of the preservation society’s efforts to manage the population. The horse was saddle trained and known for being good with children. His calm demeanor made him an excellent ambassador. The volunteer guiding the horse paused before them and Colleen stroked Creed’s forehead. The horse blinked in appreciation and then was off again with the volunteer and his rider.

“You checking up on me?” Myrtle asked her.

“Actually, I came to tell you you’re off the hook. Bill’s made an arrest.”

“That’s wonderful. Now I don’t have to babysit you,” Nellie kidded.

Myrtle frowned. “How do you know it’s the right guy?”

“He confessed,” Colleen said.

“To the murder of Denny’s worker, too?”

“No,” Colleen said. “At least not yet. Aren’t you pleased? Now you can do whatever you’d like and nobody will be watching you.”

“You mean now you won’t have to think about me,” Myrtle said, pouting.

Nellie rolled her eyes. “How can we
not
think about you?” she said, and winked at Colleen.

“Who did it?” Myrtle asked, reluctantly accepting her return to ordinary citizenry and the end of her stint as Corolla’s Most Wanted.

“Greg Snelling.”

“Didn’t I tell you those Tour-zilla folks were criminals?” Myrtle said.

“From what I understand,” Nellie said, “the son has had a hard life.”

Myrtle gawked. “How can you say that, Nell? Those are the same folks we’ve been fighting with about the horses.”

“I know. It’s just that you hate to see a young person ruin his life.”

“I’m not sure having the father he had helped much,” Colleen said.

“Oh, please,” Myrtle said. “Next you’ll be telling me all the problems of the world could be solved with love.”

“It couldn’t hurt,” Colleen said.

Myrtle wrinkled her nose. “You’re only saying that because you’re all gushy over the sheriff.”

“Leave Colleen alone,” Nellie said, swatting at Myrtle. Then to further Colleen’s embarrassment … “I think it’s sweet you two are together.”

“Thank you,” Colleen said. “You know, Myrtle, I think you have an admirer since being locked up.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“It’s true. Pinky told me you have a lovely singing voice.”

A pleased smile crept over her face. “He did?”

“I guess he overlooked the fact that you’ve called him a gangster,” Nellie said.

“I never said that,” Myrtle protested. Noticing Colleen and Nellie’s raised brows, she added, “Well, I didn’t mean it.”

“Because you never mean what you say,” Nellie said with a chuckle.

Sparky barked at Creed as the volunteer led the horse in another loop. “I’ll let you two get back to the horses,” she said.

“We were going to grab a bite later. You’re welcome to join us,” Nellie offered.

“Thanks, but I’m heading home. It’s been a long day. Congratulations on your freedom,” she said to Myrtle.

“Hmpf,” came Myrtle’s reply.

She grinned. All they had to do was find out how Michael Fuentes ended up dead under the beach walkway and all would be back to normal.

Chapter 19

Colleen reclined
on the sofa with Smokey sleeping on her chest and Sparky at her feet. She half watched the late news as she processed the events of the day. The only thing that could have made her completely at ease was if Bill were there.

He had called her after she had arrived home to make sure she had made it back okay and to briefly fill her in on what he had learned from Snelling at the station. True to his word, the father had arrived with a lawyer but, much to his father and the lawyer’s chagrin, the son had put his confession in writing and refused to see them. Bill had had to threaten to arrest the senior Snelling, too, when he became abusive, and the lawyer had had to drag the father from the station.

She had relayed her encounter with Mr. Snelling. She knew Bill would be angry at her for going back and risking an altercation. She also knew his reaction came from a feeling of helplessness. It was how she had felt when Bill had approached Greg Snelling’s car after the man had attempted to flee.

After her conversation with Bill, she had called Agent Morgan’s office and left a message about the arrest and her fortuitous collection of potential evidence for testing. As it turned out, it was good that she had retrieved the paint and cigarette. By the time Rodney had arrived and secured the scene, the older Snelling had disposed of everything. She imagined there would be a press conference once lab results came back. She had forced herself to stay up to see if any word of the arrest made the evening news and to get Bill’s call when he was done at the station.

Now that Snelling was under arrest, she felt crummy about having suspected Autumn. She should have known Pinky wouldn’t cover for criminal behavior and jeopardize his business … even if it was for a woman. She was relieved that Autumn was no longer a suspect. She liked the woman and it would certainly make Fawn and Chip’s wedding more enjoyable.

The wedding! She needed to find a quote. She searched for her phone and noticed it on the floor just out of reach. Smokey snored loudly and soft bursts of warm breath hit Colleen’s chin. She shifted her position on the sofa and the cat let out a chirp before rotating her head upside-down and covering it with a paw. She peered over the cat at Sparky. His paws twitched, dreaming no doubt about chasing the horses or running on the beach. She inched the phone closer with her fingers and snatched it from the floor.

Before she could begin the quote search on her phone, the television sounded the tone for breaking news and an image of a reporter on location appeared on the screen. Behind the reporter stood Agent Morgan with his team members and several law enforcement officers. She grabbed the remote and increased the volume.

“Agent Morgan from the special investigation unit will be speaking any minute now on the arrest of the mainland arsonist,” the reporter said.

Colleen gently lifted Smokey, placed her on the sofa, and sat up. The cat cried in protest, then turned in a circle, curled in a ball, and fell back to sleep.

“Good evening,” Agent Morgan, said, squinting at the reporters. “Tonight we’re announcing the arrest of Earl and Tiffany Odom in relation to a series of abandoned property fires in Currituck County. We received a tip which led to a warrant being served on their residence where we found substances identical to those materials used in the arsons. It is still an active investigation so at this time we won’t share any more information other than to say that we don’t believe that any other parties were involved. Thank you.”

“Can you tell us why they did it?” one reporter asked.

“Again, I’m not going to comment further,” Morgan said.

“Are they also responsible for the fire in Corolla this past Sunday?” another reporter asked.

Colleen leaned forward, wondering if Morgan had received her message, given how busy he must have been with the break in the case.

“The Corolla arson is not connected to these crimes but I understand they have a person in custody.”

He did get the message, she thought, and sat back on the sofa. Morgan retreated with his team and the brief conference was over. She clicked off the television. Two arson investigations and a homicide case were now closed. Now only the mystery of what had happened to Michael Fuentes remained. But that could wait until the morning. Right now she needed sleep. She took her phone in case Bill called, flipped off the lights, and schlepped upstairs to bed.

At one o’clock, her phone buzzed on her nightstand alerting her to an incoming text message. She read:
HEADING HOME. GET SLEEP.—B
She texted
YOU, TOO
and turned over to grab a few more hours of sleep. Unfortunately, despite the arrests for the arsons and Denny’s homicide, sleep didn’t come easy. Her brain kept replaying bits and pieces from the day’s events, trying to organize the information into its proper mental compartments. One piece of information didn’t fit and, as a result, played over and over in her mind.

What was it the senior Snelling had told her? Something about getting Denny’s company. She flipped the pillow and shifted to her other side. She had heard that changing positions could break a mental loop. She tried her back and even her stomach but it was no use—her brain didn’t have any place for the information to go. The more she tried to pull at it the worse it got—like an unraveling loose string on a sweater. She sat up and rubbed her face. Okay, she thought, think about it, make sense of it, and then you’ll be able to sleep.

She concentrated on her conversation with the older Snelling. Her adrenaline had been so high that she wasn’t sure she had heard everything correctly. He had been angry at his son for confessing. Nothing odd about that except for the complete lack of concern he showed toward his offspring. But Snelling had also been annoyed by the fact that Greg had done something that didn’t fit with a plan … and that plan seemed to involve Denny’s company. The father had said that Denny hadn’t realized what was happening, but how could someone take over Denny’s company without Denny knowing? She flumped onto her back in frustration. You’re tired, she told herself. Get some sleep and maybe it will make sense in the morning. She closed her eyes and forced herself to picture a peaceful place on the beach. Every time a thought of Snelling or Denny’s company or Greg’s arrest crept into her consciousness, she imagined a shark leaping from the water and pulling the thought deep into the ocean. Slowly, the thoughts disappeared and she drifted back to sleep.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, Smokey pawed at her face, and Sparky’s tail pounded against the side of the bed. She inhaled deeply, pleased that she had managed to sleep. She opened her eyes and Smokey meowed. She rubbed the cat’s cheek with one hand and scratched Sparky behind the ear with the other. Despite the night of tossing and turning, she felt refreshed and ready to take on the day.

She checked the clock. It was late. No wonder Smokey and Sparky had come to fetch her. She threw her legs over the bed. No time for a run this morning. She quickly prepared breakfast for the three of them, let the dog out, got ready, and then departed with Sparky. She was eager to chat with Bill about his night and to see if there had been any new developments in the Fuentes case. Once they figured out the mystery of what had happened to Fuentes, she could concentrate on her life at the station and with Bill. She was even looking forward to Fawn and Chip’s wedding.