Through her open window, Dani could still smell the smoke and the stench of singed flesh. The scent clung to her nostrils, her sinuses, her memory….
She put a hand to her mouth. Oh, God. She was going to be sick again.
Pressing her fist tightly to her lips, she willed away the nausea. It worked. She didn’t throw up this time, but the effort left her weak and trembling and wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed and pretend last night had never happened.
And it would be almost too easy to forget, because her memories were already growing hazy. She could barely even remember getting home. Someone had driven her, she thought. A neighbor who had solicitously walked her up the porch steps, knocked on the door and explained to her parents what had happened.
But rather than being shocked by news of the tragedy that had befallen one of his neighbors, her father had seemed far more outraged by Dani’s disobedience, perhaps because she’d never done anything remotely like sneaking out of the house before. He’d immediately launched into one of his tirades, but her mother had grabbed his arm to silence him. “Stop it, Carl! Can’t you see she’s in shock? We have to get her to bed.”
Dani had only a vague recollection of being led upstairs to her room, of her mother helping her to undress and climb into bed. Her mother had sat with her for a while, but then when Dani had pretended to drift off, she’d tiptoed out. Afterward, Dani had lain in bed for hours, trying not to think about what had happened. Why it had happened…
Sometime in the late afternoon, she’d finally managed to drag herself out of bed and dress, but even then, she didn’t go downstairs. Instead, she’d curled up in the chair at the window—and had been there ever since.
Over the lingering odor of smoke, Dani could still smell the rain. Sometime before dawn, the storm had hit, but by then it had been too late. The fire had already done its damage.
“So you’re finally up, huh?”
Dani turned with a start at the sound of her brother’s voice. She hadn’t heard him come in. Didn’t even know if he’d knocked. He stood now in the doorway, one bony shoulder propped against the frame, dingy blond hair falling across his face as he gave Dani a look she couldn’t quite decipher. She thought for a moment there might be a flicker of sympathy in his dark eyes, but it was only a trace. And maybe nothing more than her imagination, because in the next instant, the insolent mask was firmly back in place.
“There’s a cop downstairs. He wants to talk to you.”
“What about?” Dani asked in surprise.
Nathan shrugged. As usual, he was barefoot and disheveled. The faded T-shirt he had on looked as if he might have slept in it, more than once. “The fire, I guess. You were there, weren’t you?”
A premonition prickled the back of Dani’s neck. She stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her khaki skirt as she walked slowly toward the door.
Nathan backed into the hall to allow her to pass, and as she brushed by him, he said, “So you snuck out of the house last night. Guess you’re not little Miss Perfect, after all.”
The bitterness in his voice sent a shiver up Dani’s spine.
SHE TRIED TO STEADY her nerves as she walked down the stairs. There was nothing to be afraid of, she told herself. The authorities were probably talking to everyone who’d been at the scene last night.
The officer was waiting for her in the living room, and he rose when she entered. So courteous, Dani thought. Just like Paul. And then she had to blink back sudden tears.
He gave her an encouraging smile, which helped put her at ease. He had a familiar face. Dani had seen him around town a few times, and he’d even come into the store where she worked once or twice.
He wore his dark blond hair closely cropped, and his khaki uniform was pressed and spotless. Dani remembered thinking the first time she saw him that he had the darkest eyes she’d ever looked into. And such a nice smile. He’d flirted a little that day in the store, and Dani and the other girls had been flattered by the attention of a good-looking older man. Older to them, at least. He appeared to be in his early twenties, and Dani found his casual manner somehow reassuring.
But her calm fled the moment she caught a glimpse of her parents. Her father sat stony-faced and silent in his armchair by the window while her mother, a petite blonde, perched delicately on the edge of the sofa, hands clasped in her lap. Dani stared at her mother for a moment, hoping for a smile or some soft word of support, but instead Rena Williams studied her hands almost furiously, as if she were somehow afraid to meet her daughter’s gaze.
Her father said gruffly, “Canton here wants to ask you a few questions about last night.”
“Okay,” Dani murmured.
The man gave her a disarming smile as he motioned her toward an empty chair. “Have a seat, Dani. This won’t take long.”
She sat and pressed her knees together. They were trembling.
“I understand you were a witness to the fire at Belmont House last night. Enid Caldwell said she drove you home. Said you were pretty shaken up by what happened.”
Dani nodded. Her throat was so tight she was afraid she might not be able to speak.
“Your folks tell me you left the house without their knowledge. Mind telling me why?”
“I…went to meet a friend.”
“What friend?”
She swallowed. “Paul.”
Canton’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Paul Ryann?”
“Yes.”
“Why were you meeting him?”
“He asked me to.”
“Were you two in the habit of meeting so late at night?”
She shot her parents a glance. Her father glowered in response, but her mother’s gaze was still on her hands. What was her mother thinking? Was she upset? Disappointed in her daughter’s behavior? Guess you’re not little Miss Perfect, after all.
“Dani? Had you two met like that before?” the officer pressed.
“No. That was the first time.”
He paused. “What exactly was your relationship with Paul Ryann?”
“We’re friends.” Were friends. Dani suppressed a shudder as her mind conjured an image of that figure in the upstairs window. The way he’d reached out to her…
“Was Paul your boyfriend?”
His tone, so brusque and accusatory, frightened Dani. She said hesitantly, “We hadn’t been out or anything like that. But I knew he liked me.”
Something flashed in Canton’s gaze. “How did you know he liked you? Did he tell you?”
“He sent me letters.”
“Love letters?”
Dani glanced at her father again. He was still scowling, but now there was a glitter of suspicion in his eyes that chilled her blood.
She tore her gaze away. Something was very wrong here. Her heart began to pound in agitation.
“Did Paul Ryann send you love letters, Dani?”
“I guess you could call them that.”
“Then the two of you were a little more than friends, wouldn’t you say?”