Artie’s head bobbed. “Drunk is absolutely correct. I would never do anything like this. You’re the one that blows up ships! This is your style. Not mine.”

  “I didn’t blow up your damned ship!” Sly’s face was red as he hollered.

  Frankie looked at me then. “I don’t want to have to ask you this, Danny, but where were you in the wee hours of the morning?”

  “Obviously I was home sleeping!” I said.

  She nodded sadly. “And without anyone to vouch for you…”

  Erika’s voice suddenly piped up. Her hand went up too. “I can vouch for him.”

  Frankie’s eyes snapped over to look at Erika. Shock filled them. “I’m sorry. What?”

  “I can vouch for him. There’s no way he started the fire.”

  Frankie’s head tilted slightly to one side. “And you know this how?”

  “Because I was with him. I was the one to spot the fire on my way back home this morning. I’m the one that called it in.”

  Frankie’s mouth gaped. She looked like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

  I held my breath then as I stared at her. My pulse thundered in my ears.

  Fuuuuuck.

  This was bad.

  Very, very bad.

  Even though Frankie’s rejection had been brutal and quite absolute, jumping into bed with another woman so quickly surely wasn’t a good look for me. I wanted to explain to her that I’d been seduced. Possibly even tricked! Maybe this had all been part of Erika’s evil plan somehow. My mind raced, trying to figure out how I was going to spin my way out of this, but there were too many people around to do it all now. And Erika was staring at me hard. I couldn’t read her thoughts. Was that a look of victory on her face? Or a look of desire? Hatred? Lust? I was confused and nauseous all at once.

  “You were at Danny’s place this morning?”

  Erika nodded.

  Sly looked at Erika in shock. “What were you doing over there?”

  “I had personal business to discuss,” she said, lifting her shoulder.

  “What kind of personal business?” pressed Frankie.

  “The kind that’s personal.” Erika didn’t even pretend to look embarrassed.

  Frankie looked to me, searching for answers. “Care to expand on that at all, Mr. Drunk?”

  Mr. Drunk.

  Not a good sign.

  “Yeah, Drunk. What was she doing at your place?” demanded Artie.

  “Well.” I swallowed hard. I felt like I was in a hole and the dirt walls were crumbling in around me, threatening to bury me alive if I wasn’t careful. “Ms. Wild stopped over. Not at my request…” I glanced over at Frankie. “…to, umm, have a word with me about their guests going on some evening cruise. She seemed to think I had something to do with it. Which I didn’t.” Fine, it was a lie. But was I really supposed to admit that I’d been responsible for that after what had just transpired?

  Erika rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Drunk. You did too. We both know it.”

  Ignoring her, I continued. “And then she, uh…” I didn’t think I could say it.

  “And then we slept together. Okay? Look. I get that I slept with the enemy, but we were both consenting adults. It happened. I’m not proud of it.” She looked over at Sly, who stared at her in shock, and tossed her hands up. “I don’t know what you want me to say. It was a weak moment.”

  If Frankie’s eyeballs hadn’t been attached to the insides of her head by nerves and whatnot, I was pretty sure they would’ve easily popped out, they opened that wide when Erika admitted that we’d slept together. “I see. Is that correct, Mr. Drunk?”

  “Well, it didn’t go down exactly like she just described it, but…”

  “But you did sleep together?” pressed Frankie.

  “I mean, she came on to me…”

  “And you just couldn’t turn her down, huh?” Frankie’s head shook as she scribbled something down in her notebook. I was pretty sure it was just a distraction because she couldn’t look me in the eyes.

  “Drunk!” Artie looked shocked. “Sleeping with the enemy. I can’t believe it.”

  My brows peaked. “Can we all just get to the point of why we’re here? I have an alibi. Okay? I didn’t do this. Artie didn’t do this.”

  Frankie let out a little noise, but turned her attention to Artie. “Do you have anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts this morning?”

  Artie looked at me.

  “Val should be able to, right, Artie?”

  He cleared his throat and then kind of nodded. “Oh yeah. Umm, I suppose she can.”

  I stared at him hard, wishing I could read his mind and know why he was hemming and hawing about Val vouching for him, and then silently I had to wonder if he had something to do with the fire after all.

  But if Frankie noticed Artie being suspicious, she didn’t say it. She nodded her head at him. “Good. All right, well, of course I’ll have to verify that, but Mr. Smallwood, I think it’s safe to say you’ve got it wrong. I’m sure this will turn out to be some kind of kitchen fire or something like that. So let’s wait for the facts before we go spreading rumors, shall we?”

  Sly narrowed his eyes on Artie. “Just because henchman number one was preoccupied”—he shot an angry look at Erika—“doesn’t mean henchman number two didn’t step up to the plate.”

  “Who’s henchman number two?” asked Frankie.

  “Like I know?!” spouted Sly. “He’s got all kinds of employees. Check them all out for alibis. One of them did this, and I’m not going to rest until the truth comes out!”

  36

  Artie and I sat in front of Frankie’s desk down at the police station the next day. As I already knew, she’d moved up in the world and now she had her very own office as opposed to a cubicle in the middle of the building like she’d previously had. She also had a window that faced a side street and a door that could block out the noise of the station behind us.

  Frankie sat behind her desk, looking grim. After the fire and the admission from Erika that we’d slept together, she’d not taken any of my calls for the rest of the day. Instead, the next morning when I’d gotten out of the shower, I had a voicemail from her instructing me to meet her down at the police station and to bring Artie. Of course I’d agreed, but Artie hadn’t been very excited, and now the three of us stared at each other.

  “I’ve got some news about the fire,” said Frankie finally. She’d barely made eye contact with me since we’d been there, looking at me only once when I’d come in and then after that not at all.

  Artie sat in his chair, wringing his hands. I knew he was worried about them trying to pin the fire on him, even though he swore up and down he had nothing to hide and hadn’t had any “second henchman” set the fire. He didn’t even know who a second henchman would be.

  “What’s the news?”

  Frankie sighed and looked down at her desk. “The deputy fire chief is reporting that the fire is believed to be arson. Mr. Smallwood was right about that.”

  “But who would do something like that?” asked Artie, shaking his head.

  “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to the two of you about. Deputy Fire Chief Malone believes an accelerant was used and a box of matches was discovered on the property. It was partially burned, but the fire didn’t completely destroy it.”

  I looked at her curiously, unsure of where she was going with that information. “Okay? So why does that make you want to talk to us?”

  She pulled a zipped baggie out of her desk drawer and laid it on her desk. In the baggie was the charred remains of a box of matches. In one corner you could make out the end of the business from where they’d originated: “—jestic.”

  “Do those look familiar?”

  Artie and I both stared down at the little box. It was one of those little amenities we gave away to our guests. A box of matches. A shoe polish kit. A pen and little pad of paper. Branded Andes mints. Not only were they in all the rooms, but Artie even had a small bowl of matches and mints on his desk. Which I was keenly aware of because the mints were chocolate, and I stole them often.

  Fuck.

  “Well, yes, of course they look familiar. We do offer those as a giveaway to our guests, but certainly…”

  “Deputy Fire Chief Malone thinks they may have been used to start the fire.”

  “But anyone could’ve gotten ahold of those, Frankie. You know that.”

  She refused to make eye contact with me. “I’m aware of that. I also checked with the cruise ship company that Sly’s guests were sent to prior to the fire. I was able to trace the incoming call that made the reservation back to you, Mr. Drunk.”

  “Come on, Frankie. It’s Danny. Please don’t do this.”

  “I find it very suspicious that not only did your resort ensure that the majority of Mr. Smallwood’s guests would not be on site the evening of the fire, but also that you were both upset that there was little we could do to prove that they were the ones responsible for the loss of The Bloody Marauder. And now I discover that your matches were found at the scene of the crime. I have to be honest. This isn’t looking good for you.”

  “Oh my God,” breathed Artie, leaning forward slightly. His breathing was labored, making him wheeze.

  “Frankie, you know we wouldn’t do that.”

  “I thought I knew you, Mr. Drunk, but apparently I don’t know you as well as I thought I did.”

  “Look, Frankie. Please don’t do this. You—”

  “It’s Inspector Cruz to you, Mr. Drunk.”

  My head rolled back on my shoulders. “Fine. Inspector Cruz, look, I’m sorry for what happened between me and Erika, but—”

  “Keep this discussion related to the case, please, Mr. Drunk.”

  She was killing me. If Artie hadn’t been there, I might have done something uncharacteristically Drunk and begged for her to listen, but he was, which, thankfully, probably kept my man card firmly tucked in my wallet where it belonged. “Ugh, fine. All I wanted to say is that I hope you know Artie wouldn’t do this. Okay?”

  “We’ll be making a conclusion based on fact, but, Artie, I called you down here so I could tell you in person that as of right now, you are a person of interest in this case. Don’t leave the island.”

  Artie’s mouth gaped. “But my wedding is coming up this weekend. I planned to take Val on a short honeymoon after—”

  “I’m sorry, but if we don’t get this case wrapped up by then, you may have to honeymoon on the island.”

  I couldn’t believe it was happening. And now of all times. It was almost all too convenient. Putting my hands on the desk, I pushed myself up. “I’m not letting this get any further. I’m going to prove to you that Artie didn’t do this.”

  “And how exactly are you going to do that, Mr. Drunk?”

  “Quit calling me, Mr. Drunk. You know I hate it. It’s Danny to you. And you know I can do it, Fran—Inspector Cruz. I can and I will clear Artie Balladares’s good name.”

  37

  After dropping Artie off at the Seacoast Majestic lobby, I drove over to my place to park the Raptor. Al was waiting for me in his golf cart.

  “So what’s going on? What did Francesca want?” asked Al as I climbed aboard.

  “You mean Inspector Cruz? Oh, just to tell Artie that he’s officially been named as a person of interest in the case.”

  Al covered his mouth with his hand. “You’re not serious.”

  “Oh, I’m serious all right. This is bad, Al. This is really, really bad. We have to do something to help him.”

  “Whatever we can do!”

  “Well, for starters, I think we need to work on Artie’s alibi. If we can prove he was at his house with Val when the fire started, there’s no way Frankie can keep him as a person of interest. Maybe we should go talk to Val and get her to go down to the station and give a statement. I’m sure Frankie’s already planning to contact her, but we should—”

  Al cut me off. “It’s not gonna do any good, kid.”

  “What’s not?”

  “Val can’t be Artie’s alibi.”

  I turned to look at Al. “What? Why not?”

  “You remember when you went looking for Artie and you asked me to go check on Val?”

  “Yeah?”

  “She wasn’t there.”

  I frowned. “Where?”

  “At Artie’s place.”

  “Well, then, where was she?”

  Al shrugged. “I have no idea. She just wasn’t there.”

  “But she might have just gotten up early and went to breakfast or something.”

  “I don’t think so. I looked all over the resort for her. I went to the dining room, the clubhouse, the pool, the beach. I looked everywhere.”

  Remembering the whole wedding thing I’d been in several days before, I nodded. “Did you check the conference room? They have this wedding thing set up in there. I’m sure she—”

  “I checked there too, kid. She wasn’t there. I don’t think she was anywhere on resort property unless she was in one of the hotel rooms.”

  “But she might’ve been here when the fire started. We don’t know?”

  “We can talk to her, but I find it unlikely that she’s going to be much help.”

  I took my hat off and put it in my lap, then leaned back against the seat and fisted my hair, groaning. Why did everything always have to be so difficult? “Shit,” I breathed before sitting up and putting my hat back on.

  “Maybe we should find out where she was?” said Al.

  “Yeah, okay. While we’re still here, I’ll go see if she’s home.”

  “Good idea. I’ll wait here.”

  I hopped out of the golf cart and walked over to Artie’s place and knocked on the door. I waited and waited, but she never came to the door. Sighing, I went back over to the golf cart. “I guess we’ll catch her later.”

  Al nodded. “Hey, didn’t you say that you had a new camera installed back here?”

  My eyes went up to look around the area in search of the camera. I pointed to one attached to the eve of Artie’s cottage, then I turned around and saw that Hector had attached one to the eve of my cottage as well. “Looks like we’ve got two of them.”

  “That oughta prove that Artie was home when the fire started.”

  “Al, you’re a genius! I could kiss you!”

  Al swatted the air. “Kiss me and I’ll lay you out flatter than piss on a platter.”

  I rolled my eyes and leaned back against my seat, pulling my long arms back to fold my fingers behind my head. “Jeez, cowboy, don’t squat with your spurs on.”

  “Don’t squat with your spurs on? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t know. Relax? Take a chillaxative?”

  Al groaned as he drove us up to the resort. “We really gotta work on your pearls of wisdom, kid. You sound like an idiot.”

  “Thank you, Al. And as a side note, I think your filter has officially worn off.”

  “Meh, my filter rubbed off thirty years ago. It’s one of the perks of being a card-carrying member of the AARP. You can say whatever the hell you want and not give a shit anymore.”

  “I was born with that perk. They gave free passes out to anyone born with the last name Drunk.”

  Al chuckled. “For good reason. Come on, kid. Let’s go prove Artie didn’t start that fire.”

  * * *

  We started the video with me leaving my cottage the morning of the fire and rewound from there. Surprisingly, we discovered that Artie had actually left his place way earlier that morning. Much earlier than when the fire had been reported.

  “I wonder why he didn’t tell us that,” said Al.

  “Maybe he thinks we’ll think he did it?”

  “I’d never think that of Artie, not even if I saw him light the match himself.”

  “Well, maybe he’s more concerned with what the police think than what you or I think.”

  “Your girlfriend didn’t ask you for this security footage, did she?” asked Al, rubbing a hand across his smooth-shaven chin.

  “First of all, Frankie would punch you in the nads for calling her that, and second of all, no. She didn’t ask for any security footage.”

  “Good. Well, whatever you do, don’t go volunteering this. It doesn’t help Artie’s case.”

  “No, it really doesn’t.” I leaned forward and gave the mouse a little wiggle. “You wanna go back and even further and see where Ms. Carrizo was during the fire?”

  “Might as well, since we’re here.” Al leaned forward too so he could get a better look at the screen.

  Without knowing what time she’d left, it was harder to pin Val’s whereabouts down, but after a little rewinding and fast forwarding, we discovered that a little after midnight, a car, barely visible in the dark on the security camera, had picked her up.

  I had to squint and get closer to the screen. “Does that look like a Chrysler 300 to you?”

  Al lifted his chin and looked down his nose and the bottom of his glasses at the screen. “Sure does.”

  “Well, I guess this proves your suspicion. Val wasn’t on resort property the morning of the fire,” I said.

  “It doesn’t prove that at all. All it proves is that she wasn’t in her cottage the morning of the fire,” said Al, holding up a finger. “There’s a difference.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “The difference is that this video doesn’t clear her either.”

  Al had a very good point. “So now what?”

  “Now? Now I think we need to go start our own fire investigation.”

  “You wanna go over to the Crystal Point?”

  “I think going back to the scene of the crime is where all good detectives start. Don’t you, kid?”

  “When I meet a good detective, I’ll let you know. Until then, I’ll take your word for it. Let’s make like a bird and get the flock outta here.”

  38

  Despite the fact that the smoke had cleared and the fire trucks were long gone, the thick smell of smoke still clung to the air, making my nose sting and my eyes water. Nearby trees were covered in a layer of black soot, as were the building’s still-standing brick walls. The pitched roof that I’d admired so much on my first visit to the Crystal Point had caved in, and now, through the wide-open entrance, we could see the charred remains crumbled inside the previously grand lobby.

 

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