Page 13 of Shadow of Deceit
He studied her, taking in every detail as she eased into the room. His intimidating presence seemed to draw the air from the space. He offered a stiff smile. “Don’t know how we’ll ever repay you for saving our little Jessie.”
The tallest of the Maddox brothers, with a wide jaw and a sharp intensity, he was grimacing, maybe in reaction to nearly losing his niece.
Trauma Mia knew all too well, flashes coming back. Fire sizzling all around and no rescue in sight. She suppressed a shiver. “I don’t need any thanks. I’m just glad I came along when I did.”
“Let’s sit.” He gestured at the pair of gray vinyl chairs by the window and issued a full smile. The lines edging his eyes—likely from the stress of a career in law enforcement—fell away, and the fun but often serious teenager she’d once known bloomed in front of her.
Lifting her oxygen lifeline over the bed, she navigated the IV pole toward the chair and sat.
“I’m real sorry for your loss,” he said. “Wally was a cool guy and everyone around here will miss him.”
“Thanks,” she said and left it at that before she let her emotions get to her and started crying like a baby.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you in these parts.” He perched a booted foot on the wooden edge of the other chair, choosing not to sit when he’d fairly demanded she do so. “With the way you shot out of here after high school, I’m surprised you came back. Guess the money you’ll get when you sell Evergreen is a powerful motivation to return.”
Oh right.She should’ve known. He still wasn’t one of her biggest fans. He’d thought she was corrupting Ryan in high school and had tried to convince Ryan many times to cut his losses and dump her. She’d heard his sharp tone before. Plenty of times.
Did he think she’d react to it when she hadn’t back then? And what was with his assumption that she would sell Evergreen at the end of the year? Snap judgments were common around here. One more reason she’d stayed away. Still, she wouldn’t correct him. Her motives were pure. Respect for her uncle’s last wishes had brought her back. That was all that mattered.
She resisted showing any emotion. “If you’re trying to bait me like in high school, I’m not biting.”
His expression cleared but a touch of angst lingered in the depths of his blue, piercing eyes. “I’m here to take your statement about the fire. Nothing more.”
“Sounded more like you were interested in passing judgment on me. Something you were once good at doing.”
“I didn’t mean anything by my comment.” His sharp glare drilled into her. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s in the past.”
“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one wronged.”
He ran a hand around the back of his neck. “Look—I’ll admit I was hard on you back in the day. I should have been more understanding, what with the loss of your mom and all. But when you and Ryan started dating and his grades took a nosedive, I had to make you see what you were doing to him. Keeping him out half the night or even all night. Skipping school. Getting into drugs.”
“And you thought going behind my back and trying to break us up instead of talking to me was the right way to do that?”
He shrugged. “Might’ve used the wrong method, but I had the right motive.”
“You were David’s best friend back then. You knew how much losing our mother changed our lives. I thought you’d be more understanding.”
“All I can say in my defense is at the time I thought you were totally out of control. Figured you’d soon be seriously breaking the law.” He gripped his raised knee. “I couldn’t let you take Ryan down with you.”
Mia could appreciate Russ’s concern for his brother, but he’d worried in vain. “As it turns out, that wasn’t a problem.”
Russ cleared his throat. “I’m sorry if I was rough on you back then and didn’t handle things right. What say we put all of that behind us and get on with your statement?”
His offer to make amends was out of character for how he’d treated her that last year of high school, but he could’ve changed. He’d been a friend until she really started partying, and other than not wanting her to date Ryan, he was a good guy. So making amends with him? Yeah, that was a solid plan.
“I’d like that. Fresh start and all.”
“Okay then. Good. I appreciate it.” He pulled out a notepad and pen. “Tell me exactly what happened today.”
The searing flames. Suffocating smoke. Terrifying emotions. All came flooding back. She didn’t want to recount them, but she had to comply. She launched into the story, skipping the warning at the post office and replaying the rescue of Jessie with concise comments devoid of the emotions still tumbling through her.
“I’m sure by now you’ve heard Jessie saw a man start the fire.” She fell back into the chair, mentally exhausted over telling the story.
He leaned closer, his eyebrows furrowed then released. “Now that you’ve had time to think about the fire, do you have any idea who would want to do this?”
Idea? Sure she did. Like her father. A fact she wasn’t ready to share. “Not really.”
“Not really, or no?”
