Playing with Fire. Rachel Lee

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СКАЧАТЬ Guess I’d better run over to the fire station.”

      “If you need anything else, let me know. It’s not like we’re not trying to look into this. I’ve battered the phone lines with demands for an investigator, and I know Wayne has sent samples to the forensics lab. But right now, we’re pretty much stalled without a trained arson investigator.”

      She shook his hand again, then paused in the doorway. “Are the property appraiser’s records online?”

      “More than mine,” he chuckled. “Yeah, they kept up with the times. Around here, we’re still catching up with the twenty-first century.”

      Her car was still parked in front of the diner. She hurried back to it, then set out for the fire station. One thing to say for small towns, it was easy to find most places.

      The only guys she saw as she walked up to the station, carrying her hard hat and laptop, were two men in the bay busy running on treadmills. She wondered if they had a weight room. Probably. There was even a basketball hoop hanging above the bay doors. That had been a favorite pastime when she’d volunteered.

      Donna was still at the desk and simply waved her on through. “Chief’s waiting for you.”

      Wayne rose the moment she opened his door. This morning he looked rested and his smile came easily. She found herself wishing he lived in Atlanta. She’d gladly get herself into some trouble with this guy.

      “Ms. Atkins.”

      “Charity, please.”

      His smile widened a shade. “Wayne. Ready to head out?”

      “Actually, do you have any internet Wi-Fi hotspots around here?”

      “Not many,” he answered. “We’ve got Wi-Fi for law enforcement, the schools, the library, and us, but you need a password. I can get you one if you want.”

      Oh, boy, she’d come back to the Stone Age. She quashed the thought immediately, as being rude. This area was extremely rural, and she was simply spoiled to think she could find a hot spot behind every storefront. “Thanks. I need to look at the property appraiser’s records on the Buell place.”

      “Before we go?”

      “It would help me understand what I’m seeing.”

      Without another word, he turned his monitor so they both could see it. “Take a look,” he said as he began to type. A minute later, she saw the appraiser’s page for the Buell homestead. At once she started taking notes, tapping quickly on her own keyboard.

      “Let me print it out.” As soon as the printer started humming, he rose and opened his office door. “Donna, can you fix it so Ms. Atkins can access our Wi-Fi while she’s here?”

      “It’ll take me a few to set up a new account.”

      “Later will be fine,” Charity said as she scanned the page. Big house, big barn, big appraisal. Her stomach sank as she read. Fred Buell had been underinsured, probably painfully so when you added in the livestock. No way would he gain from this fire. How had her company let this happen? When including reconstruction costs, they usually went overboard.

      “This afternoon,” Donna said. “The darn thing always argues with me. I swear these machines have their own minds. Of course, if I wait for county IT to do it, it might take a week.”

      Charity closed her laptop and reached for the sheet from the printer. As she did so, she saw a framed five-by-six photo on his desk. A young woman with long dark hair smiled back at her. Was he a cradle robber?

      “She’s lovely,” she said to Wayne, indicating the photo.

      “That’s Linda, my daughter. Seventeen and getting ready to leave me for college.”

      Charity smiled. “You started young.”

      He chuckled. “Older than I look. I guess I should take it as a compliment.”

      “By all means.” She started to open her mouth and ask about his wife but realized it would be rude. Not everyone with a child had a spouse. She didn’t want to risk opening an old wound, if one existed.

      “My wife left us about five years ago.” A shadow passed briefly across his face.

      She guessed she’d given herself away somehow. “I’m sorry.”

      “This town doesn’t suit everyone,” he said, closing the subject. “All set?”

      “All done. Thanks.”

      “Ride with me. Better for the roads than your rental.”

      * * *

      Wayne noted Charity’s change of garb and approved. She’d been pretty in that suit yesterday, but city had been written all over her. He could be excused for wondering how she could do a job like this. How could anyone do it in a business suit, male or female?

      Now he saw the signs of a woman who’d be capable of climbing through the ruins with him and across the rough, open spaces. Even her boots were sensible and looked as though they had steel toes.

      But she was still a pretty package. When he’d stared at her in surprise yesterday, all duded up in city clothes, the first thing he had noticed were her gentle curves. Just gentle ones, reminding him overall of a thoroughbred, perfectly shaped and in shape. Those curves hadn’t vanished in jeans and a long-sleeved button-down shirt. If anything, they stood out more. Her hazel eyes were probably a little more expressive than she realized. The rest of her face revealed little, if anything, and he suspected she had schooled herself to keep her secrets.

      Regardless, she was still a lovely package.

      Food for fantasy, he told himself, and nothing more.

      He stared down the roads, amused by himself. Why even waste the time noticing her appeal? She’d be out of here the instant she could shake the dust from her heels. Same as a lot of women. Same as his woman. She’d grown a taste for flashier towns, and coming back here had about killed her. At the end of a year she swore she was losing her mind.

      Finally, feeling he was being too silent and far from friendly, he asked, “What did you find out from the appraisal?”

      “Plenty. Mr. Buell was underinsured. That shouldn’t have happened. Somebody was asleep at the wheel.”

      “Meaning?”

      “We generally look at appraiser’s records and adjust values accordingly. We don’t want our clients getting caught short like this.”

      “You mean you can charge more.”

      She didn’t answer for a few seconds and he wondered if she was hanging on to her temper. Her face told him nothing. Too bad, but he didn’t believe insurance companies were in the charity business.

      “Yes, that, too. Although it doesn’t affect our bottom line any if we pay out less.”

      “But how often do you have to pay for a total property?”

      He СКАЧАТЬ