Neighing with Fire: A Mystery (Colleen McCabe Series) (25 page)

Fawn beamed and Colleen suppressed a grin.

“Will the wedding party please join me,” Pastor Fred continued.

“I guess that’s me,” she whispered to Bill, and joined Autumn, two of Fawn’s friends, and the guys from the station who were Chip’s groomsmen.

“Guests, please follow the wedding party.”

Colleen peeped over her shoulder at Bill and found him in conversation with Pinky.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Autumn said, noticing her watching Bill and Pinky.

“Sports,” Colleen said.

Autumn giggled. “You could be right.”

Pastor Fred led the group to the gazebo and then, to Colleen’s surprise, down the stairs to the beach. She had expected Fawn and Chip to take their vows in the decorated structure but soon learned that the couple wanted everyone gathered around them in a “circle of love” and the only place there was room to do that was on the beach.

For the next half hour, Pastor Fred steered them through the order of events, where to stand, who the groomsmen should escort and when, and the vows. True to his reputation, he had also found a Hallmark greeting card quote, but in the spirit of keeping the love quotes a surprise until the wedding, decided to wait until the special day itself to share it along with all the others. There was a final, stern request from Fred for everyone to arrive early tomorrow … and by early he meant before the sun came up. If all went well and Mother Nature cooperated, the plan was for Fawn and Chip to be officially declared united in marriage as the sun broke over the Atlantic Ocean—a new day for their new beginning together.

As Fred finished the last of his instructions, the group was treated to the unexpected arrival of wild horses. They emerged from behind a nearby dune, noted the wedding party’s presence, and then ambled toward the ocean.

“Too bad we can’t have that happen tomorrow morning,” someone said, voicing the silent wish of many.

“If it’s God’s will,” Fred said with a smile. “Any questions before we eat?” Silence. “Very good then. Let’s dine.”

The party eagerly returned to the tables where Aaron had already set them with covered dishes of steaming barbecue chicken, pulled pork, as well as salad, steamed vegetables, and fruit for the vegetarians. Soon corks were popped and everyone dug into the food.

Colleen heard Sparky whimpering and scanned the tables. The last thing she wanted was her canine friend begging guests for food. She spotted the dog sitting attentively by Aaron’s side at the grill, tail wagging. Aaron took a piece of chicken from his plate, placed it in his palm, and fed it to Sparky. The dog devoured the treat in seconds and raised his paw for more. Aaron shook the dog’s paw and reached for another piece of food. Time to rescue the chef from her pesky friend.

“Excuse me,” she said to Bill, and left the table to retrieve her little beggar. “Sorry about that,” she said, approaching Aaron. She took Sparky by the collar and attached his leash. “He really does know better.”

“It’s actually my fault. He kept me company while I cooked so I thought I’d give him a little reward. I hope you don’t mind.”

Sparky tugged on the restraint and pawed furiously at the foot of the grill. “No.” She pulled Sparky away from the grill. “But I think you may have created a bit of a monster,” she said, and chuckled.

“My most enthusiastic review so far,” Aaron said, truly pleased.

“You did a wonderful job,” she said. “Okay, Sparky, let’s give Aaron a break.”

She returned to her seat and tied Sparky to her chair to keep him out of the chef’s way. Her canine buddy positioned himself at her feet and focused on the grill. It would be hard to get him to go back to his usual dog food.

She and Bill shared a table with Autumn, Pinky, and Jimmy. She had been skeptical about the mix, but it resulted in a surprisingly pleasant combination with a variety of opinions that made for lively conversation and debate. Perhaps because the occasion was festive, everyone was friendly about their differences, and it was fun listening to people who saw the world in a completely different way from her. Who, after all, wants to sit at a table with people who think exactly like you?

There were numerous compliments to the chef throughout the meal. Aaron radiated with pride and moved away from the hot grill to have a much deserved smoke. He pulled out matches, lit the cigarette, dropped the match in the sand, rubbed it out and—in a sudden flash—all the pieces of the puzzle came together. The cigarette smoke Myrtle had smelled. The matches found at the house. Agent Morgan’s discussion of accelerants used in cooking. Sparky’s reaction at the fire sites and tonight at the grill. Aaron’s employment with Denny’s company and his agitation while discussing Fuentes’ death with Jimmy and her at the station. What was it that Aaron had said about the person who had murdered his friend? “Whoever did that deserves…” Now she understood that what Aaron had meant was that Michael’s murderer deserved punishment.

She leaned toward Bill and whispered in his ear. Bill subtly peeked at Aaron, nodded, and rose.

“Hey, Aaron, great meal,” Bill said, approaching the man.

“Thanks,” Aaron said, beaming.

“You mind if I ask you a couple questions?”

Aaron looked around at the party—puzzled, saw everyone having a good time, relaxed, and then noticed Colleen studying him. “Sure. Let me wash my hands and I’ll be right back,” he said and walked toward the house.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said to her table. “I’m going to take Sparky for a quick walk for doggie business.”

Pinky, Autumn, and Jimmy waved halfheartedly, distracted by their conversation. None of the partygoers noticed Bill and Colleen shadow Aaron up the stairs … none except Aaron.

“He’s gonna make a run for it,” Bill said, and picked up his pace.

As soon as Aaron was out of sight of the party, he took off, jumped into his Jeep, and peeled away down Autumn’s driveway. Bill, Colleen, and Sparky dashed toward the vehicles parked along the road.

Bill skidded to a halt. His pickup had been blocked in. “Damn,” he said under his breath.

“We’ll take mine,” Colleen called, and they sprinted to her SUV.

She flung open her door and Sparky leapt in. Bill was already in the passenger seat as she slid in and started the engine.

“He’s heading down the beach,” Bill said, watching the Jeep disappear toward the ocean.

She shifted into reverse, thankful she had parked at the intersection of two roads so that nobody could park behind her, and hit the gas. Sand flew from under the tires and they jolted back. She switched gears and zoomed toward the beach.

They rolled out of the community. “There he is,” Bill said, pointing through the windshield.

“I see him,” she said, and flipped on her emergency lights and siren.

She zipped onto the wet sand and hit the gas, pushing the SUV above the speed limit of fifteen miles per hour—something she’d never normally do but, given the circumstances, felt was warranted. Still, she was careful to keep an eye out for dogs, children, horses, fishermen, and people walking on the beach.

She swiftly closed the gap between them and the Jeep. Please, don’t let anyone get hurt, she thought, and then, as if her worst fear was coming true, a stallion with a harem and foal emerged from over the dunes and headed straight for the water in the path of the Jeep.

Aaron must have seen the horses, too, because the Jeep swerved left, slammed into one of the ancient stumps protruding from the sand, flipped on its side, and slid to a halt. She slowed and hit the brakes. Bill bolted, Colleen fast on his heels. Sparky took off after the horses. She reached the overturned Jeep seconds after Bill.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” Aaron said as he bled from an ugly gash in his forehead. “It was an accident.”

The ocean washed into the Jeep, flooded the interior and then retreated, dragging the Jeep with it.

“We should get him out of there,” she said.

They grabbed Aaron under the arms and lugged him out and away from the Jeep. Another wave crashed ashore and this time the Jeep became partially submerged. Sparky barked repeatedly and nipped at the horses legs, herding them back into the dunes to safety.

“Aaron Lacy, you’re under the arrest for the murder of Denny Custis and Michael Fuentes,” Bill said.

“No!” Aaron attempted to stand but collapsed in the sand.

She kneeled to examine the wound and check his awareness. “Follow my finger,” she said, and he did as instructed.

“You gotta believe me,” he said to her, and then looked up at Bill. “Denny killed Michael. When I confronted Denny, he attacked me. I’ve got it all recorded on my phone. Along with his confession. I swear.”

“What about the fire?” Bill asked, unconvinced.

“Denny was going to burn Salvatore’s place. I went along so I could get him alone, trick him into confessing what he did to Michael. After … well, I panicked. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

Tears welled in his eyes and then, to her surprise, the man began to sob. What a shame, she thought. If Aaron had gone to Bill with his suspicions about Denny killing his friend instead of taking matters into his own hands, all of this could have been prevented. She could tell from Bill’s expression that he was thinking the same.

Bill helped Aaron to his feet. “Aaron Lacy, you’re under arrest for arson and the murder of Denny Custis.”

Aaron’s shoulders relaxed and Colleen sensed relief wash over him now that the truth was known. It wasn’t how she would have liked things to turn out, but finally the arson and murder cases had been solved.

Chapter 24

“You think you can
stay clean until after the wedding?” Colleen asked Sparky as she brushed his fur in the living room.

After the rehearsal dinner and Aaron’s arrest, she had left Bill at the station to take Aaron’s statement. It had been a long night. True to his word, Aaron had recorded a complete confession on his phone from Denny about killing Michael Fuentes. Denny and Fuentes had indeed had a run-in after Fuentes had asked Denny for time off and money to take care of his ailing mother in Mexico. When Denny had refused, Fuentes had agreed to steal and make copies of confidential documents about Denny’s business for Snelling. Why his friend didn’t come to him to borrow the money, Aaron would never know. Snelling paid Fuentes for spying on Denny, which gave Michael the money he needed for his mother’s medical care. Unfortunately, Denny figured out Fuentes had been the rat and it had cost Fuentes his life. It wasn’t until his friend’s body had been discovered under the walkway and the death ruled a homicide that Aaron had suspected that Denny had killed him.

On the morning of Pinky’s house fire, Denny had picked Aaron up at his barbecue stand and asked him to bring charcoal lighter fluid—the alcohol-based accelerant—with him. When Aaron arrived at the house with Denny, he realized that Denny was there to burn Pinky’s property down and pretended to go along, figuring he’d win Denny’s trust because he was about to help his boss commit arson. Then Myrtle showed up unexpectedly, smelled the cigarette he had been smoking, argued about the horses, and left. Because his phone had still been on, parts of that conversation, too, were recorded, and confirmed what Myrtle and Jacob had reported earlier. After Myrtle’s departure, Aaron had told Denny he was going to the police with the confession and Denny attacked him. In their struggle, Denny fell, hit his head, and stopped breathing. Panicked, Aaron grabbed the charcoal lighter fluid, doused the house, lit it, took off in Denny’s pickup, ditched the truck, and walked home. Later, when he realized Colleen and Bill were getting close to figuring out what had happened, he returned to the pickup and burned that as well. At the end of hearing it all, Colleen had sighed. It had been a series of bad decisions that had led to a young man perhaps spending the rest of his life in jail … all because he wanted justice for a friend. She hoped, somehow, a judge or jury would take pity on him.

When she had arrived home last night she had been so keyed up by the events of the evening that she had been unable to sleep. That’s when she had decided to give Sparky his much-needed bath. He was, after all, an invited wedding guest, and she couldn’t have him showing up smelly for Fawn and Chip’s big day.

She gave the dog’s coat a final brush. Sparky wagged his tail and tried to lick her face. Smokey apparently found the clean dog smell appealing, and groomed a section of his fur, wanting to do her share in getting her friend ready. Colleen crossed to the secretary desk in her living room, retrieved a wide royal blue ribbon, cut the ends at an angle, and tied the ribbon around his neck.

“The finishing touch,” she said, and stepped back to do a final inspection. “You really are a handsome dog,” she said, pleased.

She noted the time on the cable box. Five o’clock. It was still dark but the sun would come up fast and she needed to allow time to get to Carova. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint Fawn and Chip or to have Pastor Fred scold her. She did a final check in the mirror. The necklace Autumn had given her was a pretty accessory to her new outfit. Won’t Bill be surprised, she thought, satisfied with her appearance, and then exited with Sparky. Seconds later she burst back into the house. Smokey looked at her as if to say “Back so soon?” She retrieved the paper with the love quote from the kitchen counter, rubbed the cat’s back, and dashed out again. Time for a wedding!

She left Route 12 and drove onto the four-wheel-drive beach highway. Up ahead she saw a caravan of headlights slowly making their way up the beach and then noticed more falling in behind her. Something about the procession of the lights gave her goose bumps. Each set of lights represented someone wishing to celebrate Fawn and Chip’s love for one another. She took back all the grumbling of this morning about having to get up so early. This ceremony was going to be something special.

She followed the lights up the beach. They shifted left and then suddenly extinguished as vehicles disappeared behind the dunes and into the community. She wondered where Bill was in the caravan and if he had been able to get home to get a couple hours of sleep. She and Bill had planned to go to the wedding together, but with Aaron’s arrest last night and the uncertainty of Bill being able to get away, they had agreed it would be better to meet there. At first she had been let down that they weren’t arriving together, but now she was glad. Her appearance would be a surprise—one she hoped he would like.