Treacherous Tart (23 page)

“We know Debbie was seeing Donald at the sub shop too. She had him down. All she had to do was wait for the right moment,” Ryan said as they were
leaving. He was obviously still mulling all of it over in his brain too.

“That's true,” Maggie agreed. “I suppose Donald reaped what he sowed. I can understand why Debbie would want revenge after he'd killed her mother.”

“Possibly the best endgame on this, besides her getting revenge, would be that the police might reopen the investigation into her mother's death.” Ryan started the car. “That might be enough to make killing him worthwhile.”

Still, the perfect timing and planning of Donald's death nagged at Maggie. She supposed she should put it behind her, but it was difficult.

Maybe she was just so relieved that it was over. Her mind couldn't seem to take it all in.

Debbie had killed Donald and wanted to make it look like Aunt Clara had done it. That made sense to Maggie. Of course she hadn't wanted to get caught. Learning that Donald was seeing Aunt Clara would have been easy enough.

She understood that it would be easy to put a little flour on Donald's lapel and stash the gun behind the trashcan at Pie in the Sky. But knowing exactly when Aunt Clara was messing around with the cat had to be difficult, as was picking that time to shoot Donald.

She didn't mention it again to Ryan. The police had their suspect in custody. Maggie knew she
should be happy that Aunt Clara was free of any charges.

After the pie shop was cleaned and closed, Garrett and Ryan joined her and Aunt Clara for Christmas sweets at the Bombay Grill.

Aunt Clara was so happy. Maggie could tell she was relieved that her part in the investigation surrounding Donald's death was over. Her aunt had put on a brave front and acted as though it hadn't bothered her at all.

Maggie knew that wasn't true. Aunt Clara was very good at pretending things didn't bother her. She remembered that from getting in trouble a few times as a child. Her aunt had always acted as though it didn't matter—until she was ready to give her an earful.

“I'll take Clara home,” Garrett said when they got outside. “You and Maggie go on. We can get along fine without you.”

Maggie smiled as she got in Ryan's car. “They are so cute together. I wish something would work out between them, once Aunt Clara is over Donald.”

“Did you take your aunt's profile down from Durham Singles?”

“Yes. I hope that's over. I'm not sure if Albert will give up so easily.”

Ryan had a police scanner in his car. There was a
call for officers to join the Durham Fire Department at an address regarding a three-alarm fire.

The Honda stopped abruptly, cars honking their horns as Ryan pulled to the side of the street and made a U-turn despite the heavy traffic.

“That's the
Durham Weekly
office.”

W
hen Maggie and
Ryan reached the old newspaper building, the entire structure was in flames. The bright red and orange danced against the dark sky as firefighters shot water from their hoses to try to douse the flames.

“No. This isn't possible.” Ryan ran his hands through his hair. “How did it happen?”

Maggie could see he wanted to go and ask questions. “See if you can find out. I'll wait here for you.”

It was an old building. She watched in terrible fascination as the flat roof caved in. She could tell by
the expressions on the firemen's faces that there was nothing they could do but keep the fire from spreading to the buildings next to it.

Police officers ranged up and down the sidewalk, keeping spectators from getting too close. About fifty people, some who appeared to be from competing media outlets, took hundreds of photos. Cars slowed in the street, their drivers and passengers gawking at what was happening.

It was a terrible blow to Ryan, especially after he'd been so happy to have found a way to save the place. Maggie hoped insurance wasn't something they'd skimped on. At least then Ryan could be compensated for the loss of the building. But nothing could compensate him for the loss of his newspaper's identity and the countless pieces of history that had been housed inside.

She saw a familiar figure in a parked car a few yards up from where she was waiting for Ryan.
Albert Mann.
Her mind went off into dozens of theories.

Could he be involved in the fire? No doubt it would get him the property he wanted. He would've torn down the old building anyway.

No. That wasn't a fair assumption. Even though Albert had been annoyingly persistent when he wanted the property Pie in the Sky was on, he hadn't resorted to anything like this. True, he'd played some dirty tricks on her and Aunt Clara. Those were
more annoying than dangerous, though. This would be a whole new low for him.

Ryan came back to the car about an hour later. Maggie had called Aunt Clara and Garrett to let them know what had happened. They hadn't answered their cell phones or the house phones. She left messages.

She'd half expected Garrett to rush down there, if only for Ryan's sake. But there was no sign of him.

Covered in soot and smelling of smoke, Ryan's handsome face had defeat written on it. “It's gone. It's all gone. I tried to get in and save some of the memories, the awards and older papers my parents put out. All of it was gone.”

Maggie put her arms around him, and he rested his head against hers.

“Did they say what caused it?” She was still thinking about Albert.

“The fire chief says it was probably faulty wiring, but they won't know for sure until it cools off and they can investigate. I don't see how it could be bad wiring, Maggie. I had everything checked a couple of months ago. It couldn't have gone bad that quickly.”

She didn't say anything. He needed her comfort now more than her curiosity.

“Did you see my dad?” Ryan lifted his head. “I called him. He didn't answer. I left messages. I didn't see him anywhere.”

“No,” she said. “But it's dark and there are a lot of people here.”

“This was everything my parents built over forty years.” His voice trembled in the dark car. “It was everything I've worked for. My heritage and legacy.”

“No, it wasn't. It was a building,” she reminded him. “
You're
the
Durham Weekly
. You can go on. You were already thinking of ways that you could continue when you thought you had to sell the place. You'll find a way.”

He smiled at her. “How did I get so lucky and find you?”

“I think it was because you believed in me when I said I didn't kill my ex-boss.” She brushed the blond curls back from his forehead. “That kind of thing sticks with a woman.”

He kissed her. “I couldn't imagine you hurting anyone.”

“And you stayed with me through all of that. I'm here for you too.”

Ryan kissed her again and then looked around as the firemen were starting to pack up. There was almost nothing left of the old building.

“I don't understand why Dad isn't here.” He called Garrett again, but there was still no answer. “One of the most important things that could happen, and he's nowhere to be found.”

“Aunt Clara frequently forgets to charge her
phone or turn up the volume on it. He probably isn't paying attention either since they're together.”

“I'm sure you're right.” Ryan grabbed his camera out of the backseat. “I'm gonna take a few pictures of what's left—for me and for the insurance company. I'll be back in a minute.”

Maggie squinted out of the car window. Albert Mann was still sitting in his car on the side of the street, looking at the ashes of the old building. Maybe she didn't feel right bringing it up to Ryan yet—and maybe Albert wasn't involved at all—but she was going to find out.

She got out of the car, carefully avoiding fire-fighting equipment that was still on the sidewalk. Strolling to Albert's car, she knocked on the window.

He rolled down the glass with a quick touch of a button. “Yes?”

“Did Ryan tell you he'd found a way to keep from selling you the building, or did you hear it from someone else?”

Albert's homely yet compelling face seemed astonished. “I hope you aren't suggesting what I think you are. I won't tolerate slander, Maggie. I'm a businessman. I don't set buildings on fire because I can't have them. If that were the case, your pie shop would've already been replaced by a five-story medical office building.”

“I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's
suspicious that the
Weekly
building was destroyed after Ryan said you couldn't have it.”

He smiled in a tolerant way, as though Maggie were a small child. “First of all, Ryan didn't tell me the building was no longer on the market, unless you count that emotional outburst at his home. Garrett assured me that he would talk the boy around.”

“So you didn't know about the college small business project? I thought you always had your ear to the ground.”

“Thank you for your faith in me. While I try to stay on top of what's happening in our city, I'm not a mind reader. I was on my way home from a meeting tonight and saw the terrible fire. I won't dignify your unspoken accusations with denials of my involvement. If Ryan thinks I was here setting a fire, he can tell the police. Good night, Maggie. Give Ryan my condolences.”

He rolled the window back up between them. Maggie walked back to Ryan's car.

He was leaning against it, waiting for her. “What's up? Was that Albert Mann gloating over the fire?”

“I don't know about gloating.” She sighed, knowing she was going to have to tell him what she'd been thinking. “I kind of accused him of setting the fire.”

He nodded. “That occurred to me too before I even saw him here. I also thought about my father being responsible.”

“Ryan!”

“I know. I reined it in. Albert is a jerk, but he's never so obvious. This would raise too many questions. As for my father, he loved this place as much as I do. He couldn't hurt it.”

“I'm so sorry. You've been through a lot tonight. Do you have enough pictures? Are you ready to go home?”

He put his arms around her. “I think so. There's nothing else I can do here. What really makes me mad is that this will hit all the other media in the city tonight and tomorrow. I won't be able to report the destruction of my own office until it's old news. It's the story of my life.”

“I know you. You'll have some kind of inside scoop that the other outlets won't have thought of. Besides, think of the sympathy you might be able to turn into subscribers.” She smiled at him. “Will the insurance cover building something new?”

“No. We only carry what we had to on the place. The land is worth something—Albert will still be interested in that, no doubt. Between the two, maybe I can find a place to rent for a while.”

“Well then, I think we should go and tell your dad and Aunt Clara what happened. It's probably still going to be a long night. You know the police and fire departments are gonna want to figure out what happened.”

He agreed, and the two of them got in the car.
They headed for Aunt Clara's house. Ryan told Maggie he was glad his laptop was still in the car. At least he hadn't lost whatever information was on it.

“I think I even have copies of the older, original pictures that were destroyed in the fire. It won't be everything, but it will be enough to start over with.”

Maggie kissed his cheek as he swung over to park behind his father's car outside Aunt Clara's house. “Looks like I was right. Garrett probably didn't even hear his cell phone.”

Ryan turned off the engine and opened the door. “It might be better this way. I know Dad talks tough sometimes and he was ready to sell the office, but only because he's afraid of losing the house. It'll still be hard on him, seeing what's left. Maybe not as hard as watching it burn.”

They went up to the house. Maggie frowned as she noticed that there were no lights on inside. “That seems weird.”

Ryan laughed. “My dad is old. He's not dead.”

“You mean they're in there, in the dark—”

“What do
you
think?”

“I kind of thought it was cute—until now.” Maggie got ready for finding her aunt and Garrett on the sofa in the parlor. “Aunt Clara said she wasn't ready for another relationship right now.”

“My dad can be pretty persuasive.”

The front door was open when she touched the handle. “They didn't even have time to lock the door.”

Ryan pushed the door open and almost stumbled over something large left in the doorway. “What's going on?”

Maggie switched on the lights in the foyer and on the front porch. She gasped when she saw Garrett lying on the floor at their feet.