Seeing Red Read online

  In fact, from the main room came the sound of Chloe and Tina yelling over a phone message, making Camille smile wryly. “They certainly don’t.”

  “Please tell me what you’re thinking about,” Summer said. Let me in.

  “All right.” Camille clasped her fingers together. “I’m thinking about things that I don’t normally think about. The first warehouse fire. Your dad.” She stared down at her hands and sighed. “Tim was my life.”

  Summer’s heart tripped, and she moved closer. “It’s only normal to think about him, since the warehouse burned again.”

  “The first time was an accident.” Camille grabbed another afghan and began folding. “They ruled it an accident.”

  “Yes.” Her throat ached. “It was a terrible, tragic accident. But then, it was a long time ago.”

  Camille tossed the afghan onto a high-legged end table, messily folded. Her only sign of distress. “With you here, it feels like yesterday.”

  Summer didn’t know how to respond to that. The last thing she wanted to do was cause her mom more pain. Leaving would help both of them, but leaving was what had caused this distance in the first place, and besides, she’d promised not to go. She might be confused, lonely, hurting…but she still had her word.

  “I know Joe suspects arson,” Camille said. “But there was nothing in that warehouse that couldn’t be replaced. There’s no one else on any of the papers except Tina and me. No one but us would gain from an insurance payoff.”

  “It doesn’t have to be insurance fraud. Maybe you made someone mad. A boyfriend?”

  Camille adamantly shook her head. “No.”

  “The vagrant?”

  “No. He’s a very nice man. Just homeless. He’s very careful.”

  “Another family member then? Diana? Madeline? Just kidding,” she said when Camille eyed her acerbically. “I’m just thinking a little juvy hall wouldn’t hurt their attitude.”

  Camille actually let out a laugh. Socks came into the room and wound himself around her ankles. She scooped him up and buried her face in his neck. “It’s not arson.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Summer said slowly, not wanting to argue.

  Camille closed her eyes. “And at least this time, thank God, no one—”

  She didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t have to. Because they both knew.

  At least this time, no one had died.

  Chapter 5

  For three days, Joe worked around the clock. He had inspections, plan development meetings at town hall, fires to investigate and reports to write, and now he sat at dinner with Cindy, nodding as she talked about her day, forcing himself to sit straight up for fear he’d fall asleep and land face-first into his meal.

  The fact was, he’d wanted to stay home, maybe barbeque, definitely rest his weary body. But Cindy had wanted to take advantage of his rare night off, so here they sat, at an expensive steak house with a waiter hovering and Joe with a headache brewing.

  “It’s a great neighborhood to raise kids,” Cindy was saying while he cut into his steak and unintentionally tuned her out. He figured if he could just get to bed early, he’d wake up refreshed and get to his reports. Yeah, that was it. He’d—

  “Joe? Are you listening to me?”

  He would be if she’d just rest her tongue for even a second. The thought made him feel like a jerk. It wasn’t her fault he was exhausted, heading into a coma. “I’m sorry.” He tried to put his mind back into her one-sided conversation, but while he watched her lips move, thoughts of work invaded.

  The city was trying to rush him through one of the inspections for a large commercial complex, and yet the plans hadn’t matched the actual work done. Now he had several city officials riding his ass for slowing them down. And then there were several fires disturbing him, not the least of which was the Creative Interiors warehouse fire.

  They’d released the scene two days ago. There’d been no other evidence found to go with the gasoline and boot print, except for a half-burned cigarette butt. They’d not put out an official ruling but the general consensus between MAST and the insurance company was that it would probably be undisclosed accidental fire—

  “Babe, please. You’re not even pretending to hear me now.”

  Caught off guard, he blinked at Cindy. “I’m sorry,” he said again, and scooped up a bite of baked potato, instructing himself to tune in. “I really am. Can you say that again?”

  She reached over and squeezed his hand. “You’re going to make me think I’m boring.”

  “I’m just tired.”

  “Which is my point. My La Jolla town house is bigger than your place, which goes without saying since you live on a sailboat in a marina in Mission Bay.”

  Uh oh.

  She shot him a smile. “And I have plenty of extra closet space for you.”

  Joe tossed back his entire glass of water and thought please don’t do this now.

  But Cindy turned out to be a lousy mind reader. “I mean I really do understand the allure of living on the water, but it’s just not big enough for both of us…”

  “Cindy—”

  “And I have to admit, I have a secret fantasy about having a house in the suburbs. Something simple, with a nice yard for the kids.” She let out a bubbly laugh while he stared at her. “And a white picket fence. It’s got to have one of those.”

  The succulent steak he’d eaten caught in his throat.

  “I know it’s silly,” she said. “But you know I grew up in Manhattan, in a third floor walk-up. No yard, no place to call my own. Nothing like my dream house.”

  Joe had grown up in her so-called dream house, but he’d only found nightmares there. A white picket fence was on his Never Have list.

  “Our kids will love it.”

  Kids. He nearly choked. He didn’t know the first thing about raising a kid, and with his father’s blood running through his veins, that was just as well.

  “Joe? You’re looking pale. Like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Yeah, the ghost of his future. “Cindy,” he said again, gently now, because he was going to hurt her and he hadn’t meant to ever do that.

  Her smile faded. “Is this about moving in together?”

  “We’ve only been dating a little over a month—”

  “Two months. Two months, Joe. And that’s plenty of time.”

  “Maybe if we’d been seeing each other regularly.”

  “Your job doesn’t let you do anything regularly.”

  “That’s true. And because of it, out of those two months we’ve really only been together a handful of times.”

  She stared at him for a long, long moment. “I see. You’re not ready. I should have known, you’ve never even told me about you. You’ve never really opened up.”

  The same old refrain. Kenny would be happy to hear it. “I’m sorry, Cindy. I’m…” He spread his hands helplessly. “Just not ready.”

  “Okay.” She folded her hands and paused, looking incredibly hurt. “Will you ever be?”

  Don’t. God, don’t. “Cindy—”

  His pager went off and he had no idea if it was relief that washed through him, or shame that he needed the out. He glanced down at the display, saw the emergency code, and grimaced as he set down his fork. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re always sorry.”

  Yes. Yes he was. He was just one sorry son of a bitch.

  “Don’t listen to it,” she begged him. “Don’t leave now.”

  “You know I have to.” He stood and opened his wallet, taking out the money to cover their meals while she just stared at him, boring holes into his body with her resentment. With a sigh, he bent over her and brushed his mouth over her temple. “I really am sorry,” he murmured.

  “Please just answer me.” Her voice trembled and he felt like the lowest bottom-feeder as she grabbed his wrist. “Will you ever be ready for this? For me?”

  They were in a restaurant, surrounded by a crowd. He didn’t want t