Fatal Burn (West Coast 2)

Nerves stretched to the breaking point, he turned his head and glared at the brothers coolly sipping their goddamned beers. The slimy one, Aaron, was popping peanuts like they were pills, like he was an addict looking for a quick fix. The middle guy, the fireman, whatever his name was—Bob, Rob, no, Robert—rolled his bottle between his palms. The third one, the fire investigator, Shea, hadn’t touched his beer, nor a single chip. Arms folded across his chest he was scrutinizing Travis intently, like a hawk perched on a high branch, ready to dive at the slightest movement in the grass below.

“You know something more,” Travis charged, his voice low as the patrons near the bar turned back to their drinks and sports highlights. “Have you seen her?” His gaze whipped back to Shannon. “Heard from her?”

“No. I had no idea she wasn’t safe with her family. When I received the phone call and found the birth certificate, I just thought someone was pulling a cruel prank. As you might have guessed, I’ve had some, er, trouble with being harassed before. I’m sure you know all about my shady past.”

He didn’t respond.

“So in an effort to maintain a low profile and figure this thing out on my own, to not stir up the old hornet’s nest again, I didn’t go to the police.” The corners of her mouth tightened. “Instead I asked Aaron to look into it for me as he’s a private investigator. I figure you’d understand as you’re a kind of PI, too, I gather.”

Travis didn’t bother with her question. He zeroed in on the brother with the moustache. “What did you find?”

“Nothing. The certificate was a copy. When the fire happened, I turned it over to the police.” Aaron crunched on more peanuts.

Shea added, “The lab has it, analyzing the paper, the burn pattern, and we looked over Shannon’s place for evidence, footprints, fingerprints, an old cigarette butt, something left. So far nothing. No prints on the scrap of burned paper.” He reached into his pocket, producing what seemed to be a copy of the nearly destroyed document.

“Jesus,” Travis said staring at the barely legible bit of information. There was just enough left to ensure that whoever was reading it would get the point. “This guy’s really working it,” he said, glancing up at Shannon. “He wanted you to start thinking about Dani.”

She nodded, then rubbed the arm in the sling with her free hand, as if chasing away a chill. “But I had no idea where she was, who she was with, that she was missing…”

“He must’ve counted on me coming down here.”

“How would he know that you had information on the birth parents?”

“Lucky guess,” Travis thought aloud, staring at the copied remnants of the birth certificate. “Or else he knew somehow.”

“From whom?”

“I don’t know. My wife and I didn’t tell anyone and actually she didn’t know as much as I did. After she passed, and Dani started asking more and more questions, I began adding to the information I already had.

” He didn’t admit to seeing Shannon on the courthouse steps, couldn’t see how that would help his cause. “But nothing prepared me for this.”

“Nothing could,” Shannon said as if she, too, experienced his pain.

Which was ridiculous, Travis thought. She didn’t even know Dani, hadn’t seen her daughter, if she was to be believed, since those first few minutes after her birth.

“Someone wanted me down here,” Travis said.

“You think so?” Shea’s eyebrows had slammed together to form one black, angry line.

“I’d bet.”

“Pretty big leap, if you ask me,” Aaron chimed in. His blue eyes charged Travis with a million unspeakable crimes.

“Maybe, but I’m here and the birth certificate was burned here. Not that big a leap.”

The brothers didn’t respond. Nor did Shannon. Travis had a sense they were still holding back. “So what else have you got?”

“Nothing we can discuss.”

“I’m Dani’s damned father.” His voice was low but intense.

Shannon said, “And you still could have set the fire at my place.”

He shook his head. “I was just there. Spying on you, yes, because I was desperate to locate my kid, but I did not torch anything.” He was angry now, felt a vein throb in his temple. “And, for the record, I couldn’t have been involved in the birth certificate thing, because, according to you it happened on Dani’s birthday around midnight, and I was with my daughter that night. She had a sleepover.”

Shannon’s eyes darkened. She looked away, as if she didn’t want to be reminded of the normal activities of raising the child she hadn’t seen since birth.

Shea nodded. “We checked. We know. Sheriff Carter vouched for you. His fianceé’s kid was at the party.”