"I'm fairly sure you did know that," Devin said. "We had several conversations about who could be involved, and Mr. Dillingsworth was mentioned more than once."
"Ron is an author. He writes books."
"About fire," Devin reminded her.
"They're fiction," Gerilyn said, a worried look in her eyes. "I don't know why this is still going on. I thought it was over."
"It's not going to be over until the right person is in jail," Devin said.
"Let's go," Brad interrupted. "If you have any other questions, you can speak to our lawyer." He took his wife's hand and led Gerilyn away.
Devin blew out a breath, his expression grim. "I do not like him."
"I don't like him, either, but I kind of believe him," she said.
Devin frowned. "You do? Why?"
"Gut feeling."
"Well, I'm not ready to check him off the list just yet." He paused, his gaze moving toward the front of the store. "Dillingsworth has run out of books. Let's head over there."
Devin was definitely a man on a mission, Kate thought, hurrying behind him as he made a beeline for the dark-haired, bearded author with the glasses.
Dillingsworth was just getting up from his chair when he saw Devin. He froze as if he'd suddenly been trapped, his gaze darting toward the nearest exit.
"Mr. Dillingsworth," Devin said. "Good to see you again."
"Agent Scott. Wait, that's incorrect. You're no longer an agent, are you?" Dillingsworth asked, quickly regaining his composure.
"He's not, but I am," Kate said. "Special Agent Kate Callaway. Could we speak to you for a moment?"
"I'm afraid I'm just leaving. Any questions you have should be directed to my lawyer."
"There was a fire last night, Mr. Dillingsworth, but you probably already know that, don't you?" Devin asked. "You like to follow fires, show up at them, and watch the firefighters risk their lives."
"That's called research," Dillingsworth said sharply. "Any good writer does his research. But, no, I wasn't at any fires in the city last night. I was in New York. I arrived this morning just before noon. I'm sure the airlines would be happy to verify my travel information."
"We'll be sure to check," Devin said.
"Excuse me, Mr. Dillingsworth, we're ready for a few pictures," a young woman from the bookstore said, interrupting their conversation.
"Of course," he said.
As he walked away, Devin let out a sigh. "If he has an alibi for last night, then he's off the list."
"Anything that narrows down the suspect list is a good thing," she said.
"Mr. Scott?"
Devin turned around as an older, stylishly dressed female joined them. "Mrs. Raffin," he said.
"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here. I heard about the fire at the park on the news this morning. You told us there were more fires coming. Is this what you meant?"
He nodded. "Yes. As you know, the fires come in threes, and the first two occurred in the past week, which means the third is coming soon."
Her eyes filled with concern. "You're saying that someone is going to go after another one of our historic buildings?"
"I believe so. This is Special Agent Kate Callaway. She's working on the case now as well. This is Eileen Raffin."
"It's nice to meet you," Kate said, shaking hands with the woman. "I understand you do interior design and that you work with Gerilyn Connors."
"I do, and I'm very passionate about our historic buildings. In my spare time, I serve on the Historic Preservation Commission. These fires are very disturbing. I thought they were over, but I guess not." She paused, her gaze darting around the room as if she were looking for someone. "You don't still suspect Brad, do you? He moved back in with Gerilyn, you know."
"I was surprised to hear that," Devin said. "When did that happen?"
"A few weeks ago. She told me he's changed, and he told me the same thing. She's convinced he's sober now."
"It doesn't sound like you're convinced," Kate said.
"I don't know what to think. Brad is a volatile person. I don't enjoy being around him, but I do care about Gerilyn. I want her to be happy. If there is anything she needs to know about Brad, you need to tell her."
"We don't have any evidence against him," Kate said.
"Well, I guess that's good," Eileen said. "Did you come here tonight to talk to Gerilyn?"
"And Mr. Dillingsworth," Devin put in. "I had no idea that Gerilyn knew Mr. Dillingsworth."
"She doesn't know him," Eileen said. "I put the book signing together. We were talking about local authors, and my daughter is a big fan of his books. He's gotten very popular, so I asked him if he would come and give us an hour." Eileen paused, suddenly looking worried. "I know that he was interviewed about the fires, but he's a writer. He's a celebrity. His books are on the New York Times Bestseller List. He doesn't set fires; he just writes about them. I had no idea that his being here would cause any problems."
"It hasn't," Kate said.
"We also wanted to talk to you," Devin said. "We're looking at potential targets for the next fire, and you have the most knowledge of anyone I know about the historic structures in the city."
"I am always happy to help. I'll be in my office Monday if you want to come by and go over your list. I have no idea if I'll be able to give you any solid information, but I'll try."
"That would be great," Devin said.
"I should probably go and mingle, try to get some people to open up their wallets, so we can restore this building to its original glory."
"It is an amazing space," Kate said.
"You'll have to come back when it's done. Then it will be truly spectacular. If you'll excuse me … "
As Eileen left, Kate turned to Devin. "Eileen Raffin doesn't trust Brad as much as Gerilyn does."
"I got that impression, too. But she does love Mr. Dillingsworth. She sounded like a big fan."
"So who should we talk to next? Is there anyone else here?"
He looked around the room. "I don't think so. We can follow up on the alibi Dillingsworth gave us. Beyond that, we didn't get much."
"We did get Brad's attention. He knows we've reopened the investigation, and he's not happy about it."
"Gerilyn isn't, either," he said. "I can't believe she took him back. Actually, I can believe it. Like I told you the first day we met, love is blind."
"I don't think it needs to be. But rather than get into a philosophical discussion about love, let's go back to your apartment and start working up the target list."
"All right," he said, weariness in his eyes.
"Are you okay, Devin? Is your head hurting?" He'd downplayed his bruised head, but she suspected he'd been fighting off a killer headache all day.
"It's fine. Let's go."
As they turned to leave, she realized their exit was blocked. "Oh, no," she said in dismay.
"What's wrong?" Devin asked.
"I'm busted."
"Why?"
Before she could speak, her name rang out, and a pretty redhead and a tall, dark-haired man with blue eyes came up to them.
"Kate, what on earth are you doing here?"
"Hi, Mom-Dad." She looked at Devin. "These are my parents."
Seventeen
He could see the family resemblance. Kate had her father's blue eyes and her mother's warm and curious smile.
"This is Devin Scott," Kate added. "He's a former FBI agent. Sharon and Tim Callaway."
"Nice to meet you both." He shook Tim's hand and then received a hug from Sharon.
"It's nice to meet you, too," Sharon said with a very interested smile. She turned to her daughter. "What are you doing here, Kate? I thought you weren't going to be able to come home until Wednesday."
"Surprise," Kate said a little weakly.
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
Kate licked her lips, and he could see her hesitation. She hadn't asked for his help, but he decided to throw her a lifeline.
"It's my fault," he said. "I asked Kate to come home early, so I could see her before she got busy with the wedding."
"Oh," Sharon said, her gaze turning more speculative. "So you two are … "
"Dating," he finished, ignoring Kate's warning look. If she didn't like his story, she should have come up with one of her own more quickly.
"Why didn't you tell me you were dating someone?" Sharon asked.
"It's new," Kate said. "There was nothing to tell. I was going to call you."
"Where are you staying, or should I ask?" Sharon enquired.
"I'm staying at Ian's," she said. "Don't get mad at him. I asked him not to tell you."
"Why is it a secret? I don't know if I like the way the FBI is turning you into such a cagey person, Kate."