The girl’s throat worked. “You are so awesome.” She swallowed back tears and looked back to Ethan. “So…what was the other?”
“Somebody told me about your interest in Sean Murphy.”
At the mention of the firefighter’s name, Delaney’s cheeks went pink. “Oh God, is it that obvious?”
“Well, let’s face it, Mama Pearl knows all. But no, I didn’t think it was, which is why it hadn’t occurred to me. Why didn’t you just say you were interested in him when we talked the other day?”
She looked at Ethan as if he’d lost his mind. “You already had me pegged. If I’d admitted my interest in Sean, you’d have seen it as an excuse.”
He ducked his head. “I deserve that. And again, I’m sorry. I hope we can move past it.”
“I will if you will.”
This girl had such a generous heart. Maybe that’s what had drawn Miranda to her in the first place.
Ethan inclined his head. “Thank you.”
“If you’re not looking at me anymore, what is it we’re getting started on?”
“There’s a reason I suspected you. There is a possibility, however remote, that somebody may be setting you up to take the fall for this.”
“What?”
“The details of your case are fairly widely known. Except for the origins of the fire. That was something straight out of the crime scene report and not—as far as I’m aware—common knowledge. I don’t have any reason to suspect any of my officers, so who, other than yourself, would have known about that?”
“I...” Delaney shook her head. “I don’t know. Bryce and Gina, certainly. The fire department would’ve told them about the oily rags they found under the porch. Anybody who was with them when they were told.” She straightened and fixed Ethan with a hard stare. “To be clear, I did not deliberately set that fire. I deliberately used oil-based stain to write my opinion of Bryce’s manhood all over his prized deck. But they got home sooner than I was expecting, and I stashed the rags under the porch so I could get out in a hurry. I had no idea they could spontaneously combust, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that they caught it before it spread to the house.”
“Noted. Do you think either of them would target you?”
“I don’t see why. Or at least, I don’t see why they’d try to get to me through Miranda.”
Miranda had been thinking about this herself since Ethan mentioned the theory at breakfast. “Maybe because I gave you a hand in helping you get your life turned around? Is that something that would piss them off?”
“Probably. Gina was never satisfied with the fact that I didn’t do actual time. But the idea that either of them could be behind this? I don’t see it. Frankly, neither of them seem that smart.”
“Do you know what sort of work they do?”
“Gina is a hostess out at Tosca, and Bryce has been commuting to Lawley for some job since the plant closed.”
Ethan’s gaze sharpened. “Heirloom Home Furnishings?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he associate with Harley Forbes?”
Harley? Where was he going with this?
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Did you ever hear him mention Harley?”
Delaney frowned. “Maybe once or twice in a telling stories about work kinda way. Why?”
“Maybe nothing. Maybe something.” He scribbled something on a notepad. “Is there anybody else you can think of who might want to get back at you for something? Was there anyone else you might have crossed or offended before your arrest?”
“All my focus was on Bryce for cheating on me and Gina for being the other woman. I can’t think of anybody else who’d actively try to throw me under the bus like this.”
“Keep thinking. If anybody or anything pops for you, I want you to let me know.”
She promised she would, then hurried out to get started on the inventory.
“You’re coming back to Harley with this?” Miranda asked. “I thought he had alibis for all the times in question.”
“He does. Allegedly.”
“So if he has alibis, how would he have pulled any of this off?”
“He couldn’t have done the vandalism here. Too many people saw him drinking with Ralph Slocombe at The Mudcat that night. But I find it more than a little coincidental that a patient who had a beef with you is all buddy-buddy with Harley, who is pissed his wife left him and may rightly blame you or me both, and they both happened to work with the ex-boyfriend of the woman who’s prospectively being framed for harassing you.”
“Heirloom was the primary employer in town before they closed a couple years ago,” Miranda interjected. “You’re going to find a whole lot of people who used to work there. It’s not exactly a smoking gun.”
“No. And it may be nothing. But it’s another thread to pull. I think, after I get done questioning the rest of your staff, I’ll go track down Bryce Kelso and Gina Draper for a little chat.”
Miranda pushed back from the table and crossed over to wrap her arms around his shoulders, loving the way he leaned into her. “It was good of you to apologize.”
“I can admit when I’m wrong, Legs. I was wrong about her, and she deserved to know it. From what you’ve said, she had a pretty rough go of it, and I’d as soon she not be afraid of me just because I’m a cop.”
Miranda cupped his jaw and bent to brush her lips to his. “You’re going to figure this out. I have faith in you.”
His hand curled loosely around her wrist. “I intend to see that faith is justified. Go ahead and send Keisha in.”
“Yes, sir, Chief.”
Another dead end.
Ethan ought to appreciate that. Those were threads he didn’t need to keep tugging. But Gina Draper and Bryce Kelso had been the best possible leads he’d come up with today. He’d even worked late so he could talk to Kelso once the guy got back from his job in Lawley. Both of them had alibis that weren’t each other for each of the different crimes. Kelso claimed he couldn’t stand Harley Forbes, calling the man a lazy son of a bitch who’d contributed to the company’s decision to up and move production to Mexico. Ethan was inclined to believe him. Which meant yet another night he had to go home to Miranda and admit failure.
But at least he got to go home to her. That was the lone bright spot in all of this. They’d both had a long day. The clinic parking lot still hadn’t emptied when he’d driven back to the station half an hour ago, but surely she’d be finishing up soon. He ought to check and see what kind of take out she’d like for dinner. They could spend the evening relaxing. Maybe watch a movie before bed. Hopefully he’d be clearer in the morning after a good night’s sleep.
Ethan was reaching for his phone when the perfunctory knock sounded on his door. Cleveland stuck his head in. “Chief, Chester Harkin is here to see you. He’s got the Forbes kid with him.”
Ethan knew from the set of Chester’s jaw that he wasn’t gonna be going home any time soon. “Chester, Johnny. Why don’t we go on into the conference room?”