“Yeah, that’s right, I didn’t think you could prove it,” he smirked a minute later when I hadn’t said anything.
“Please. You were running from my clinic as the fire was set and you smell like gasoline.”
“I was running to get help when I saw the flames,” he replied, widening his eyes in fake innocence. “Anyone will believe that.”
The most annoying part was, I knew he was right. We both knew he had just tried to torch my vet clinic, and yet there was nothing I could do about it. I had no real proof that he had done anything. I watched enough CSI to know that all the evidence I had was circumstantial.
“You’re not going to get away with it,” I told him. “There could have been animals in there. You could have killed them.”
“I didn’t do anything. But theoretically, maybe killing them wasn’t what the arsonist had in mind.” His lips curled up into a gross smile as fear gripped my heart. Had he just essentially threatened me?
“Hey, what’s going on here?” a voice asked from behind us. I turned to see Taylor Shaw, Sophie’s boyfriend, standing next to us in uniform. He was tall and looked more like a surfer than a police officer, with shaggy blonde hair and friendly blue eyes. From what I’d heard there had been more than a few disappointed girls in town when they realized Sophie and Taylor were a pretty steady item.
“Officer, I’m so glad you’re here,” Matt told him, putting a pitiful look on his face. “This woman here, Angela, she attacked me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I caught you sneaking away from my vet clinic after you threw a Molotov in the front door,” I replied.
“Woah, woah, hold up,” Taylor said, holding his hands up in front of him. “I think this is a bit above my pay grade. Let me call Chief Gary.”
Chapter 2
Chief Gary joined us about three minutes later.
“What’s happening, Officer Shaw?” he asked, and Taylor motioned to the two of us.
“I found these two having an argument in the middle of the street. Angela insists that she caught Matt after he set her vet clinic on fire, and Matt insists that he was going to get help, and that Angela just attacked him.”
Chief Gary’s eyes widened as Taylor told the story. “Your clinic’s on fire?” he asked me, and I shook my head.
“Not anymore. I managed to put the fire out with the extinguisher. I was in the back room doing inventory when I smelled the smoke.”
“How bad is the damage?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. As soon as I put the fire out I saw Matt running from the clinic, so I went out and caught up to him.”
“You mean she outran you?” Taylor said with a small smile on his face, and Matt glared at him. Matt hadn’t exactly endeared himself to the citizens of Willow Bay since he’d moved into town.
Chief Gary shot Taylor a warning glance–no matter what his personal opinion, Chief Gary was always completely neutral when it came to dealing with the people of Willow Bay. It was one of the reasons I respected him a lot as police chief, and it was one of the reasons why he was incredibly popular here in town.
“I didn’t set the fire. I was just walking past the place when I saw some flames. I ran down the street to go to the fire department to get help.”
“Except the fire department is in the complete opposite direction from my clinic,” I replied coldly.
“Uh, I just panicked, I guess,” Matt replied, and I glared at him. Chief Gary looked from one of us to the other.
“Plus, he smells like gasoline,” I told Chief Gary.
“I already told Angela that I was working on my car all day. That’s why I smell like gas.”
Chief Gary shook his head.
“Angela, I’m sorry. None of this is enough to hold him. I’m going to let you go young man,” he told Matt. “But, I’m going to warn you: stay away from Angela’s vet clinic.”
“Will do, although if I hadn’t been there no one would have been around to raise the alarm,” Matt replied.
I shook my head in amazement at Matt’s brazenness as he walked off, giving me another smug smile as he left.
“He threatened me, too,” I told Chief Gary, who looked at me seriously.
“Did he now? That’s serious.”
“Yes, he told me killing animals might not have been what the arsonist had in mind. Obviously since he did it that way he can say he was just talking. But I know he was the one who torched the clinic, and he definitely threatened me.”
“I don’t like that man one bit,” Chief Gary said, his face darkening. “Unfortunately, you’re right. All the same, I’d like you to go to the county courthouse tomorrow and get a restraining order out against him. I might not be able to arrest him, but what you’ve told me will probably get you an R.O.”
“Ok, will do,” I nodded. I shivered despite the warmth of the night and the warm light pooling over me from the Italian restaurant a few feet away.
“Now, let’s go to the clinic, I want to look at what happened there.”
As Chief Gary and I walked back down Main Street, I took out my phone and texted my best friend Sophie about what happened, and also Jason, my boyfriend and the reporter for the local paper here in town. I got replies from both instantly telling me they were going to be right there.
When we got back to the vet clinic, I finally had a chance to see the damage. Luckily, it could have been a lot worse. A large patch of the linoleum floor was charred black, the edges peeling back, and there were shards of glass everywhere. The whole thing was covered in a thin white coating of leftover fire extinguisher fluid.
Sadness engulfed me all the same. I was so glad I had been here alone, but this place was still my baby, my pride and joy. Chief Gary made his way inside and told me not to touch anything as he looked around. I decided to stay outside; I didn’t want to look at the damage any more than I had to. A minute later, a car pulled up, and Sophie, Jason and my sister Charlotte all came pouring out, surrounding me and taking me into what ended up being one giant hug.
“Are you ok?”
“Are you hurt?”
“Do you know who did it?”
“Of course she knows who did it, it was Matt Smith.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Who else would it have been?”
“Stop bickering, I want to know if Angie’s ok.”
I had to admit, I laughed as I pulled away from the group of my favorite people in the world.
“I’m fine, guys, don’t worry,” I told them. “Just a little bit shaken up more than anything. And pretty upset about the vet clinic,” I continued, glancing toward the doors. Chief Gary was carefully placing some of the glass shards in a clear plastic bag. Tears threatened to sting my eyes, but I forced them back. This wasn’t the time for crying.
“I’m sure Chief Gary will catch whoever did it,” Charlotte said.
I shook my head. “I know who did it. It was Matt Smith. I saw him out of the corner of my eye running off after I put the fire out, so I chased him down. He all but admitted it was him, but because he didn’t actually admit it, there’s nothing Chief Gary can do, unless he finds some proof in there.
I showed the others the road rash on my arm, and saw Jason’s fists clench while Charlotte and Sophie fussed over me.
“You need to get this disinfected,” Charlotte told me. “I’m taking you home right now and wrapping this up for you.”
Charlotte was currently attending medical school in Portland. She was absolutely, hands down way smarter than the rest of us. I waved her off.
“It’ll be fine. I want to know what Chief Gary says, first.”
As if right on cue, Chief Gary chose that moment to come out of the vet clinic. He didn’t look happy.