Chapter 24
Otto
Wilde,
Oh my god. My brother John is living back in Hobie now and heard you’re in the navy serving on a SUBMARINE? Are you fucking crazy?
Do you not even remember the doghouse? Or the bathroom cabinet? Or the drain pipe under the bridge at the lake? Or the goddamned mega slide at that stupid street fair thing we went to during spring break? God, you’re an idiot.
My hands are fucking shaking right now. You are such an imbecile. I hope you’re okay and not scared to death.
Smh,
Walker
(Unsent)
It was like Poseyville all over again. Being suspected of starting a fire when I was a goddamned firefighter was beyond insulting, offensive and frustrating. I felt like a caged animal. One silver lining in the cloud was the youth soccer camp I was helping put on that week with my sister Sassy.
West had recently made a very large donation to the Hobie Youth Center in Nico’s name, and as a result of the influx in cash, participation in the center’s programs by local disadvantaged youth was way up. One of their missions this summer was helping kids stay safe and active while their parents were at work, so Sassy and I had scheduled some week-long mini camps to offer the kids some variety in the center’s day camp options. The group we had this week was a mix of kids from all over Hobie, but they were all third through fifth graders at Hobie Elementary School which meant many of them knew each other.
The day after seeing Walker at the ranch, I arrived at the youth center early to set up a skills drill and was just running through it myself when Sassy showed up.
“What’re you doing here so early? I thought you had a shift at the firehouse?” she asked, jogging the last bit from the parking lot to the field. She had on her old Hobie High soccer shorts with a high-tech tank top, shin guards, and cleats. Her wild hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
“I’m on paid leave,” I grunted. “You sure you’re up for this? If you’re upset about Mom and Dad’s…”
She shook her head. “Screw that. It was just a bunch of stuff. Yeah, it’s sad, but so’s life, you know?”
I stared at her. “Since when are you so pragmatic?”
She shrugged. “When I heard you ran into the fire, it very quickly put things in perspective for me. Human beings versus possessions. No comparison. Asshole.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why’d you do it?”
“Look, can we not do this right now? I’m already feeling like a total ass because I can’t even be around my boyfriend anymore. I know I fucked up, but can you save the lecture for another time?”
Sassy dropped the net bag of soccer balls she was carrying and walked up to wrap her arms around my waist. She was a tiny thing, the one we affectionately called Runt sometimes, so she only came up to my collarbones. But her hug was strong and true, and feeling the familiar comfort of a sibling offering me support was soothing.
“Thanks,” I said, squeezing her tight before pulling back. “Now, let me show you what I’ve set up here for the kids.”
I picked up the bag of balls and began unloading them into a pile on the grass. Sassy reached out and put a hand on my arm.
“Wait.”
I straightened up and looked at her, taking a quick glance at the door to the center to make sure none of the kids had started making their way to the field yet. “What is it?”
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but… why were you at Mom and Dad’s house the night of the fire?”
“Um… to help the crew fight the blaze? What do you mean? I’m a firefighter. It’s my job.”
“No, no. I mean… earlier. Someone said you were spotted a few hours before the fire started. Why were you there? Did you see anything at that time that seemed odd?”
Her question didn’t make any sense. “I wasn’t at the house before the fire. Only after. Where did you hear that?”
She seemed to stop and think for a minute while I noticed the kids filing out of the building and coming toward us.
“Stevie. I met him at the shop for a coffee this morning, and he said he’d overheard Mrs. Parnell tell someone in line at the bakery that they had an eyewitness that put you at the scene of the crime.”
“Who is it?”
She winced. “Nobody seems to know for sure, but someone saw the investigator interviewing Jolie Walker.”
Fuck me.
Maybe things weren’t as amicable between us as I’d thought.
After the soccer camp ended, I made my way to the town square to pick up some takeout from the Pinecone to take back to the ranch. My brain was spinning a mile a minute, trying to determine whether Jolie really would deliberately lie about seeing me at my parents’ house or whether she truly thought she saw me. Or was it possible my speculation had gone too far? Maybe Jolie was just being asked if she saw anything and she wasn’t the supposed eyewitness. But who else would be in a position to see someone at my parents’ place? You either had to be on the Wilde ranch or the Walker ranch to see my parents’ house.