“I know that the thing practically burned to the ground within an hour. The rumor is that it was electrical and started in the walls.”
“All around the house? It did burn pretty evenly to the ground,” I said.
“It did. These all sound like questions for the fire marshal, though. I’m a real estate investor, Everett. Yes. You’re going to have to say it.”
“Part of the fire marshal’s diagnosis of the fire is suspected foul play.”
“That is not a rumor I’ve heard.”
“It’s not a rumor. I just got done speaking with the fire marshal.”
“And…?”
“And that’s all you’ll get.”
“So, the fire marshal hasn’t confirmed foul play,” he said.
“The mere fact that I can’t get you to give me an answer makes me wonder if you're somehow involved in all this.”
“Involved in burning down some old mansion in Charleston? Are you kidding? You know you and your family practically own the historical society. Real estate investors like myself can’t touch it without paying a pretty penny or butting heads with your father or Cash and Drew, for that matter.”
“Then tell me what I want to know. If this was foul play, what have you heard? You’re connected, Colton. I know you know something,” I said.
“Look, this isn’t the first fire I’ve heard of. Properties burn down all the time. I had two of mine go up in smoke just last year because of the wildfires in California.”
“We aren’t in California, Colton. We’re in South Carolina.”
“You aren’t listening to what I’m saying.”
“I’m listening just fine.”
“This isn’t the first fire I’ve heard of.”
I drew in a deep breath before I began looking around his room. My eyes made their way back to him and he cleared his throat before he crossed his leg. Colton Braxton dealt in what I called the “gray storm,” the area between sound real estate investment and conniving ones. He toed that line between good and evil when it came to how he made his money, which was why my parents never let him invest in any of their properties. Or ours, for that matter.
“What other fires have you heard of?” I asked.
“There was one on the North Carolina-South Carolina border a few months ago. A couple already down in South Myrtle. Seems like fires are taking over these days with the South Carolina drought this year,” he said.
“The drought.”
“Yep. The drought.”
“What started all these fires?” I asked.
“Good question. The one on the border was an electric fireplace gone wrong. The two in South Myrtle went up in smoke after a powerline frayed and fell on top of the two houses.”
“Electrical problems.”
“Yep.”
“All of them.”
“Uh huh.”
“And you know this…?”
“Because my specialty is areas that could be up and coming. South Myrtle is growing at an exponential rate and the small town at the border was just disc