The tall one, Steve, had arms decorated with tattoos and his hair dyed with a stripe of red. But for all the belligerent expression, he had the eyes of a lonely kid.
The other boy, Jason, was scrapper-small, his head shaved like a marines. Hed saddened Lily from the first time she met him. He had that beaten look in his eyes, a posture that was always anxious, spring-ready-ready to run, ready to punch, ready always to face the next bad thing.
Both boys recognized her, saw her walking, but neither paid any attention until she stopped in front of them. Hi, guys. Have either of you been here long enough to know what happened?
Jason looked behind him, as if thinking she must be speaking to someone else. When he realized she was talking to him, his face flushed.
He got here first. He lifted his shoulder toward Steve. But I got here right after. We both wanted to help, but the cops and firemen wont let us go any closer.
But were not leaving, Steve said. Were staying for Griff. No matter what anybody says.
Thats exactly how I feel, Lily told them. I dont want to leave if theres a chance I can help. But to tell you the truth, Im really petrified of fires. Would you mind if I hang with you two?
Both boys shot each other a look of alarm. Yet they both immediately moved to create a space between them, then promptly looked around as if expecting someone to explain the facts of life to Lily. There were respectable people all over the place that she could be talking to.
Did you hear anything about how the fire started? she asked.
Lot of people talking, but nobody who knows. Steve shifted on his feet. It wasnt, like, electrical. Because it wasnt in the walls or like that. And the one fireman, he was talking about accelerants. Like how fast a fire burns, how it burns? I heard him say something about gasoline. Which means somebody set it.
Nobody shoulda done that to Griff, Jason said heatedly. Nobody.
Thats exactly how I feel, Lily agreed. I dont know him well. But as far as I can tell, hes decent to everyone, not at all the kind of person to make enemies. More like the kind of man whod make serious friends.
Steve lost some of his stiffness. He doesnt care who you are or where you come from. Youre good to him, hes good to you. He doesnt rush to judge people.
Thats my impression, too. So, can either of you think of someone who might have done this?
Jason toed an imaginary spot on the cement. Some people think thatd be you. Not that Id be thinking that, of course. But some people been saying that.
Steve shot him a look. Not us. Griff, he set us straight about you. We know youre okay.
Lily kept an intrusive eye on Jasons face. I cant tell you how much I appreciate hearing that. It really hurts to have people think the worst of you-especially when they dont really know anything about you.
Jason suddenly squinted at her hard, then said slowly. Yeah. I know what thats like.
A moment later he shifted a little closer. She knew better than to push for any closer connection this soon. The gifted kids Lily taught tended to be well dressed and quiet, wealthy kids; but these two were so similar in other ways. Her students all had sharp edges, radiated the same dont-fit-in loneliness. They were always braced for people to judge them as different.
In the meantime, the crowd was slowly drifting away. The smoke was still thick, the burned stench pervasive, but the fire was out, the danger clearly over. The fire truck had turned off its flashers. The authorities still hovered with Griff. Lily was uncertain how much time had passed. One hour? More? For darn sure, it was well past midnightand the two boys were weaving on their feet.
She didnt ask if their parents knew where they were. She would have bet the bank it was a waste of time. She just said, I can see theyre starting to close this down. And I was thinking
What? Steve asked.
Well. Nobodys going to be allowed to touch anything until they take off the yellow tape-which I assume will be tomorrow, at the soonest. But the thing is-it really looks like a mess.
Youre not kidding, Jason said.
Griff is really going to need some help. But not now. So, itd seem the best thing to do for us is to go home and get some rest. Because hell need all the energy weve got to help him tackle this tomorrow.
I dont think we should go, Steve said.
I know. It feels wrong. But I keep thinking, if were all exhausted tomorrow, how much help can we really be for him? And there isnt a prayer anyone will let us do anything tonight.
I dont know, Jason said unhappily.
But twenty minutes later, when the last bystanders disappeared into the night, the boys finally agreed to pack it up-after some more ardent words about being there for Griff first thing the next day.
Eventually, the fire truck left. Then the sheriff drove off with the fire chief right behind him.
An older man with a thatch of gray hair parked in front of the place, opened his windows-it looked as if hed been assigned to stay the night, make sure no one trespassed on the fire scene until morning. Griff stood talking with him for a while after that, before turning around and aiming for his car.
Initially, he didnt notice Lily sitting on the curb, which suited her just fine. He wasnt devil-may-care womanizer Griff now. The lazy stride was gone.
He was mad. He had to be beyond exhausted, but he stalked toward the car with a clipped step, an iron cast to his chin, his mind obviously working overtime at a hundred miles an hour. The character in his face fascinated her. So did the splotches of soot decorating his clothes and arms and face.
He was startled when he suddenly spotted her. What are you still doing here, you crazy woman?
I figured Id take you home. She stood up, wiped the cement crumbs from her fanny.
I assumed youd have already gone home. You werent supposed to wait-
I wanted to. She wanted to wrap her arms around him right then, too, but she didnt. He moved tighter than wire, every muscle coiled up and bunched. It was arson, yes? Gasoline as the accelerant?
Yeah. I take it you heard some of the talk. He scraped a hand through his hair, which only added more soot to the mess. Its actually not as bad as it looks. The clean-up will be a godawful mess, for sure. But the two locked rooms in back-the freezer section, and my experimental kitchen-those would have taken serious money to replace, and theyre fine. Its just the main part of the store thats a wreck. Apparently, someone used a skeleton key, dropped a homemade gasoline explosive in a wastebasket. It seems impossible. A crime with no motive. Vandalism for no purpose. But planned.
So
So, the fire team needs to see the scene by light of day. Do their investigative thing. Then I can get in there. Rather than clean up, frankly I suspect itll be easier to gut the place, start with new sheet rock, new floor, just redo the darned thing. What? He seemed to suddenly notice that she was dangling her car keys in front of him.
I want to hear more, she assured him. But its been a long night. Lets get you in the car first. Ill take you home.
Youre taking me home?
Dont get your hopes up. Im not offering a wild night of sin and surprises. Youre just not going home alone tonight. Im driving, because you have to be stressed. Then Im putting you in a hot shower, and after that, tucking you into bed.
He shot her a look. I dont think so, he said dryly.
She did.
She was gaining a certain comfort level in this odd, powerful attraction she had for him. It was like looking at a diamond so expensive that she couldnt have it. Griff was a fantastic flirt, but he couldnt really be interested in her. His home was here. Hers would never be here again. He played a sophisticated game. She went to makeup and jewelry parties. He had a secret life. She never had a reason to keep a secret. Bottom line was that she might as well let this singing, zinging fire between them smoke through its course, because she couldnt imagine how she could get burned. He wasnt for her. Shed never lie to herself about that.
But tonight wasnt about such heavy issues. Tonight was just about watching over a man who was beside himself and worn out.
His house was dark. Neither had thought to leave an outside light on. Griff gave her grief every step of the way, insisting she go home, that he didnt need a babysitter, that he could get his own towels-when she turned on the shower, she prowled around for a linen closet and clean towels, then prowled in the kitchen until she found a bottle of Taliskers.
She wasnt exactly positive what kind of liquor that was, but when she unscrewed the top and smelled, she knew it was exactly what she was looking for. She splashed a couple shots in a water glass, and put that on the bathroom counter, too.
If youre determined to stay here, you could at least come into the shower with me, he called from the other side of the smoky glass.
Maybe next week, she said.
What? Whats next week?
The point is that youre not getting any tonight, so just get your mind off it. She left the door ajar, and went into his bedroom. The master suite wasnt particularly huge, but the balcony was a pool of moonlight, the room colors a rich blend of silvers and pale grays and charcoals. She plumped his pillows, turned back the sheets.
She debated what to do with the clothes hed peeled off-her first choice was to trash them, but really, she hardly had that right. The fire stench was too noxious for them to stay inside, so they got a temporary home in his garage.
Griff emerged from the shower still protesting-but his voice was starting to slur, his eyes bloodshot from all the smoke. She pointed with a royal finger-her teacher royal finger-toward his room. Im not tired, he said. And besides that
She didnt need to tune him out. He was out for the count from the instant his head hit the pillow. Actually, he crashed so deeply that she was a little fearful hed gone straight into a coma-but his chest was rising and falling, so there was no excuse to keep hovering over him.
Because she couldnt find any herbal tea, she poured herself a thimbleful of that Talisker stuff, found a blanket from his linen closet, and curled up in an oversized chair in his living room. With that location, she was within springing distance of his landline, just in case anyone dared try to call and interrupt his sleep again.