Into the Fire Read online

  “Yeah, at least no one else in the building will have to find another place to live.”

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “I’ll get it for you.” Maggie rose and let Kane into the apartment. “What else did the fire department say?” She remembered seeing him talking to the fire chief when she’d trudged back into the building.

  “They’ve inspected the office and determined the fire started in the trash can.”

  “I don’t see how.” She raked her fingers through her hair then massaged her nape, trying to ease the tension radiating down her spine and across her shoulders.

  “From a cigarette.” Limping toward the couch, Kane collapsed on it and rubbed his left knee, pain etched into his features.

  “Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?” Maggie asked, taking the seat next to him.

  “Just overdid it tonight, but at least everyone is safe.”

  “Kane, I don’t smoke. How did a cigarette get into my trash can?”

  “Good question. Has anyone been in the apartment today who was smoking? They can smolder a while before causing a fire.” Kane shifted toward Maggie.

  “No one has been in there for the past few days but you and Edwina.” She remembered the two drawers slightly open. Maybe she hadn’t been paranoid after all. “What if my intruder is back still looking for something?”

  Edwina struggled to her feet, tired lines emphasizing her wrinkles. “How did he get in with the new security system?”

  “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Or he lives in the building.” Icy fingers gripped Maggie in a vise. She hugged her arms to her chest. She’d wondered about that after the first break-in; then she had dismissed it as she’d gotten to know the other tenants.

  “But still he has to get into your place somehow once he’s in the building.” Edwina plodded toward her kitchen and reappeared a minute later. “Here’s my set of keys for each apartment. I keep it hidden if I don’t have them with me.”

  Kane dug into his pocket and withdrew his set. “And here’s mine. It’s always with me.”

  “I don’t know how someone got in. But he did, and he started that fire either deliberately or accidentally. Either way I’m without a home for at least a while. Maybe that was his purpose. To get me out of the apartment.” Head throbbing, Maggie clenched her hands. “He doesn’t know me very well. I won’t be scared away.”

  “Nor does he know me. I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it. We’ll just need to step up our search for the murderer. Once found, your problems will be over with.” Kane patted Maggie’s fist lying on the couch between them.

  She wished her problems would be over when that happened, but she still had the situation with Vicky and her family. Finding the killer might be easier than dealing with her past and her fear of rejection.

  Kane struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on his right leg. “I’ll get someone out here to look at your apartment first thing tomorrow—” he glanced at his watch “—this morning. At least the fire was confined to your place. Where are you going to stay until then?”

  “Right here in my spare bedroom,” Edwina said as she shuffled toward her short hallway. “I’m going to put fresh sheets on the bed right now.”

  “I can help—”

  “Maggie, nonsense. You’re my guest. I’ll take care of it.” Edwina peered back at her, winked, then continued to amble down the hall.

  Maggie chuckled. “Can you believe in the middle of all that’s going on she’s trying to play matchmaker?”

  “Edwina never changes. She’s always been like that, and I’ve known her since I was a child. I used to go over to visit her with David. She had treats for us and interesting stories about what was going on at the university.” Kane turned too quickly toward the front door, throwing his body out of position.

  Maggie’s arms shot out to steady him before he went down. Anger lined his face, and he wrenched from her embrace, clutching the back of the sofa to keep himself upright.

  “I don’t need your help. I’m just tired and lost my footing.”

  “I know that. What’s going on, Kane? Maybe the smoke got to you more than you let on with the firefighters.”

  Limping toward the door, he thrust it open. Keeping his back to her, he said, “Nothing. Everything’s wonderful.”

  Something was wrong. Did he hurt himself while trying to put out the fire? Maggie stared at Kane’s retreating figure. The door closing—a bit loudly—shook her out of her trance.

  “Kane’s left already?” Edwina asked, coming back into the living room.

  “Yeah, but he’s acting strangely. He’s never limped so heavily before. Do you think he hurt himself and doesn’t want to let anyone know? My father used to suffer silently when he was in pain.”

  “Kane’s definitely the strong, silent type, and that doesn’t stop when it comes to being hurt. Go find out what’s wrong.”

  “I don’t know. He’s so good at putting up barriers.”

  “Right and it’s about time someone challenged those barriers. He’s lived in the past long enough. I can tell he really likes you. You might be able to get through to him. I’ve tried and haven’t been successful.”

  “What happened to him in the war?”

  Edwina frowned. “Make him tell you. It’s his story, not mine.”

  Maggie hurried from Edwina’s. She owed Kane and wanted to be there for him if he was hurting physically or emotionally. As much as some people wished they could go through life not needing anyone, it wasn’t possible. She was still learning that lesson. When everything settled down, she needed to take a good hard look at her own life and rethink what she was going to do about Vicky and her family. She wanted them in her life. She’d discovered that tonight when she was afraid she might lose Ashley.

  She rapped on Kane’s door. Nothing, not a sound. Again she knocked, this time pounding. “Kane! Open up.”

  What if he’d been in more pain than he had let on? Although he’d been checked and breathed in some oxygen the firefighters had, maybe the smoke had done some kind of damage and—

  The door flew open, and Kane filled the entranceway with his large presence. Her gaze took in his pain-carved facial features then skimmed down his length. It stopped at the sight of the crutch he was leaning on before continuing its trek to his left leg, missing below the knee. She’d never seen him in shorts before, but now it was evident why.

  Her attention riveted to his face. “Is this what you’ve been hiding all this time from me?”

  With a grimace, he nodded. “I guess you want to come in.”

  Maggie didn’t say anything. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what she’d seen and the implications his silence had on their relation—no, correction friendship. Kane not trusting her with the fact he wore a prosthetic leg underscored what little he thought of her. Hurt and anger warred for dominance.

  “I didn’t tell you about my leg because I don’t want your pity.” He stepped to the side to let her into his apartment.

  She remained in the hallway, anger winning. “Now I know what you really think of me, and it isn’t flattering. You think I’m some shallow person who can’t accept people for who they are.” She poked him in the chest. “Well, buster, I’ve got news for you. I work at a hospital and work with all kinds of patients. I’ve actually had a few who’ve lost a limb and had to learn to deal with it, as well as regain their speech abilities. I never thought any less of them.” Whirling around, she started to storm away.

  “I’m sorry, Maggie.”

  His words halted her escape. She turned back, her heart twisting at the chastened look on his face.

  “You’re right. I prejudged you because of my past experiences with some people. When I came back to Seven Oaks, I was determined not to give anyone around me the chance to pity me or think I couldn’t be the man I once was.” He swept his arm across his body. “Come in. I owe you an explanation if you’ll listen to it now.”

&n
bsp; Indecision kept her still for all of about ten seconds. She stalked past Kane and swung around in the middle of his living room. With her arms folded over her chest, she watched him maneuver quite well using his one crutch.

  “Have a seat. This may take a while.” Kane eased into a chair across from his couch. “Does Edwina know where you are? I don’t want her to worry.”

  “Who do you think suggested I come talk to you?”

  “Edwina. She’s been hounding me to tell you from the beginning.”

  “Who knows about your leg?”

  “A few—John, Vicky, David, Edwina. I made them promise not to speak of it to anyone, even me.”

  “Not Ashley and Kenny?”

  He shook his head.

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged. “It’s not something I like to talk about, and I certainly don’t go around announcing it to people.”

  “You’re not less a person because you don’t have part of your leg. Do you think you are?”

  “Whoa. You don’t beat around the bush.” He averted his gaze for a long moment. “Right after it happened, I had some people, my parents and Ruth included, who made me feel like an invalid, like I would have to change my life because I lost my leg. I’ve had a hard time accepting what it’s done to my life.”

  “What’s it done to you?”

  “I used to love to run, participate in all kinds of sports. I was training for a marathon when I was called up. Now I have to be satisfied working out at the gym.”

  “You can still run. You just need to get a different kind of prosthetic leg. I’d love to have someone to run with and challenge me to go faster and longer. Any time you’re up for it, just let me know.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Yes, it is after you get the prosthesis. You adjust to it and start running. Unless you want to wallow some more in self-pity.”

  He blinked, his cheeks reddening.

  “That’s not you. Since when do you let something get you down for long? Ruth wasn’t the woman for you. No one is perfect. We all have limitations. I can’t sing. I love to sing, but I only sing when I’m alone. But I do sing.”

  “This isn’t anything like singing!”

  “Yes, it is. It’s a limitation. That’s all. Again, we all have them. The key is to work around them and not let them stop us from doing what we love to do. So, what’s it gonna be? Are you going to continue to hide from life or begin living it to the fullest? Our attitude is everything.”

  Doubt still appeared on Kane’s face, his eyes half-veiled.

  “Jesus knew His earthly life would be for only a short time, but in that time he did everything he could. He lived it to the fullest and got His message out to the people He’d come to offer salvation to. Look at what he accomplished in such a short time.”

  “Where’s God in war?”

  “By your side. He hasn’t forsaken you. Wasn’t it better for you to discover the kind of person Ruth was before you two got married because marriage is forever—” she gave him a half grin “—or it should be? For better or worse. It looks like she couldn’t take the worse.”

  Kane sank back against the cushion, closing his eyes. Weariness took hold of him, but there was no more doubt in his expression. “Has anyone told you that you’d make a great drill sergeant?”

  “Not lately. But some of my patients know I don’t give up easily.”

  “And you think I have?” His gaze fastened onto hers.

  “I wouldn’t go as far as to say you let the loss of your leg cause you to give up. Rather I think you’ve retreated from life. Have you thought about going to a support group?”

  “I had therapy when this all first happened.” He cocked a grin. “And you can see how much good it did.”

  “Maybe you weren’t ready to listen.”

  “Perhaps.” He leaned forward, elbows on the arms of the chair while he steepled his fingers. “You’ve given me something to think about. I probably shouldn’t make any decisions while my brain is mush, though. Besides, my problems aren’t the most pressing ones at the moment. We need to talk about what we should do next.”

  We. She resisted the lure of that word. It didn’t mean they were a couple. His silence about his injury proved that to her. “Yes, but let’s talk tomorrow after church or rather later today. I can’t believe it’s four.” Maggie rose. “I need to let you get some rest while I go to Edwina’s and collapse from exhaustion.”

  “What time are you going to church?”

  “I’m going to the late service. I’ll leave about ten-thirty.”

  “I’d like to go with you.”

  “You don’t have to. Nothing’s gonna happen to me at church.”

  “I know. I just thought I would go with you. Is that okay?”

  Very. “Yes.” When he started to get up, she put her hand up. “Stay. I think I know the way out.”

  In the hall Maggie couldn’t contain her broad smile any longer. In the midst of all that had happened in the last few hours, there was a bright spot. Kane had been looking out for her lately, and now she felt she had returned the favor.

  Thank you, Lord.

  * * *

  “This is so beautiful. With all the commotion lately, I haven’t had the chance to explore your backyard and the lake.” Maggie sat on a wooden bench that faced the water where ducks and Canada geese swam.

  “I thought we would get away from the house to do some brainstorming.” Kane took the place right next to her, relaxing and slipping his arm along the back. “I got a chance to talk to David at church about the fire. He’s going to talk with the arson expert for the fire department. See if there’s any kind of evidence to link it to someone.”

  “I know that arson can be hard to prove. A lot of cases go unsolved or at least not to trial. Look at Phillip Johnson’s parents and what happened there.”

  “Yeah, David said the case is still open. No one was brought in. Too bad the detective on that case is dead. I would love to talk to him about what he suspected. There wasn’t anything in the official file to point to anyone, but they sometimes have hunches they just can’t prove.”

  “Hopefully the retired arson investigator will have a suspect when we see him this week. As you said, having a suspect and proving it in court are two different things.” His hand rested on her shoulder, and the feeling it generated zipped through her.

  “What about your friend at the university in Nashville? Have you heard back from him?”

  “Yes. In fact, he woke me up this morning.”

  “What did he have to say concerning Henry? Any enemies there?”

  “Several. Henry left right before an accusation was going to be brought against him for sexual harassment of a female student. I got the feeling after Henry was gone the university persuaded the young woman not to pursue it in court.”

  “Bad publicity for the school?”

  “Yes. Parents don’t want to send their daughters off to a university with a reputation of having a professor who wanted certain sexual favors for a grade.”

  “The more I hear about this man, the more I don’t like him—and I didn’t even know him.” Maggie tried to picture Henry, and all she saw was a black screen. Like the man’s heart?

  “I did and we had a few complaints against him from the students, but nothing quite that serious.”

  “What I want to know is how did he get hired at a prestigious university such as Seven Oaks with that kind of reputation? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”

  “I guess that’s a question for Dr. Johnson since he was the one who hired him and made him head of the science department.”

  “Was he at the other school?”

  Kane shook his head. “But Henry did have good credentials. His reputation as a scholar was excellent. I suppose since Phillip and Henry were friends not many questions were asked about anything else.”

  “Or the answers were overlooked. Remember the flash drive. Could Henry have been blackmailing Dr
. Johnson?”

  Chapter Nine

  “And blackmailing Dr. Maples, too?” Kane’s forehead wrinkled, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t know. I never thought Henry was wanting for money, but now that I think about it, where did the money he have come from?”

  Maggie’s mouth twisted into a frown. “If he was financially well off, why was he living in one of your apartments? Don’t get me wrong. You have a very nice building, but why wouldn’t he buy a house or live in those deluxe condos on Memorial?”

  “I’ll try not to take offense,” Kane said with a grin. “And the answer again is I don’t know.” Drawing Maggie against him, he lazily ran his hand up and down her arm. “I did get the impression he didn’t want the responsibility of keeping up a house. He couldn’t be bothered by such mundane activities.”

  The word home and Henry didn’t go together from all Maggie had learned about the man. Home was a refuge from the world, a place full of comfort and in the best circumstances, love. She wanted a home and someone to love.

  “But again, who knows what was going on in Henry’s mind.” Kane continued to hold her pressed to his side.

  Trying to ignore his touch, which definitely distracted her from thinking logically, Maggie asked, “Okay, what do we have? Two flash drives with information on them. The photos could be damaging to Dr. Maples’ marriage and career while with Dr. Johnson we have a story about the death of his parents and childhood photos of the two of them together. Henry could have been keeping the newspaper article because he was mentioned in it. It wouldn’t surprise me he was vain on top of everything else.”

  “Or he could be keeping it because he has something on his friend, Phillip Johnson.”

  “Then where is that information? Do you see the head of the university killing his mother and father and then covering it up? This is a thirteen-year-old we’re talking about.” She turned slightly to look into Kane’s eyes. “And what do these flash drives have to do with the break-ins at my apartment? David has interviewed both Dr. Maples and Dr. Johnson about Henry. He’s checked out their alibis, too.”