Page 107 of The Outsider
“That’s enough,” I cut in, stepping between them. “It’s my lantern. So, if it was left out, blame me.”
“You just gonna let this stand, Danny?” Sadie asked, whipping around to face him.
I looked at Danny, who’d been watching the whole thing carefully. He met my eye, frowning. For once, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“The woodshed is Summerhurst property,” he said after a beat. “And it looks like this was just an accident—”
“But—”
“—regardlessof how exactly it happened,” he continued loudly, talking over Sadie. “Since it’s Summerhurst property, and they don’t have a complaint to report, there’s nothing else for us to do here. So, move out.”
Sadie looked like she wanted to argue some more, but Danny gave her an icy look that screamedinsubordination, and she clammed up.She mounted Star, and with one last irritated look in Claire’s direction, took off into the night.
Danny let out a long breath. “Damn. I need a drink.”
“Me too,” Kimmy said, rubbing her eyes.
Between Danny and me, we got everyone back up to the house. Right as Danny was about to leave, he turned back to Claire.
“Just so you know, it’s okay,” he said warmly. “Shit happens. No one was hurt. Try not to take it too hard; just be more careful in future.”
Claire opened her mouth as if to reply, but then her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she nodded. He left, closing the door behind him, and the four of us stood in the foyer for a minute, staring after him.
I didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I still couldn't remember if Claire extinguished the lantern…and a few nights ago, shehadleft a candle lit when she fell asleep. That wasn’t the kind of thing she did a lot, but…was it that much of a stretch that she’d just forgotten about the lantern?
On the other hand, something felt off to me in a way I couldn’t put my finger on. If it really was the lantern, why hadn’t it caught sooner? In theory, it’d already been burning for hours by the time I left for patrol that night. And why hadn’t I noticed the light when I left? By that time, it was totally dark, and even a small light from the woodshed should’ve been obvious.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” Asha said, arms folded over her chest. “Thrilled that the whole place is gonna think Claire and I tried to burn it down now. I’m sure that’ll endear them to us, especially since they were already so happy to have us here.”
She turned on her heel and went upstairs. Kimmy hesitated, but with a parting look at Claire, followed her.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Claire said, “John, I didn’t forget to put out the lantern. IknowI didn’t.”
I rubbed my temples. “Are you completely sure?”
The hurt in her eyes caught me off guard. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve gone through it a hundred times in my head, and I know what I did. I’m not that stupid. Please.”
That nagging sense that something wasn’t right was still there, and I sighed.
“I believe you, baby,” I replied, and I meant it. I gathered her against me, feeling her relax at my touch. “I just…I’m not sure what it means. Maybe Danny was wrong, and something else caused it, but…”
“It has to have been the Jamesons,” Claire said anxiously. “Especially Zach. They’re the ones leading the charge against me.”
I hesitated. I hated the bastard for that night at the dance, but we had no proof of anything. I may’ve not cared about bullshit Valley politics—which Jameson and his sons reveled in—but I wasn’t stupid enough to accuse one of the most powerful families without anything to back it up. We technically weren’t even sure it was arson.
“We don’t know that,” I said gently, stroking her hair. “It could still be an accident that happened some other way. We can’t just accuse them without proof, especially since you’re on probation.”
The corners of Claire’s mouth turned down.
“So, what do we do, then?” she asked. “Just…let this go? Do nothing?”
I didn’t like it, either, but what elsecouldwe do at this point? I held her at arm’s length, cupping her cheek.
“We do what we always do,” I said. “We stay on our guard, watch for threats, and do our best with what we have. You’ll stay close to home; I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nodded, but she looked so dejected that I hugged her tight.
“What about the woodshed?” she asked sadly against my shoulder.
