Scorched Eggs Read Free Page B

Doogie’s cruiser as it rolled into their front parking lot.
    Now what?
Suzanne wondered.
    *   *   *
    L IKE a rifle shot, the screen door whapped open hard against the wall and Sheriff Doogie strode into the practically deserted café. His leather utility belt creaked, his broad shoulders were hunched forward, and his gait seemed heavy and dragging. Only his sharp law enforcement eyes betrayed his high level of anger and intensity.
    Toni, who was piling dirty dishes into a gray plastic tub, looked up and said to Suzanne, “I have a feeling we won’t be closing none too early today.”
    Suzanne took one look at Doogie and figured the same thing.
    Doogie made a beeline for the end stool at the marble counter. It was his favorite stool, the one that creaked when he sat down and, over the past couple of years, had assumed a distinct list.
    Suzanne reached behind her and grabbed a pot of coffee from where it rested on the soda fountain backdrop they’d scrounged from an old drugstore. She filled a ceramic mug for Doogie and slid it across the counter to him. “How are things at the fire?” she asked. But she could tell by the look on his face that the situation wasn’t good.
    â€œTerrible,” said Doogie. He took a quick gulp of coffee. “Real bad. The building’s a complete disaster and—”
    Petra came flying out of the kitchen, shoes clumping, hair sticking up in uncharacteristic spikiness, to interrupt. “Who
cares
about the stupid building?” she demanded. “We want to know about Hannah! Did the poor woman even have a chance?”
    Doogie threw a sad, haunted look in her direction and shook his big head. “Probably not. I’m sorry . . .” His voice dropped off to a low mumble.
    â€œDid Hannah burn to death?” Toni asked, edging closer to the group. Toni had a certain fascination with the macabre that wasn’t always healthy.
    â€œToni!” cried Petra. “That’s a terrible thought!”
    But Doogie hastened to alleviate their fears.
    â€œNo, no,” said Doogie, spreading his hands as if to make peace. “The fire chief was pretty sure that Hannah was overcome with smoke first.”
    â€œWhich means she suffocated,” said Petra. She gazed at them in horror. “That’s a
terrible
way to go.”
    â€œTry not to think of it that way,” said Suzanne. “Try to think of it as Hannah blacking out and not suffering much.”
    Petra sniffed and pulled a hankie from her apron pocket. “I can
try
to think about it that way, but it won’t be easy.”
    â€œDo they know what caused the fire?” Suzanne asked.
    â€œWas it faulty wiring?” asked Toni. “That was a pretty old building, after all.”
    â€œOn the Historic Register,” said Suzanne, recalling the sign she’d been so very lucky to duck behind.
    Doogie sucked air through his front teeth and hesitated.
    â€œDoogie, what?” said Suzanne. She knew the sheriff well enough to know when he was stalling. Their battery of questions had caught him a little unprepared.
    Doogie scratched at his chin with the back of his hand. “Ah, jeez.” He looked like he was mulling something over in his head.
    â€œWhat?” said Petra.
    â€œTell us,” said Toni.
    â€œFire Chief Finley’s working on a couple of things,” said Doogie.
    Suzanne cocked her head. “Such as?”
    Doogie stared directly at her. “The fire started with a huge burst, right? I mean, you were there. Next door at that beauty salon.”
    â€œIt felt like that’s the way it happened,” said Suzanne. Sure it had. She’d smelled smoke, run outside, and then,
boom
,
the fire was suddenly raging.
    â€œDid you hear a loud explosion first?” Doogie asked.
    â€œNot really,” said Suzanne.
    â€œWhat are you thinking?” asked Toni. “That it was a gas main