She didn’t argue. Seth held on to Frank as he watched her maneuver her way out. He put Seth on the ladder as soon as she was clear of the window. Seth seemed unafraid of the height, but balked at leaving the guinea pig behind. “My Dog!”
“I’ll bring him!” Frank said. “Now go!”
Seth obeyed the commanding tone. Frank reached in the cage, grasped the frightened animal by the scruff of the neck, and forced it into his inside jacket pocket, where it squirmed nervously. He was certain it was going to jump to its death when he was halfway down the ladder, but it seemed to realize the pocket was the lesser of two evils, and after that, was subdued. Elena had already moved Seth away from the building. She held him tightly, asking him again and again if he was all right. Frank handed the guinea pig over to Seth, then used his cell phone to report the fire.
Neighbors had already reported it, though, and no sooner had he hung up the phone than they heard a fire truck. It pulled into the alley and the firefighters immediately went to work. One of them hurried over to them and asked if any of them were injured and if anyone else was inside. Frank told him that everyone was safe and showed the firefighter his identification. “We’ll be right here,” Frank said. Reassured, the man joined the others. In a matter of minutes, the fire was out.
During those few minutes, Frank made a second call, to the department. He asked for the chief and was put through to Hale.
“Detective Harriman,” Hale said, “I hear things are going better today. Are you calling to tell me we’re about to arrest Dane?”
“No, sir. I’m at Lefebvre’s condo.”
“I thought I told you—”
“I know you think it’s useless for me to investigate Lefebvre’s death, sir, but apparently not everyone feels so sure about that.”
“Speak up! What the hell’s wrong with your voice?”
“Sorry, sir. It’s the smoke. Someone just tried to set fire to the condo while I was in it — there were two other people inside at the time as well — a woman and her son. I’d say more, but I’m not on a secure line.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Frank waited.
“Anyone hurt?” Hale asked.
“No, sir, but we had to escape through a window — a fire was set on the stairwell outside the door.”
Hale sighed. “No accident then.”
“No.” He looked toward Seth and Elena, huddled together. “I have a favor to ask, sir.”
“Then you’d better hope I’m more attentive to you than you are to me.”
“If it’s arson,” Frank said, “eventually they’ll call for a detective. If you won’t let me handle this myself—”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Then I need to ask that you’ll make sure that Carlson sends Pete Baird. And I need you to back me up when I ask for protection of the identities of the residents of the condo.”
“Who are they?”
“I’m not on a secure line, sir,” he said again. “I promise I’ll come in as soon as possible and explain everything to you in person.”
The chief hesitated.
“All right,” he said finally. “But I won’t be here much longer today. Let me give you a number where you can reach me later this evening — no, wait — better yet, come into my office tomorrow morning at ten. One of my meetings has just been canceled, so I have an opening in my schedule. I take it this can wait until then?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hale hesitated, then said, “If that changes, call this number.”
“Yes, sir.” Frank wrote the number down and thanked him.
“Thanks are premature, Harriman.” He hung up.
Frank walked back to Seth and Elena. As he drew nearer, she said anxiously, “If anyone asks, please don’t call Seth by his father’s name. And don’t call me Rosario. I don’t usually go by Rosario now — for obvious reasons. After what happened to Phil… actually, it was Yvette’s idea. Seth and I use the name Nereault. It just makes a lot of things easier.”
“You okay with that, Seth?” Frank asked.
He shrugged, but didn’t look up from his guinea pig.
“Seth?” Elena asked.
“Lefebvre is a good name,” he said.
“Yes,” Frank said. “And so is Nereault. Right now, Nereault is a safer name, so is it okay if we tell these firefighters that one?”
“Okay,” he said, turning the single word into a song of reluctance.
Any further discussion was halted by the approach of the firefighter who had spoken to them earlier. He took down some basic information from Elena, then said, “I’m afraid the car’s a total loss, but most of the contents of the house should be okay. You’ve got some structural damage though — so we won’t be able to let you stay here.”
She looked back at the condo, as if only now starting to fully absorb what had happened. Frank put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, her face pale. “What caused it?” she asked the firefighter.
“Someone will be over to talk to you about that soon.” He left them to join the others.
“Where are we going to live, Mom?” Seth asked.
She looked back at the broken window, where the ladder they had used still hung, and bewilderedly shook her head.
“Maybe you and your mom could stay with me and Irene for a few days,” Frank said.
“We couldn’t impose—”
“With your dogs?” Seth asked excitedly.
“I don’t know—” she began.
“To protect your privacy,” Frank said, hoping she would catch his meaning, “we won’t tell anyone where you’re staying. Not even your former employer.”
His attention was drawn toward the firefighters, who were talking to a slender man in a suit. Frank noticed the man in the suit was armed. He turned toward them and Frank recognized Blake Halloran, an arson investigator he had worked with on previous cases. Halloran recognized him at about the same time and stroked his full, blond mustache in a considering way before motioning to Frank.
“Surprised to see you,” Halloran said. “Are you here on business or is Ms. Nereault a friend?”
Frank considered not answering, then said, “Both.”
“Hmm. Does your friend Ms. Nereault have any reason to light a couple of fires in her sister-in-law’s condo?”
“Two fires?” Frank asked, not correcting him about the relationship between Elena and Yvette.
“One on the stairway, one in the garage. She’s not a likely suspect, I admit, being inside the place at the time and all. But stranger things have happened.”
“No, she didn’t start the fires,” he said. “I’ve been with her all day.”
Halloran’s brows went up. “Some guys have all the luck.”
“We just returned from a family funeral,” Frank said.
“Jesus, I’m sorry—”
Frank found himself mildly pleased to see Halloran’s look of shame. “Yes, it’s been a tough day for them, so go easy. Besides, she never would have done anything to this place — especially not with her boy inside.”
“She have any enemies?”
“That’s a real possibility, but I don’t have any names for you.” He handed over his business card. “Anything you come up with, Blake, I’d appreciate hearing about it.”
“Likewise,” he said, handing Frank his own card. “You see anyone around here this afternoon?”
“Just a gardener.”