Page 135 of Head Room

“—arranged possessions to best survive a fire, splashed accelerant where you wanted the fire to focus, and then what?”

We all heard vehicles approaching.

“Started the fire, got in his truck, and came here by a roundabout route.”

Hard to imagine a more roundabout route than we’d taken.

“Then what?”

“Looked through his truck and this campsite.Darned near took them apart to the bolts and sticks.Found nothing.Tried to figure out what led somebody to kill him, what he could have gotten himself into.Nothing.”

That bitter last word was expected.If he had found something he’d have come out of hiding.

If he was telling the truth.

“Did you contact anyone?”

“No.”

Footsteps approached down the line of vehicles.

Running out of time.

I jumped to one of my stopgap questions.“Is there anything you haven’t told us that might help—?”

“No.”

Shelton was the first in line.Leadership, I’m sure.But it also had a practical benefit because the guy behind him could see over him.

I’d point that out to him...someday.Maybe.

“Everybody stay where you are.Put your hands up.”

Time only for a Hail Mary pass, while staying where I was and putting my hands up.We all did, though not very seriously.

“Have you spent time in South Carolina?”I asked Jardos, quietly enough that Shelton and the officers who fanned out to either side as they cleared the front of the first truck in line, which I now knew was Nance’s.

Mike shot me a look I caught from the corner of my eye.

Jardos showed no interest in the question.“Posted there a couple years.”

“Did you know any police officers?”

“Like get in trouble with the law?No.”That was indignant.

Considering law enforcement was closing in to take him in custody and what they suspected him of, that was an interesting reaction.

“Professional liaison?Friends?”

He stopped shaking his head.“We had a neighbor for a while who was local law enforcement.Randolphson.Terry Randolphson.”

So much for that long-shot connection.

Then I thought of another question — questions — I should have asked earlier.

“Frank, the day you saw Connie in the parking lot behind the courthouse, did you go to the sheriff’s department after talking to James Longbaugh?What did you tell them?What—?”

“Which day?No—”