Page 34 of Ink and Ashes

With any luck, maybe his intoxication will lower his guard for me a bit.

When he takes a good look at the three of us, his frown morphs into a smirk.

“Colson. Dom,” he greets the men, then looks down at me. “And little miss investigator. Been wonderin’ when y’all’d start sniffin’ ‘round me.”

My brows furrow. “You know who I am?”

He cackles. “Sweetheart, e’ryone in this town knows ya. Even a recluse like me.” His eyes shift between Dom and Colson. “Didn’t need to brin’ your guard dogs with ya for this chat.”

It’s clear these guys have some history, but it’s not relevant here, so I ignore his distaste toward them. “Perfect, we can skip the introductions then. I was wondering if you would mind answering some questions for me.”

Tony leans against the doorframe, his smirk not fading. “Ask whatever ya want, sweetheart. I ain’t got nothin’ to hide.”

I glance up at Colson, noting the tension in his jaw. He tears his gaze from Tony for a moment to meet mine, and when he jerks his chin slightly, I turn back to Tony.

“Where were you on June sixteenth at ten-thirty p.m.? ”

Tony’s brows furrow. “Fuck if I know. That was like a month ago.”

“Three weeks,” Dom pipes up from behind me.

“Same difference. I barely remember where I was last night, let alone that long ago.”

“Try,” I demand. “It was the night the barn at the Welland Ranch burned down. Surely you heard about that.”

Tony’s jaw clenches. “Don’t remember the date, but I was probably up in Enderby, on the reserve. Been up there on and off the past few months for a job.”

Dom huffs from behind me, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am.

By job , he means dealing. Lucky for him, we aren’t cops.

“What about on Canada Day? Around three p.m.?” I ask.

“I was definitely outta town that day.”

“Convenient,” Colson mutters. I shoot him a look that tells him to let me handle this.

“Can anyone corroborate that?”

“Sure can.” He rattles off the information for his client and I write it down. “Left early on the thirtieth and didn’t get home ’til the second.”

I let out a sigh. He may not have a solid alibi for the barn fire, but assuming his alibi for this checks out, he can’t be responsible for tampering with my car.

“One more question,” I say. “Ever spend any time in the Monashee Forest?”

Tony scoffs. “Kinda question is that?”

“Just answer it,” Colson demands.

Tony glares at him again, then says, “I have, but not recently. E’ryone around here knows the forest, but I don’t touch it durin’ wildfire season.”

He’s smarter than he looks then—I’ll give him that much.

“Alright, thanks, Tony.” I pass him my business card. “If you think of anything else or know anyone who could be responsible for the fires, be sure to let me know. I’ll be in touch if I have more questions. ”

“You got it, sweets.” He winks at me as I turn and make my way back down to Colson’s truck. Colson and Dom continue their stare-down of him for a beat before following behind me.

We pile into the vehicle, and a beat of silence passes before Dom’s head appears between the front seats.

“You believe him?”

I glance down at the information for Tony’s supposed alibi, Joshua Green.

“I can’t say until I confirm this…but I think so.

He may not have liked us being there, but he was still willing to answer my questions.

More willing than I expected, to be honest. He never hesitated, and his body language remained calm for the most part. ”

“He’s a drug dealer, Rhodes. He’s good at lying,” Colson reminds me.

“I know.” I turn my attention back to the contact for Joshua. “Let’s just reach out to this guy and see what he has to say.”

“If he’s a friend, Tony’s probably already called him to arrange an alibi,” Dom mentions.

“I’ve thought of that. But if Tony was in Enderby all weekend, I’m sure there’s footage of him on a street camera or in a gas station. I’ll do my due diligence on this, and if I’m still skeptical, we’ll take it to the police.”

I look between the men, neither of whom look convinced.

“Please, follow my lead on this, guys. I know what I’m doing.”

They exchange a glance, an unspoken conversation passing between them. But they know there’s nothing more we can do until I talk to Joshua, so they let it go. Colson starts the truck, and we drive back into town in silence.

When we get back, the three of us head straight for the dining room to make the call to Joshua.

I navigate to my phone’s settings to turn off caller ID, then type the number into the phone. With my thumb hovering over the dial button, I say, “Stay quiet. He’s more likely to talk to me than to you.”

Colson and Dom nod, so on an exhale, I hit call. The phone rings a few times before a male voice cuts through the line .

“Hello?”

“Hi,” I say. “Is this Joshua Green?”

“Depends who’s asking.”

“My name is Holland Rhodes. I’m an investigative journalist, and I’m looking into a series of suspicious wildfires in Ember Grove.

I’ve just spoken with Tony Watkins, and he named you as his alibi for last weekend.

Can you confirm that he was on the reserve visiting you from June thirtieth until July second? ”

Joshua doesn’t hesitate. “Tony? Yeah, he was here then. Was helping me out with some stuff.”

My shoulders fall. I hadn’t realized until I heard those words how much I’d been hoping the alibi wouldn’t check out. How much I was hoping the arsonist would be Tony, just so this can be done. Things are never that easy, though.

“Did you guys go anywhere while he was there? Somewhere that may have caught you both on a camera?”

Joshua hums. “Yeah. We went to a hardware store, and a gas station for smokes.”

He rattles off the names of the businesses, and I write them down. “Great. Thanks for your help, Joshua.”

He hangs up without another word.

“Fuck,” Colson mutters, running a hand through his hair.

“I’ll reach out to these places to see if they can provide me with the footage from last weekend and the night of the barn fire, but all things considered…”

“Tony’s in the clear,” Dom fills in. “Which means we’re back at square one.”

My theory that it could be a firefighter pops into my mind.

I keep my gaze trained on the two men, preparing myself to tell them, but I’m not sure now’s the best time to share something like that.

Not that there will ever be a best time, but I’d like to spend more time around the fire crew to get a better read on everyone before I do.

News like that isn’t going to be easy for them to hear, and it’ll be better if I have more evidence to support the theory first.

So for now, I let them believe we have nothing.