Chapter 14 - The Man Who Survived the Fire

Frank Salazar walked with a cane and wore a retired firefighter's jacket, though he'd never been a firefighter. He'd been the night janitor when the shop caught fire. His right hand still carried a scar from the door he'd tried to pull open.

"I saw Nolan's pickup by the east wing that night," he said. "I told the fire investigator. They checked his story and said it wasn't enough."

"Why come forward now?" Leah asked.

"Because I heard somebody's trying to steal Walter's place. And because I found this while moving last month."

Frank produced a copy of a $20,000 check dated three days after the fire, from a company linked to Nolan. It proved a payment, but not who caused the fire.

"Eleanor asked me about that company," Frank said. "I promised to look into it. Then she got sick. I never did."

Dad turned the check over. "She suspected the insurer's adjuster was getting a kickback."

Leah set it aside. "We'll pass it on. The investigators can decide whether it fits the old case. No accusations we can't support."

After Frank left, Dad pulled me aside.

"I need to tell you something about Simone."

"What?"

"She didn't start by treating me like this. For months she was helpful. She brought me medicine and cleaned my apartment. Then Nolan came around with talk of selling the land. I said no. After that, she began saying I was confused."

"You think he talked her into it?"

Dad shook his head. "I think they talked each other into it. People can choose badly without a mastermind."

His insight hurt because it sounded exactly like him.

That afternoon I got a call from Judith. She had ignored every previous message.

"Daniel," she said, voice brittle, "I need to correct what I told the investigators. I didn't see Walter fall. Simone told us to say he did."

"Why did you agree?"

"Because she told me if I didn't, I'd never see my granddaughter again."

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Then she began to cry.

"And there's something else," she said. "I saw what Simone did before you came home. I can tell them where she hid your father's phone."