Fire at the Bluebird
Chapter 13 - Fire at the Bluebird
By the time Arthur reached the diner, flames had climbed the rear wall.
Evelyn’s car sat beside the kitchen entrance.
Marcus called the fire department while Rylan ran toward the building.
Arthur grabbed his vest.
“You’ll be trapped.”
“She’s inside.”
Rylan covered his mouth with a cloth and disappeared through the rear door.
Arthur stood helplessly in the parking lot, hearing glass crack in the heat.
The same man who had thrown his cane into spilled coffee that morning was now risking his life for the woman he had terrorized.
People were not simple.
That did not erase what they had done.
But it meant they could still choose what they did next.
Rylan emerged carrying Evelyn in his arms.
She was coughing but conscious. One sleeve of his vest had burned away, and his forearm was blistered.
Firefighters arrived moments later.
The blaze destroyed the kitchen and part of the dining room, but the turquoise booths near the windows survived.
Investigators found an accelerant container beside the rear door.
One of Rylan’s bikers was arrested at a gas station. The other fled.
Rylan gave a full statement.
He did not ask for immunity.
“I’ll take whatever comes,” he told Naomi. “But Grant ordered it.”
Evelyn was treated for smoke inhalation.
From her hospital bed, she asked Arthur whether the photograph of Samuel had survived.
He placed the smoke-stained frame beside her.
She touched the glass.
“I hated you this morning.”
“You had reason.”
“I may hate you again tomorrow.”
“You’ll still have reason.”
A tired smile crossed her face.
Claire sat near the window with Ethan and Sadie. For the first time, all three generations of Arthur’s family occupied the same room.
No one knew how to behave.
Arthur approached Claire.
“Grant will come for the children next.”
“He already has.”
“He will try to make them liars.”
Claire looked toward Sadie and Ethan.
“I spent twenty-five years defending him.”
“You believed the man who was present when I was absent.”
“That doesn’t excuse what he did.”
“No. But it explains why you did not see it sooner.”
Claire studied her father.
“You’re not going to say you warned me?”
“I didn’t warn you. I judged you.”
Her eyes filled again.
Arthur sat beside her.
“I am sorry for every time I made success feel more important than you.”
Claire looked down at their hands.
“You missed Mom’s last good Christmas.”
“I know.”
“She kept asking whether your flight had landed.”
Arthur’s voice broke.
“I know.”
Claire finally took his hand.
Across the room, Sadie’s phone rang.
She answered and immediately turned pale.
It was Grant.
His voice was loud enough for Arthur to hear.
“You have until tomorrow morning to return what you stole,” Grant said. “After that, your grandfather’s pension theft becomes public.”
Sadie looked at Arthur.
Grant continued.
“And Claire, if you are listening, remember whose signature appears on every transfer.”
The call ended.
Naomi entered the room carrying a court notice.
May you like
Grant had filed to freeze Arthur’s personal accounts and seize Sadie’s laptop as stolen company property.
A judge had scheduled the hearing for nine the next morning.
