nodded.
Dale’s face scrunched up so much that Tim thought he wouldn’t have been more surprised if Timhad said it was the Queen of England asking him for a date. At a truck and tractor pull.
Tim sighed and spilled the story about Calvin Shoverton and what he had learned about his mom. “I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately, so when that lady called on the phone, I kind of bit like a hungry fish.”
Dale stood and leaned against the wall. His muscles tensed and he shook his head. “I can’t believe anybody would do that to you.”
“What do you mean?” Tim said.
“Set you up like that. Draw you over there that way.”
“You believe me?”
“When did you lose your hat?”
“The race at Hickory. I set it down on a table so I could adjust my headset, and after the race it was gone.”
“Who was on that grandstand?”
Tim told him some of the people. “But those are only the ones I can remember. A lot of people were up there.”
Dale thought a moment.
Tim sat up. “No fair not telling me what’s going on in your head.”
Dale smiled, and Tim thought it was funny howmuch a smile could say. This one said, Okay, you rascal, you got me on that one .
“All right,” Dale said. “I want you to tell me exactly what happened from the minute you got the call. And give me your cell phone.”
Chapter 18
Kansas Speedway
JAMIE FLEW with her dad to Kansas and took a couple of days off from school. She could tell the situation with Tim was weighing on him and she didn’t want to pry, but when she asked a question, he told her a lot about what was going on with the police and their investigation.
“The surveillance video inside the building cuts out,” her dad said. “The police said it had been tampered with. But the video of Tim as he comes up to the building . . .” He choked up.
“What?”
He turned his head, then looked at her with misty eyes. “The video was blurry, but you could see the hope on that kid’s face. He actually thought he was going to see his mom. He goes to the side of the building for a few seconds and runs by—then there’s theexplosion. He never sets foot in the building. The whole thing was a setup. It had to be.”
“But the police don’t believe that?”
“They’re not saying much about it. It’s clear they’re looking for the person who set the fire.”
“Who called Tim?”
“They couldn’t trace the cell call, and for the life of me I can’t think why anyone would want to hurt a kid that way. Tim mentioned some guy in Florida he had trouble with, but that doesn’t seem very likely.”
“Maybe it’s somebody who hates both you and Devalon,” Jamie said. “I can think of a lot of people who don’t like Butch, but the list is a little shorter when it comes to you. They could say you put Tim up to it and take both you and Devalon out with one fire.”
“They didn’t do a very good job of it. I’m going to have a talk with Devalon when we get to the race. He wouldn’t return my phone call.”
“What are you going to say?”
“The truth. That Tim wasn’t involved. The police have spoken to him, but I want him to hear it from me. Plus, Talladega’s coming up next week and I want Tim there. It’s not fair to keep him away because he made a mistake back at Indy.”
“Does Tim even want to go to Talladega?”
“Yeah, he said he’d like to honor his dad. Said it would feel good to be back.”
“That takes some guts. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know if . . .”
“Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Jamie turned, deep in thought, and grabbed a magazine from the pouch in front of her. She flipped through the pages, unable to concentrate on any articles, and came upon an advertisement for a natural supplement that was “guaranteed” to help you focus and stay on task. Just one pill would help a person get more done in a day than most people do in a week.
She put the magazine down. “Maybe that’s what this whole thing is
Dale’s face scrunched up so much that Tim thought he wouldn’t have been more surprised if Timhad said it was the Queen of England asking him for a date. At a truck and tractor pull.
Tim sighed and spilled the story about Calvin Shoverton and what he had learned about his mom. “I’ve been thinking a lot about her lately, so when that lady called on the phone, I kind of bit like a hungry fish.”
Dale stood and leaned against the wall. His muscles tensed and he shook his head. “I can’t believe anybody would do that to you.”
“What do you mean?” Tim said.
“Set you up like that. Draw you over there that way.”
“You believe me?”
“When did you lose your hat?”
“The race at Hickory. I set it down on a table so I could adjust my headset, and after the race it was gone.”
“Who was on that grandstand?”
Tim told him some of the people. “But those are only the ones I can remember. A lot of people were up there.”
Dale thought a moment.
Tim sat up. “No fair not telling me what’s going on in your head.”
Dale smiled, and Tim thought it was funny howmuch a smile could say. This one said, Okay, you rascal, you got me on that one .
“All right,” Dale said. “I want you to tell me exactly what happened from the minute you got the call. And give me your cell phone.”
Chapter 18
Kansas Speedway
JAMIE FLEW with her dad to Kansas and took a couple of days off from school. She could tell the situation with Tim was weighing on him and she didn’t want to pry, but when she asked a question, he told her a lot about what was going on with the police and their investigation.
“The surveillance video inside the building cuts out,” her dad said. “The police said it had been tampered with. But the video of Tim as he comes up to the building . . .” He choked up.
“What?”
He turned his head, then looked at her with misty eyes. “The video was blurry, but you could see the hope on that kid’s face. He actually thought he was going to see his mom. He goes to the side of the building for a few seconds and runs by—then there’s theexplosion. He never sets foot in the building. The whole thing was a setup. It had to be.”
“But the police don’t believe that?”
“They’re not saying much about it. It’s clear they’re looking for the person who set the fire.”
“Who called Tim?”
“They couldn’t trace the cell call, and for the life of me I can’t think why anyone would want to hurt a kid that way. Tim mentioned some guy in Florida he had trouble with, but that doesn’t seem very likely.”
“Maybe it’s somebody who hates both you and Devalon,” Jamie said. “I can think of a lot of people who don’t like Butch, but the list is a little shorter when it comes to you. They could say you put Tim up to it and take both you and Devalon out with one fire.”
“They didn’t do a very good job of it. I’m going to have a talk with Devalon when we get to the race. He wouldn’t return my phone call.”
“What are you going to say?”
“The truth. That Tim wasn’t involved. The police have spoken to him, but I want him to hear it from me. Plus, Talladega’s coming up next week and I want Tim there. It’s not fair to keep him away because he made a mistake back at Indy.”
“Does Tim even want to go to Talladega?”
“Yeah, he said he’d like to honor his dad. Said it would feel good to be back.”
“That takes some guts. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know if . . .”
“Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Jamie turned, deep in thought, and grabbed a magazine from the pouch in front of her. She flipped through the pages, unable to concentrate on any articles, and came upon an advertisement for a natural supplement that was “guaranteed” to help you focus and stay on task. Just one pill would help a person get more done in a day than most people do in a week.
She put the magazine down. “Maybe that’s what this whole thing is
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