Up in Flames by Starr Ambrose Page A

to be left at the office. Things like accidentally ripping the arm off a dead woman with a backhoe.
    Finishing with a customer, Sophie looked up to see one of Maggie’s old high school friends come in the front door.
    “Hey, Sophie, good to see you back in town,” she said. “You look great.”
    She searched her memory, coming up with a name. “Thanks, Carol, it’s good to be back.” Sophie smiled and braced herself for the obvious follow-up question, preparing to put a positive spin on her lack of a job. But Carol was already making a beeline for Maggie, at the jewelry counter in the center of the shop.
    “Maggie! I just heard the news! Have you talked to Cal yet?”
    Sophie’s smile faded as her sister pasted on a neutral expression. Maggie had to know what was coming as well as Sophie did. “No. What news?” Maggie asked.
    “The dead body they found out at Zane Thorson’s house!” Carol said, excitement quivering in her voice. “Jessie told me half the cops in B-Pass are out there. Cal must know what’s going on.”
    Sophie felt her stomach clench. She’d forgotten how fast news spread through their small town, and how fast the facts could be corrupted.
    “I haven’t talked to Cal,” Maggie told her. “But I know the police aren’t at Zane’s house. The body was found at his landscape company.”
    Sophie silently thanked her for the clarification, but knew it wouldn’t matter.
    “Are you sure? I heard it was his house.”
    “I’m sure.”
    Carol’s excitement didn’t waver. “Well, either way, it was Zane’s place. And if that isn’t the other shoe dropping, I don’t know what is.”
    Maggie’s gaze flicked to Sophie before returning to Carol. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean everyone knew they were going to catch him at something sooner or later. He’s a Thorson, for heaven’s sake. Blood will tell. But my God, murder! I didn’t figure he would be that bad.”
    “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Maggie said softly, and Sophie clenched her hands into tight fists. She knew from the lack of conviction in her sister’s voice that she was already thinking the same thing. If she was honest with herself, the thought had occurred to her, too. How much criminal history could she overlook before admitting that Zane might be just as bad as the rest of his family?
    It was the question of the day, the one she kept trying not to face.
    Maggie’s warning went right past Carol. “Murder! Can you imagine? Bob sees him at the hardware store all the time, you know. He always said the guy’s a little weird. Never talks to anyone, just makes his purchase and leaves. Bob says he gives him the creeps.”
    Anger rose unexpectedly, and Sophie ground her teeth in an effort to keep from shouting out her instinctive response. Well, what do you expect? She didn’t want to defend Zane’s character, but hell, with half the town watching him out of the corners of their eyes, just waiting for him to commit a crime, it was a wonder he spoke to anyone at all.
    She hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad for him.
    A sick feeling rose in her throat, and she didn’t want to hear any more. She walked out from behind the cash register just as a couple came in with two children, each parent clutching shopping bags. Tourists, in the mood to buy. She didn’t care, Maggie could handle it.
    “I have to get something in the back room,” she muttered to Maggie, hurrying past as Carol began speculating on the identity of the dead girl and—glancing at the two young children—whether she’d been r-a-p-e-d. Sophie stopped in her tracks. Swearing under her breath, she turned back to Carol.
    “Zane didn’t know anything about that body,” she blurted out. Carol and Maggie jerked their heads around, and Sophie noted the startled looks from the two parents. Damn, she didn’t want to drive off Maggie’s customers. “I was there,” she said, keeping her voice calm but deliberate. “I found her. And Zane didn’t know