Montana Fire by Vella Day Read Free Book Online Page B

window that faced the door. While
     he wasn’t interested in who showed up, he didn’t like to be taken by surprise in case
     someone did. Having been a cop, his old habits never died.
    Elissa, his usual waitress, hustled over. She always flirted with him for a bit, not
     because she liked him, but because he tipped well. He saw through her ploy, but she
     gave good service, and that worked for him.
    “Trout or baked chicken tonight, handsome?”
    “Chicken, and bring a pot of coffee.” It was going to be a long night of thinking.
    She grinned. “You got it.”
    Elissa quickly returned with his drink and he settled back in to go over the facts.
     He brought the cup to his lips and savored the strong rich scent before tasting it.
     The aroma of the beans alone helped defog his mind. Tomorrow, he planned to canvas
     the neighborhood to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious around the time of
     the fire. All during the investigation today, Max kept his eye out for Larry, but
     the guy never made an appearance. Damn. Jamie said Larry had seen something. The question
     was what?
    Before Max had a chance to clear his mind of the fires and the investigation, Elissa
     delivered his meal. “Need anything else?”
    “I’m good. Thanks.”
    She disappeared, just the way he liked it. Max had taken all of three bites when a
     shadow blocked the overhead light.
    “Thought I’d find you here.” The deep gravelly voice could only belong to one man—Dan
     Hartwick, his former boss and mentor.
    Max glanced up and motioned for his friend to take a seat. He liked the man. Dan might
     only be two years older, but his honor, work ethic, and knowledge of the criminal
     mind spoke of a man with a lot of experience.
    Dan waved to Elissa, and she trotted over. Dan requested coffee.
    “You got it.”
    Max lifted his mug. “I trust your visit has to do with the warehouse fire, and not
     because you missed my happy face?”
    Dan smiled briefly. “It does.” He leaned forward. “Trent showed me the photos of the
     graffiti.”
    “Did he tell you that when Thad compared the message to the other arson cases, the
     lettering didn’t match?”
    “He did.”
    Elissa set Dan’s coffee down then slipped away.
    Max sipped his drink. “I asked Trent to look into the owner’s story, but he hasn’t
     gotten back to me.” Research took time.
    “I ran into Trent on the way over here. He told me to tell you that Hanson seems to
     be telling the truth.”
    “Damn. The owner torching his own building would have made things nice and easy.”
     He wanted to ask Dan why he was there, but his mentor had his own style. He’d tell
     Max when he was ready.
    Dan sat back and wrapped his hands around his mug, his lips pressed together. “I’m
     thinking the fire had something to do with the homeless man.”
    Dan sounded like Rich. “You do know this isn’t your case?”
    “I’m not here to interfere, but our departments do work together, and Trent works
     for me.”
    Thankfully, Dan’s tone held no argument. “Is there something you know about Jonathan
     Rambler that I don’t?” Why else would Dan have brought up his name?
    “Yes. He’s not Jonathan Rambler.”
    Max was sure he’d remembered the man’s name. “Then who is he?”
    Dan shrugged. “Not sure exactly, but something’s off. His fingerprints aren’t in the
     system.”
    Max thought about the implication. “That’s not unheard of. That just means the old
     guy might never have been arrested. He still could be Rambler.”
    Dan leaned forward. “Here’s the thing. He ain’t no old man.”
    “I’m not following you.” Max must have been more tired than he realized.
    “The emergency room doctor called the precinct. Said the nursing staff told him that
     in the process of cleaning up the fire victim, they found the man was wearing a wig,
     wore a plastic retainer to make his teeth appear stained, and was covered in a ton
     of makeup to age him. Even wore padding