Free Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) by Jools Sinclair Page B

seen him in forever.”
    “I know,” Jesse said, watching his dad lumber down the front steps slowly.
    As always, he looked like he had just stepped off a concert tour with ZZ Top, with his flowing hair and long, gray beard that hung down his chest. But he looked older than the last time I’d seen him.
    “Things have been kind of rocky between us,” Jesse said. “We fight all the time. About my car. He refuses to fix it! He’s still angry and that makes me angry. That’s why I got the job. I need money for a new car. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I wish he would just let it go and fix it for me.”
    Jesse waved at his dad, but he ignored him and walked over to my side of the Jeep. I unrolled the window. I hadn’t seen him since he had stopped by with flowers when I got home from the hospital.
    “Hey, Abby. How are you?” he said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.
    “Fine, Mr. Stone,” I said. “It’s so good to see you. How are you?”
    It really was great to see him. He had gotten thin, but he still radiated that familiar warmth that reminded me of summer and I realized how much I had missed him. As he talked about the weather and the snow, other memories flooded back, like the time when Jesse and I helped him down at his garage and he taught us about the different tools.
    “Well, I came home for a little lunch and I saw you out here and wanted to say hello. You know, I’ve been meaning to get over to see how you’ve been doing and all, just been so darn busy down at the shop.”
    “Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about it,” I said.
    “It’s sure good to see you up and around, Abby,” he said. “You know, I call your sister every once in a while.” He tugged at his beard. “To check on you and see how you’re doing. I hope she passes along my hellos.”
    I nodded, even though Kate hadn’t ever mentioned that he had called. But given the crazy hours she worked, she probably had forgotten. I looked over at Jesse, who was climbing out of the car.
    “Later, Craigers,” he said, heading up to the porch.
    Wow. Things really had gotten bad between them.
    “Well, it was good to see you, Mr. Stone. Really.”
    “Oh, yes, Abby. Please drop by again. Here or at the shop. I’d love to talk when you have more time.”
    “I will,” I said. “Bye.”
    I looked over at Jesse, who was waiting for his dad at the front steps. I hadn’t realized there had been so much tension between them and wondered if maybe that was why he was goofing off at school. Sure, I knew he was taking the Mt. Bachelor bus up to his job and needed rides around town, but he was always kind of joking about it.
    I had been an idiot. I only had known Jesse like most of my life, of course not having his car would be the biggest deal.
    I texted him after I got home.
    “Take the Jeep whenever,” I wrote. “Anytime.”
    Jesse texted back a happy face. I grabbed my backpack and started my homework.

 
    CHAPTER 20
     
    As I was trying to do algebra, Kate called and told me that the authorities found the dead arsonist in the woods, not too far from the site of the fire.
    “They say he suffocated, and they are thinking it’s murder,” she said. “Also, I dropped some hints about him setting the fire so they’ll check his clothes. He was a construction worker it turns out. Actually, we found out that he was one of the workers who built that house.”
    “Weird,” I said. “Did he set it for revenge or something?”
    “I don’t know. I have a call in now to the contractor. I’ll know more later.”
    “At least they think it’s murder,” I said.
    “Yeah,” she said. “Abby, be careful. Are all the doors locked?”
    I hadn’t thought too much about what Kate was implying. I didn’t feel like I was in any danger. But maybe I was wrong.
    “Yeah, everything’s locked up,” I said.
    “So he’s killed a homeless guy, a receptionist, and now a construction worker,” she said. “Do you see any connection at