The man had been unconscious before the fire broke out, impossible to rouse. Even when she’d prodded him to consciousness, and told him of the fire, he’d seemed reluctant to help himself.
A chill stole through her as she remembered how he had pushed her away at the doorway, telling her to run, even before they reached the alley. Was that because he wanted to be left behind to die? It was too horrible to be believed.
I don’t want to die.
No. He’d gripped her like his last salvation as he whispered those words to her. She’d felt them reflected in the deepest part of her soul. And she believed him. He was strong and hard and certain, a life force refusing to relinquish its hold.
And yet, when she’d hesitated, she’d felt his readiness to die. She’d looked into his eyes a second time and seen his preparedness for sacrifice. She’d thought it was on her account. What if she’d been wrong?
She began to pace. “Why would he want to commit suicide?”
“Guess he had nothing to lose.”
“Nothing.” Carly paused and looked at the happy shepherd wagging his tail. “He had him.” She pointed. “What kind of man makes his dog part of a suicide?”
“Somebody who doesn’t like loose ends?”
“No jokes, Jarius. I nearly died last night.”
“I know.” He came over and gave her another bear hug. “I was scared to death when I heard. By the time I was relieved of duty and could get to the site, the overhaul crew told me you were okay and had gone home.”
“I came here instead. Didn’t want to be alone.”
“Makes sense.” He held her at arm’s length. “No more stupid sacrifices. Okay? You’re not trained for it. It’s over now. Put it out of your mind.”
“Okay.” She turned to pick up more dry nuggets for the dog. Yet the more she thought, the angrier she became. “Something doesn’t make sense. There has to be more than I know.”
He shrugged. “There’s always more.”
That caught her attention. “What do you know?” She walked up to him, anger making her flush. “Spill it or I swear I’ll feed the cake to the dog and tell Aunt Fredda you ate it.”
“Easy.” Jarius spoke softly and spread his arms, like a police officer showing a frightened child that he doesn’t pose a threat. “There’s been some talk about Glover ever since he and a firefighter were trapped inspecting a fire last year. The roof collapsed on them. The other guy didn’t make it. Glover took it hard. Everyone did. First responders are tighter than most families. But we thought he’d, you know, worked through it.” He wagged his head. “I guess you never can tell. They’ve kept him overnight at the hospital for observation.”
“Which hospital?”
“John Peter Smith. Why?”
Her heart pounding against her ribs, Carly watched as he continued to pet the shepherd. “He tried to kill his dog!”
Suddenly all the anxiety and fear—gut-watery fear she’d been stuffing down too deep for the light of morning to reach—came roaring back into the front of her mind. She stiff-armed her cousin aside and headed for the kitchen.
“Wait.” Jarius followed. “Where are you going?”
Carly snatched up her purse from the kitchen table without pausing. “To meet Mr. Glover.”
“You can’t—” He seemed to know that was a useless argument as she pushed through the back door. Instead, he went after her, the shepherd at his heels. “What about the dog? And the cake? You said you’d fix this for me.”
She spun around. “Put the dog in the yard behind the fence. Then go to the store and buy two cans of butter cream frosting. Next go to a florist and ask for a bunch of edible flowers.”
“What if Moms comes back before you do?”
“She’s at the beauty salon.” She yanked open the door of her Mazda. “Then there’s her monthly luncheon bridge game. You’re safe.”
“I forgot.” He shook his finger at her. “You played me, cuz.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Carly moved slowly down the hospital corridor, as if the sound of her footsteps were an intrusion. She’d hung around in the lobby, cooling her heels but not her temper, after being told that there was no Noah Glover listed as a patient. Then she’d spied a fireman in uniform and followed him into an elevator on a hunch. Maybe he was making a social call on Mr. Glover. Her visit would be a lot less friendly.
“Can I help you?”
Carly paused as a nurse stepped into her path. The fireman paused, too, to talk to someone at the nurse’s station. “I’m looking for Mr. Glover’s room.”
The nurse’s eyes narrowed. “We don’t have anyone by that name here.”
Thinking fast, she answered, “I know that’s not the name he’s here under. Noah called me to come over and bring his cell phone.” She unpocketed and held up her own phone as a kind of proof. “He didn’t say locating him would be an issue. We’re family.”
The nurse’s expression soured. “Really?”
Carly gave her a look. “You got a problem with multi-ethnic families?”