Fifteen of the longest minutes of Noah’s life passed before the pounding of booted feet could be heard on the stairs and then Jarius Wiley appeared in full patrolman gear. “This better be legit. I’m on break early.”
Noah did the introductions. Mark and Jarius shook hands.
Jarius was all business. “Before I open my cousin’s door. What’s this all about?”
Noah debated. “Carly thinks she has a line on the man who started the fire.”
“What?” Jarius shook his head. “No, never mind. I believe you. That girl should have been a cop. Save us all a lot of aggravation.” He slipped the key into the lock.
Carly’s apartment was dark, as though she’d left in the daylight and not been back. The three men quickly checked the small space. Nothing was out of place. There were no dinner dishes, and her bed hadn’t been slept in.
Noah turned toward the front door without a word.
“Where are you going?” Jarius’s question went unanswered. Noah was already on the stairs.
Both men hurried after him. Mark double-timed it down the stairwell to grab Noah’s arm. “What the fuck, Noah.”
Noah swung around, body tensed to fight if necessary. “I’m going to pay a visit to J.W.”
“Not on my watch. If Carly’s really missing, we need to call Durvan back. This is his case.”
Noah held his friend’s stare. “If J.W. has Carly—”
“Then you’ll need the full authority of law enforcement in apprehending this guy, whoever he is.” Jarius loomed above the two men on the lower steps. “This is my cousin we’re talking about. I need details. Now.”
Noah looked from Jarius to Mark. “Call Durvan. If Durvan doesn’t buy my theory—”
Mark and Jarius exchanged glances before Mark said, “You’ll have to make him.”
*
“I’m missing basketball for this?” Durvan was dressed in sweat pants and a zip-neck pullover with a mustard drip down the front. Clearly the three men standing in his living room had interrupted an evening in front of the TV.
Noah moved past Mark. “We’ve got a line on the man who committed the arson fires.”
“I believe the arrest warrant had your name on it.”
“Jesus, Durvan. Do you have to be a prick on all levels?”
“All I’ve heard so far is proof you’ve been tampering with a witness. I told you to stay away from Ms. Reese.”
“I explained to you how we met and why before the arrest.” Noah glanced down, expecting to see Harley. But his K9 was still in Mark’s truck.
Durvan bulldozed ahead, as if Noah hadn’t spoken. “You come here with unsubstantiated allegations about a person no one has reported missing, and I’m supposed to accept your version of what’s happened to her? Now if that’s all you got to say, I’m done. Show yourselves out.”
“What about Carly Reese?”
Durvan turned to Jarius, who’d spoken. “You don’t know she’s missing, Patrolman Wiley. You have no proof she’s not at the movies. Or staying over at a girlfriend’s. Hell, she could be out on a date with someone less chancy than Glover. If in forty-eight hours you haven’t heard from her, you know what to do.”
Noah squared off against Durvan, his chest heaving in anger. “If anything happens to Carly, I’m coming after you.”
Durvan glowered at him, not giving an inch as he curled thick fingers into fists. “Take your best shot, Glover. Or get the hell outta my house.”
Jarius, a little taller and definitely younger than either man, inserted himself into the testosterone-fueled space between them, one hand on the Taser at his belt. “Back off, Glover. This isn’t helping Carly.”
Noah never took his gaze off Durvan, his expression still carrying the threat of bodily harm. “I’ve seen the video, Durvan. All of it.”
Durvan scowled. “What are you talking about?”
“The security video from the retirement home. I saw a man go in and then come out and drive my truck away. Mark saw it, too. And neither of us saw a man come back in the time before Carly Reese arrived. You know I’m innocent.”
“The hell you are. Your confessional text. Your fingerprints. Your WeMo app used by your phone the night of the crime. Fuel from your gas tank used as accelerant. That’s probable cause.”
Noah’s blue gaze was iceberg cold. “Explain how I could be unconscious in that store at the same time I drove my truck away.”
Durvan looked annoyed. “Answering that is not my job. That’s for the DA’s office to ponder. You’ve been arrested and will shortly be arraigned on several counts of arson and possible homicide. I’ve done my job. You’re going down, Glover.”
Noah took a step toward Durvan, pressing against Jarius’s unyielding rock-hard frame. “You know I didn’t commit this crime. What’s your deal? Were you scared you’d be accused of going soft one of your own if you didn’t arrest me? Meanwhile, you’ve handed the real criminal a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Durvan shot him a baleful stare. “Prove it.”