Chapter 4 - Traces in the Frost
Lauren opened the notebook. The entries spanned the six months leading up to Raymond’s death.
March 14: Unofficial inquiry into county zoning permits. Langford Construction acquiring foreclosed farmlands along the river corridor at fractions of market value. Two small-business owners refused to sell. Both properties caught fire within three weeks. Arson suspected, but accelerants were untraceable by standard field kits.
April 22: Spoke with state chemical lab. The accelerant used in the fires is an industrial-grade solvent, Synth-10, heavily restricted and imported only for specialized commercial masonry. Leaves a subtle, sweet chemical odor of pine and ammonia that lingers on footwear and equipment for days.
Lauren’s mind raced back to the doorway of her house that morning—Axel lowering his nose to Trevor’s work boots, smelling short, careful bursts, and immediately lifting his hackles. That was the scent.
She turned to the final entry, dated three days before her father died of what the coroner had ruled a sudden, massive coronary arrest.
May you like
October 9: Trevor Langford came to the house tonight under the guise of asking permission to date Lauren. He was overly interested in my old files. He brought a flask of bourbon. I didn't drink it, but I caught him looking at this desk. If anything happens to me, the USB drive holds the taped confession of his site manager. Trevor isn't just a contractor. He's clearing land through arson and extortion. I can't let him near my daughter.
A tear fell onto the yellowed paper, smudging the black ink. Raymond hadn't died of natural causes. He had been poisoned—or cornered—by the man Lauren was about to marry. And Trevor’s sudden arrival in her life after her father’s death hadn't been a comfort born of love; it had been a calculated search to recover the evidence Raymond had hidden before he died.
