I introduced us both, then added, “I was staying here with a friend—”

“If his name is Rory Jones, he’s currently being checked by the ambulance crew,” the inspector said. “Can you think of any reason why someone might have wanted to harm either of you?”

Relief swept me, and I didn’t bother hiding it. “PIT isn’t well liked, even among our fellow officers. Do you mind if I head over to talk to my companion?”

“I’ll stay here and answer any questions you might have,” Jackson said, even as he gave me a light push toward the ambulance.

I didn’t really need the encouragement and walked away before the inspector could answer.

Rory was sitting on the back of the ambulance, his right arm being bandaged by a paramedic and his hair somewhat singed—both of which suggested he’d been unable to draw in the fire and stop it from affecting him for some reason. He was wearing a pair of old jeans and a shirt that hung like a tent on him, but his feet were bare and blackened with soot.

The paramedic glanced up as I approached. I flashed my badge, then sat beside Rory. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Close call, though.”

He put his free hand between us, and I placed mine on top. Though there was no telltale spark or heat, he instantly began drawing on my strength. He was weaker—far weaker—than when we’d left him, which basically confirmed that he’d been the reason the cabin had exploded. Not that I’d really had much doubt about that; the only other way the cabin could have gone up like that was if the gas bottles had exploded.

“What happened?”

“Break-in of some kind that went wrong.” He shrugged, a casual move that was anything but. Tension and anger rode him, but the paramedic’s presence was preventing him from saying anything. “It’s just lucky I happened to be in the bathroom—it probably saved me from the explosion.”

“Who broke in? Any idea?”

He glanced at me, his amber eyes aglitter, but he said only, “No. That’s a job for the coroner—if he can find anything left of them in the ashes, that is.”

Meaning he’d made damn sure nothing was left.

“And the clothes?”

A smile ghosted his lips. “Donation from the guy two doors up. He told me it wasn’t right to be walking around buck naked when there were kiddies about.”

I raised my eyebrows. “There are kids here? I don’t remember seeing any.”

“That’s because said kiddies are actually teenagers who were very unimpressed by the term.”

“I can imagine.”

“Right,” the paramedic said as he finished bandaging Rory’s arm. “The painkiller I gave you should hold for a couple of hours, but you might need something after that. You should go to the hospital, in my opinion.”