Decker had asked the morgue to hold off notifying Pode about his brother’s death. Just now Pode had responded acerbically, without fear or trepidation. Either Dustin didn’t know that Earl had died or he didn’t care.

“Where’s Cameron?” Decker asked.

“I don’t have to answer your questions,” Pode said. “Just do what you have to do and get out of here.”

“You’re right,” Decker agreed. “You don’t have to answer my questions, but I can still ask ’em. For instance, how come your mama had such a hard time opening her bedroom door to escape that fire she died in?”

Pode slammed down the magazine. His face had turned white.

“I don’t have to listen to this!”

Decker ignored him. “Now sometimes people can’t turn door handles because they’re just too damn hot to touch,” he went on. “But that’s usually the case when the fire starts on the outside, not on the inside. And if Mama did grab a red-hot handle, some of her flesh would have seared onto the metal. That didn’t happen. Now how could she not have had enough strength to turn a door handle and get the hell out of there?”

“I’m going to take a walk,” Pode said.

“I don’t think so.”

“And how do you propose to stop me?”

“How about I’m delaying you for questioning? Material witness to a triple homicide.”

“Is that official?”

“If you want it to be.”

Pode said nothing, turned around, and started straightening some papers.

“Don’t touch anything,” Decker commanded.

Clenching his jaw, Pode went back to Forbes. Decker scanned a ledger, put it aside, and ripped open another box.

“Now I know that your mother was drunk that day. In fact she was a chronic alcoholic. And chronic lushes have a keen sense of survival.” He dumped the contents of the carton of the floor and began to sort through the scattered papers. “See, what I figure is maybe Mama was trying to get out from the inside and someone was holding the door from the outside.

Carefully, Pode placed the magazine on the floor and went to the water cooler. Beads of perspiration had formed on his forehead.

“As long as you’re up, how about you getting me a drink?” Decker asked.

“Get it yourself!”

“C’mon. Don’t be sore.”

“Fuck off!”

Decker got up, kicked another box and, walked over to the cooler. Dustin walked away, but Decker dogged his heels.

“Did you ever see that special with Farrah Fawcett that was on the boob tube a couple of years back? The Burning Bed, I think it was.”

Dustin sat back down in his chair and didn’t answer. Decker stood behind him, peering down over his shoulders.