Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 51

"...He saved me," said Fred. "Literally, he pulled me from a fire. Would've died if not for him."

Aha. That explained the message on Rex's painting. Colt was happy to have his suspicion confirmed. And he doubted he would find a much better occasion to ask, so he said, "That the fire that gave you those scars?"

"That's right." Fred turned to look at him again, not saying anything. Perhaps he wanted to observe Colt's reaction, but Colt didn't intend to give one.

Unfortunately, this also tracked with the evidence that Fred had lost a son in that same fire. Colt didn't quite know how to broach that subject yet--or even if he should bother trying. It probably wasn't relevant to the case.

It was relevant to Fred's character, though, Colt felt. If Fred really did lose a child in the blaze-- the same one over which the townsfolk were still holding a grudge against Alice Ridgemont--then this motherfucker right here was a goddamn saint in comparison to the rest of them. Colt had seen him not only interacting with her, but being fairly kind to her, too.

Unless that had been act, of course. Which Colt wasn't ruling out.

"...But it wasn't just the fire that Rex saved me from," Fred went on. "I... struggled during my recovery." He gestured toward the sickly pale and bloated skin on his face. "Mentally, I mean. I never thought myself to be such a vain person before, but my appearance... Well, they say you never appreciate something until it's gone, and I could not have agreed more."

Hmm. Still no mention of the death of his son, Jason? If ever there was time to bring it up, it would be now, wouldn't it? Surely, recovering from that devastating loss had taken priority over an ugly scar. Was Fred still trying to keep that a secret? Or was Colt just missing something here?

Could the Jason Millerman from the newspaper have actually not been Fred's son? Or related to him at all, for that matter? In such a small town, that would be too much of a coincidence, surely. Plus, Alice had even confirmed it. Had she been mistaken, too?

Hmm. Colt need more information, but he was reluctant to ask too blunt a question about the possible death of the man's son. He decide to try a different approach, first. "I've heard about this fire. It happened a little over two years ago, right?"

The other man gave a solemn nod. "Ten children, gone. Worst tragedy Orden has ever seen. Even today, folk are still reeling from it. Myself included, truth be told. And now, we've already got another terrible incident on our hands. This keeps up, I might start to wonder if this town is cursed."

That, or the two incidents were linked. The more Colt considered that possibility, the more likely it seemed. "...Can you tell me what was happening when the fire broke out?"

"Ah, you mean a firsthand account? No. I was not there. When I arrived, the house was already up in flames."

"And yet you rushed in, anyway?"

Fred took a breath and bobbed his head to the side. "Not the wisest thing I've ever done, but yes."

"Maybe not wise, but very brave, at least."

"So I have been told..."

Hmm. "What was the context of your arrival in the first place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were you the first on scene?" said Colt. "Why were you there?"

"Ah. I was the first one there, yes. But, um..." The man hesitated. "I'm sorry, what does any of this have to do with Rex's murder? I feel we have drifted rather far from what we were supposed to be talking about."

"Well, I'm still pretty new to Orden," said Colt. "It would help if I had a better understanding of the town's history, and as you mentioned, the fire is a large part of that. Even if it's not directly related to Rex's case, it may help me in other ways."

Fred held his gaze for a long moment before relinquishing a nod. "Well... let me think. To be honest, the fire was so... all-encompassing in my mind that it is a bit difficult to remember why I had gone there that night. I must have had a reason, but..."

Hmm. A little suspicious, but it looked like the man was genuinely trying to recall as he closed his eyes and placed a hand to his forehead.

Colt gave him a minute, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Fred wasn't going to say that he had gone there to pick up his now deceased son. Something told him that the guy would remember a thing like that.

Or Fred was gonna try to lie to his fucking face, believing naively that Colt wouldn't check his information against public records.

"...Ah. I remember now. I had gone there to deliver a meal to the youth group. My store was catering the event for them."

Colt had to consciously prevent his eyes from narrowing. "You catered it personally? And by yourself?"

"Yes. It wasn't a large gathering. And it was for children. I brought mostly snacks and candy."

"Did you know any of the kids?"

The man averted his gaze. "Of course. I knew them all. I was friends with all of their parents." And he frowned.

Colt had had just about enough of this dancing around the subject. "...So you knew Jason Millerman, then."

Fred snapped back to attention. His eyes were wide, and his face, even more paled than usual.

What the fuck was with this guy's reactions?