Cause to Burn

by Mairsile Leabhair

  “Um… well, I’m not going back to my hotel so I guess it’ll be your place.” Did I just invite myself over? Genius!

  “Why aren’t you going back to your hotel? Is it because of that guy?”

  “Yes, of course, it’s about him. He scares the shit out of me.”

  “Scares you how?” she asked. “That he might be your father?”

  “That, and the needle marks on his arms. If he is my father, which I don’t believe he is, Mom said he was dangerous. Besides, I just don’t want any more drama in my life right now.”

  “All right, then seriously, stay with me, no strings attached. You can have my bedroom and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “That’s really nice of you, but, um… I’ll just check into another hotel.” Why was I playing this game? It was the suggestion I was hoping for and now I was playing coy? What was the problem? Then it slammed me in the face. “Tina might come back, and I don’t want to complicate things for you two again.”

  “I told you, we talked, she’s fine and most importantly, she’s gone and I’m okay with that. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to talk and compare notes without having to yell over the restaurant noise. I’ve got beer and we can order a pizza. What do you say?”

  She made a good point, plus, I would feel safer with her than alone in a hotel room. But no way was I sleeping in Tina’s bed. “Okay. I’ll agree to come over on two conditions.”

  “Seriously?”

  Laughing, I nodded. “First, I like meat lover’s pizza.”

  “Oh, yes, you are my idea of the perfect woman,” she teased.

  “Second, I’m going to sleep on the couch, no arguments.” As soon as I said it, the vision of Jordy and a naked Tina making out on the couch came to mind. Fine, I’ll sleep in the recliner.

  She started to protest, but changed her mind and shrugged. “All right, you win, but I warn you, it’s not a very comfortable couch.”

  “I’m not as fragile as all that,” I replied. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much. I’ve got too much on my mind.”

  “I can understand that. If you can’t sleep, just help yourself to the TV or video games. In fact, wake me up and I’ll challenge you to a Halo game.”

  “Uh… what’s a Halo?”

  She cringed as if I’d stabbed her in the heart. “Okay, now you’re just asking for it,” she retorted with a laugh.

  Yes, I am asking for it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jordyn Stringfellow

  I had underestimated how upset seeing that man who claimed to be her father had made Robbie. She wouldn’t let me drive her to the hotel to get her things, so we went straight to my house. I ran into the bathroom and tidied up before I gave her a tour of my house. It was small so it didn’t take long, plus she had seen most of it already. I didn’t own a pair of pajamas because I liked to sleep in the raw, so I gave her a pair of boxers and a T-shirt to wear. As she showered, I called pizza delivery and ordered the works; meat lover’s pizza with extra cheese, stuffed cheesy breadsticks with extra marinara sauce, and cinnamon sticks with extra icing for dessert.

  I checked the fridge to make sure I had plenty of cold beer available. I can’t stand warm beer, so even though I had a six pack chilling, I put another six pack in. Next, I got the checkered tablecloth from the closet and spread it over the dining room table. “Candles… where are my candles?” I asked myself, looking around. They were on the counter where Tina always kept them. Tina. I stopped in my tracks and stared at the candles. Am I okay with this like I said?

  The bathroom door opened and a cloud of steam preceded Robbie as she walked out. I always loved those movies where the scantily dressed woman strolls out of a cloud of steam in slow motion. Robbie was that woman, and I was the prepubescent pimply-faced teenager with her tongue hanging out. And then I burst out laughing.

  My clothes were too big for her and were about to fall off. She had tied the T-shirt in a knot at her waist just above her belly button, which I found incredibly sexy. She had one hand trying to towel her wet hair, and the other trying to hold up the boxers. That’s what I found so funny, and so adorable.

  “Do you have a safety pin?”

  Yes, I do, but do I really want you to pin those boxers up?

  “Why are you grinning like a lecherous old man?” she asked, throwing the towel at me.

  “Oh, uh, yeah. I’ll get you one,” I said, pulling the towel off my head. I tossed it in the bathroom on my way to the bedroom. Years ago, my mother gave me a sewing kit when I got my first apartment. She said it would come in handy someday. She was right; today’s the day I finally need it. There were three assorted sizes of safety pins in with different-sized needles, tiny scissors, and two spools of thread. At first, I thought of taking Robbie the smallest pin that wouldn’t do much to keep the shorts up. If they fell, and I caught a glimpse, where’s the harm in that, right? Of course, if they fell, and I was close by and could catch them, what would I do then? Could I start something that I didn’t know if I could finish? Would she even be receptive to my starting something? And if she were… Yeah, I think way too much.

  As I was walking back into the living room with the safety pins, my cell phone rang. I handed the pins to Robbie and grabbed my cell phone. It was Rosie. “Hey, girl, you’re working late. What’s up?”

  “Where are you? I have some news. And is Roberta with you?”

  Robbie had turned her back to pin up the shorts, her little butt cheeks swaying hypnotically.

  “Jordy?”

  “What, oh, uh, yeah, she’s with me. We’re at my house. Do you remember where that is?”

  “¿Tu casa?”

  “Mi casa es tu casa,” I replied, my Spanish limited to what I heard on television.

  “Interesting.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” she replied. “Yes, I remember where you live. Be there in ten minutes.”

  “Thanks, Rosie. See you in a little bit.”

  “Was that Rosa?” Robbie asked, ending the butt show.

  “Yeah. I hope you don’t mind, but she’ll be joining us for dinner. She said she had some news.”

  “News? What kind of news?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know; she didn’t elaborate. It’s either about the missing files or that picture you took that I emailed to her.”

  “Is it weird that I’m suddenly nervous?” Robbie asked, finger combing her wet hair.

  “It depends on what you’re nervous about,” I said, holding my breath that she wasn’t nervous about meeting Rosa in person. That would be just too weird for me.

  “About the picture, of course. What did you think?”

  I adjusted my hips and looked at the candles still sitting on the counter. Thank God I didn’t set those out. “Want a beer?” I asked, avoiding her question.

  “That would be great, thanks. I’m going to change, I’ll be right back.”

  “Change? What’s wrong with what you’re wearing?” I asked, peeking at her legs. Never mind that I was still in my black T-shirt and jeans, with my gun and badge on my belt. I had meant to take the gun and badge off when I first walked in, but was distracted.

  “If it’s bad news I want to have comfortable clothes on,” she said, turning toward the bathroom. “And besides, I’m not meeting Rosa for the first time dressed like this.”

  I stood there watching her walk back into the bathroom and I asked myself why her last sentence felt like an arrow through my heart. My answer was that deep down, I was hoping for an evening alone with her. And it wasn’t so I could get her into bed, although I wouldn’t turn down that option if it made itself available. I was looking forward to spending the evening just talking, eating, and teaching her how to play Halo. Just getting to know her without the drama and stress of hunting for a serial arsonist. I guess, until we solved all the mysteries, that would be a fantasy for another time.

  I went into the kitchen and pulled three cold beers from the refrigerator.
Just as I was setting them on the table, the doorbell rang. I peered through the peephole and saw a guy holding a pizza box and a bag of food. Pulling my wallet out, I released the chain lock and turned the deadbolt.

  The young man with a gawd-ugly goatee that hung down to his chest, said, “I’ve got one meat lover’s pizza with extra cheese, one stuffed cheesy bread sticks with extra marinara sauce, and one cinnamon sticks with extra icing.”

  “Yep, that’s my order,” I stated, taking the food and setting it on the entryway table. “How much?”

  “That will be $29.39 with tax,” he answered.

  I counted out thirty-five dollars and told him to keep the change. And get a shave. Just as I was about to shut the door, Rosa walked up.

  Rosa and I had a one-nighter, years ago, before we knew that we both worked for the fire department. We still teased each other about it, but as it turned out, we were better off as friends than lovers. Still, she was the first woman I brought home after buying the house.

  “You’re looking particularly sharp tonight, Rosie.”

  Rosa was Native American and Mexican, which was what drew me to her in the first place. Without much effort, she could melt the hearts of the toughest butches with her long, shimmering black hair, and have the femes loading up the U-Haul with just one look into her chocolate eyes. I considered myself a butch, although I didn’t have a buzz-cut or wear men’s clothes, well, except for the boxer shorts. Rosa told me she felt the same way but she preferred long hair and long, dangling earrings. Our one-nighter was very interesting because we both wrestled to see who would be the one on top. I won.

  “Well, it’s not every day I get to meet my favorite author, you know,” she said, looking around for Robbie. She checked the buttons on her shirt and smoothed her jean jacket down. Holding Robbie’s book in her hands, she shifted her weight a couple of times. Is she nervous about meeting Robbie?

  I found it fascinating that Robbie had only written the one book, but already had fans like Rosa. Robbie reminded me a lot of Margaret Mitchell who only published the one book, Gone with the Wind, which of course was… is still a huge success. Robbie was accident prone, like Mitchell, and they both liked to drink, although I’ve only seen Robbie drink beer or wine, and cuss, which was pretty bland compared to mine. What I needed to find out was if Robbie liked to look at “French Postcards,” as they were known in Mitchell’s day. Robbie looking at risqué pictures of nude woman would be a very potent aphrodisiac for me. Oh, Lordy, as Perla May would say.

  “She’ll be right out. Want a beer?” I picked up a bottle from the table and opened it, then held it out to her.

  “Thanks.” Rosa tucked the book under her arm and took the bottle.

  “I ordered pizza before I knew you were coming over. I’m afraid it’s got meat on it.”

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I gave up being a vegetarian. Got tired of feeling guilty every time I cheated.”

  Chuckling, I nodded in agreement. “I’m the same way with beer.”

  Robbie came out of the bathroom with her hair almost dry and pulled back. She had put her jeans and blouse back on. I pinched my lips to hide my disappointment.

  “You must be Rosa,” Robbie said, holding out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Rosa switched her book to the other arm and took Robbie’s hand in hers. “The pleasure is all mine, Roberta.”

  “Please, call me Robbie. Did you want me to sign that?” Robbie asked, pointing at the book under Rosa’s arm.

  “Oh, yes, would you?”

  “Of course, but I’m still taking you to dinner,” Robbie replied.

  “No need to go out, dinner’s here,” I pointed out.

  “Do you have an ink pen, Jordy?”

  “Safety pin, ink pen…”

  She rolled her eyes to let me know that I was being a jerk. “That’s okay. I have one in my purse,” she said, and walked over to the table where she had left her purse.

  “Who shall I make it out to?” Robbie asked, sitting down at the table.

  “Me, if that’s all right?” Rosa said.

  “To Rosie, the sexiest, best computer geek in all of Tennessee,” I joked.

  Robbie glanced at Rosa and smiled. “I think that would be fitting.”

  “Oh, um, really?” Rosa was suddenly shy, which was really unusual for her.

  Is she interested in Robbie? What a stupid question. She’d be crazy not to be.

  Robbie opened the book to the title page and then looked up at Rosa. “It appears that I’ve already signed it. Did you come to the book signing?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I was there.” Rosa beamed.

  “I’m sorry, I signed a couple of hundred books and I don’t remember if I was introduced to you?”

  “I was the idiot who dropped my book on your hand.”

  Robbie rubbed her hand, obviously remembering the incident. “Oh, no. It was an accident, Rosa. Think nothing of it.”

  As Robbie leaned over and wrote in Rosa’s book, I got the napkins and paper plates from the kitchen. “Robbie, would you like a beer?” I asked before leaving the kitchen.

  “Yes, please. Thanks.”

  I set the beer down in front of her and waved my hand at Rosa to sit. Then I opened the box and grabbed the largest piece of pizza I could find. “Dig in, everyone.”

  Just as Rosa reached for a slice of pizza, I asked her what she had found out. She put the pizza on her plate and pulled out her mini-iPad from her jacket pocket. I wasn’t deliberately trying to keep her from eating, I just couldn’t wait any longer to hear what she had found out.

  “I couldn’t retrieve the deleted files, but I can tell you which computer was used to delete them,” she said, tapping on the screen. “I traced the digital sign back to your laptop, Jordy. Someone used your password to log on and delete those files.”

  “Damn it. I should have changed it the moment I suspected it was an inside job.”

  “The files were deleted before the first sign of the smiley killer,” Rosa reported. “You wouldn’t have known.”

  Robbie wiped her mouth with a napkin and said, “Help me understand this. Someone in the department used Jordy’s password and walked right into her office and deleted those files?”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” I replied, tossing my pizza on the plate and pushing it to the side. “We trust each other with our lives. Of course, we thought we could trust each other with our passwords. Passwords are something the government requires. Not us.”

  Robbie put her hand on my arm and rubbed her thumb across it. “I’m sorry, Jordy. That must hurt.”

  “I asked for that unit specifically because of Uncle Joe. I wanted to make him proud. I mean, we were pretty sure the arsonist was a firefighter who could blend in and leave smiley faces, but now we have proof that it’s one of our own, working beside us. He’s going to be devastated when he hears this.”

  “Not if you catch the bastard who’s screwing with us,” Rosa said tersely. “I’m ready to help, anyway I can.”

  “I know you are, Rosie. And I’m glad to know that I can trust you.”

  “We go way back, Jordy. I’ve got your back,” Rosie assured me.

  “Thanks, Rosie, because I want you to keep digging and make sure nothing else has been compromised. Run background checks on everyone at the station. Go deeper than what the employment office does. Find me a clue, something, anything that I can use. And encrypt my prior investigations so they can’t be tampered with. I’ll change my password as soon as I get back to the office.”

  “Copy that, Jordy,” Rosa replied, taking a bite of pizza, eyeing Robbie curiously. She glanced away when she saw me watching her. She chewed quickly and swallowed hard, then asked, “Do you remember who all you gave your password to?”

  “A few people. You, for one. Kandyce Morgan, when she needed to Skype with her mother.”

  Rosa viewed at me curiously and laid her pizza down her plate. “But why your laptop?”
>
  “It’s the only one at the station with that program on it,” I explained and then elaborated, “It was her mother’s birthday.”

  “Okay, so who else?” Rosa pulled out her cell phone and began tapping on it. Like Robbie, she used the notepad app to take notes with.

  “Larry Owens.”

  “The guy on the ladder?” Robbie asked.

  “Yeah, that’s him. He uses it sometimes to do his homework on.”

  “Homework? The man’s in his forties,” Robbie stated.

  “So what?” I chided. “He’s studying for his Fire Engineering degree.”

  Rosa finished tapping on her phone and looked up at me. “I don’t know Kandyce and Larry. Would you say they were trustworthy?”

  “Last week, I would have said unequivocally yes. But now…” I exhaled slowly. “I knew Larry had my back when I climb through that window into that burning building. But do I know him personally, socially? No.”

  “How long has he been at the station?” Rosa asked, tapping on the phone again.

  “You’d make a good investigator,” I teased.

  “I already am,” she replied without looking up. “I investigate mainframes and cybercrimes like your video.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, sorry. You do a damn good job of it, too. Anyway, to answer your question, Larry’s been on the team for over a year, at least. Kandyce, not quite a year, and I know her even less than I do Larry. I don’t really hang out with anybody from work much, except for Uncle… I mean except for the chief.”

  “And you trust the chief?” Rosa asked.

  I was pretty sure she wasn’t trying to be hurtful, but I had to blink away the anger welling up inside. “I’ve trusted him with my life since the day I was born. He’s my godfather and stepped in when my father was killed.”

  “I didn’t mean to…” Rosa trailed off and put her phone down. She picked up her pizza slice and asked, “Isn’t anyone else eating? Your pizza’s getting cold.”

  “And there’s breadsticks, too,” I said, opening the bag and pulling one out. I looked in the bag but didn’t find the marinara sauce. “Is the sauce in that bag?”