Heart of Fire

by Carter, Dawn

  “I married her five years later, and she has made me the happiest man alive,” he confessed and leaned his head back and smiled. “Tiffany is the reason I became a Federal Agent.”

  Annabel scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. “She’s a lucky woman Frank.”

  “No Flanery, I am a lucky man,” he choked the words out. “I just wish I had one more moment to tell her how much she has meant to me and how much I love her.” The tears finally spilled over the brim of his eyes.

  “She knows Frank.” She could feel his pain, she wished the same.

  “So, did you join the force like your dad wanted?” she attempted to keep him talking; she needed him to stay awake. She could not take the silence that she knew would soon follow.

  “No, I went on faith and sent in my application to the FBI. It took almost six months to hear back, but when Tiffany called me at the security firm I was working for at the time and read the letter to me I walked straight to my boss and gave my notice.”

  “Wow, they must have been impressed with your application.”

  “I don’t know about that, I learned later that my father had a hand in it, but I never told him I knew.” He looked away to hide the shame. “Flanery, being an FBI Agent is not all what you think it is.” He sighed. “In the thirty years only twenty-seven of those cases didn’t involve a dead body.” He paused briefly while he gathered his thoughts. “You read the papers, and you know how they prey on the family of the victims once I arrest the Suspect. I have made a practice to go straight to the family and warn them what would come next. I can be pretty heartless but reporters they are vultures. The worst are the coverage of serial rapists or pedophiles we arrest. They give way too much information which helps the next to not get caught.”

  “But you always get your man!”

  “I’ve gotten lucky. I learned long ago that criminals always return to the scene of the crime. When they do, I am there waiting.” He looked away in shame. “But don’t fool yourself. I don’t always get my man.”

  “But you’re a great agent and you work so hard to solve the cases and give a family closure.”

  He closed his eyes, he could not believe he was so sloppy to allow himself to be knocked out from behind, and not only was he going to die but also the woman next to him who praised him. “I’m sorry I got you in this mess Flanery…” his voice trailed and he could feel he was losing consciousness. Then all went black.

  Annabel coughed as she screamed his name, but he did not move. When she tried to nudge him, he fell over to his side. She panicked as she struggled against her restraints. She screamed for anyone to help, but no one came. She thought she heard sirens in the distance, but couldn’t be sure. “I love you Danni,” was the last thing she said before she closed her eyes. She could not breath, she could not cough anymore. Death was in the room, ready to take her home.

  She accepted it, she knew she would not be alone, she would see her mother again. She smiled lightly and allowed the last breath leave her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  She stood in front of the porch, her hand over her mouth while O’Brian circled the perimeter of the house looking for a point of entrance.

  She moved towards the house slowly still taking in the exterior as she moved, she was brought back to her senses when she heard a sound behind her and she glanced over her shoulder as the fire department arrived.

  O’Brian was told to stand down and stay out of the way, Danni looked to him then back to the house. She felt helpless as she did on that fateful day so many years ago. She was reliving it again and she could see herself standing in front of Annabel’s house, the one she grew up in, the twelve-year old standing by her side as all hope was lost when the roof collapsed and it was too late.

  She switched between the two fire scenes in her mind. But she was not the same rookie she was then, and the people in the house not just neighbors. Somewhere in the house, her heart, her love and her future was in danger. As soon as the front door was forced open, Danni saw her chance, already in a running stance, she dashed forward. She took the stairs in one step and dashed through the front door. She removed her jacket and placed it over her face as she ran from room to room. She turned around several times and screamed Annabel’s name

  The flames engulfed the crumbling house, spreading its rage through everything in its path. Its wild nature refused to be tamed, growing more and more wild by each second. The dizzying radiant heat from the blaze pulled her in deeper into the burning abyss. She struggled to fight the violent flames that whipped around her, she tried to move forward, but the ash burned her eyes. Behind her, a hand pulled her back. She screamed and fought but she could not stop him as he dragged her out. She could swear she heard a soft cry for help, but once in the cool air O’Brian took charge and held her back.

  “Let me go, let me go.” She struggled to free herself, but he held her tighter. “I heard them, I heard Detective Flanery call for help.”

  “They’ll save them Pacelli,” he assured and yelled to the one fireman in earshot. He told them what she said, and he dashed towards the house waving for others to follow.

  They stood helpless and watched the glowing embers that leaped and twirled in a fierce dance that twinkled like stars in the hot swirling air before cascading back to join its gleeful fire fiends. The famished beast devouring everything in its path and belched out back smoke as the water quenched its thirst.

  The longer the men were inside the more intense the feeling of loss succumbed her. Danni stood as in a trance and watched the smoldering fire lick the bottom wooden post, then flare up again, first slow, playfully, then again roared like a hungry animal, it cracked and spit against the showers of water like a fountain the grey smoke, it wrapped itself around the post like a great hungry serpent, devouring everything in its path, the choking clouds of smoke hid the inferno, that blazed out of control. Ash floated to the ground like big dirty flakes of snow, Danni wiped the one that landed on her face. She could no longer hold back the tears as she the thought of losing Annabel was eminent. All her life she knew her one true love was out there, and now that she found her, she may have already lost her.

  She turned away, she could not watch anymore, but she could not drown out the sound of the wood pillars crackling before she would look back. They crumbled and the porch crashed to the ground. A single firefighter tried to rush forward but another held him back.

  “That’s my brother in there!” he screamed and pulled away axe in hand, ready to force his way in, he was halted by the voices and applause that filled the air around them.

  Danni could see silhouettes walk through the cloud of black smoke from the other side of the house. When they came into view she could see Annabel hunched over the shoulder of a firefighter followed by two other men carrying Frank.

  “We got a dead body in there,” the first man said as he lowered Annabel to the cold ground. “You’re fine, just sit here and wait for the paramedics.” Then he disappeared in the direction he came.

  Danni rushed to her and wrapped her coat around her shoulders. “You’re safe now.” She smiled and held her in her arms. She did not see who saw as she kissed her on the cheek. “I love you I was so scared I lost you forever.” When she looked down, she could see the ties that bound her hands and ankles together, she quickly cut her loose and pulled her into her embrace.

  Annabel just looked at her then looked away, the reality of being safe was not within her sight, all she could see was the fire engulfing her and Frank, the end was near and soon death would take them.

  The distant look in her eyes and the lack of response alarmed Danni; she could not seem to pull her back from the dark place she hid herself in. She slapped her several times trying to pull her out of it, but the empty glare remained. O’Brian pulled her away and knelt on the ground, with his flash light in his hand he shone the bright light in her eyes and then pulled it away. He repeated the procedure several times, but she never blinked.


  He looked at Danni and shook his head.

  “She’s in shock Pacelli, we need to get her medical attention.”

  Meanwhile the first set of paramedics that arrived on the scene worked hard to revive Frank.

  “You got a pulse?” The first one asked as he forced oxygen into his lungs.

  “It’s weak, but we got one,” the female EMT yelled as she closed the doors to the ambulance. Just as they drove off another one arrived.

  Within moments Annabel was whisked from her side, and taken to the hospital.

  “Let me take you to the hospital?” O’Brian’s question came across more like a demand.

  Danni did not argue as he helped her into the car.

   

  “Help!” The raspy low cry came from her left.

  There on the floor Annabel begged for help in a low scratchy voice. She ran to her, and with all her strength she pulled her to her feet, it was not until she tried to walk that she realized Annabel was bound. She tried again to pull her out, but she was too heavy, she could not do it alone.

  “In here,” Danni yelled and a team of firefighters rushed in but as they lifted her from the ground the roof gave way and buried them beneath.

  Danni woke choking and gasping for air; she looked around and realized it was just a nightmare. Tears forced to the surface but she held them back as she stepped down the hall to the nurses’ station.

  “How’s Detective Flanery?” she asked but was not sure she wanted to know the answer.

  The nurse only shook her head, and then looked back down at the chart. “No change. Why don’t you go and get yourself some sleep, you look exhausted.”

  Danni said nothing as she inched away.

   

  This lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that gulfed the town. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the shadows of the night. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence, every now and then mirroring the dazzling assemblage of glittering starts. The faint wind brushed against Danni’s face, the ripples ruffled the stillness of the surface, and shattered the reflection of what could have been.

  Words echoed in her mind, her love may not pull out of it. Annabel was lost in her own mind. She heard nothing, felt nothing, and acknowledged no one. Catatonic shock is what the neurologist called it, and his prognosis was as glum as the words he used to explain it. When she asked him to explain it in simple terms, he just looked at her baffled. His assistant, fresh out of medical school, still used terms used by the simple thinker. He explained that there was no real data to support a positive recovery; he only offered hope with the use of lorazepam that had worked on acute schizophrenic catatonic patients.

  Annabel did hear and she begged for anyone to listen to her, but they continued to talk as if she was not there. Am I mad, or is everyone around me deaf to my cries? Focus Annabel, focus she told herself over and over again. Then everything became clear, strange ideas making total sense. It was then, the memory of Danni, holding her, telling her it was okay rushed into her mind. She remembered the unpleasant reality. She'd been hurt, beaten down, and almost killed, or was it another twist of reality where she could not believe even herself.

  Even the shadows now were swallowed by the encroaching darkness, but the stars and moon shone brighter in the sky, as if to remind her that even in the darkness there is light.

  She heard Danni’s voice speak to her over and over again, but could not reach her. The dense blackness left her emotionally bankrupt. The awful hollowness, the waves of wretchedness threatened to engulf her mind, body and soul. She was alone, and her only connection to the world around her was the smell of disinfectant, it awakened memories long forgotten echoes of those long ago hospital stays which jarred her mind. Suddenly being forced to swim once more in the tide waters of the past, she walked down the corridor with the attitude of a soldier returning to the battlefield. She fought hard, walking, running, screaming.

  Insanity stole into her mind like a deranged thief taking what was important to her, adding new dangerous ideas, seeding a new personality and muddling up the rest. New sparks of ideas that she would have once dismissed started to grow roots, deep roots. They started to make sense in one revolutionary moment after another, cascading out of control, luring her further and further from the self she once knew. Until she was so deep that she no longer recognized where she was and as the distorted reality spiraled, the path formed an inescapable maze, a prison without walls in her mind. She screamed out, but no one could hear.

  It was like a horror movie played in her mind as if somehow her brain was unwilling to let the images go and in its attempt to analyze them, it made her see it all over again. Simple ideas, simple things she had surfaced, then slipped through her mind like the sand in an hour glass. She sat in a chair by the window and stared out at the scudding white clouds and longed to be amongst them, soaring and carefree. She knew the more she tried to suppress it the more it would play again, but she couldn't help it. Within moments she was back in the house with the cold blackness pushing in on her

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  Danni blinked back the tears as she thought of the last statement he said, “We are not sure if it is acute, chronic, permanent, or temporary, it’s too soon to tell. Right now, we are medicating her and she is not responding to the meds we are giving her.” She was numb and the freezing fog wrapped around her like a blanket, the everyday familiar sights of the street lay mysterious, hiding, looming out at her in their whitened haze at the last minute like images from some half-forgotten dream. She held out her hand in front of her and watched it become partially obscured. She imagined herself chanting spells, conjuring the mist like a deranged witch drunk on her own powers. If only, she thought, Annabel would be well again.

  A black mist of despair swirled at the edges of her mind, drawing it into the open arms. The numbness quickly began to wash away and anger came in its wake. Danni felt her head throb and her heart beat quickened as panic began to set in. Her lip curled and her face contorted into an expression of rage. She swore she would hunt down the monster that did this, and she would watch as the life drained from her body as she did to all the poor souls she killed.

   

  The stillness of the room filled with despair as Danni explained Annabel’s prognosis. He couldn’t listen as guilt swept through him like a black cloud. He scolded himself silently for not listening to her. She was the rational one, she told him they should have called for back-up, and because of his haste and lack of judgment - she suffered the ultimate price, her mind.

  He screamed again, not caring who heard him. Still no tears fell, though; it wasn't sinking in properly. All he could think was it's not fair, it's not fair. He rolled onto his back, kicking out at the wall again.

  The memory flashed in his mind and made him cringe. They both sat helpless bound awaiting death that taunted them. Rage surged through him once more, and the cold fury threatened to take over his body. Sobs began to shake his body, and it was then that the reality of what he had done hit with devastating force. Gripping his head, a shrill scream ripped through his throat, cutting into the night.

  Danni tried to console him, but he looked past her and let out another cry. He couldn't talk to anyone right now.

  “I’ll leave and come back later,” Danni reluctantly spoke knowing he had not heard her. Danni stood and looked down at him. She touched his shoulder gently. As she was about to talk a set of knocks came on the door.

  A man similar in age to Frank with similar striking features stood in the opening, carrying a box in his hands. “My wife made you a pie.” He hesitated when he saw the angry look in Frank’s eyes. “She said it was your favorite,” he said hesitantly ready to retreat.

  “What do you want?” Frank growled. His face was bright red, and he clenched his teeth so hard they threatened to shatter in his mouth. He felt ready to explode, r
eady to fall apart, and he did not want anyone to see him this way. In a moment of weakness he cringed, allowing himself to drop back against his pillow. It was all going so fast, and the world was spinning around him. He wrapped his hands around his legs, trembling. Nothing mattered right then. Absolutely nothing mattered, and nothing could possibly be real. This had to be a dream, had to be some cruel nightmare he'd been dropped into – but he knew it wasn't.

  The tall man rushed to his side and took his hand in his own. “It’s okay Frank; let it go, let it all out.” He cried as he sat there watching his brother in turmoil.

  Only minutes passed before he sat upright and looked toward Danni. “I’m Ted, Frank’s brother,” he said flatly extending his hand to her.

  “Nice to meet you,” she smiled. “I’m Danni I work with your brother.” It was an awkward moment. She fought the urge to excuse herself as he dismissed her introduction and moved closer to his brother.

  “Tiffany called and gave me the rundown.” He sighed afraid to ask what happened. “She said you would be out of commission for a while and that you and I need to take that fishing trip we’ve been talking about.”

  Suddenly the mood in the room lightened as if someone pulled the dark cloud away.

  “Did she now?” Frank smiled and looked down at his bandaged leg. “What else did she tell you?” he asked masking his frustration.

  “I told him you were going to take a month of overdue vacation and recover,” Tiffany answered for him as she filled the space between Ted and Frank.