Fire Storm

by Nancy Mehl

  That could identify places Sam might regularly travel, vehicles used, anything that might help them to find out where he’d been. The National Crime Information Center could also put out a general query to all law enforcement for similar MOs that matched their arsonist. Kaely remembered an agent she’d met at Quantico who was with NCIC. They weren’t friends, but they’d gotten along well. Might as well give her a call. Ask for a favor. What could it hurt?

  Just then, the waitress showed up with their food.

  When she walked away, Tuck reached down and picked up an expanding file he’d brought with him. He handed it to Kaely. “This is everything I could find on the fire that killed Sam’s family. And Josh coughed up his information too.”

  “Do I need to return this after I’ve looked it over?” Kaely asked.

  Tuck shook his head. “Just keep it. Those are copies.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I just hope you can find something that will help Sam.”

  Kaely hesitated for a moment before meeting Tuck’s gaze. “And if it goes the other way?”

  “Then we’ll deal with it,” Tuck said quietly. “People have died. They deserve justice.”

  Kaely took a bite of her cheese enchilada. It was made with cheddar cheese, the way she liked. She ate some tortilla chips with guacamole and offered some to Tuck and Noah.

  Tuck dug in immediately, but Noah shook his head. “It’s green,” he said. “I don’t like green food.”

  Kaely couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Wait a minute. I’ve watched you eat green beans. You like green peppers on your pizza. And what about salad? Lettuce is green.”

  “Yeah, but none of that stuff is mashed up into some kind of . . . I don’t know. It looks like something someone regurgitated.”

  Tuck’s stare was piercing. “Not really something to bring up while we’re eating, is it?”

  Noah blushed and Kaely giggled. She smiled as she took another bite of her enchilada. The food was good. The atmosphere in the restaurant was perfect. Even though their conversation had been a little tense, Kaely was enjoying herself.

  Still, she couldn’t stop that warning bell going off in her mind. What did it mean?

  twenty-seven

  Kaely and Noah spent the rest of the evening listening to Tuck’s stories about being the fire chief in a small town. A lot of them were hilarious, and Kaely really enjoyed them.

  When it was time to leave, Noah and Kaely walked out to the parking lot with Tuck, where they all said good-bye.

  “Nice guy,” Noah said as he pulled away. “But this theory about Jack is absurd.” They stood under a large streetlight near the road that ran past the parking lot. “Look, we can’t ignore this much longer. Sam should be questioned by the police. Investigated.”

  “Let’s wait until I have time to go through this new file,” Kaely said. “Tuck is completely convinced of Sam’s innocence. There’s no doubt in his mind. And you have to admit that the video we saw isn’t conclusive evidence.”

  Noah sighed. “I think there’s a hint of frostbite on my nose. Can we get in the car now?”

  Kaely chuckled. “Good idea. Does it ever get this cold in St. Louis?”

  “No. This is the coldest it’s ever been in the history of the United States. Has to be.”

  “You’re a goof.”

  Noah grinned. “So you’ve told me more than once.”

  They walked over to the car and got in. Kaely started the car but sat there a few minutes to give the heater a chance to overcome the frigid temperatures. She used the time to run Tuck’s scenario through her head. Finally, she turned toward Noah. “Look, I need to spend some time with my mom. Jason needs a break. I’ve pushed him past his limit, I’m afraid. Can you go to Sam’s office tomorrow? See what you can find out?”

  Noah sighed. “Yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t know what you think I can discover. The fires were at night. The clinic would have been closed.”

  “Just covering our bases.”

  Noah shrugged. “Okay. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

  “How about coming in for some hot chocolate when we get to the house?”

  “What if your mom’s up?”

  Kaely studied him. “Are you afraid of my mother?”

  “No, of course not.” He was quiet and stared out the window, not saying anything.

  “Oh, Noah,” Kaely said, her heart sinking. “Tracy died of cancer. What’s wrong with me? I’ve been so focused on this case I didn’t think.”

  He nodded slowly. “My father had cancer too. He recovered. But Tracy didn’t. It’s a terrible disease. I hate it.”

  She sighed. “Let me go inside first. She’s probably in bed. I doubt you’ll run into her.”

  “No, I’m just being stupid. I can’t hide from everyone who’s sick just because I lost my wife. Let’s go to your house.”

  “Are you sure?” Kaely asked softly. “I could get my notes and we could go somewhere else.”

  He turned toward her. The look in his eyes made it hard for her to breathe. She could see the love he had for his wife and the grief he still carried from losing her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever be loved like that.

  “I’m sure. Let’s go.”

  Kaely put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, praying her mother really would be asleep by the time they got to the house. She wasn’t sure how Marcie would react to Noah. Kaely was a little nervous about it. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Eight thirty. Marcie was usually in bed by nine, but sometimes she liked to retire earlier so she could watch TV in her bedroom. There was no way to know if she would be up when they got there.

  “Do you need anything from the store before you go back to your motel room?” Kaely asked suddenly.

  Noah shook his head. “There’s a store not far from the motel. I picked up supplies earlier.”

  “Do you mind if I stop to pick up a few things? I won’t take long.”

  “Just long enough to make sure your mother is asleep when we get there?”

  “I’m starting to rub off on you. Quit reading me.”

  Noah laughed. “Look, if you’d like to get a cup of coffee and wait a bit, it’s fine with me.”

  Although she wanted to accept his offer, she realized he was willing to face his fear and she wasn’t. She felt ashamed. “No, let’s go to the house. It’s all right.”

  “Are you afraid she won’t like me?” he asked.

  “No. I’m afraid . . . I don’t know. It sounds ridiculous. I guess I’m afraid you’ll see me differently.” She glanced over at him. “Does that make any sense at all?”

  “Yeah, it does,” he said quietly. “It’s why I didn’t like it when you and Solomon decided I might be a good partner for you because of Tracy. Because you knew I wasn’t looking for romance. It felt too personal. Like a violation of my privacy.”

  He understood. Somehow it made her feel better. “We’re more than partners now. We’re friends. I may not have a lot of experience with having adult friends, but I’m pretty sure sooner or later you have to allow your real life to seep in.” She took a deep breath. “I’m willing if you are.”

  “I’m willing too. Thanks, Kaely. It means . . . well, it means a lot to me.”

  There was something about the warmth of the car and the beautiful ballet performed by the snowflakes that surrounded them. Kaely felt something stir inside her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt powerful and wonderful. She caught Noah’s eye and smiled at him. As her reservations melted away, a voice inside whispered that she was opening a door she might not be able to close again.

  twenty-eight

  They were quiet as she drove to the house. Kaely parked and got out. Noah followed her to the front door. When Kaely unlocked it and stepped inside, she expected her mother to be sitting on the couch, but instead Jason was there alone, watching TV. He stood up when he saw Noah.

  “Good to see you again,” he said with a smile. They shook hands.
They’d met in St. Louis and seemed to like each other.

  “Is Mom in bed?” Kaely asked. “I wanted to introduce her to Noah.”

  “She wasn’t having a good night. She’s been in bed for over an hour.”

  Jason looked tired, and Kaely felt guilty. “Sorry about not being here.”

  Jason shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded toward the door. “If it’s okay, I’m going to get my coat and get out of here.”

  “Sure.” Kaely could feel the tension in the air and wondered if Noah picked up on it.

  Jason went over to the coat closet and pulled out his jacket. After putting it on, he looked at Noah. “Why don’t you come to supper tomorrow night?” he asked. “I’m a pretty good cook.”

  “I’d like that,” Noah replied. “I’ll be here.”

  “I hear I might be running into you. I’ve got a room at the Darkwater Inn. I like it. Nice rooms. Economical.”

  “Yeah, I’m comfortable there. I’m in room 205. Stop by sometime when I’m not following your sister around town.”

  “That appears to be a very small window of time,” Jason said, his eyes drifting toward Kaely. “What are you two planning for tonight?”

  “Hot chocolate,” Kaely said. “Then I thought I’d take Noah to my room and show him my notes about the arsons.”

  “Well, it’s more creative than wanting to show him your etchings,” Jason said, grinning.

  Kaely sighed. “Not funny. Time for you to leave, brother dear?”

  “I think it is.” He turned off the TV, but before he buttoned his coat, he stopped, a look of concern on his face. “Are you planning to take Noah back to the motel when you’re done?”

  Kaely nodded. “It won’t take me more than twenty minutes. Surely Mom can be on her own for that long.”

  Jason shook his head. “I’m not comfortable with that. What if she needs something? Or gets up and finds herself alone?” He sat back down on the couch. “You two go ahead with what you’re doing. I’ll wait. I can take Noah back to the motel when you’re finished.”

  Kaely felt a quick flash of irritation, but she had to admit that maybe Jason was right. She’d left Marcie alone once already, and that had turned out badly.

  “Thanks, Jason. We won’t be long.” She gestured to Noah. “My room is this way.”

  She took off down the hall, trying to calm her jumbled emotions. She knew she was being unreasonable. The truth was, she felt guilty. Like Jason was the good kid and she was the bad seed. Was it true or was she overreacting again?

  When she reached her room, she opened the door. Noah walked inside and looked around. “Wow,” he said, going over to the bookshelves. “What a great collection.” He picked up one of the Sherlock Holmes anthologies. “I love these stories.” He turned and smiled at her. “We have the same tastes in literature.”

  Maybe it was seeing him here, in her mother’s home, casually looking through the books that gave her comfort as a child . . . but all of the sudden, Noah’s presence felt intrusive. Too close to her past. Kaely suddenly wanted to grab the book out of his hands and tell him not to touch her things. What in the world was wrong with her? She knew she could trust him. Why was she waffling between feeling she wanted to be closer to Noah and resisting the idea with a vengeance?

  “You know, you could move to another motel,” she said, trying to change the subject and slow her racing thoughts. “The Darkwater Inn is pretty basic.”

  “I like basic,” he said. “It’s clean and has everything I need.” He frowned at her. “You don’t want me around your brother?”

  Kaely sighed and sat down on the bed. “I don’t know. I’m sure you can tell he’s displeased with me.”

  Noah put the book he’d taken from the shelf back in its place. “Why?”

  “He thinks this investigation is more important to me than he is. Than my mom is.”

  “Is he right?”

  Kaely stared at Noah, her body tight with annoyance. “We came here to talk about the case. Not my mother.”

  Noah nodded slowly. “Okay, then. Let’s get to work.”

  Kaely pulled another chair up to her desk. “Sit here,” she said. As he took a seat, she walked over to the closet and opened the door.

  “Wow,” Noah said when he saw all the notes and pictures taped to the inside. “You’ve made your own incident board.”

  “I had to improvise, but it’s working well enough,” Kaely said. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll get our cocoa.”

  Noah nodded absentmindedly and got up, walking toward the closet. “Can I look this over?”

  “Of course. I’ll be right back.” Kaely went to the kitchen and quickly fixed two cups of hot chocolate. It was made from a prepackaged powder mix, but it was pretty good. She finished each cup off with a mound of whipped cream. When she got back to her room, Noah was still studying her notes. He took a cup from her hand when she held it out to him and then sat down again.

  “I’m still not sure what you think I can find out from the people at Sam’s clinic,” he said.

  “You can’t tell them you’re with the Bureau.”

  Noah rolled his eyes. “What would you like me to say? I’m doing a census report?”

  “No, smarty-pants. How about telling them you’re thinking about bringing your pet in for an appointment? Then you can ask all kinds of questions.”

  “Sure,” Noah said, sipping his hot chocolate. “Uh, ‘I’d like to bring Fido in for a checkup. And by the way, does Dr. Lucas seem to have an unusual interest in fire?’”

  Kaely sighed. “I trust you’ll figure it out somehow.”

  “I’m worried about Omaha.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe Turner thinks we’re corrupt.”

  “He’s just angry that his operation went south. They lost months and months of work.”

  “You really think the guy you pointed out to him was involved?” Noah asked.

  “I only know he was worried about something,” she responded. “It’s not possible for me to narrow it down like that. But it would be odd for him to be upset about something else after two agents were shot. My guess is that he had no idea Guzman was taking Rosa out.”

  “He must not have told those gang members that we were there. They seemed surprised.”

  Kaely nodded absentmindedly.

  “What are you thinking?” Noah asked.

  She looked into Noah’s gray-blue eyes. “I’m concerned about Navarro. I pray Turner took my concerns seriously. If he tells Navarro what I said . . .”

  “No SSA is going to do that, Kaely. Even if he disagrees with you.”

  “I hope you’re right. But if Navarro really is working for Guzman, we could be in trouble. We need to keep an eye out, okay?”

  Noah smiled. “I always do.”

  “You know, if you’re really worried about visiting the clinic tomorrow, you could tell them Tuck sent you.”

  “Yeah, until Tuck finds out. Not sure I want to tick him off.”

  Kaely thought for a moment. “Let’s ask Tuck to back you up. You know, to help you prove Sam couldn’t have done it.”

  “But I’m not sure that’s what we’re going to find.”

  “I know. But Tuck is so certain, he’ll probably tell you it’s okay to drop his name.” Kaely sighed softly. “I wonder if we should ask Chief Brotton to bring us in under Domestic Police Cooperation? If we get officially kicked to the curb by Omaha, it’ll be hard to stay current on the case.”

  Noah raised one eyebrow. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try, but we need to actually talk to him first. He sure doesn’t seem willing to do that.”

  Noah turned to stare once more at the mock incident board Kaely had set up on her closet door. “I’d love to spend some more time looking over what you’ve come up with, but I think I need to let your brother get back to the motel before the roads get worse. I don’t want him to be more irritated with you than he already is.” Noah finished his hot chocolate and stood up.

  The
y were walking down the hall when Jason came out of Marcie’s bedroom, his face white. “Help me, Jessie. Mom’s stopped breathing.”

  twenty-nine

  Noah, Kaely, and Jason followed the ambulance as it raced to the hospital through the dark streets, lights flashing in tandem with Kaely’s pounding heartbeat. The EMTs told them Marcie was still breathing, but her respiratory rate was very low. When they arrived at the hospital, Marcie was rushed to the back somewhere, and they were told to stay in the waiting room until someone could talk to them.

  About an hour later, a doctor came out to tell them that Marcie was stable. He looked at them over his glasses. “Your mother is very weak. Her current treatment has simply overwhelmed her body. I’ve contacted her oncologist to let him know how she’s reacting. Not sure what they can do since she needs this medication, but he’ll have to decide that.”

  “When can she go home?” Jason asked.

  “I’d like to keep her for a few days,” the doctor said. “Her condition needs to improve, or she’ll just end up back here. Let’s give her some time to rest and get stronger.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Kaely said. “Can we see her?”

  The doctor shook his head. “She’s sleeping. Right now she needs rest.”

  Jason nodded and stood up, extending his hand to the doctor. “Thank you.”

  The doctor shook his hand and walked away.

  Jason turned to Kaely. “I’m staying here. I don’t want her to wake up alone. You can go on home. I’ll call you when she can have visitors.”

  “Are you sure?” Kaely asked. “I can stay.”

  “I napped this afternoon while Mom did,” Jason said. He stepped closer to Kaely and gave her a quick hug. “It’s okay, sis. It really is.”

  Kaely’s eyes grew moist. She was amazed at how mature her little brother was. She felt a rush of pride in him and in the way he’d turned out—especially considering everything they’d been through. Being raised by a serial killer could mess anyone up, but here they were. Brother and sister. They might have scars, but they were still standing.