Burning Love

by Debra Cowan

  "Did anyone else know about Harris getting the order?"

  "I was hoping you could tell me."

  "Sorry." Stunned, she sank down on the bench. Despite the cold shock of Jack's announcement, doubts flared like a flash fire inside her. How many secrets had Harris kept from her? Cecily had blamed Terra for Harris's violent death. Could she be right?

  She wasn't touching Jack, but his heat pressed against her. Even through her jacket she could feel him and it comforted her somehow. She studied his strong hands, the towel loosely dangling between his knees.

  "Maybe Harris's good friends would know something. Judge Bob Seat was a fishing buddy. And Frank Massey is a firefighter who went through the academy with Harris and retired at the same time."

  "Maybe his judge buddy told him how to go about getting a V.P.O."

  "Could be." She shook her head. "I'm sorry I'm not more help. I had no idea Cecily had gotten this bad. She had to have been following him and showing up a lot more than I knew about."

  "Yeah." Jack leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

  She tried to keep her gaze from wandering over him and stared blankly at the floor as she absorbed the bombshell he'd dropped. Learning about the victim's protective order notched up Terra's unease. Cecily had been more of a threat than she'd realized.

  "Hey, you okay?" Jack's voice quietly penetrated her thoughts.

  The strong male scent of him, the tang of sweat and a faint hint of cologne slid into her lungs. Her stomach fluttered. "Sure."

  Doubt spread through her, making her feel unprepared for what she might learn next, what might happen next. Thank goodness, Jack Spencer didn't seem to be falling apart. The V.P.O. was another lead, regardless of whether Harris had told her about it.

  "You said you had some news?"

  "Oh, yes." Terra dismissed the butterflies in her stomach, determined not to be sidetracked by a silly attraction. "The M.E. found large quantities of Halcion in Harris's tox screen."

  "Halcion? Isn't that a sleeping pill?"

  "Yes. Overdoses can cause unconsciousness, and often death."

  "So someone drugged Mr. Vaughn, then tied him up?"

  "Or tied him up first." Terra laced her fingers together, working to keep her voice steady. "Ken can't determine which."

  "So this just strengthens our case for premeditated murder."

  "Yes." She found herself wanting to grab his hand and hold on tight, to cling to something immovable and rock steady. "Ken released Harris's body today and the funeral will be Saturday."

  His gaze slid to hers and held. "I'm sorry."

  "Thanks."

  "Is his ex-wife planning the service?"

  "No. Harris had already arranged to have what he wanted."

  "That's good. I don't think the ex is in any shape to plan anything."

  Emotion tightened her throat. She struggled not to give in to it, even though right now she felt like throwing herself against Jack Spencer's broad chest and having a good cry. "You're planning to talk to Cecily, aren't you?"

  "You bet. I plan to ask her about that V.P.O."

  "I want to be there."

  "No problem. I also want to talk to Mr. Vaughn's friends, anyone who might've known about this V.P.O. against his ex. Any other names you can give me?"

  "Maybe the mayor's mother, Harris's sister."

  "Okay, that's a place to start. What about any friends of Cecily's I can talk to?"

  Terra thought for a moment. "She and Harris were good friends with Rod and Janet Engel. Rod was a firefighter. From what Harris told me, Cecily and Janet remained friends after the divorce."

  "Okay, I'll put them on my list. I don't want to talk to the ex-Mrs. Vaughn until after we talk to some other people, see if her info matches up with what we get."

  "Good idea. Tomorrow?" She rose, her nerves raw, the massive gym space closing in on her.

  Jack stood, too, seeming suddenly very close. Very big.

  She rubbed her arms, struggling to hold back the frustration biting at her. Harris didn't have to tell her everything, but she'd thought he had. To file for a V.P.O., he must've felt in real danger from his ex-wife, yet he hadn't said a word. "Shall we meet in the morning at my office?"

  "Eight o'clock all right?"

  She nodded.

  Concern darkened his eyes. "You sure you're okay?"

  "I'll be fine. It's just a bit of a shock."

  "The V.P.O.?"

  "Yes. I thought Harris would've told me."

  "So did I. Is there any reason you can think of that he would keep it to himself?"

  She shrugged. "Maybe to keep from embarrassing Cecily. He was a real gentleman about stuff like that."

  Jack edged closer, his heat wrapping around her like a hug. "He was probably protecting you, too. First instinct. I'm sure he didn't keep silent because he didn't trust you."

  She searched his eyes, saw compassion and sincerity. "Thanks."

  He smiled, a gentle, barely there smile that caused her heart to turn over.

  Just then, Connor ran up. "Uncle Jack?"

  "I'm watching the time, bud." He flashed Terra a grin. "We're going for hamburgers."

  "Ask for ice cream, too," Terra whispered loudly.

  "Hey, don't gang up on me!" Jack put up his hands in mock self-defense before pointing a finger at Connor. "I counted only a hundred jumps."

  "How do you do that?" the boy exclaimed. "You weren't even looking at me!"

  Jack laughed and threw an air punch, which Connor dodged, then threw his own.

  Terra smiled in spite of the ache inside her. "Connor, it was nice to meet you."

  "Yeah. Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

  "Maybe so." Doubtful. Terra pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket. "I'll see you in the morning, Spencer."

  "Eight sharp."

  Jack Spencer was someone a woman could rely on. As shocked and off balance as she'd felt at the news about Harris's V.P.O., Spencer had steadied her. Reassured her.

  She had to be careful. She wasn't going to let her hormones or loneliness or the fact that she liked Jack more all the time get in the way of justice for Harris. Seeing him with his nephew brought home the fact that Jack Spencer was a man, with wants and needs just like any other. She'd seen more evidence of that last night when he'd thought about kissing her.

  The blue-eyed detective opened a place inside her that had closed up when she and Keith divorced, a deep, secret place that urged her to invite someone in. But she wasn't ready to get cut off at the knees again. She might never be.

  Her thoughts and emotions swirled together. So far, their investigation had yielded tons of questions and no answers. The day had been capped off by disturbing information learned by both of them—the V.P.O. he'd obtained against his ex-wife, the drugs found in Harris's system. Terra's throat tightened.

  This whole day had been a series of unsettling revelations, starting with her regret over not being kissed by Jack. She should be thinking platonic, professional thoughts, not about getting naked with him.

  All her energy needed to be focused on the arsons, on her job. She could not let Jack Spencer go to her head.

  Chapter 6

  The day of Harris's funeral dawned bright and crisp, but by one o'clock that Saturday afternoon, the October temperature had grown unseasonably mild. The service was held at Presley Memorial Gardens in the larger of two chapels on the cemetery grounds. Terra, Meredith and Robin walked into a lovely stone building with arched doorways and polished mahogany floors. Plush area rugs in deep burgundy muffled footsteps and led into the carpeted auditorium where the service would be held.

  Seated between her two friends, Terra was grateful for their support. She wore her fire department dress uniform and Robin wore her police blues. Meredith, her wild blond curls pulled into a chic twist, wore a black suit. Though numb, Terra was determined to hold herself together today and function as best she could. If she started crying, she was afraid she'd break down. Since the night of Harri
s's death, she hadn't let herself dwell on the personal aspect of the investigation. Thank goodness, Robin and Meredith had come with her today.

  Pastor Goolsby, from Harris's church, gave a lovely service. The casket remained closed, for which Terra was grateful. She didn't think she could handle seeing Harris the way she had that night nearly a week ago. Even though the horrific image of his burned body would stay with her a long time, she wanted to remember him the way she always knew him. The time they'd spent with her grandfather, the fires they'd fought together, the first door he'd let her hack through. He'd been a constant support after she'd lost Granddad, a shoulder during her divorce from Keith, a model of strength in the days they'd helped work the Murrah building bombing.

  And now he was gone. Gone. All because of some twisted pyromaniac who also murdered.

  A heaviness pressed against her ribs. She couldn't believe this service was for Harris. That she'd come to say goodbye to the man who'd always been there for her.

  After several eulogies, the pastor invited everyone outside to attend a short graveside memorial. Terra had put a shell around her heart and her thoughts, not allowing herself to think about what this investigation really meant, the finality of what was now happening. As she walked out of the chapel and across the paved drive toward the tent set up for the graveside service, she felt that shell crack. Harris was truly gone. She looped her arms through those of both her friends to keep herself steady.

  The fire chief, Al Wheat, walked ahead of her with the police chief. She recognized the councilwoman who made her way with the city manager across the fall-dry grass to the waiting tent. Terra saw Dane Reynolds along with his cameraman, T. J. Coontz, hanging back from the crowd, quietly setting up T.J.'s camera against a row of cars. They weren't intrusive, but neither were they invisible.

  Reynolds's presence wasn't suspicious on the surface; every news channel had sent a crew and they, too, set up their equipment a respectable distance away. Harris Vaughn had been first a decorated firefighter for fourteen years, then the fire investigator for more than ten. His funeral service would've received media attention even if his death hadn't been so grisly.

  Soon, everyone was gathered under the open-sided tent. Ten chairs had been provided. Terra took a place behind the row of chairs, leaving the seats for family or those unable to stand comfortably. A quick flutter of wind made her glad she'd worn her uniform's dress jacket.

  She scanned the chairs, three of them filled by Cecily, her mother and her brother. The next four chairs were taken by the mayor, his wife, father and mother, who was Harris's sister. Rod and Janet Elder used two chairs, which left one empty. Terra counted firefighters from every station house as well as several police officers in dress uniform. Pain and loss stabbed through her and she battled to level out her breathing. She couldn't lose it now.

  Plenty of Presley's brass had turned out to pay their respects, but was the arsonist also here?

  Arsonists returned to scenes of their fires, not funerals, but Terra couldn't take her gaze from Cecily. Or stop wondering if Jack had come up with anything else on Dane Reynolds. Afraid the shaky rein on her emotions would snap if she listened too closely to the pastor's final words about Harris, she let her mind drift over the investigation.

  Jack had learned that Dane Reynolds abruptly left a news anchor job in Denver before coming to Oklahoma City. Upon talking to Denver police yesterday, Jack had unearthed the fact that a restraining order had been issued against the pretty-boy reporter. He was attempting to contact the woman who'd filed the restraining order.

  Terra had spent most of Thursday with Jack, talking to friends of both Harris and Cecily. Harris had told his friend, Judge Bob Seat, about seeking a protective order against his ex-wife and asked how to proceed. Neither Terra nor Harris's retired firefighter buddy, Frank Massey, had known about the V.P.O. Terra didn't understand why Harris hadn't told her about his V.P.O. against Cecily, but the fact that he'd also kept it from Massey helped lessen the sting. According to Judge Seat, Harris had remained silent out of embarrassment for both himself and Cecily.

  If only Terra and Jack could get a break in this case. They might get one from the videotape, if it could ever be enhanced. The equipment at the police lab had been repaired, but yesterday when the techs tried to analyze the videotape from the fire at Harris's, the machine shorted out. Jack had driven the cassette down to the lab at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. They would call when it was ready.

  Terra's gaze traveled over Cecily's black hat trimmed with a half veil and her slender black suit. The woman's shoulders shook noticeably. The pastor stepped aside and a petite blond woman sang beautifully about "The Sweet By and By." Terra lost track of the words, fighting an intense sense of suffocation, a slow rip of pain through her chest. She tried to gauge Cecily's reaction. Was it too over the top? Too restrained? Was she still taking Valium?

  Cecily's friend, Janet Elder, had uncomfortably admitted to Jack and Terra that she knew about the victim's protective order Harris had obtained, but that was all she'd said. Same for her husband, Rod.

  Cecily's brother, Barry Mullins, had answered Terra and Jack's questions, but refused to let them talk to his mother. Watching the frail, tiny woman who leaned heavily on Cecily's shoulder during the service, Terra could understand why.

  Mullins had an arm around both mother and sister, trying to offer what support he could. Cecily sobbed quietly into a mascara-splotched handkerchief. Terra and Jack hadn't spoken to her yet about the victim's protective order and certainly wouldn't do it here.

  As the pastor's voice soothingly read a passage from the Bible, Terra closed her eyes, reaching deep inside for the strength to stifle her emotions. She couldn't fall apart, couldn't lose control. She wanted to get whoever had done this to Harris, no matter what it took or how long.

  She and the other firefighters had planned to meet at Harris's favorite bar, Hotshots, after the funeral to say goodbye to their colleague in their own way. She would stop by for a little while before heading home. She was exhausted and grief had begun chipping through her defenses with sly, knifelike pricks.

  During the short service, she felt someone's gaze on her and glanced back straight into Jack's blue eyes. He gave a slight nod and she responded with the barest of smiles. No doubt he was there to see if he spotted anyone on their suspect list, but she felt a warmth steal through her, almost a calming.

  She didn't have the strength to push it away even though she'd made her decision yesterday about Jack Spencer and the crazy dance her hormones had done two nights ago while visiting with him at the police gym. Today was about Harris and tomorrow would be about searching for the murdering arsonist who'd killed him.

  Jack didn't appear to want to be involved with her any more than she did with him, at least not romantically. Which was good.

  Terra felt shaky inside, but she locked her knees and remained at rigid attention as the flag was folded and presented to Harris's sister, Jeannie Griffin. The pastor said a final prayer and, on behalf of the family, thanked everyone for coming. People had said their goodbyes to Harris inside the chapel so the crowd broke up quickly and dissolved into smaller groups.

  When the mayor and his mother walked with their families toward the waiting limousines that would take them back to the funeral home, Terra made her way over to them. They stopped when they saw her and she held out her hands to Jeannie. The two women embraced and Terra whispered her condolences. She shook hands with Harris's brother-in-law, Bill, then with the mayor, expressing her sorrow.

  As Jeannie and Bill walked off, the mayor turned. "Will you be able to find this monster, Terra?"

  "Yes." Her voice cracked, but her gaze didn't waver. Neither did her belief.

  "Do it."

  He walked away and she turned to find Meredith and Robin just behind her.

  Meredith hugged her. "You okay?"

  "Yes. I just can't believe this is real."

  Two male police officers walked
up to Robin and she introduced them. Terra made small talk, but wasn't really aware of what she said. She was aware that someone was watching her. Her skin prickled and she looked over her shoulder to again find Jack Spencer's attention on her.

  From his distance of several yards, she read a shared pain in his eyes and face. He studied her as if he could see the small cracks beneath the surface. But she was working hard to make sure no one could see them. At his knowing look, she turned away, struggling to keep her mental balance. Jack understood what she felt right now, how desperate she was to maintain control. His knowing weakened Terra's defenses, made her long to be closer to him.

  Meredith and Robin talked quietly to the police officers. As Terra tried to ignore the hollow ache in her belly, someone touched her elbow.

  She turned, stiffening when she saw Cecily.

  "May I talk to you?" Gripping her handkerchief in one hand, Harris's ex lightly touched Terra's arm, then drew her away from her friends.

  Though wary, Terra looked into Cecily's red-rimmed eyes and didn't have the heart to refuse. They stopped several yards away from Robin and Meredith. Terra's gaze followed Cecily as she flashed her mother a reassuring smile. Looking as though it took all her energy to stand, the woman tottered along beside Cecily's brother. Her pale, delicate hand was closed tightly on his arm.

  Cecily turned back to Terra, but instead of releasing her, Cecily gripped her tighter. The woman's manicured fingernails dug through Terra's uniform jacket. Cecily somehow managed to keep her face blank, but her eyes glittered with a hatred Terra had rarely seen.

  "I'm warning you to back off."

  Terra's eyes narrowed. "Off what?"

  "I know you've been telling lies about me all over town."

  "Hardly—"

  "You've been telling people that Harris was afraid of me. How ridiculous. Harris would never have taken out a protective order against me. He didn't need to be protected from me." Cecily kept her voice low and glanced over at her mother with a sweet smile.

  She signaled she'd be finished shortly then said to Terra with low venom, "He needed to be protected from you. You killed him. You and your stupid cases, your investigations. You put him up to getting that protective order. He would never have done something like that if you hadn't interfered."