by Karen Anders
He sighed again. “Nothing, I guess, as long as sex doesn’t…”
She put her fingers over his lips. “Sean, you think way too much.”
He kissed her fingers. She seemed so nonchalant. Maybe that’s what got to him. Maybe it didn’t mean as much to her as it meant to him. It could be why she was acting like this wasn’t a big deal. Friends or lovers. He didn’t like it and wanted to push her, but knew that pushing Lana would net him nothing. She’d probably become angry and throw him out. Where would he be then?
“Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ve got my arson class today.”
Sean looked down at his watch. “And I’ve got to get the lawn mower fixed. I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. I’d better call.”
“There’s a phone in my room.”
When Sean left, Lana grabbed the pan off the stove and put it in the sink. She leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Everything Sean had said had merit. But she didn’t know what was going to happen and worrying about it only caused more problems. Sean was too much of a good friend to ever disappear from her life. She had to believe that.
But her gut churned with the effort it took not to show him how much he meant to her. His friendship was more important than anything else, but if they started analyzing everything it could only end in disaster.
Sean came back after twenty minutes, his hair wet. He gave her a rough kiss and drove off.
She didn’t know what she was going to do with him, but she thought it might be fun to find out. Sex brought them one step closer to a more intimate relationship. She’d always shared her thoughts and time with Sean. Now sharing her body seemed so natural.
It had been wonderful to wake up to him this morning. His face seemed so peaceful in sleep. She’d watched his serene, sleeping face for long moments before she’d gotten into the shower. If it hadn’t been for her class, she would have stayed in bed with him all day.
Her first stop was to the SDPD labs and Kate. When she got out of the car, she saw Bryant talking to Sienna near the entrance. She’d have to pump Sienna for information on that as soon as she was done with Kate.
She went around to the side door and down the stairs. At the bottom, she turned right and went through a gray metal door. Kate was loading a slide when Lana walked into her lab.
“Hey,” Kate said, giving Lana a big smile. “What brings you here so early on this beautiful morning? Isn’t it your day off?”
Lana got right to the point. The other thing on her mind, besides Sean, had been the soil sample and if it contained remnants of the accelerant she was sure would be there. “The soil. Did you have time to analyze it?”
“Right. I should have guessed. Dane the pain was just in here.”
“Did he request a soil test, too?” Lana asked as she sat down on one of the stools close to the counter.
“No. He gave me some charred wood to analyze on a different case,” she said walking into her office and searching through a stack of papers on her desk.
“He refuses to believe that there’s a killer out there. I’m going to prove him wrong. This guy deliberately set fires on the fourth floor and the basement. It was designed to trap the residents inside.”
“What evidence do you have to support that?” Kate asked.
“The spalling in the basement. I’m sure a fire was set there.”
“Spalling usually occurs when there’s an intense fire. Didn’t the lobby collapse from above?”
“Yes,” Lana said.
“Couldn’t it have caused fire in the basement?”
“No. Because if a fire was set in the fourth floor apartment how could it have gotten to the lobby?”
“It traveled.”
“Nope. Fire never descends. It always travels up. That’s the science of fire, but you knew that. You were testing me.”
Kate smiled. “Just seeing if you were on your toes.”
Kate pulled out her report. “You’re right. There was evidence of accelerant in the soil.”
“I knew it. I’m going back to the first suspicious fire and gather another sample. You willing to analyze that one, too?”
“Unofficially?”
Lana rolled her eyes. “Yes, since I have no authority to be doing this.”
Kate laughed. “I broke the rules for you when Paige was in trouble with that FBI agent. What makes you think I would ever let you down, Lana?”
“I know you’re already in hot water with St. James.”
It was Kate’s turn to roll her eyes. “I can handle him.”
“I have no doubts about that.”
“After you left us yesterday, did you see Sean?”
Excitement at the mention of Sean’s name washed into her system. “I went to Mahoney’s and he followed me home,” Lana said, suddenly breathless. “This morning he was torn between the lovers and friends thing.”
Kate looked worried. “And that doesn’t bother you?”
“Why should it?” Lana shrugged. “I know that Sean will always be in my life.”
“Do you want more from this, Lana?”
“I don’t know. My path is already set for me. My career is high priority. Making captain is all I’ve worked for and I can’t let anything jeopardize that.”
Kate touched Lana’s arm. “Sometimes I think that you repress so much it comes as second nature to you.”
Lana viewed Kate thoughtfully for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“Lana, I know you’re crazy about Sean, but you act like it’s no big deal. Deep inside I’m sure you’re in as much turmoil as he is, but God forbid anyone should know about it. You don’t have to hide your real feelings all the time.”
They walked back out to Kate’s lab. Lana said, “I’m just trying to keep everything in perspective. And I’m not repressing anything. Sean and I are friends first. Once we get this sex thing out of our system, things will go back to normal.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Lana and you might believe it.”
She gave Kate a cheeky grin, knowing that she was safe in her belief. She leaned over and looked into the microscope. “Looks like a match.”
“Sorry you didn’t go into forensic science instead of firefighting?”
Lana raised her head. “Once a geek, always a geek I guess. I love this stuff, but it doesn’t compare to firefighting. Even though I majored in fire science in college, I minored in chemistry.”
“Why anyone would want to take organic chemistry when they didn’t have to is beyond me.”
“You aced that class, Kate.”
“I know, but it doesn’t mean I love it. Now the science of DNA, that’s a different story.”
Lana looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go or I’ll be late.”
Kate handed Lana the report and said, “Be careful. Dane will be livid when he finds out what you’re doing. Call me if you need anything else.”
Lana gave Kate a hug. “You’re the best.”
Lana emerged into the parking lot and came face to face with Dane Bryant.
“What are you doing here, Dempsey?”
Everything the man said had that undertone of a sneer. It immediately put Lana on edge. “Seeing a friend.”
His eyes narrowed at her. She chafed against the restraint of his rank. She wished she could tell him to go to hell, but her training won over her pique. She’d be damned if she let him rile her enough to give him a reason to slap an insubordination charge on her. She needed her record to be impeccable. They didn’t choose captains from hotheads and troublemakers.
Although this clandestine investigation could be considered troublemaking, but only if she got caught before she found the bad guy. Bryant, with all his posturing and bravado, wasn’t any closer to solving the arson than he was three weeks ago.
Bryant sneered at her, “Stay out of my way.” He pushed past her and Lana watched him go. He might have been an excellent firefighter, but he wasn’t a very good arson investigator. She wondered how h
e’d gotten the job.
“That guy has it in for you.”
Lana turned at the sound of Sienna’s voice. “No kidding, but he doesn’t intimidate me. He’s a jerk.”
“And I can see that you would love to tell him that to his face.”
“Yep, but can’t. Regulations on insubordination are pretty clear-cut.”
“I know all about that.”
“What were you two talking about?”
“We were discussing the arsonist that has struck two apartment houses. Dane thinks it might be an arson for hire.”
“He’s wrong.”
Sienna raised her brow. “You know that for a fact.”
“I found spalling in the basement of the second fire. Dane said that because the roof collapsed, it caused the basement fire. I say there was spalling because someone set a fire down there. I asked him to check it out by taking a sample of the soil.”
“But he dismissed you, so you, in your pit-bull way, asked Kate to do a sample for you on the sly.”
“Right.”
“Lana, Dane would love to discredit you and get you kicked off the force. You need to be careful.”
“He’s incompetent. His sexism is interfering with an investigation. I can’t sit by while he stumbles around in the dark and gets nowhere.”
“Be careful.” A gleam came into her eye. “How goes it with Sean?”
Lana gave Sienna the same report she’d given Kate and Sienna had the same reaction.
“I’ll be careful. Look, I’ve got to go, but I’ll talk to you later.”
She parted with Sienna, trying to ignore the worried look on her friend’s face. It was hard to believe that only a year ago, she neither knew Sienna, nor was likely to become friends with her. Then Paige got in trouble and both Kate and Sienna had come into her life. They had stood by her every step of the way and together they had formed a bond that locked them together as close as sisters.
That was why it had been so easy to challenge her friends into a souvenir-gathering escapade. After Sienna suggested that Lana was afraid of Sean sexually, Lana had insisted on a contest. Sienna had ended up going after the sexy SEAL she’d been assigned to work with and now Sienna had an engagement ring on her finger. Lana didn’t have that expectation with Sean. This was just a fling for her and all this caution from her friends was overkill.
Sienna waved as Lana started up the car. She smiled and waved back. The worried look hadn’t disappeared and Lana remembered all too well that Sienna had already experienced what it was like to go after a man who was a challenge. But was Sean someone who wouldn’t work in her life? Where did he fit? Lover? Friend? Squad member? Or all three?
Achieving balance was always topmost on Lana’s list of things that made her feel comfortable, but Sean didn’t fit into any easily defined holes, round or square.
All she knew was that he made her tingle. Her heart skipped a beat whenever she saw the familiar slope of his shoulders, that charismatic smile, or the sheen of his hair in the sun. His voice mesmerized her, a voice she could listen to for hours.
Shaking her head to clear it, Lana was aware of the pitfalls of getting involved with Sean and she’d decided he was worth the risk. But daydreaming, her father had told her, would only make her lose focus. He’d told her countless times that she had to be strong to make it in a man’s profession. Letting emotion get in her way was dangerous.
Arriving ten minutes late for her class, she took her seat quickly. She tried to push Sean out of her mind, but he wouldn’t go. The best she could do was to keep him at bay.
SEAN APPROACHED THE BACK DOOR. Inside he could hear his mother talking to his aunt Maggie.
“Megan, you have that son of yours constantly running around like a crazy person. I can pick up Mom’s present.”
“Sean’s a good boy. He doesn’t mind,” his mother said, absolute conviction in her voice.
“Don’t you think he might like to have his days off free to do something fun?” his aunt said in exasperation. “If he’s not doing something for Riley or you, he’s doing something for his dad.”
“I told you. Sean doesn’t mind,” his mother replied calmly.
Sean opened the back door, making enough noise so that his mother and aunt could hear him. “Hi, Mom,” he bussed his mother’s cheek and turned to his aunt and gave her a kiss, too. “And you, Aunt Maggie.”
“Sean, dear. I saved you some breakfast. It’s on the stove. Thank you for fixing the lawn mower. We really appreciate it. You know how hard it is to get your father to do anything.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He walked over to the pan and lifted the lid. Eggs, hash browns and bacon were all nestled nicely together in the skillet and heated just enough to eat without getting burned. Although he’d stopped on the way and eaten, he pulled down a plate.
“Sean,” his mother said, glancing at his aunt. “While you’re downtown getting a new blade, could you pick up a gift for your grandmother’s birthday?”
Sean doesn’t mind. Those were his mother’s words and the sentiment behind them was true. He didn’t mind doing things for his family, but had Lana been right when she said they were taking advantage of him?
“I can do it, Mom.”
His mother gave his aunt a grin and Sean forked up his food and continued eating.
IT TOOK TWO HOURS and three hardware stores before Sean finally gave up and bought his parents a new lawnmower.
He loaded the purchase in the car and spied a vintage record store one building over. He knew his grandmother loved old albums and it would be a good place to get a gift for her.
He locked his car and walked toward the store, but stopped in front of an outdoor shop sandwiched between the hardware and record stores.
In the window was a mock climbing wall along with climbing gear. Sean stood in front of the glass for a long time staring at the equipment, wondering if he could finally overcome his fear of heights. He looked at the wall and spied the notice for climbing classes. Then looked at the wall again. He really was busy taking care of his family’s needs. Maybe later.
With a last look at the gear, he went into the record store.
WHEN HER CLASS WAS OVER, Lana retrieved Kate’s report. She felt no satisfaction that she’d been right. It only meant that Bryant was going on wrong assumptions and poorly gathered data.
Lana felt a chill slide down her neck. This kind of deliberate act most likely would escalate. So far the SDFD had been able to save all the lives involved in the two blazes. But fire was a deadly and clever foe and eventually it could claim a life.
She couldn’t let that happen. Dropping the report on the seat, she started the car. She knew where she had to go.
Parking on Tremont Street, the site of the first fire, Lana looked up at the structure. It was nothing but a burned out husk of a building, looking gray and eerie in the setting sun.
Lana grabbed up another plastic bag from her glove compartment, a stash that Kate had given her. She exited her car and walked toward the burned out building. There were strips of yellow tape everywhere, warning of danger. But Lana knew what she was doing.
She made her way inside, looking up at what had once housed many, many people. She’d read in the paper that a ritzy condo builder had bought the land. He was going to put in expensive condos.
A rustling sound caught her attention and she spun in the fading light. She moved closer, catching a glimpse of something dark. When she got to the area where she thought she’d seen the outline of a man, she stopped. There was no one in sight.
Spooked, she quickly made her way to the place where she thought the basement would be. She shined her flashlight around the area and gasped. Kneeling down, she ran her hand over what had once been the concrete floor of the building’s basement. Spalling. Her gut clenched. How could Bryant have missed this twice? She set down the flashlight, pulling the plastic evidence bag out of her pocket. She reached toward the earth and scooped up some dirt. Bringing the bag back toward her
, she went to seal it.
Someone shoved her from behind. She sprawled forward, her hands getting scraped against the ground as she braced her fall.
A voice lashed out at her.
“Mind your own business, bitch!”
5
LANA LAY STILL FOR A MOMENT, trying to regain her equilibrium. She started when a voice boomed out of the darkness.
“What the hell are you doing, Dempsey?”
That was Bryant’s voice. A light glowed over her and she turned her head. Her eyes protested the brightness and she shielded her eyes.
“Could you get that light out of my eyes, Bryant?”
Forgetting about her hand, she rose, pushing herself off the ground. “You pushed me.”
He reared back, his face looking twisted in the eerie dimness.
“You’re crazy. I didn’t push you.”
“You’re a liar.” Too late, she remembered that he outranked her and she added a defiant “Sir.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Looking for clues to prove my point.”
His mouth twisted into an ugly grin. “I have had enough of you undermining me and my authority. I’m talking to your captain.”
“Go ahead. But I would suggest that you never lay your hands on me again.”
He got right in her face, but Lana never gave an inch.
“I didn’t push you.”
“Right,” she said, her voice dripping with disbelief.
“I would suggest you go home, Dempsey,” he said as he stalked away.
Undaunted, Lana bent down and retrieved her flashlight and the plastic bag. She wasn’t leaving here without a sample.
When she got to her car, she stopped in her tracks. The tires facing the curb were slashed. When she walked around to the driver’s side, she saw they were slashed, too.
She unlocked the door and settled into the driver’s seat. Her hands tingled from the scrapes. Turning on the overhead light in the car, she inspected the abrasions. Not too bad and they’d only bled a little. She snapped off the light.
Cursing Bryant for his pettiness, she picked up her cell phone and was just about to dial information to call AAA when it rang.