Dear Editor

by Emily Sharpe

  Jessica let her thoughts drift back to the Halloween party. Rita's face suddenly appeared in her mind's eye. The party's hostess had been dressed as a beautiful zombie, a long scar down one cheek. Scar! There was a man at the last fire with a distinctive scar!

  "Worth!" Jessica sat straight up, only the tension of the seatbelt holding her back. "Maybe it was Todd who started the fire. Maybe he started them all."

  Chapter 13

  Change of Plans

  As soon as they landed and had the go-ahead to take phones out of airplane mode, Jessica called Chet. "Chief! I mean, Chet. It's Jessica Daniels," she said breathlessly.

  "Is your mother all right?"

  "Yes! Oh, I'm sorry—I didn't mean to alarm you," Jessica said in a low voice. "I'm calling about the fires." The first-class cabin was still fairly quiet as the plane taxied to the terminal, but she knew that any minute, things would be much more hectic. "I can't go into it right now, but I may have information about who set the fires. All of them."

  "All? We've been under the impression the arsonists died in the fires, by design," Chet said. "Where'd you get the idea that—"

  The plane came to a stop. People all around the cabin began moving and talking. Jessica put a hand over one ear so that she could hear better in the commotion. "I can't talk right now, Chie-Chet. I could come into the office Monday maybe? I'm in Boston now."

  Arrangements tentatively made, the call ended as the first-class passengers began the shuffle out. Jessica felt she'd done all she could at this time, and now all of her focus was on Worth as they walked arm in arm. Carried along by a little sea of people, Worth and Jessica made their way through Boston Logan International.

  Since they had no luggage to claim, the couple walked directly to where the hotel's limousine was waiting for them. As the driver navigated through the busy Boston streets, Jessica was not even tempted to look out the windows, despite the fact that it was her first visit to the historic city. Worth had her complete attention, and she had his.

  "Monday, don't even come to the office," he murmured between kisses. "We'll get back late Sunday night, so sleep in before you go to the fire department. Tell the chief what you know—maybe there's security camera footage of the fires and you can look for the man with the scar. Maybe it's Todd, maybe not, but it's possible." He grimaced. "I just can't believe he purposely killed the only people to be kind to him as a child, though. Maybe it was all an accident and he was so distraught and felt so guilty, he—"

  Jessica squeezed his hand, interrupting, "It's probably nothing. Lots of people have scars. I hate to waste Chet's time, but it will keep nagging at me if I don't at least try."

  Worth took his hand from hers to make a "time out" gesture. The sight of it thrilled her heart, reminding her of their first lunch and all the missteps and misunderstandings along the way since then. All "worth" it, she thought with a grin as he kept talking.

  "Monday, you can let it nag at you all you want. For the next few days, I request—nay—I demand," Worth made a flourish with his hands and Jessica giggled, "that there can be no more talk of fires or fire chiefs or scars. We have other things to concentrate on." He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

  Jessica laid her head against his shoulder. "Absolutely." I've been waiting all my life for this weekend, she thought. I guess he has been too. It was nothing short of miraculous, to know that this man wanted her as badly as she wanted him. They had called each other "love" and talked about love, but the important three words had never been spoken. Assumed. Exhibited, but…

  "It won't be long now, Jessica," Worth whispered. "You know I love you, don't you?"

  Jessica's heart leapt. She was about to respond in kind when she felt her purse vibrating against her leg. She wriggled a little distance from Worth and sat up. "Phone call. I forgot to turn the ringer on."

  "Can't you let it go?" Worth asked, playing with her hair, stroking her neck.

  Jessica nodded at the delicious feeling, but her brain nevertheless sent the message to her mouth to say otherwise. "It could be my mom. I'll only be a second. Hello?"

  Worth watched as the color drained from her face. He mouthed a question, but she waved a hand to stop him, suddenly all business. "Oh. I understand. Yes. Yes, of course."

  When she ended the call, she tapped the driver on the shoulder. "As soon as you can safely turn around, please head back to the airport."

  "Yes, ma'am," the driver said with a chuckle. "Did you forget something? 'Happens all the time."

  Before she could answer him, Worth jumped in, "What's going on? Was it your mother? Is she okay?"

  "Oh, Worth," Jessica said miserably as she sank back into the plush seat of the limo. "There's been another fire. Like right now. Between the plane and here, it's happened that quickly. That was Chet. And he wants me to come as soon as I can. I'm so sorry to spoil things. Your surprise. Everything—"

  Worth said nothing but pulled her to him, holding her close. The two of them held each other in stunned silence all the way back to the airport. Neither could believe the turn of events, not this weekend. Jessica was close to tears. Worth texted first the hotel, then the airport, canceling here, booking there. When she noticed, her heart sank even lower. "You could stay, and I could try to get here later. I just—"

  Worth shook his head. "The idea of being in a hotel room without you is intolerable. I've done it plenty of times and never minded before, but you changed all that. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

  Jessica gasped. "What do you mean?"

  Worth's face was grim. "We tried."

  The tears now fell freely, but Jessica said nothing. Surely, he doesn't mean this is it. He can't mean that. He can't.

  Worth had his calendar app open. "How about next weekend? Do you have plans?"

  Jessica giggled in spite of the situation and punched him softly. "You scared me! I thought, oh, never mind what I was thinking. I'm still not used to you yet. To us really being an us."

  "Scared you? And it's not even Halloween." He wiped away her tears, embracing her tightly.

  She slapped at his arm playfully. "Oh, you! Yes, next weekend sounds perfect."

  "And just so there are no more miscommunications, we are definitely an us," he reassured her.

  Jessica smiled as she leaned against him. It was good to hear him finally say that. They were together, and they would face anything that came their way as a team.

  Chapter 14

  Through the Smoke

  By the time they were able to fly back, night had fallen. The fire was mostly under control, although the building was a complete loss. Jessica stood by Chief Henderson's side as his brave men and women did their intricate dance of equipment, axes and hoses. A body had been found, a body that would have been presumed to be the arsonist had she not contacted the chief.

  "Just stand here and observe the crowd, Jessica," Chet had advised her. She had told him about the man with the scar straightaway. In the meantime, Worth held back, mixing with the crowd, observing as well.

  Jessica peered from face to face in the little clumps of people still watching from behind the barriers law enforcement had set up. It seemed hopeless to pick someone out of a crowd in the dim light, especially someone she had only seen the one time. Suddenly, she gasped. There he was! She was almost certain it was the same man, the man she had seen at the earlier fire. He stood on the outskirts of the little group of spectators and reporters furthest away, conveniently under a streetlight. Turn your head so I can see the scar, she thought. Turn!

  The man stared intently away from her, however. There was a fierceness evident in his body language—fists clenched, his shoulders bowed up as if about to hit someone. She followed his line of sight to see what he was so interested in, apart from the fire itself, and when she did, her heart sank.

  The man with the scar was staring at Worth.

  She willed Worth to make eye contact, but he was glancing here and there, anywhere but where she needed him to
look. Chet had stepped away to speak with a reporter. What am I supposed to do? she thought.

  Without thinking, she pulled a notebook from her purse. Ducking under the barrier, she trotted over to the man and stood between him and Worth. If Worth saw her there, surely, he would know something was wrong.

  "Excuse me, sir, I'm a reporter and wondered if I could have a few minutes of your time? Do you live near here? Were you here when the fire started?" She was surprised by the urgent but confident tone of her own voice.

  She'd caught the man off guard. He turned to her; she could clearly see the pronounced scar on his cheek, just as she'd noticed before, just as Worth had traced on his own face when he'd described Todd Granger to her.

  "What?" he said. "Who are you?"

  "J-Jennifer Johnson for WKLT!" she said perkily, wishing she had worn her press pass.

  "Oh." The man frowned down at her, glanced back in Worth's direction, and back to her again. "Name's Tom Graves. I live pretty close, yes. I came as soon as I heard the sirens. Been a long afternoon. I was just about to go get a beer." He cocked an eyebrow, backing away from her with one hand extended. "Care to join us?"

  T.G. Same initials. Not very original if this is the same guy. "Us?" Jessica hadn't noticed he was with anyone.

  Tom Graves smiled without warmth. "Yeah, I just saw an old, old friend in the crowd. I was on my way to talk to him when you stopped me."

  Jessica decided to play along as her heart sank. He must mean Worth. It's Todd! "Sure. Maybe he can add something to the story too." She walked beside him as they sidestepped gawkers, toward the spot where she knew Worth had just been.

  Still at a little distance away, Jessica saw Worth find her in the crowd, a look of confusion on his face. She tilted her head toward the man with the scar; Worth gave a little nod.

  Eyes round, Jessica stopped abruptly. Graves stopped too. "Anything wrong? He's just over there."

  "You go on, and I'll catch up, Mister, um, Graves. I need to tell my camera man where I'm going," said Jessica, ignoring his earnestness. "No, really, go on. I'll find you."

  Graves gave a little shrug, unable to hide his relief in shedding the pesky "reporter.” He continued toward Worth. As soon as he was out of earshot, though, Jessica pulled out her phone and dialed 911. As quickly as she could, she asked for help at the scene. Even as she spoke to the dispatcher, she saw an officer close to Worth receive a call, scan the crowd and begin walking toward Tom Graves. Another police officer was approaching him from the other side, obviously mindful of the crowd while trying not to cause a commotion that would alert Graves to impending danger.

  Suddenly, an older woman called out from Worth's group and stepped forward. "Todd? Todd Granger? I can't believe it! Is that really you?"

  Jessica was horrified, but there was nothing she could do to stop Audrey Scott from moving into danger. Hearing his old name called out, Tom/Todd went on full alert, his head turning this way and that, detecting the approaching officers. Suddenly, he grabbed Audrey roughly and held her tightly, one arm around her neck. "Stay back!" he yelled. "Everybody get back, or I'll hurt her! I swear to God, I'll do it!"

  Jessica's feet seemed to be attached to the asphalt. Everything around her seemed to be in slow motion. Weapons drawn, the officers were no longer moving forward. The crowd, frightened, dispersed quickly in every direction but that of the barricade. It was an impossible situation for him, Jessica thought. He must know he can't get away! The look in his eyes was one of a cornered wild animal.

  "What are you doing?" Audrey cried. "Why are you doing this?"

  Unseen to anyone, a third officer had gotten a call, too. From behind a parked car, he yelled at Todd. When he whipped Audrey around to face him, the other officers quickly rushed him and pulled Audrey to safety. There was a scuffle, but Todd was no match for the officers.

  Jessica ran to Audrey and threw her arms around her. Shaken but unharmed, the woman exclaimed, "That's the boy I told you about! The one who was so upset by the fire and identified the boy who started it! The other boy, my friend's son, who killed himself!"

  "Except, I didn't," Worth said as he joined the women, gently taking Audrey's hand. "Do you remember me?"

  Audrey's face paled. "Vince? Vince Alexander?"

  Todd Granger, faced with the very person he'd tried to blame so long ago, crumbled under interrogation. He had not loved the librarian and her husband. He told the detectives that they were horrible people. They had abused him in despicable ways. Other children, too. Children like himself, who had no one to tell, troubled kids, the children of drunks and addicts. And the town loved the couple! They held them up like pillars of the community! Who would have believed him anyway?

  He hadn't planned anything, but when the opportunity had presented itself, he'd snapped. He knocked one out, then the other, and set the fire to cover it up. "I'd been in foster homes all my life," he said, a broken man. "I couldn't go to prison—juvey, maybe, but what did I know? I was just a kid." He started to cry. "I'd seen the Alexander kid with his mother and knew he kept to himself. I hoped he wouldn't have an alibi. All the rage I felt toward all the people who had hurt me, I directed at him. If I couldn't have a mother or a nice house, why should he?"

  Todd held his face in his hands. "I didn't expect anyone to believe me. I just didn't want them looking into me, suspecting me. And suddenly, everyone was acting like I'd done something good by ID-ing him. They believed me! I couldn't take it back. I thought rich people always got away with things, that he'd get off. I thought I'd run away after it was over and maybe put it all behind me."

  The guilt over Vince Alexander's apparent suicide had led him to despair, Todd told the detectives. "I started to drink and do drugs." There was a haunted look in his eyes as he spoke. "I'm not right in the head," he said softly. "I know I'm not." He glanced quickly around the room, as if looking for someone. "I hear voices. They tell me to do stuff. It's them you need to lock up. I'm sick. I need help." His tone was pathetic.

  One of the detectives laid photographs of the city's last three fires on the table in front of Todd. "Did they tell you to start more fires?"

  Watching from behind a two-way mirror, Jessica and Worth saw Todd flinch and then compose himself. When he spoke, it was like another person was sitting there. "No one tells me to do anything. They used to. My parents used to order me around, then that librarian bitch and her twisted husband," Todd hissed. "I am the fire. I say when. I say who. I watch them try to control it, but I have all the control."

  Todd threw his head back and laughed maniacally then suddenly stopped, grim once more. When he spoke, his voice was calm, strangely upbeat. "I've started lots more fires than this. I should never have come home." Whoever Todd Granger used to be had split into different personalities, it would seem, unless he was possessed by sheer evil.

  Chapter 15

  Finally

  Early the next morning, Worth drove Jessica to her apartment. It had been a very long night at the police station, but it appeared that old mysteries were put to rest. As they maneuvered the still-darkened streets, Jessica couldn't get the sight of Todd Granger out of her mind—first, soulful tears, then the devilish laughter. "Do you think he's insane?"

  "He's something," Worth said. He smiled tiredly. "But not something we need to worry about."

  Jessica stretched her head back and forth the way she'd seen her mother do so many times. "Poor kid, though. The scar was just the beginning of the horror for him. And what that couple was doing…I feel sorry for him."

  Worth sighed deeply as he parked the car. "I do, too. But, Jessica—"

  "What, love?"

  "You should know something. It has haunted me all my life."

  Jessica's heart was pounding. "The librarian?" she asked quietly. "You hated her because…oh, Worth! What did she do to you?" She began to sob at the thought of anyone hurting him, hurting any child.

  Worth grimaced. "Far less than she wanted to, but I thought it was my fault. It cast
a shadow over every relationship I've ever had. I see that now." He smiled sadly at her. "I don't want anything to get between us, Jessica. Ever. I'm sorry I wasted all this time, that I couldn't tell you before."

  There, in the car, the two of them kissed and wept together and laughed as the sun began to rise. Never had Jessica felt so "one" with anyone. There was nothing between them, no secrets, no misgivings, no regrets.

  When Worth showed Jessica to her apartment door, they were both yawning as she unlocked the door and walked inside. She turned with a little frown. "Aren't you coming in?"

  "I'm afraid Bathroom Guy needs a very long nap," Worth said, shaking his head.

  Jessica took his hands in hers. "Bathroom Guy is so last year, sweet man. Come take a nap with me. Please."

  Worth pulled her into his embrace and shut the door behind him. As she led him to the bedroom, she looked down at her watch to check the hour. The date on the dial made her chuckle. March thirty-first. Five months. It had seemed like this moment would never get here, but here it was. She could feel it.

  "What's so funny?" Worth asked.

  Jessica threw her arms around his neck and began kissing him with more passion than she'd thought herself capable of, as tired as she was.

  "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "I thought we were going to sleep!"

  Jessica turned her back to him and hooked one arm around his head, feeling his obvious excitement through the layers of clothing. "Indulge me? We can sleep after."

  Worth nuzzled her neck and moved his hands around to her front, to unbutton her blouse as she reached behind to unbuckle his belt. As he whipped her around, four hands made swift work of tops and bottoms and various accessories, until the floor around them looked like a closet had exploded.

  As skin melted into skin for the first time, Jessica could hardly believe it. Stepping in sync to the bed, never separating from the embrace, they stood for just a few seconds, enjoying the moment. Worth gently laid her down before lying down beside her, pulling her chest close to his as he stroked her back.