by Joan Rylen
They don’t know there’s a fire under the car!
Vivian ran to the Jeep. “Get out! Get out!”
Wendy rolled down her window. “What’s wrong?”
“THE CAR IS ON FIRE!” Vivian screamed.
Four doors flew open, and Kate, Wendy, Pierre and Lucy scrambled out.
The smell of gas reached Vivian’s nose just as there was a loud pop. “Run! Run!”
WHOOSH!
45
Vivian kept running, knowing their rental was toast. Burnt toast. Lucy passed her, as did Pierre, and she glanced to her left and saw Kate and Wendy. They ran all the way to the ambulance, which was on the other side of the burning house.
Vivian ran up to a fireman. “Our car’s on fire!” She pointed down the street to the once-blue SUV with flames shooting from it.
“What the hell?” The fireman grabbed his shoulder-mounted walkie-talkie and blurted out some orders. Soon after, several firemen began uncapping a fire hydrant down the street, closer to the SUV. Before they could get the water going, flames had spread to the car interior. A loud hiss accompanied the first cascades of water hitting the flames.
Kate leaned against a tree, her borrowed cross-body purse drooping in front of her.
Deputy Young checked on her. “I’m fine,” Kate said, then coughed. “I just need to sit down.”
“Let’s get you out of this smoke,” Young said and walked her to the passenger door of the ambulance. He yelled over to one of the EMTs, “Hey, Charlie, this one might need some help.” He opened the ambulance door and nudged Kate into the cab. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Vivian and Wendy walked over to her.
“I’m okay, really,” Kate said. “I’m going to call the car rental company and let them know what happened.” She closed the ambulance door and gave a thumbs up.
Vivian’s curiosity got the best of her and she walked around to the back of the ambulance where an EMT was busy inside. She peeked inside the bay for a clear view of who occupied the stretcher.
A semiconscious April Robinson lay strapped to a gurney, her face covered in soot. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, and she groggily moved her head from side to side. Beside her, Mike Grimm sat in a tight space, holding her hand and stroking her hair.
He looked up and locked eyes with Vivian just as the EMT slammed the bay doors and scurried around to the driver’s door.
Kate got out of the passenger’s seat and the ambulance took off, sirens blaring and crossing paths with a third fire truck making its way onto the scene.
“You feeling better?” Pierre asked her.
“I am. I think with the smoke and the running, I just got winded.”
“Let us know if you need anything, little mama.”
She nodded.
“What’d the rental car company say?” Lucy asked.
“Put it this way — it’s a really good thing we got the additional insurance.”
Deputy Cheri Stokola walked up, a look of wonder on her face. “What on earth are you guys doing here?”
They explained how they’d been with Larson when he got the call and that Vivian wanted to watch him in action.
“You know, with his hose,” Vivian said.
Wendy stepped over a hose that ran to the front yard and rolled her eyes. “This is a little more action than any of us bargained for. That was the craziest thing. One second we were all looking at the house fire and, next thing you know, we were almost on fire. That’s our second rental, you know.” She gave Kate a smile. “You might get blacklisted.”
“I don’t think they’ll ever rent to me again.”
Vivian gave Kate a shoulder hug. “I’m so glad y’all got out of there in time. Close call.” She turned to look at their SUV. Though there hadn’t been a huge explosion, the vehicle was still on fire, and now it was waterlogged. Totaled.
Two firefighters from the second truck dragged a hose over, setting up on the other side of the house. They had made progress on the SUV, but the house fire still raged, even though there were now eight hoses on it.
A large, dark shadow emerged from the front of the house carrying a hatchet.
I feel like I’m in a movie, Vivian thought, admiring the tall figure.
Larson swung the hatchet down by his side and walked up to Vivian, looking better than ever in his fireman get-up. He flipped the shield up on his mask. “What’s this I hear about a car on fire down the street?”
“It’s not yours, don’t worry.” Vivian gave him a toothy grin.
He raised his eyebrows. “Then what, may I ask, are you doing out of it?”
“Kate had a wee-bit of an accident in the rental. A piece of debris flew underneath the car and whammo, the SUV burst into flames.”
Larson tilted his head back, as if he was looking for a shooting star. “Keys are in my truck,” he said, grinning. “Take it back to Turlington Farms, but please, don’t take it for a plunge or do anything that will catch it on fire. I’ll have one of the guys drop me by for it. Leave the keys in it, I’ll be late.”
“Are you sure you want to let us borrow it?” Vivian asked. “I can’t make any promises. We seem to be dooming cars left and right.”
“Yes.” A drop of sweat fell from his brow. “Perhaps you should let Pierre drive. I’ve got to get back to this. Please be careful.” He winked at her and brushed his gloved finger under her chin, then lifted the hatchet back onto his shoulder. “See you later.”
She couldn’t help but smile and wish he was sweating for carnal reasons. She turned to the group, fanning herself and feeling a little dazed. “Let’s blow this fireworks stand.”
They walked to Larson’s truck and squished in. Pierre climbed in the driver’s seat and Kate rode shotgun. The other three climbed into the extended cab, and they made their way out of the neighborhood and back toward Turlington Farms.
“Smells like a barbecue in here,” Kate said. “I’m getting hungry!”
Everyone cracked up, but they did make a pit stop at a convenience store to get her a sandwich and bag of chips.
“Just what I needed,” Kate said, sinking her teeth into a roast beef sub.
Pierre pulled into the drive and parked behind the house, leaving the keys as instructed. As they got of the truck, lightning streaked above the lake, followed by a roll of thunder.
“I’m going to sleep good tonight,” Wendy said. “I love the rain.”
“Me, too,” Kate said, then yawned. “I wish I didn’t need a shower.”
“We smell like a slab of sizzling shish kebab,” Vivian said. “Now I’m getting hungry.”
Once inside, Kate hit the shower, Vivian the kitchen, Lucy and Pierre the porch swing, and Wendy the couch.
Vivian found a leftover biscuit and grabbed the butter and grape jelly. She was punching the buttons on the microwave when Tracy shuffled in wearing her robe and blue slippers. “Sorry, did I wake you?” Vivian asked.
“Nah, I needed some water.” Tracy grabbed a glass from the cupboard, then turned around. “What’s that smell? Do you smell it?”
Vivian nodded. “Yeah, I smell it. I’m surrounded by it. It’s me.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
A crack of thunder shook the house and raindrops, pelted the awning over the back porch.
“We were with Larson when he got a call about a house fire and went to check it out.”
“I thought that was his truck outside.”
“That’s a whole other story. Our rental burned to bits when Kate ran over some debris, so he let us borrow his truck.” Vivian dipped her finger into a drop of spilled jelly on her plate.
“Oh my gosh, it burned?”
“Yep. It’s toast on wheels. Kate already called the car rental company.”
“Is everyone all right?”
“Fit as a fiddle. We just smell like s’mores.”
As Vivian picked at the crumbs of her biscuit, Tracy started to leave.
�
��Oh, the fire we went to, it was someone you know,” Vivian said. “We actually met her today at the Olympic complex. April Robinson.”
Tracy turned around. “April?”
“Yeah, we told her where we were staying. She said she might come see you. I’m guessing she didn’t make it by.”
“No, she didn’t. So it was her house that burned?”
Vivian nodded. “It’s a pile of rubble by now.”
“Was she home?”
“I saw her in an ambulance. She looked…well…like she got lucky.”
“Wow,” Tracy said. “Thanks for letting me know.” She turned back around. “G’night.”
“ ’Night.”
Vivian rinsed her dish and put it in the sink. She called around the corner to Wendy, “Hey, whatcha doing?”
Wendy had tears in her eyes.
Vivian sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, you know, just thinking about Jake with the car fire.”
Vivian could have smacked herself in the forehead. She hadn’t even thought about Jake and his burned out car in Las Vegas. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry.”
They were quiet for a moment.
“But just remember, it wasn’t him. He’s still out there, we just need to find him.”
Wendy sniffed, then wiped a tear off her cheek. “Yeah, I know. And I do feel like he’s out there. It’s just hard, you know.”
Vivian nodded. “You need anything?”
“Nah, I’m about to go up and de-smoke myself.”
“Me, too.”
Wendy took a deep breath. “You go ahead. I’ll be up soon.”
“You sure? I don’t mind hanging out.”
“No, no, it’s okay.”
“Okay, g’night.” Vivian went upstairs, stripped down and took a 20-minute shower, enjoying the hot water and the thick steam building up in the bathroom. It felt good in her lungs versus the harsh smoke they had been around earlier.
She dried off, then slipped on a T-shirt and boxers. She looked around the room, at the files scattered about. They actually looked a little more organized. Maybe Tracy came in and cleaned up.
She picked up the top folder from a pile on the dresser. Coach Stubbs. She slipped into the sheets and opened it up. Nothing unusual that she could see, which made her wonder why there was a file on him at all. She got up and searched around, looking for dropped pages. Anything that would explain more about his connection, if there was any, in Mary Beth’s death.
She yawned and laid the file on the nightstand. She clicked off the lamp and snuggled down in bed, concentrating on the gentle raindrops tap-tap-tapping against the window. It didn’t take long before she had slipped into a peaceful slumber.
46
Day 6
Vivian rolled over, pulling the covers off her head. She smelled smoke but snuggled her pillow and yanked the covers up over her eyes. She lay there for a beat before it hit her. Holy crap, smoke!
She threw back the covers, jumped out of bed and ran into Kate and Wendy’s room. “Fire! Quick, get out of the house!” She sprinted toward their door.
Wendy pulled a gray sweater out of the dresser and sniffed. “That’s bacon cooking.”
Kate walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “Applewood smoked, I’d say.”
“Could be hickory or maple,” Wendy said. “I see that on the packages in the store sometimes.”
Vivian paused, doorknob in hand, and took a breath. “I must still have smoke in my sinuses after yesterday. Either that or I’m losing it.”
“Or both,” Wendy said with a smile then walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
“I’m starved,” Kate said and pulled on a pair of yoga pants. “Join me for breakfast? Smells delicious!”
Vivian laughed and went back to her room. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get ready quick.”
Before the girls could leave the room, Wendy’s phone rang. The words “Wade Nelson” lit up the display.
“Good morning, Agent Nelson,” Wendy said, putting him on speaker.
“Morning,” he said. “I had a visit yesterday from the higher-ups. I knew running Jake’s name and the passport name would set off some bells, but I didn’t expect the deputy director in my office.”
“That sounds serious,” Wendy replied.
“I don’t know what Jake was up to, but it involves a higher pay grade than mine. I’m sorry, but I can’t look into this any further. You need to stay out of it, too.”
Wendy’s shoulders sagged and she looked at the floor. “Did you reach out to Antonio Robichaux?”
Nelson hesitated before answering. “I did and I’ve talked to his agent friend. He’s in the IT Applications and Data Division but not much higher up the food chain than I am. He doesn’t need to be looking into this, either.”
Wendy sighed. “He was able to get the call history, but Antonio said it will take him weeks to thoroughly analyze it.”
When Nelson didn’t respond, Wendy said, “Thanks for taking this as far as you could.”
“You got it,” Nelson answered. “If there’s any other information I come across, I’ll get in touch. Take care, and Wendy — ”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry.” Click.
Wendy set the phone on the bed and stared at it. “I hope Antonio’s friend comes through for us because it sure doesn’t look like Nelson will. He’s not my knight in shining armor.”
Vivian felt awful that Nelson could not, or would not, do anything else. “I’ll call Antonio today, see if he has any other ideas.”
Kate’s tummy rumbled, so she, Wendy and Vivian followed the bacon smell into the dining room where they joined Lucy and Pierre, who were almost finished eating.
“Tracy and Brandon made a feast this morning,” Lucy said as she set down a bottle of maple syrup. “There’s enough for 20 people, easy.”
“Are they expecting more guests?” Vivian asked.
Pierre shook his head. “They haven’t said. Tracy’s just in a really good mood and is cooking like crazy.”
Tracy bustled through the dining room door carrying a plate of pancakes. “Oh good, you’re up. We’ve got pancakes, Belgian waffles, regular waffles, hash browns, biscuits, eggs poached, fried or scrambled, white and wheat toast, a variety of fruit, oatmeal, sausage, bacon, and… there’s something I’m forgetting.”
“Grits?” Wendy asked.
Tracy’s face remained serious as she set the pancake plate on the sideboard beside the waffles. “Oh dear, I need to add those to my grocery list.”
Kate looked at the variety of food. “Who did you make all of this for?”
Tracy patted Kate on the arm. “You guys, of course. I thought you’d be hungry after yesterday.”
Vivian tried to hold back a laugh and grabbed a plate. “I’ll do my part to make sure it doesn’t go to waste.”
The group did their best, but plenty of food was leftover. “I hope Brandon’s hungry,” Pierre said. “I can’t eat another bite.”
Brandon walked through the dining room on his way outside and shook his head. “Now she’s baking a cake. It’ll be cookies next.”
“What’s gotten into her?” Wendy asked.
“I’ve only seen her like this a couple of times. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s best to just eat and say thanks. We’ll take some of this to the neighbors later.” He pushed open the back door and hopped down the steps.
Vivian threw her napkin beside her plate. “I want to go call Larson, check up on April.” She stood and mouthed “upstairs.”
“I’m going to sit out back,” Pierre said. “Enjoy the morning.” He leaned and whispered into Lucy’s ear loud enough for Vivian to hear. “And see what our chef whips up next.”
Lucy giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek, then went up the stairs after the other three girls.
The door to the bedroom firmly shut, Vivian dialed Larson. “Hi, there. You’ll be happy to know your truck made it here safe and s
ound last night.”
“That’s a relief,” he said, sounding groggy.
“I take it you were up late last night.”
“Stayed at the house for another three hours putting the fire out, then stomped around, dousing hot spots.”
“How’s April doing this morning?”
“I heard she’s out of the woods, but she’ll have one hell of a headache. She should get discharged today.”
“Does she remember what happened?”
“I haven’t heard her side of the story and I don’t know if the police have talked to her yet, but she’s got quite a knot on her head. She might have passed out from the carbon monoxide and other gases in the fire and hit her head as she fell.”
“Any idea how it started?”
“The arson investigator was out there at the crack of dawn, and the report is that the gas to the stove was on but the pilot wasn’t lit. Dan, one of the investigators, found candle wax on the fireplace mantel. He suspects she had a couple of candles going and that once the fumes from the stove reached those, kaboom! The explosion spread the fire instantaneously but the force was focused higher up and not across the floor, so April wasn’t badly burned or killed.”
“She’s really lucky. I wonder why she left the gas on.”
“You’re asking the wrong guy. People bump knobs and turn them on, forget things. Who knows?”
“Have you heard if Nicole has been discharged?”
“If I had to guess, she’s probably still admitted. My friend Marty is going to drop me by there to grab my truck, but I’d like to see you tonight. Lake Placid Brewery about 9? I can’t get free until then.”
“Sounds good, see ya then.” Vivian relayed the information to Lucy, Kate and Wendy. “Let’s go see Nicole and maybe we’ll even see April. I feel so bad for both of them.”
“We should get April a $100 Visa gift card,” Kate said. “She’s going to have a lot of rebuilding to do with losing everything in the fire. That would help with some clothes at least.”
“We can use money from our Getaway Girlz trust fund,” Wendy said. “But first we need a replacement car. Again.”