Never Forget The Past (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 4)

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Okay, thank you, Skye. I’ll be back in a minute.” Makenna slid the photos back into the folder and exited the room. She had to question Nick, but she was certain his answers would be the same.

  Chapter 8

  Bubba found the whole interrogation process fascinating, but a part of him felt they were wasting time interviewing these two. Skye had seemed to have nothing more than a weak motive to kill Peter, and if her alibi checked out, there would be no need to question her further. Plus, she didn’t seem to know any of the other victims. Which begged the question of who would? Even though Woodville was a smaller town, what sort of person would know all five people from very different jobs and social statuses?

  He turned the knob up on Nick’s room, but before Makenna began the process, his phone rang. Cassidy’s number flashed across the screen, and Bubba smiled as he clicked the talk button. It had only been two days, but he missed his friends back home.

  “Hey, Cassidy, how are you?”

  “I’m fine, Bubba. How are you doing there? Have you found any leads?”

  “Not much yet. Makenna is interrogating a couple who knew the victim, but I don’t think they did it.” He glanced over at Nick and Makenna, but Nick leaned back in his chair, laid back and relaxed, as if he had nothing to hide.

  “How’s it been coming back from the dead?”

  Bubba couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped his lips. “That part has been harder for sure. You know me. I’m not one for the limelight, and it is on me everywhere I go here. How is everything back there?”

  “Oh, you know, the same. A lot of sitting, a little bickering, and a few fires to put out. Thankfully, it’s been a little quieter.”

  “Are Deacon and Luca still at it?”

  Cassidy laughed on the other end. “When aren’t they?”

  “Yeah.” Bubba missed the camaraderie of his friends. After he’d had to leave his family behind, Luca, Deacon, Cassidy, and the rest of the firefighters had become his surrogate family. As much as he was enjoying seeing his Mom and Dad again and even spending time with Makenna, he couldn’t wait to get back. “Hopefully, we’ll figure this out soon, and I’ll be able to help you buffer them.”

  “We’re all praying for you,” Cassidy said.

  Praying. That was something he hadn’t done enough of since he arrived here. He should do that. If life had shown him anything, it was that he couldn’t do much on his own, but with God, all things were possible.

  “Thanks for the reminder, Cassidy. I need to do some more of that myself.”

  Before she could reply, he heard the sound of the alarm going off behind her. “Gotta run, Bubba, but we’ll talk again soon.”

  The line went dead before he could say goodbye, but he took no offense to it. A fire took precedence over everything, and he’d been guilty of the same behavior more than once. He put the phone back in his pocket and decided now would be the perfect time to do what he should have done so much sooner.

  “Lord, I’m not sure how to progress from here. Please give Makenna and me the knowledge on where to go and what to do next. And please keep the people of this town safe.”

  He let the words repeat in his mind as he turned his attention back to Nick and Makenna in the interrogation room.

  * * *

  Makenna thanked Nick and Skye for their time as she led them to the front door. “Please make sure you stay in town in case we have any more questions.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” Nick said. “I have a shop to run now at least until I find out if Peter left it to anyone else in his will.”

  Skye said nothing, but she nodded in agreement as she followed him out the front door.

  “Well, that wasn’t much of a help,” Makenna said as she turned to Bubba. “Not that I expected it to be, but I was hoping we might gain some new knowledge.”

  “Maybe we will with his family?” Bubba asked.

  “Yeah.” Makenna checked her watch. It was nearly lunch time, but Kelsey had said Peter’s parents were retired. Hopefully, they were the kind who stayed home and not the kind who filled their hours with traveling or shopping. “We better get going then.”

  As she reached for the door handle, the door flew open and Natasha Kingston entered, the glare on her face darker than a tornadic cloud. She shoved a paper at Bubba. “Here. I wrote your feel good resurrection story, but this isn’t over yet. I’ll be watching you, Matt Fisher.” She narrowed her eyes at him before turning her vitriol on Makenna. “You too, Captain Drake. You better hope you find the killer this time or I’ll strongly be advocating that we find a new captain.” Before Makenna could utter a reply, Natasha spun around and left in the same whirlwind manner she had entered.

  “Well, that’s always fun,” Makenna remarked, but Bubba’s focus was on the paper in his hands. “Is it bad?” Natasha had stated it was a feel good piece, but Makenna knew that Natasha’s definition of things wasn’t always the same as her own.

  “No, surprisingly, it’s not, and it’s probably exactly the publicity you were hoping for. I just hope it doesn’t put my family in danger.”

  Makenna hadn’t even considered how Matt’s return might endanger his family, and she mentally kicked herself for not thinking it all the way through before acting. She’d thought she had gotten better at that but evidently not. She touched his arm and waited until he met her gaze. “We’ll keep them safe, Bubba. I promise.”

  He nodded, but she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. How? They still had no idea who this killer was or how he chose his victims, and other than not sleeping at night, no way to stop him. But she was determined that she would not let his family be harmed any more than it already had been.

  She led the way out of the station, and a few minutes later, they were on the road. Peter’s parents’ house was a small rambler on the outskirts of town that looked as if it had seen better days. Large curls of paint flaked from the house, and the grass appeared brown and crunchy. It hadn’t rained much, so most people’s grass was more brown than green, but this lawn was the epitome of neglect.

  “I guess Peter didn’t help out much around the house,” Bubba said as his eyes scanned the yard.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t appear so.” Makenna wondered how a son could do that. She didn’t live near her parents, but if she did, she would definitely come help them out and she had little free time. Surely Peter had more time. She doubted he’d taken his work home with him like she did most days.

  The porch creaked under their feet, and Makenna hoped it wouldn’t crumble beneath their combined weight. There was no bell, so she rapped on the door and pulled out her badge. She’d worked with enough older people to know most of them wanted to see a badge before they would open their doors.

  “Who is it?” a woman’s voice called from the other side.

  “Captain Makenna Drake with the police department,” she said, holding her badge up to the peephole.

  There was a moment of silence and then the door opened. A crack. Enough for a pair of eyes to peer out and observe them but not enough to see the woman’s face. “Who’s that with you?” The eyes flicked to Bubba.

  “This is my friend Bubba. He’s a firefighter who is helping me with a case. We need to ask you some questions about Peter.”

  The door opened a little farther to reveal a petite, weathered woman. Time had shown her little mercy. Age spots marred her face, and her hair, while still brown, was so thin in places that her scalp shown through. “I’m not sure what I can tell you. Peter stopped coming around about a year ago.”

  “Was there a reason?”

  The woman shrugged and dropped her gaze to the floor. “He wanted money for his business. I guess it wasn’t doing too well, but we didn’t have any. We suggested he come work for his dad - he’s an electrician - but Peter wanted nothing to do with that. Said if we didn’t have money to help him, we weren’t good parents. He never came over after that.”

  Makenna couldn’t imagine someone disowning their
parents simply because they couldn’t afford to help, and she wondered if that was what had affected this woman so profoundly. “Was that his normal behavior?”

  “No.” His mother’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “He was the sweetest boy in high school. I don’t know what made him change except maybe money. We never had much when he was growing up, but he always had food, clothes, and a roof over his head.” She said this as if reassuring Makenna, or maybe herself, that she hadn’t been a bad parent.

  “When he first started his business, it was to help people. He’d always been good with cars - tinkered on ours from about the age of twelve - and he decided he would use that skill to help people. Lord knows we’d have been out more money than we could afford plenty of times if we hadn’t had Peter to fix our cars, but then I guess he got greedy. Began raising his prices and complaining when people couldn’t pay their bills.”

  Makenna’s heart went out to the woman. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to see your son behave so uncharacteristically and then cut you out of his life. “I’m so sorry for that and for your loss, but can I ask you just a few more questions?”

  The woman sniffed, wiped a hand under her eyes, and nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

  Makenna pulled the pictures out of the folder tucked under her arm. “Do you recognize any of these women? Ever see Peter with them or hear him talk about them?”

  The woman took the photos and flipped them slowly. “No, I don’t recognize any of them. Do you think they had something to do with his death?”

  “I’m not sure, ma’am, but if I find out, I’ll let you know.”

  “I know we hadn’t spoken in a year, but I still loved him.” Her hand snaked out and grasped Makenna’s arm. “Please tell me you’ll find who killed my son.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Bubba said from behind her, speaking up for the first time.

  “Thank you.” The woman let go of Makenna and held Bubba’s gaze for a moment before stepping back into the house and closing the door.

  “We can’t disappoint her, Makenna. She’s lost so much already,” Bubba said as they made their way back to the car.

  Makenna knew that. She wanted to catch this guy as much as Bubba did. She wanted justice for the victims and families, and she didn’t want any more lives lost, but the pressure was already high. She wasn’t sure she could take much more.

  Chapter 9

  She stared at the picture of Matt Fisher in the newspaper as the fire raged within her. How had he escaped? No one ever escaped.

  Her mind raced back to the night she had started his fire. She had broken the window with her rock. Being a firefighter, Matt was too careful to leave his window open or unlocked even on a hot summer evening. She had poured the gasoline and struck the match. Just like she always did. And the house had caught fire. She had watched it burn herself. So, what had she missed? How had he gotten away?

  She closed her eyes to picture the house in more detail and that’s when she knew. She had watched the front of his house, expecting he would try and escape through the front door if he woke up, but he must have gone out his window. His bedroom had been on the opposite end of the house. How could she have been so careless? He was a fireman, trained to deal with fires. She should have had every exit covered, but how could she have? She was just one person. One angel on a mission.

  So, what did she do now? Did she continue ridding the town of its blemishes or did she go after Matt Fisher and complete her mission from five years ago?

  “You don’t have to do either,” a voice whispered in her ear. “You could stop now and leave this all behind. Find someone and settle down. Be happy.”

  “No, I can’t,” she yelled, shaking her head. “If I don’t stop them, who will?”

  No, she couldn’t stop now. The face of the next victim flashed again in her mind. She’d been given a mission, and she would fulfill it. Then, she would go after Matt Fisher again.

  She slipped on her gloves and grabbed the small gas can she always took. A pat of her pockets reassured her that her matches were still there, and she slipped out of her house and into the darkness.

  She could have driven, but she enjoyed the feel of the night air. The moon guided her, granting her light from above, and the chill of the cool air honed her senses. She passed no one on her way which was not unusual. This town seemed to fall asleep as soon as the sun set. Stores closed by nine p.m., and people shuttered themselves inside to watch their television shows or curl up with a book. No one seemed to suspect the evil that moved outside their windows.

  All the lights were out in the house when she arrived. It was not a large house, but that simply meant he was squirreling his money away for now. She’d been told all about his scams and how much he was taking from innocent people, but after tonight that would no longer be an issue.

  She walked the perimeter of the house, making sure to keep to the shadows. His neighbors weren’t that close, but it wouldn’t do to be seen.

  No lights shone from inside the house, and she heard no noise either. Unfortunately, due to the chill in the air from the approaching fall, there also weren’t any open windows. But that was okay. She had her rock.

  Her hand found it in her pocket as she circled back to the living room window. These windows were her favorite. Partly because she didn’t always know which rooms were bedrooms and in which bedroom the victim might be, but also because they almost always had curtains. And curtains loved fire.

  When she reached the living room window, she scanned the area one more time to make sure no eyes were out, but it was silent. The night was her friend like always, and tonight, it shielded her. She withdrew the rock and smashed it against the window. Glass shards tinkled like tiny bells as they fell, and she held her breath to listen for any movement from within.

  When there was nothing, she placed the rock back in her pocket and unscrewed the cap of the gas can. The spout fit perfectly in the hole, and she poured the contents in. Then she replaced the cap and set it on the ground beside her.

  A tingle raced down her back as she pulled the book of matches from her other pocket. This was the part she waited for, the part that haunted her dreams until she fulfilled her mission. She struck the match and stared at the flame for a moment. Fire. Cleansing renewal. If only it could renew her, change her past, but perhaps that day was coming. Today was his day.

  She dropped the match before it could burn her gloves and smiled as the flame caught the gasoline. A burst of heat flowed out of the window and then the greedy flames began their destruction. She picked up the gas can and stepped back. Now, she would wait. Wait until the black bag left the house and her mission was complete.

  Chapter 10

  Makenna slapped at her nightstand, trying to find the ringing phone in the dark. Her fingers touched the solid form and she brought it to her ear, clicking the call button as she did. “Captain Drake.” Her voice sounded heavy with sleep.

  “Sorry to wake you, Captain, but I thought you might want to know there’s been another fire.”

  At the sound of the fire chief’s deep voice, her eyes snapped open. “Another one? Are you sure?” She glanced at her watch. It was two a.m., but there would be no more sleep tonight.

  “Yes Ma’am. I’m here now with my crew putting it out, but we were too late.”

  Makenna sighed as she flipped back the covers and stepped out of bed. “Another victim?”

  “Afraid so. The address is listed as Dustin Cox.”

  “Okay, I’ll grab my team and be there shortly. Can you try to keep the crowd back until we get there?”

  “Already have a man on it.”

  “Thank you.” She hung up the phone and changed into her uniform before she sent out the call to her team. It would be another long day for all of them.

  Makenna was the first to arrive on the scene. Black smoke still wafted in the sky, but the flames had been doused. All that remained of the house was charred bricks and partial walls. She was getting
tired of seeing this in her town.

  The fire department had a spot light set up to see in the dark night, but she pulled her flashlight as she approached anyway. She didn’t want to miss anything.

  “Same as the last one?” she asked Chief Frye when she reached him. Frye had been the chief for ten years, so he’d been at all the previous fires as well.

  He nodded and glared out at the scene. “Smashed window, gas, nothing left. It sure looks the same.”

  She understood his anger. They were supposed to be protecting the town, the citizens, but because she was failing, he was as well. “Thank you, Chief.” She clicked her flashlight on and scanned the ground as she walked the perimeter of the house. Unfortunately, the hard ground didn’t help. Her own steps left no prints, so she doubted the killer’s had either.

  “Hey, Captain,” Tad said as he jogged up to her. Kelsey and Braydon were a few steps behind. “Any luck yet?”

  “No, and I doubt we’re going to find anything, but we gotta look. Kelsey, you and Braydon take a circle farther out. Scan for anything. Footprints, weapons, and don’t forget to scan the crowd. This guy probably sticks around to watch. Maybe he’s still here. Detain anyone who looks sketchy.”

  “You got it,” Kelsey said as she and Brayden flicked on their own flashlights and began walking the perimeter she had assigned.

  “I don’t get it, Tad. How can this guy leave nothing? No prints, no weapon, nothing.” Frustration colored her voice, but she couldn’t help it. She had hoped bringing Matt back would disrupt the killer. Instead, she had another body on her hands and still nothing to go on.

  * * *

  Bubba woke to the sound of bacon sizzling and coffee dripping. He’d forgotten how noise carried in his parents’ house. When he’d been in high school, he’d hated it. Not only could his mother hear his phone conversations no matter how quiet he was, but sneaking out, or in for that matter, had never been an option. Not that he was the type of kid who sneaked around, but he’d wanted the option. The one time he had tried though, his father had been there to meet him as he climbed in the window and nearly scared the daylights out of him. This morning though, he didn’t mind. His stomach rumbled as he kicked back the covers and padded over to his suitcase to get dressed.