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

by Lorana Hoopes

  “That woman is a piece of work,” Bubba said when he was sure Natasha was gone.

  “She is,” Makenna said with a sigh, “but she’s also right. Perception is everything, and I need to make sure that the town believes we are doing everything we can. The last thing I need is a vigilante on my hands trying to take matters into his own hands because he thinks we aren’t doing enough.”

  “Of course,” Bubba said, but he caught her unsaid words. They couldn’t be seen in a compromised position like that again. Even though nothing had happened, they needed to be careful to keep their relationship strictly professional. “I take it you had no luck then?”

  Makenna ran a hand through her hair as she walked back to the other side of her desk. “None. She’s clean. I don’t know what I’m missing, Bubba.”

  “I don’t either, but I know when I get stuck that praying often helps.” He took her sandwich out and set it in front of her.

  “You’re a believer too?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “I am. I think I always believed in God - my parents took us to church every Sunday - but I don’t think I had a relationship with Him until I left here. When I ended up in Fire Beach and had to start over, that’s when He really took ahold of me. How about you?”

  “Kind of the same,” she said as she unwrapped her sandwich. “I learned to lean on Him when I couldn’t solve the case five years ago. Sometimes, He’s all that keeps me going.”

  “You never wanted a family?” Bubba hoped he wasn’t being too personal as he pulled up a chair and sat across from her.

  “Never had time for one, I guess, but I think about it.”

  The look she gave him as she spoke sent his heart thumping in his chest. His brain understood they had agreed to remain professional, but he hadn’t felt his heart move like this in a long time. Was he falling for Makenna?

  * * *

  Makenna stared at the information in the report and tried not to think about the almost kiss with Bubba. He had been about to kiss her. She knew it, could see it in his eyes. And she’d wanted him to. At least until Natasha had shown up and ruined everything. She had a knack for that, but Makenna couldn’t blame Natasha this time. She was asking what everyone else wanted to know. When was she going to find this killer and put a stop to him?

  Besides, it wasn’t Natasha’s fault that Makenna was sitting here with a stomach full of conflicting emotions. No, that was completely her fault. She shouldn’t have told Bubba they needed to stay strictly professional. They did, at least until this case was over, but now she was afraid he’d taken her words to mean she had no interest in him and that was about as far from the truth as one could get. Since she’d driven to Fire Beach to get him, her mind had warred between thoughts of the killer and thoughts of Bubba.

  She had tried convincing herself that the thoughts of him were just feelings of remorse for his lost years, but she knew that wasn’t true. Thoughts of remorse wouldn’t have her imagining what his hands would feel like on her neck, in her hair. And they certainly wouldn’t have her imagining what his lips might feel like pressed against her own. But she’d had to go and ruin it. Now, she had her feelings for him along with feelings of guilt for making him think she didn’t care along with her feelings of failure at not catching the killer. To put it mildly, she was a hot mess.

  She chanced a glance at him from the corner of her eye as she chewed on the sandwich he had brought her. She hadn’t told him how much she enjoyed salami, so she was surprised he had returned with an Italian sandwich for her. He was definitely surprising. And dedicated. His eyes were focused on the paper in front of him as well. He’d offered to help her go through the list of Dustin’s clients as they ate, and though she could have had Tad or Kelsey do it, she’d agreed. She enjoyed spending time with him, even if it was searching for a killer, and she knew she would miss it when he was gone.

  Gone. She needed to keep reminding herself of that fact too. When this case ended, he would probably return to Fire Beach and then where would she be? Alone. Again.

  Makenna hadn’t meant to marry her work, but it had sort of happened. In the beginning, she had thrown herself into the job in order to learn and prove herself, but then the case five years ago had happened. When everyone else had left, she quickly climbed the ladder, and once she made captain, she rarely had time for anything else. Or anyone else.

  Still, she couldn’t deny the feelings. She hoped one day to find someone she could share evenings and weekends with, someone she could take to church, and someone who could listen when she needed to process cases. She could see Bubba filling that role in her life, but she knew that wasn’t reality. When this case ended, he would return to his life, and her life would continue here.

  “What?” he asked, catching her staring at him.

  Heat filled her face. “Nothing, I was just thinking it’s been nice having you here.”

  He smiled at her. “It’s been nice being here with you. I’m certainly glad I’ll get to be in my family’s life again, and maybe…” he trailed off and looked away as if unsure how to finish that sentence.

  “Maybe what?” she asked. Was he going to tell her she’d been wrong? That they could have a relationship and still solve this case?

  “Maybe I’ll come back more often and stop in and see you.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, but that wasn’t what she had been hoping to hear. She didn’t know if a long-distance relationship would last, but she might be willing to try it with him.

  “Hey, look at this,” he said, pushing his paper her direction. “This looks like a lot of denied claims doesn’t it?”

  Makenna stared down at the paper, but she was no insurance agent. She had no idea if these were legitimate denials or Dustin’s denials that he had then pocketed. It appeared they would need more information. “Yeah, it does. We should definitely look into that.”

  And the moment was gone. It was back to work. She shouldn’t be sad; this was the life she’d chosen, but she couldn’t help wondering if maybe she had made the wrong choice. Her mind wandered back to the night she had sent Bubba away.

  Makenna’s eyes snapped open at the ringing of her phone. The clock beside her read two in the morning. Who would be calling her at two in the morning? There was only one answer to that question. Work. Snapping awake, she grabbed her phone and pressed the call button.

  “Sergeant Drake here.”

  “Makenna, we’ve had another fire. I need you to get over to 232 Overside Street.” The voice of her captain was firm, so even though she knew someone else had to be working the night shift, she didn’t argue.

  “232 Overside?” The address felt familiar in her head. “Wait! Isn’t that Matt Fisher’s address?” Matt Fisher was a local fireman, but he was also her number one suspect right now. He knew all of the previous victims, even if only slightly, and he understood fire. She just hadn’t figured out a motive yet, but now her captain was telling her he was not the arsonist, but a victim.

  “Yes, it is. Get over there and see if you can help determine if he set this fire himself to divert suspicion.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and grabbed her uniform. She had just holstered her gun when the pounding began on her front door.

  She peeked through the spy-hole surprised to see Matt Fisher standing on her front porch. He was clad only in shorts and a pair of tennis shoes, and he appeared out of breath.

  “He got my house, Drake,” he said when she opened the door. “Now, do you believe I’m not your suspect?”

  For a moment she wasn’t sure what to believe. Was this part of his elaborate plan? It seemed crazy, but then he would have to be crazy to be starting fires like this. However, when she looked in his eyes, something in her knew that he was innocent. She stepped back and opened the door for him. “Come inside and tell me what happened.”

  As he stepped past her, she scanned the area for anyone who might have followed him, but the neighborhood seemed to
sleep on around them. She shut the door and turned to Matt.

  What if instead of telling him to run that night she had worked with him then? Would they have ended up together? She didn’t know, but the one thing she did know was that she couldn’t live in the past. Those decisions were made and done. She could only move forward from here.

  Chapter 13

  She approached the police station as she made her way home that evening. It was not her normal route, but some unseen force seemed to guide her in that direction. She wanted to see if Matt was still there. Matt, the man who should be dead. The one who had gotten away. The one she needed to take care of, but not yet. She’d been given another name, and he would have to come first.

  As she reached the corner where the station sat, voices carried on the air. She flattened herself against the corner and peeked around. Matt and Captain Drake were talking as they walked to her car.

  Their words were too soft to make out, but she could read the attraction that sizzled between them. What did Makenna Drake see in him? Didn’t she know what he had done? A renewed anger washed through her.

  “I should take him now,” she whispered. She didn’t have her gas can, but the matches were in her pocket. They were always in her pocket, a tactile device she could touch and draw comfort from when necessary. Would a car catch fire with just a match? She doubted it, and it would be stupid to attack them in front of the station. Someone was probably still inside, and if she were caught now, she couldn’t finish her mission.

  “His time will come.” She felt the voice more than heard it, but it calmed her seething nerves nonetheless. The voice was never wrong. If it said Matt’s time would come, then it would. And she would watch him take his last breath when it did. This time she would be sure.

  An engine hummed to life, and a moment later, she watched the car drive away. She waited until the car turned the corner before she continued toward her house. She still had hours to kill. Hours before she could fulfill her mission and rid the town of one more monster.

  * * *

  The large house appeared before her, and she paused momentarily. What if he had an alarm system? He was wealthy enough to afford one. Not only was he the prominent doctor in town, but she had it on good authority that he was overcharging patients and pocketing the extra.

  It almost always came down to money, didn’t it? Money ate at men’s hearts and fueled greed and jealousy. The gospels had been correct when they stated that it was “easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Just another reason, she had been called to rid the town of these men. They would never enter the kingdom of God, so there was no reason for them to continue life on Earth.

  “Leave it alone,” the voice whispered. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “No,” she hissed. She hated that voice. That weak voice. The weak voice had controlled her for too long. Until she had broken free five years ago. Until she had been shown what she had to do.

  The first kill had been the hardest because the voice kept trying to dissuade her. She had hesitated when she struck the first match and burned her finger through her gloves, but she knew her mission had to be completed. Her first mission had been simple - to hurt Matt Fisher. He needed to pay, but he couldn’t be first. He needed to feel the pain she had felt, so she’d been shown women in his life.

  After Matt’s death, the visions had stopped. She had missed them, but without them there was no sense of purpose, so she had let the weak voice take over again. Until the visions returned. But this time they had been different. They told her she had proved herself, that she had earned a more important mission - to rid the town of those who cheated and stole. And Dr. Hayworth was one of the worst.

  She walked around the perimeter of the house looking for any signs of a security system but saw none. No cameras, no motion sensors, no lights of any kind shining from within. Probably too confident in the safety of this small town to spend the money. She returned to the living room window.

  She tried lifting the window, but it was locked just like the one last night. She cursed the changing weather. Winter was coming, and the need for open windows had diminished. She withdrew the rock from her pocket. It was the perfect size really, small enough to fit in her hand but large enough to make the necessary hole in a window. She drew her hand back and slammed the rock into the side of the window nearest the curtain. Her body froze as the glass shattered, and she waited for any indication it had woken the occupant. But the silence pressed on.

  Unscrewing the cap, she poured the contents of the gasoline into the window and then set the container on the ground to pull out the matches. The moon had disappeared behind a cloud offering the perfect shadow of obscurity. She struck the match, enjoying the heat and the light of the dancing flame for a moment before she dropped it inside the window. It only took an instant to find the gasoline, and then the blaze climbed to the roof.

  She stepped back to admire her work, but suddenly a light flicked on in the house. She hissed under her breath and turned to run. There would be no sticking around to enjoy this one.

  “I told you so,” the voice whispered as she fled the scene. Too late she realized she had forgotten her gas can, but no matter, she always wore her gloves. There would be no fingerprints on it, and she could easily pick up another one. No, the focus now was getting away unseen. She was almost off his property when her foot slipped in a soft piece of ground, and she tumbled to the ground. Pain tore through her hand and she lifted it to see a jagged cut. She looked around for the rock she must have landed on, but the moon had slipped behind the clouds again. It was too dark.

  “Run,” the voice whispered again. “Get out now.”

  “Shut up,” she hissed at the voice, but a trickle of fear pressed in on her. Had she left a footprint when she slipped? Had she bled on the rock? Surely, she was far enough away that it wouldn’t matter. Would they search this far? She should stay and search, but then the faint sound of sirens in the distance reached her ears. Would they have been alerted so quickly? He must have called. That was the only explanation.

  Two failed missions. The failure pressed down on her like a smothering blanket. She was losing her touch. No, it was Matt’s fault. Seeing him alive again had thrown her for a loop. She would have to put this mission on hold and take care of him. Him and the female cop.

  Chapter 14

  “You look tired,” Bubba said as he slid into the passenger seat of Makenna’s cruiser. Dark red lines stood out in her bloodshot eyes, and the circles from yesterday were even darker.

  “It was an interesting night last night.” She put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. “There was another fire, but thankfully Dr. Hayworth was awake. He managed to call the fire department and get out before the fire reached his bedroom.”

  “Did he see anything?” Bubba asked.

  “No, it was after midnight and dark. He said he would normally have been asleep, but a case was bothering him. We processed what we could last night, but it’s hard to find evidence in the dark, so we’re headed back out there this morning.”

  “Sounds good,” Bubba said, but his eyes were on a woman across the street. It was the same woman from the coffee shop the other day. “Makenna, do you know her?” he asked, pointing at the woman.

  Makenna followed his finger and nodded. “Yeah, that’s Rachel Hanes. She’s a bit of an odd duck but harmless. Keeps to herself mostly. Why?”

  Rachel Hanes. Why did that name seem familiar to him? He could feel it, how he knew her, circling in his brain, but he couldn’t place her yet. “I saw her at the coffee shop too, and she looked angry at the sight of me. Now, she’s here near my parents’ house. It just seems odd.”

  “Hmm.” Makenna’s eyes were back on the road. “She wanders the city a lot, but that is a little odd. We’ll look into it when we get done this morning.”

  Bubba nodded and tried to dislodge the unease from his stomach. Could she be impo
rtant? Was he missing something by not remembering who she was?

  Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to the charred house. Another police cruiser sat in the street and yellow crime scene tape surrounded the area.

  “Stay close to me so you don’t accidentally contaminate the scene,” Makenna said as she parked the car.

  Bubba fell into step beside her, but as he approached the charred house, visions of his own narrow escape filled his mind. He could hear the crackling flames and feel the heat seeping in through his bedroom door. He shook his head to clear the past and focused on the house in front of him.

  Though Makenna had said the fire department arrived quickly, most of the house was still blackened and charred. The far end, which must have housed the bedroom the doctor escaped from, was still intact though Bubba knew smoke damage would have ruined the interior of it as well.

  “Captain, I think you’re going to want to see this,” Tad called from the left.

  Bubba followed Makenna to where Tad and Kelsey stood staring down at the ground. A yellow evidence flag stuck up out of the ground marking something.

  “Is that a shoe print?” Makenna asked.

  “It is. It’s not clear because it looks like maybe the person slipped, but that’s not the weird part.”

  Bubba stared down at the footprint trying to discern what Tad was talking about, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It looked just like a-

  “Is that a woman’s shoe print?” Makenna asked.

  And then Bubba realized. The print did look too thin and too short to belong to a man which meant that if this print did belong to the arsonist, they were looking not for a man, but for a woman.

  “It sure looks that way to me, Captain.”

  “Well, this changes everything,” Makenna said.