Arsonists Anonymous

by Nora Snowdon

  They reached a seedy stretch of appliance, hardware, and tiling stores. Several buildings were boarded up with for lease signs competing for attention with black spray-painted tags. Not the attractive graffiti that decorated walls in the trendier areas of Seattle. Byron parallel parked on the street outside a dingy coffee shop. Lu gave him a questioning glance.

  “We need to buy some hydroponic equipment,” he explained.

  “Really?”

  “Yup. You’re growing your own spices for your special sauces, but you need to upgrade to a better system.” Byron got out of the car and came around to meet her at the curb.

  “Right, and you are …?”

  “Your husband.” Byron smiled. “I want to help you get a good price and also sell the old stuff.”

  “Thanks. That’s so nice of you.” Lu chuckled. “Gosh, it seems like only seconds ago I was single.”

  “I know. Our married life’s been so wonderful, the time just slips away.” He started walking.

  “Wait. Um, how big is my hydroponic garden? And what do I need to know about it to not sound stupid?”

  Byron pulled the papers out of his pocket and flipped through until he found the one he was looking for. “I should’ve given you this info in the car to look over, but I hadn’t thought out our cover. This hydroponics unit will start about twelve plants to maturity, but you want to expand to grow at least twice that amount ’cause you’re doing so well at craft sales and food fairs.”

  “And it’s my business instead of yours because …?”

  “Men don’t bring their wives along when they shop. And if a guy walks into one of these places alone, they assume he’s either a pot grower or a pig, and I, unfortunately, get pegged as a cop. You look so much more respectable.”

  “Okay,” Lu handed him back the photo and specs on the equipment. “You want another gander?”

  “Thanks. I’ve got it. Our first target is Grow Inc. four doors down.” He folded and replaced the paper in his pocket. “Ready?”

  “Guess so.”

  Byron reached the store first and opened the door for her. His hand rested possessively on the small of her back as he ushered her inside. Lu tried not to react to his touch—after all it was just role-playing. She looked around and was a little disappointed in how legitimate the store appeared. The display materials and advertising gave no hints or subversive winks to the pot growing industry, instead focusing on organic vegetables and indoor gardens. In fact the only sleazy thing in the store seemed to be a seedy, Billy Bob Thornton-type salesman behind the counter.

  After giving Lu an appreciative once-over that made her skin crawl, the guy turned to Byron. “Can I help you?”

  “Actually it’s my wife that needs help.” Byron put his arm around her shoulder and drew her closer. “She’s got a Bloombox, but she’s gonna need an upgrade.”

  Billy Bob’s eyes flicked to Lu, then he asked Byron. “You want something bigger or just more energy efficient?”

  “She needs about twice the growing capacity for her herbs, but we don’t have much more space.” Byron looked up as if the thought just occurred to him. “Oh, and do you take trade-ins? It’s only a couple a years old and still works fine.”

  “No, man. We’re strictly new sales. The moisture rusts the electrical components, so there’s no money in used hydroponics equipment.”

  “Is there a recycling place we could take it to?” Lu asked. She immediately regretted opening her mouth as the salesman’s reptilian eyes lit upon her.

  “Dunno.” He turned to Byron. “The Producer is the next grade up with more capacity and a greater range of settings for the different stages. Or that baby, The Spinner,” he pointed at the large display model behind them, “is one of our best sellers. It’ll give you a bigger yield with the spin technology. All of the plant is evenly exposed. And when you want to expand again, these units are stackable. You can stack three of these in a standard eight foot ceiling space. We also got some new feed that will knock your grow times in half.”

  “What do you think, Cindy?” Byron asked. He poked at the demo model. “This one’s a beauty.” He looked like a kid with a new toy. What was it with guys and electronics?

  Lu read the sales tag and then glanced at Byron. Somehow she didn’t think the police department would be willing to buy its own grow-op just to get answers. He still seemed enthralled by the capacity so she decided she’d be the sensible one in the “marriage.” “This one costs two-fifty more. Think how many more spice sets and salsa I’d have to sell to make up that difference.”

  “You plan on making more anyway. Isn’t that why we’re here?” Byron shot Lu an exasperated look.

  “Yes.” Lu fixed him with a glare. “But I still want to make a profit.”

  “Look, it’s on wheels. That’s handy. This is way better than your old one.”

  “What part of ‘too expensive’ don’t you get, Ron?”

  “I’m just trying to help here.”

  “Forget it.” She gave a frustrated huff. “I’ll look by myself on the net.” Turning quickly, Lu left the store. She hoped that was what she was supposed to do. They’d asked the guy about resale, what else was there? This would sure be easier if they had a script. Lu kept walking while listening for Byron’s footsteps behind her. She got to the car and leaned against it, pondering her next move. The neighborhood wasn’t the best so she was probably better off staying put.

  A few minutes passed before she looked at her watch. Not that it mattered, but she was curious how long Byron would keep talking to the slime-bucket. She should’ve brought a book or maybe a magazine. At least it wasn’t raining. It seemed unlikely they would get lucky with info at the first store they hit, but then again, what did she know about cop work? Maybe Byron had already narrowed down the list of places to hit based on prior knowledge.

  Finally he emerged from the store with the salesman, laughing. She crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to be angry. Even though the men were a block away, she didn’t want to blow the cover by not staying in character. Byron clapped the man on the back and then loped back to her. He opened the car with his remote and walked straight to the driver’s side. Lu opened her door and slid in before turning to him.

  “So this is married life, you stop opening doors for me?” Lu asked him with a smile.

  “After that scene in the store, whaddya expect, woman?”

  “Did he say anything after I left?”

  “He commiserated with me about married life. Turns out his old lady ditched him and took the kids. He gave me a couple of names of people who might take the Bloombox off our hands. He said they weren’t the most honest people.”

  “Unlike him, I guess.” Lu shook her head. “I don’t know what it was about that guy …”

  “Yeah, that’s the first time I’ve seen you bitchy.”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” Lu reached out to pat his arm and then stopped. They weren’t role playing now so she had to resume the professional relationship. She tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping he hadn’t noticed. “Where to now?”

  “More shops.” He zipped around in the small street without even doing a three-point turn.

  “Is that legal?” she asked.

  “Only if you’re quick.”

  *

  “I like this undercover stuff,” Lu admitted as they walked into Bryon’s office. They’d visited two other hydroponics stores and tried to trade-in her Bloombox. “But do you have to worry about becoming a compulsive liar?”

  “Some people do. It gets easier stringing people along the more you do it.” Byron smiled. “You have a natural aptitude. Ever consider a career in acting?”

  “Yeah, right. So what now? Do we check up on that list of names Billy Bob gave you?”

  “Who?”

  “Billy Bob.” Lu chuckled then explained, “The first store owner. He looked like Billy Bob Thornton in that movie, Bad Santa a few years ago?”

  “You’re rig
ht. I thought he looked familiar. Let’s see if we already have those names on our radar.” He rummaged around for a moment, then handed her a file folder that looked like it had been around the block a few times. “Here are the hydroponic sellers we’ve nailed on minor charges. See if you can find Billy Bob’s friends in that file. Here’s his list.”

  “Oh God, there’s a lot.”

  “Yeah, hydroponics is perfectly legal. But we try to keep the pot growers honest with our constant presence.” Byron gave a frustrated sigh. “Just do a quick look for the last name Xiang. The other name, Smith, is probably an alias.”

  Lu scanned the files using a ruler to keep her eyes focused. She stifled a yawn as she finally got to the last page. “Nope. No Xiang or Smith for love or ready money.”

  “Huh?”

  “A paraphrase from Oscar Wilde. Your guys aren’t in here.”

  “Okay, that’s it, we’re done.” He stood up and stretched. “Do you have any plans for the night?”

  “I’m going to go spy on my friend Susan’s daughter,” Lu answered grumpily. Oh shit! Was he going to ask me out and I just blew it? “What about you?”

  “I’ve got some bloody fundraiser thing.” He grimaced. “Why don’t we swap? I’ll spy and you eat the rubber chicken and laugh at politicians’ lame jokes.”

  “I wish. I’ll see ya tomorrow?” It was hard to tell if he was going to ask her to join him, or if he just wanted to complain. Reynolds sometimes bitched about functions to show off how connected he was, but Byron usually downplayed that sort of thing.

  “You bet.”

  Oh well at least she was still working with him. Playing his wife undercover had been fun, but she really couldn’t date him in real life. For one thing he was her boss and another he was too perceptive for someone with her fire problem. Now she just had to tell her mind and body that he was off limits.

  CHAPTER 8

  Lu shivered and tried once again to force the damn car window to close. Shit. And where the hell was she? Somewhere in cul-de-sac hell, probably not far from the Baker Street fire. She’d been so intent on following Kaitlynn’s boyfriend’s car that she hadn’t been able to get her bearings.

  Lu fiddled with the Chevy’s heater knobs. The heat didn’t kick in and no one came out of the damn house. She glared at the door of the oversized, boxy house. The stupid kid was still in there. It’d seemed so easy when Susan had asked her to check up on Kaitlynn, but then Kaitlynn had barreled out of Ross’ townhouse before Lu had a chance to call her cell. The kid had met up with some skinny tattooed freak and sped off in a beat-up muscle car.

  Lu rubbed the space between her brows. Great, the kid’ll drive me to Botox. And what the hell could she tell Susan? Obviously Kaitlynn was here to buy drugs. It was too quiet and not enough cars around to be a rave or kid’s party. And why was it taking so long? Give them the money and they give you the drugs.

  A scream pierced the air and then abruptly stopped. Lu scrambled to open her car door, her mind immediately flashing back to the woman in the fire on Baker Street. A side door crashed open and Kaitlynn ran outside. Her shirt was ripped. Before Lu could even yell to her, a huge bald guy grabbed the girl and dragged her back inside.

  Lu dove back into the car for her phone. She started to dial and then wondered again where the hell they were. She punched 911 and screamed inwardly when the automated voice told her, “This number cannot—”. Shit, they wouldn’t get here in time anyway. She sure as hell couldn’t take on a guy that big. And what’d happened to the sleazy boyfriend? She had to do something and quick. The telltale pounding in her head began and Lu automatically began counting back from ten with deep breaths. With a jolt she stopped. Instead of trying to stop her fire headache, what would happen if she tried to start a fire? Maybe it would save Kaitlynn.

  Lu focused on the building, narrowing in on one big window upstairs, directing all her anger, her pain, her frustration. Shit, what if she couldn’t start fires on purpose? Concentrate! Frustration, fear, agony. Tears streamed down her face and her head felt like it was being crushed in a vice. Then the blazing heat searing through her fingertips. God, please!

  A loud crashing noise pulled her out of her pain and she looked up to see the window shattering. Flames leapt out of the second floor window and flew toward the roof. The explosions were deafening as more windows splintered almost joyfully in the black night. Then people in the house came careening out the door.

  Through the smoke and confusion, she saw Kaitlynn stumble outside. Lu ran out, grabbed the girl’s shirt, and pulled her to the car. She ignored the smell of singed fabric hoping Kaitlynn would assume it was from the fire and not from Lu’s incendiary touch. Turning the ignition, Lu noticed a strange Asian man standing in the driveway staring at her. Strange because, unlike the other people fleeing the commotion, he wasn’t panicking. He reached inside his suit jacket and a chill raced through her.

  “Duck!” Lu shoved Kaitlynn’s head down with the heel of her hand. She floored the gas and sped off. Unfortunately she still had no idea where she was as she raced through the bloody winding streets. Trying not to let her still scorching fingertips touch the steering wheel, she sailed haphazardly over the curb, her right wheels tilting dangerously. Her poor car crash-landed on its front end, shattering one headlight and showering sparks. Wrenching the car back under control, Lu continued until she got to a street she recognized. A quick glance in the rearview mirror assured her she hadn’t been followed. Or been shot at, she realized belatedly.

  Sirens wailed from several different directions and Lu pulled to the side as a cop car raced by. Her car stalled and died and she took the opportunity to visualize immersing her fingertips in ice water as she counted back from a hundred. She checked for any more emergency vehicles, but the sirens sounded as though the fire fighters were coming from the other direction. Lu wondered who was on duty tonight. God help her if someone got hurt.

  “What’re you doing here?” Kaitlynn’s quiet voice seemed both scared and defiant as she straightened in her seat.

  Lu had forgotten about the girl. Shit, she could’ve sent the kid through the windshield with her crazy driving. “Your mom is worried about you.” Okay, that was a lame opener. The car sputtered back to life after only a few turns of the key. “Seatbelt.” Better late than never.

  “How—how did you find me?”

  “I followed your skuzzy boyfriend’s car.”

  “He’s not skuzzy.” Kaitlynn’s defense was automatic.

  “Right.” Lu eased up on the gas pedal. She had to concentrate to keep from speeding with all the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her headache had only minimally receded. “So what went down?”

  “He—they … I can’t—” Kaitlynn dissolved into a spasm of sobs.

  Lu focused on driving. Damn, she couldn’t do this nurturing shit. She’d just drop the kid at her home. Lu shut down her brain and focused on the road. She pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine. Kaitlynn sat there, mute and frozen.

  “This is your place, right?”

  “Jason didn’t know they were gonna—you know he wouldn’ta …” Kaitlynn sounded like she was trying her defense out on Lu first.

  “Uh-huh. Did he have money for them, or just you?”

  “Well he—I mean—you don’t understand …” Kaitlynn’s voice turned into a high-pitched wail.

  “It’s up to you, kid,” Lu told her matter-of-factly. “If you want to become a cheap hooker to feed your drug habit, you can. I mean if you enjoy having disgusting, filthy losers use your body in degrading ways, go for it. But don’t try to pretend it’s something else. You’re not that stupid and neither am I.”

  “You don’t understand.” The girl sounded stronger, not exactly what Lu was going for.

  “Whatever. Let’s go.” She got out of the car and waited while Kaitlynn fussed with the seatbelt. “Lock your door.”

  “Yeah, like someone’ll steal this piece of crap.”

  “I
’d rather have this shit than some fancy car I sold my body to buy,” Lu shot back.

  “Fuck you.” Kaitlynn ran ahead to her house and Lu followed with reluctance. Kaitlynn had unlocked the door, slipped inside, and closed it before Lu had gotten to the top step. The lock clicked loudly into place.

  Okay … Should she knock on the door and insist on talking to Ross? Susan hadn’t wanted him to know she was checking up on Kaitlynn, but then again this was way beyond what either of them had worried about. Shit. Would Ross even listen to her? After a moment more of standing indecisively on the porch, Lu turned back to her car. She had to call Susan tonight and she really couldn’t deal with both the parents.

  The last thing she needed was to get pulled over for the broken headlight, so she drove home through back streets and alleys. The trip took absolute ages and Lu heaved a sigh of relief when she finally pulled into her parking spot. She’d have to get her car to the garage tomorrow and maybe take a bus or cab to the cop shop. Hopefully Byron wouldn’t notice her lack of wheels.

  Entering her apartment, she pulled out her phone. Shit, one missed call. She’d forgotten to take it off mute from work. Probably Susan, anxious for her report. Lu poured herself a glass of wine before retrieving the message.

  “Thursday, seven fifteen, you have one new message. Beeeeep. ‘Dawson? Reynolds here. You’re on night shift tomorrow. See you at eighteen hundred.’”

  There was the sound of mumbling in the background, and then dial tone.

  Oh fuck, what did that mean? Reynolds had called before the fire, so it had nothing to do with that. But Byron hadn’t said anything. Had he known? Lu’s brain was scrambling in eight different directions.

  Fuck! She just intentionally caused a fire! That changed things. It wasn’t an accident. She was now an arsonist. She closed her eyes. She needed to learn more about this fire-starting shit, but how? She couldn’t Google it without worrying about her browser history if anyone ever got suspicious of her. She’d started setting fires after her big accident but maybe the timing was just a coincidence. Maybe fire starting was in her genes. But how could she check that?