Arsonists Anonymous

by Nora Snowdon

  “Hey, are we okay?” she asked after they got outside the restaurant.

  “I think so.” He pulled her into a hug. “You did say you were planning on renegotiating after dinner, but …”

  “I still wanna be your girl,” Lu told him. “If the offer still stands.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Yeah.” Lu tilted her head up for a kiss. “Although I’m not prepared to share, so even if Reynolds asks you for a date …”

  “I think we’re safe on that one.” He kissed her gently and then pulled her tight against his body. Lu snuggled in, enjoying the sense of being protected in his embrace. She wondered if Reynolds was somewhere in the parking lot watching them. What a creepy thought.

  *

  After a quiet drive home, Byron had walked her to her door and then told her he had an early day the next morning. So much for the additional round of ravishing. But it was probably for the best.

  She pulled out her phone. She’d left it on mute and then been constantly reminded every time it buzzed that she still needed to do something about Kaitlynn

  Shit. Ten messages. So, what was she going to do about the kid in jail? Even before tonight she was pretty sure Reynolds would throw her under a train if her presence at the fire became known. Now she was particularly vulnerable. Half a whiff of scandal, and he’d drive the train himself.

  But Kaitlynn was blackmailing her. And if you gave in to a blackmailer, then they had that hold over you forever. Was there a way she could neutralize the kid? Susan obviously had no power over Kaitlynn. Susan’s husband, Ross was an unknown, but probably clueless foe. Then again, maybe if she bailed the boy out, it would buy her some time.

  Fuckadoodledo.

  With a sigh, Lu dug out her file folder of financial papers. She could swing the bail if she took out a chunk of her 401K and threw in her vacation nest egg. So much for her trip to Mexico. But how could she bail the kid out anonymously? Somehow she didn’t think Byron would look too fondly on her freeing his one lead in the case. She’d have to get Kaitlynn to bond him and pray that Byron never made the connection back to her. Much as she regretted having Reynolds as an enemy, Byron was a much scarier adversary.

  CHAPTER 11

  The next morning, after more hassle than she really wanted to endure, Lu gave Kaitlynn a certified check that couldn’t be traced back to her. Then she dropped the girl off at the precinct with bus fare and explicit directions on how to get home. The cops wouldn’t notice who dropped an anonymous young girl off at the hall, but they’d sure as hell pay attention to who picked up the person who’d just bailed their only lead.

  Lu’s stomach churned as she drove home. Every day she kept sinking deeper into this horrible mess. And every time her phone rang she panicked.

  Part of her desperately wanted Byron to call and reassure her that he still wanted to see her. Another part was worried that he’d want to discuss the newest wrinkle in the investigation. Had she mentioned Kaitlynn by name or just as “her friend’s daughter”? Although there must be millions of teens named Kaitlynn.

  To hell with it. Lu stuffed her dirty clothes into two pillow cases, grabbed her laundry card, keys, and detergent and walked down the hall to the laundry room. Her nose crinkled at the slight whiff of smoke still clinging to her clothes from the last fire. She felt like a criminal destroying the evidence. Only one of the four washers was in use, and the dryers were all empty, so at least it wouldn’t take too long today.

  Lu ran to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries while her clothes dried. Eating out for the last two nights meant that she didn’t have any leftovers for today. As she stuffed her food into the fridge, she contemplated calling Byron to invite him out to dinner. It was definitely her turn to ask him out, but maybe he still needed time to get over their run in with Reynolds.

  As she tossed pros and cons, Lu decided there was no point in delaying. She could debate the wisdom all she wanted. She was going to call him. She dialed his number, waited for the electronic operator and punched in Byron’s extension. It rang four times.

  “Hello, Byron Morgan here. Leave your name, number, and any message.” Beep.

  Shit.

  “Lu Dawson, twenty-eight, any message,” Lu replied, and hung up. Hmm, now what? Lu punched in his cell phone number and got an automated message there too.

  Fuck.

  She didn’t bother to leave a message. She tapped her fingers on the table and glared at the phone. It pretended not to notice.

  Okay that was it. It was time for her to take back control of her life.

  *

  Driving along the highway to Springfield, the tension between her shoulder blades slowly dissipated. Maybe she just needed some space between her and all her Seattle problems. She could only stay over in Springfield for one night as she started morning shift in two days, but even the short respite felt like heaven. First she’d visit Grandma in her rest home. Not that the old woman ever knew her or even seemed happy for the company, but she felt obliged.

  And after she could catch happy hour at Mulligan’s with Susan and work out some long-term strategy for dealing with Kaitlynn. Too bad she couldn’t start with the drinks, but this way it would be her reward.

  From the shelf covered in odd knick-knacks that Lu had bought Grandma as birthday gifts, to the few pieces of mismatched furniture and artwork saved from the old house and crammed into the much smaller space, walking into her grandma’s room was like a visual trip back through her childhood memories. In a wheelchair staring out the window sat the shrunken body of the woman who had raised Lu from her teens to adulthood. A man about seventy years old sat in a guest chair beside her. He looked too well-dressed to be a resident

  “Hi, Grandma. It’s Lu.” She leaned over and kissed Grandma’s cheek, pretending not to notice her flinch at the contact.

  The blank expression didn’t change amongst the old woman’s wrinkles.

  “Hi.” She waved to the man. Should I come back tomorrow when Grandma’s alone?

  “Lucinda?” The man smiled. “You probably don’t remember me. Gary Dawson.” He stood and held out his hand. “The black sheep in the family.”

  “Uncle Gary?” Lu shook hands while racking her brains to remember anything polite about her dad’s brother. She’d heard about his “binges” when she was a child then he’d mostly fallen off the map. She hadn’t seen him in twenty years since she was—what, twelve years old? “What are you doing here? I mean—sorry, that didn’t come out right.” She shook her head in embarrassment.

  “S’okay. I’m clean, now. I just passed my two year anniversary of sobriety five weeks ago.”

  “Oh. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. My AA sponsor gave me a gift certificate for a genealogist to look up my ancestors. You know, to give me a sense of roots. It was fascinating and then got me thinking. So I figured I’d visit Mother to make amends.” He nodded sadly at Grandma. “I hadn’t realized what rough shape she was in. Hey, you still in Springfield? I read you were a fire fighter, but couldn’t find your number on-line.

  “I’m in Seattle, now.” A genealogist? Maybe there was a history of arson in their family. “Is there anyone interesting in our old relatives?”

  “No royalty, but there was a famous train robber named Bill Minor on Grandfather’s side. Ton of info on him. No maps to buried loot, though. And oh, I know what you’d like—being a firefighter and all—there were several suspicious fires on Mother’s side of the family. That even went back to the Salem witch trials when they started drowning the witches.”

  “I thought witches were burnt at the stake?”

  “Most were. According to some old documents, they took up drowning many of the witches because they believed the women were turning the fires against the townsfolk.”

  Holy crap. Why didn’t I do this kind of research? “What were the other fires?”

  “Can’t really remember. Mostly female relatives with brain damage. One had a riding accident then she
burnt the house down. Another fell down a cliff. Soon after she was accused of setting her ex-fiancé’s barn on fire, but they couldn’t ever prove it. May have been others.” He chuckled. “So if you get in an accident then find yourself amassing lighters and matches, I’d maybe think twice about it.”

  “Ha. No worries there,” Lu reassured him. Probably matches were not an issue with her ancestors either. Holy shit! Lu kept her tone casual trying to contain her excitement. Maybe with more info she could find others with her problem. “Do you think you could get me a copy of your research?”

  “Sure. Give me your address. It may take me a few weeks to get all the pieces together. I’m crashing with a friend just outside of town.

  “I know that feeling,” Lu commiserated as she wrote down her address. She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to run.” She kissed Grandma, hugged Uncle Gary, and left, still half-dreading her meeting with Susan at the pub. At least they now had more to talk about other than just the blackmailing kid.

  *

  “You’re related to Salem witches?” Susan’s eyes widened with excitement. “That’s so cool.”

  “I guess. Depressing to think of your relatives being drowned. I’m lucky I wasn’t born back then.” Lu shrugged. “What I really like is the feeling that it’s not just me and my fault.” She smiled at the waiter as he took away their decimated nacho platter. Something about being back in Springfield always made her crave junk food. She lowered her voice. “And maybe with more info I can find others with my, um, problem and find out how they control it.”

  Susan tapped on the table in excitement. “Wait. If you’re a witch, we should look up love potions and spells. Maybe you can do a binding spell so Byron can’t cheat on you.”

  “Not all men cheat,” she reminded her friend.

  “Not the dead ones,” Susan agreed as she chomped on the celery from her drink. “Do you think I should become a lesbian? Women are probably more loyal.”

  “I think your nun idea might be better. I’m sure some of them get to drink. And bonus,

  with the long outfits, you wouldn’t have to ever shave your legs again.”

  “That’s true. Or wash my hair.”

  “Ew.” Lu snatched Susan’s drink. “For that you are hereby cut off.”

  “What? There’s only one sip left. Besides I have to go anyway.” She took back her glass and drained it before standing. “And don’t worry, I will talk to Kaitlynn tonight like we discussed. No, tomorrow when I’m sober, and I’ll threaten to tell her father if she doesn’t pay you back. Not that he’d know what to do, but Kaitlynn doesn’t know how useless the man is.”

  “Okay. Thank you. I’ll see you soon.” Lu leaned over and hugged her friend. “Call me when you get home.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. This isn’t the big city, our cabs are safe.” Susan turned to go then stopped. “Wasn’t there a love spell in that Sandra Bullock witch movie? You should try that just in case.”

  *

  Lu let out a sigh of relief as she entered her hotel room. It was good to see Susan back to her old self but the nonstop chatting got really tiring. Susan made Ace look quiet and reserved. And maybe the Kaitlynn problem was solved. As long as Byron never figured her part in it.

  She clicked on the TV and then shut it off again to enjoy the silence. Lying on the over-starched sheets she turned like a manic rotisserie chicken, way too wired to sleep. Too bad she hadn’t checked into a hotel with a pool. She picked up her new Roddy Doyle book and flipped to the beginning. She’d read the first two pages before realizing that she wasn’t paying attention. “Eejit,” she mumbled.

  Lu grabbed her phone and hit speed dial before she chickened out.

  “Hey there, Lu.” Byron sounded happy to hear from her. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Where are you?”

  “Sorry, I’m in Springfield. I turned off my phone in Grandma’s nursing home and forgot to switch it back on again.”

  “I was beginning to wonder. So what does number twenty-eight mean?”

  “Huh?”

  “On my machine you said Lu Dawson, twenty-eight and anything.”

  “It’s my lucky number,” Lu answered. “Sorry, I never know what to say on machines.”

  “I was glad to hear your voice, even if I didn’t know what the hell you were talking about.”

  “Really? So how do you feel about ‘booty calls’?”

  “What?” Byron chuckled. “You mean phoning in the middle of the night when you want sex?”

  “Yeah, maybe. Or it could be in the daytime.” Lu felt her face flushing.

  “Hmm. Interesting question. I like sex with you—this is just with you that we’re talking about, right?”

  “Yes. Definitely no sharesies.”

  “But if it’s just for sex, will I feel cheap and used after? I mean I’d hate to find you thought of me as just your dick-on-a-stick—or would that be your dial-a-dick?”

  Lu laughed and covered her eyes. Much as she was glad he couldn’t see her embarrassment, she’d have given anything to see his face during this conversation.

  “And as an investigator,” Byron continued, “I wonder if dial-a-dick could be misleading.”

  “True. But I think if I called you up and said I want your body, you probably wouldn’t think I meant the latest homicide victim you were investigating.”

  “Do you?”

  “Want your homicide victim?”

  “No, want my body?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “That seems like a good thing. But will you still respect me afterwards?”

  “You’re assuming I respect you now?” Lu asked.

  “That’s a low blow, and here I thought you loved me for my brains.”

  “Well maybe that too. But that body you got there—hubba, hubba.”

  There was silence on the line and then he said, “I can’t believe you actually said that.”

  “Hubba, hubba? Yeah, me neither. It’s your fault.”

  “Sure, blame the victim.” He chuckled. “So what are you doing now?”

  “Lying on my lonely hotel bed talking to you. What about you?”

  “What a coincidence. I’m talking to you, too. When’re you coming home?”

  “Tomorrow night. I’m on day shift Friday.”

  “So is this a ‘booty call’ for tomorrow night?”

  “That sounds good. You available?” Lu added quickly, “I’ll buy you dinner.”

  “It’s sounding better every minute. If I hold out longer, will you buy me jewelry and flowers?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I wish you were here now.” His voice lowered suggestively and Lu’s body tingled in reaction to the heat in his voice. “I could really use a good dinner.”

  Lu laughed. “Oh great, now you’re thinking of me as your meal ticket.”

  “Yeah, but I’ll respect you in the morning. How’s your grandmother?”

  “Well, she was okay today. At least this time I didn’t make her cry.”

  “Why, do you usually?”

  “I don’t mean to, but yeah, somehow I usually upset her. Tomorrow I’m going back to have lunch with her and see if I can make it two visits with no tears.”

  “At what number of visits do you get in the Guinness Book of World Records?”

  “I’ll have to look that up.” Lu wondered how long they could go on not really talking about anything. “So how do you feel about phone sex?”

  “You’re just chock-full of interesting questions tonight.” He paused. “To tell you the truth, I’m just not that attracted to my phone.”

  “Hmm, good point. Maybe I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.”

  “Well, you could be thinking about what you’d like to do tomorrow night.” Again he had that husky tone to his voice.

  “Oh sure, you’re thinking about food again,” Lu complained.

  “Maybe some whipped cream spread on your body … with chocolate sauce in some choice spots.” It sounded lik
e he licked his lips before continuing. “Mmm, I can almost taste you just thinking about it.”

  Lu closed her eyes. “Go on.”

  “Nope. Sorry. I know too much about wiretaps. If you want whipped cream licked off your luscious body, you’re gonna have to come here and have it done in person. And believe me, I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Oh you tease.” Lu lowered her voice. “If I was thinking what I’d like to try tomorrow night …”

  “Yes?”

  “Well …” Lu tried to think quickly. “I’ve heard that hot and cold liquids can be quite effective on certain parts of a man’s body.”

  “Really?”

  “Ever had ice cream freeze on your ‘lower’ brain?”

  “That doesn’t sound good.” He sounded confused.

  “Even when you’re inside a warm mouth?”

  “I’m not convinced.”

  “Never mind.” Lu chuckled. “I think maybe I’m better at this sex thing in person.”

  “That’s good, because I kind of prefer the personal touch.”

  “Me too. Especially your personal touch. Everywhere on my body.” Lu sighed. “Want me to call you when I’m back, or do you just want to show up when you’re done work?”

  “Call me. I think I’d like a booty call.”

  “Okay, talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Byron.”

  “Night, Lu. Sleep well.” Lu waited until she heard his phone disconnect and then put hers down. What would he think if she showed up at his door in three hours?

  CHAPTER 12

  The fates were smiling on her. As was the young cashier at the Chico’s outlet store.

  “That dress looks perfect on you. And with a blazer, you could even wear it to work.”

  “Thanks.” Somehow Lu wasn’t convinced the bright green silky dress would go over well at the fire hall. Or maybe too well with some. Lu frowned when she remembered she still had to deal with Reynolds tomorrow. Did he really think she was using Byron to get back at him? Or was he just mad and drunk that night at the restaurant?