In Hot Water

by J. J. Cook

  “Are you visiting with Gail Hubbard at the same time?” Stella asked. “I’m not the only one who knows about this. She’s already turned in what we found today. The lab has probably made a determination on what it is. That means lab techs are involved too. I don’t think you can keep everyone from talking. You two aren’t the best planners in the world are you?”

  “You worry about yourself, Chief. We’ll take care of the rest.”

  Stella knew their friendly talk was winding down. It was time to play the ace up her sleeve.

  “I don’t think they plan to hurt you.” Eric’s voice was a whisper near her ear. “What do you want me to do?”

  Being unfamiliar with what ghosts could and couldn’t do, she fell back on the tricks she’d seen him use since she’d become his housemate.

  “Is there power we can play with?” she whispered to him.

  “I’ll check.”

  “Does she have a cell phone?” the first man asked the second.

  “No. We left it in the ditch with the car.”

  “Is she wired or something? She’s talking to someone.”

  Lights began flickering on and off through the building. At first it was the old emergency lighting system. Orange lights came on along the walls and then went off. Before the men who held Stella captive could react, the large shop lights started blinking. A few lights came on and stayed on.

  “What’s going on?” The first man’s face was unknown to Stella. He was short and thin, wearing a Smoky Mountains ball cap and a black hoodie that had seen better days. He looked around the empty building with fear on his narrow face.

  The second man was Barney Falk Jr.’s driver. She remembered him from the investigation site that day. He pulled out a snub-nosed revolver and leveled it at her face. “I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s seen us now. We don’t have any choice.”

  “Hold your head down!” Eric yelled at her.

  Strong gusts of wind began buffeting the building from the inside. The lights above them rocked with it. Windowpanes blew out. Sparks flew from electric lines that hadn’t been used in years.

  She closed her eyes and forced her head down.

  A terrible keening began. It sounded as though it came from the concrete beneath them, like something was trying to crawl out of the ground. It was terrifying.

  Stella knew it was Eric, but still felt dread as she fell to the dusty floor. It was a good call—the driver’s gun went off, ricocheting around the rusted metal walls.

  The first man ran screaming out of the building. When he got in his truck he found that his vehicle wouldn’t start and that he was trapped inside it.

  The second man, Falk’s driver, shot three more times before he followed his associate’s path out of the building. His vehicle wouldn’t start either, and the doors were locked tight once he was inside.

  “Are you okay?” Eric showed himself.

  Stella looked up at him. “That was awful. Good, but awful. If you’d done that when I first came to live in the cabin, I would’ve left that night and never come back.”

  He laughed. “It was pretty scary, huh? I used it a few times when other people tried to move in with me. No one lasted through it.”

  She got to her feet and tried to get most of the dust off of her. “Why didn’t you do it to me?”

  “I was just playing with you when I did those first tricks. You were there to save my fire brigade. I didn’t want you to leave. It’s not complicated.”

  “Did they get away?” She nodded toward the door.

  “No. They’re waiting in their cars. I accessed 911 from one of their phones. Someone should be here soon.”

  “I didn’t know you could access 911. You could’ve done that instead of letting them bring me here at all,” she complained.

  “I didn’t think about it. I thought you’d want answers.”

  “I’m grateful for your help anyway. It took you a while to get going, but it was worth it. Next time, don’t be so helpful. I never want to wake up in a place like this again.”

  “Good to know. I guess that takes care of leaving my badge at the cabin, right?”

  “We’ll talk later.” She stretched her neck and felt the bump on the back of her head.

  “You should have that looked at. Safety code requires all injuries to be reported and identified by medical personnel.”

  “Lucky I’m not working.”

  Sirens and flashing lights let them know help had arrived. Eric released the two men from their vehicles only after Stella had made it clear to the Tennessee Highway Patrol that they had assaulted and kidnapped her.

  “You got lucky, Chief Griffin,” one of the officers told her. “They could’ve dragged you out here and we would’ve found your bones in a few years.”

  “Not on my watch,” Eric said.

  An officer gave Stella a ride back to the Cherokee. He helped her fish around in the dark ditch until she found her cell phone.

  “You should follow me to the county jail if you want to press charges,” he said with a tip of his flat-brimmed hat.

  “I will. Thanks for your help.”

  Once Eric and Stella were on the road heading back toward Sevierville, Eric asked what had made her think the white powder in Falk’s house was cocaine.

  “It looked like it to me. I’ve seen it in fires before. All firefighters in Chicago are trained to notice possible drug connections.”

  “I’ve never seen any drug besides marijuana. How did cocaine come to be in Barney Falk’s house?”

  She shrugged. “I’m beginning to think there’s a connection between Falk’s grandson, Chip, and what happened at the house. Even though he claims to be innocent of going to pick up that stash we found them with on the trail, it seems a little coincidental to me.”

  “So you think he planted it there and then burned the house?”

  “No. I think he was probably helping his grandfather distribute it.”

  Eric didn’t believe it. “There’s no way Barney Falk was a cocaine dealer. I knew him. He liked his power, but he wouldn’t have done something like that.”

  “You’ve been dead a long time. I know you’ve watched TV, but that’s not the same as living in the real world. People like Falk sell cocaine to keep up a standard of living they’ve become accustomed to. You heard his son talking about the estate in Nashville. Where would the money come from to maintain something like that and an expensive house out here?”

  Stella reached the county courthouse and sat down with an assistant district attorney to tell him what had happened. She agreed to press charges against Barney Falk’s driver and his unknown accomplice. She told him that the men had threatened her unless she agreed to look the other way during the investigation of the Falk fire.

  She also told them about the cocaine, even though she was breaching protocol by telling him anything about the arson investigation before it was over. She believed it was too important to wait.

  She also told the ADA that she recognized the driver as someone working for Barney Falk Jr. The young man, who appeared as though someone had woken him up and dragged him here to take her statement, wasn’t happy with her ID.

  “Are you sure about this, Chief Griffin? The Falk family is well-known in these parts. I realize you’re new to this area of the world. You might want to reconsider until you’ve done a lineup.”

  “I don’t need to do a lineup. I just saw him this morning. He drove the candidate to Sweet Pepper where I was working. It’s the same man.”

  The ADA was visibly shaken as he rifled through his paperwork.

  “Is there a problem with pressing charges against these men?”

  “No, ma’am.” He had her sign some documents and said she was free to go. “You’ll receive a call from the DA’s office when—or if—we need to talk to you again. Thank you for your help.”

  Stella shook his hand and got ready to leave. She saw the driver she’d identified across the empty office. He frowned at he
r and turned his head.

  “I don’t think anyone is going to be happy with your assessment of the situation,” Eric said as they were leaving.

  “I don’t care. I know who that man is. The police will have to figure it out.”

  Stella felt fortunate that no fire emergencies had come up while she’d been trying to get home from the grocery store. It had been a long trip. All of the frozen items Eric had thrown into the cart were defrosted. They put as many things as they could into the refrigerator. There was no ice cream, thank goodness.

  Once the groceries were put away, Stella said goodnight and left Eric looking through all the food treasures they’d brought home. She smiled as he exclaimed over artichoke dip and Oreos.

  *

  The story broke early the next morning.

  Several TV news outlets had picked it up. Stella watched the news anchors talk about the peculiar incident as she ate Pop-Tarts and drank a Coke for breakfast. Eric let Hero out for his morning run inside the fifty-foot perimeter he maintained around the cabin.

  The phone had already started ringing. Everyone wanted to make sure that she was unhurt. The Smittys called about an interview. Mayor Wando called to be sure that he’d understood her accusation against the driver. He couldn’t believe that Barney Falk’s son would be involved in anything of that sort.

  “You’re famous.” Eric watched TV with her. “You might be fire chief of the year.”

  “If that’s a Sweet Pepper title, I think it might be possible.”

  She was still in her pajamas when John and Walt reached the cabin at the same time. Walt knocked, and Eric opened the door for him.

  “That’s a lot of hoopla for one night.” Walt took off his hat and put on a pot of coffee. “How do you manage to get into these situations, Stella?”

  “Make some of that for me too.” John came in behind him, taking off his jacket. “This is a PR nightmare for you, Chief.”

  “I don’t see why.” She wished Eric would ask her before he opened the door every time someone came up. Her pajamas weren’t provocative, but they did have yellow bunnies on them. They were a gift from her mother, who was worried about her being cold during the winter.

  “Barney Falk is denying that the man you claimed was his driver has ever worked for him.” John grabbed the Oreos from the top of the refrigerator. “The man was released on bail last night.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me, and it doesn’t make it untrue,” Stella said. “Gail was there. She saw him too.”

  “Guess they didn’t talk to her yet,” Walt said. “I heard this morning that candidate Falk is demanding an apology from you for implicating him in this mess. He’ll be in Sweet Pepper today, no doubt. No one likes to have their name linked with drug trafficking.”

  “I don’t have time for this.” Stella went to her bedroom. “I have to get dressed and meet Gail at the site again this morning. I don’t know what’s going on with the Falk family. Between finding Chip and his friends with drugs, and being kidnapped and threatened by his father’s driver, I’d say there’s a problem. Excuse me.”

  Stella took her time showering and getting dressed. As usual, the hot water tank ran out before her shower was finished. She shivered and dried off quickly, pulling on jeans and a sweater before she found a clean pair of coveralls.

  It wasn’t her problem that no one wanted to hear the truth about what she’d experienced. Her head was still sore that morning. She knew she was lucky to be alive. If Eric hadn’t been there—even though he’d held off on doing anything useful until the last minute—she might’ve been hanging out with her ghostly friend as a ghost herself, waiting to see if the cabin was going to be destroyed.

  She was righteously angry at the supposed PR nightmare John had labeled her misadventure from last night. She wanted to circle her wagons and get Gail on board with what they’d seen yesterday, from the cocaine to the driver. With both of them on the same page, Stella knew she’d be less likely to be the butt end of the problem.

  She brushed her hair and pulled it back from her face before she made sure her cell phone was in her pocket and her radio was clipped to her belt.

  “Stella?”

  She jumped and dropped her jacket on the floor. “I thought we had an agreement about coming in my room while I was dressing.”

  “I have my eyes closed.” His blue eyes were shut, although that didn’t make her feel any better.

  “What do you want that couldn’t wait a minute?”

  “You have another visitor. Chief Rogers is pouring himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen.”

  “Great,” she angrily muttered. “What does he want?”

  Chapter 22

  Chief Rogers had also helped himself to some donuts too. His police uniform was tightly creased. Not a graying blond hair was out of place. His tanned face showed some wrinkles as he smiled, his pale blue eyes fastened on her face.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead.” He sat at the table. “Quite an adventure you had last night.”

  She looked around the room. “Where’s John?”

  Walt grimaced. “Somebody sent him away.”

  “He had other duties,” Chief Rogers said. “He couldn’t hang around here all day consoling you.”

  “I’m running late, Chief.” Stella put on her jacket and grabbed her bag. “I should be out at the investigation site. If you’ll excuse me . . .”

  He didn’t look fazed by her words. He lazily bit into a donut. “Fresh. Mine are usually stale.”

  “I was coming back from the grocery store last night when everything went down. Would you like some defrosted mini-meals to take home with you?”

  “I’ll take some,” Walt chimed in.

  “I heard what happened.” Chief Rogers took a gulp of his coffee. “I think everyone in the county knows by now.”

  “Chief, I really have to go. I can meet you somewhere when we take a break, if you like.”

  “This won’t take a minute. Please sit down, Ms. Griffin.”

  Annoyed, but not wanting to make their relationship worse, she sat. “What is it, Chief Rogers?”

  “I know you don’t owe me any explanation about what happened last night. Still, I’d appreciate hashing out the details with you.”

  Stella sighed and ran through what had happened again. She did it with a quick glance at her watch and hasty words. There were no details, just the facts.

  “Sounds bad.” Walt whistled through his teeth and glanced around the room. “Did you have any help with that?”

  “You’re lucky to be here,” Chief Rogers said. “How’d you manage to get away?”

  “They didn’t tie me up securely. I got my hands free. They weren’t great fighters.”

  “I understand you identified one of the men as Barney Falk’s driver. You know he’s also Mr. Falk’s bodyguard.”

  “If I were him, I’d hire someone else.” Hero had been barking outside the door, probably wanting his breakfast. She let him in. The dog took one look at Chief Rogers and began growling at him.

  Walt patted him on the head. “It’s okay. I won’t let him do anything to Stella. If he does, you can bite him.”

  Chief Rogers barely noticed Hero. “And he and his accomplice were warning you off giving the state your actual findings at the site of the fire. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. Is this an interrogation?”

  “No. This is one Sweet Pepper officer to another. What do you think he was talking about?”

  “I’m fairly sure I found cocaine yesterday in the sofa. It might go along with the cocaine drop that trapped those boys on Dead Bear Trail.”

  “Did someone tell you we have a drug problem in Sweet Pepper?”

  “No one had to tell her, Don,” Walt quipped. “It’s obvious.”

  Stella could see anger and hostility taking form in Chief Rogers’s tough face. The cold blue eyes were much less friendly and his tone had grown aggressive.

  “I don’t want to fight about this,” s
he told him. “I’m not with the police. I don’t know any more than what I told you. You’ll have to put in the rest of the puzzle pieces.”

  “I don’t like people thinking or saying I don’t do a good job. It gets me riled up. People get the wrong idea sometimes. For instance—someone could speculate that you’re involved in this, Ms. Griffin. You were at the drop site on the trail and you allegedly found the cocaine in Representative Falk’s house.”

  Walt let go of Hero. “Maybe you should bite him now, boy.”

  Hero sat at Stella’s feet but had stopped growling.

  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” She reacted without thinking, all her wishes to work peacefully with Rogers out the window. “I was doing my job. You know that.”

  Chief Rogers shrugged and got up from the table. “It’s how people could spin this whole thing that I’m worried about. I’m not saying you’re involved—beyond doing your job, of course. I’m only telling you what the perception could be.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” The words came out of her mouth like she’d been chewing on rocks. “I’ll watch my back.”

  She wanted to say more—a lot more. She had to bite her tongue and remind herself that she had to work with this egotistical, annoying man.

  “I’ll be going now.” Chief Rogers put on his hat. “I think the cocaine is part of this too, but there may be something more. You take care, Ms. Griffin. I wouldn’t want anything untoward to happen to you again.”

  Eric had sat silently on the stairs leading to the attic until Chief Rogers left. “You better watch that man. He’s got it in for you.”

  “Really? You think?” She snatched up her keys. “You don’t listen to me at all, do you? I’ve been telling you about my relationship with him since I got here.”

  “I thought it wasn’t as bad as you painted it.” He shrugged. “I’m glad you didn’t have to depend on him coming to your rescue.”

  “I can kind of get the gist of what Eric is saying,” Walt added. “I’m telling you, Don Rogers is a good man. I think you scare him, Stella. That’s all.”

  “John says he’s a good man too.” Stella shook her head. “I don’t know, Walt. He doesn’t like me because I’m a woman and not his pick for fire chief.”