Small Town Angel

by K'Anne Meinel

  Amy and Abby waited, watching as the fire department not only put out the fire, but began to sort through it to determine the cause. Many people stayed to watch and console their friend and chief. Abby received many hugs as they waited. Bonnie was finally brought out and Abby made a sound as though a sob. Amy put her arm around her despite their audience as the black bagged body was put into an ambulance.

  “Chief, you should leave. We’ll have a report in a few days for you,” the fire chief told her.

  Abby nodded and the looked around wondering what to do next.

  “You all are just coming with me,” Amy assured her taking command. “We’ll find you something to wear and I have that extra bedroom,” she said loud enough for those listening in. She turned to the fire chief and said, “My store is unlocked for you all, please lock up when you are finished?” At his nod she began to lead Abby away.

  Abby nodded at the other chief and allowed Amy to lead her to her SUV, Toby on his leash following along. Amy even went so far as to put her in the passenger seat and strap her in. Abby stopped her and looked at her sorrowfully. “Bonnie,” she sobbed.

  Amy gathered her into her arms, noting that a few people were still watching them. She hoped it only looked like she was consoling her friend. They didn’t need the gossip, not now. “I know Abby, I know,” she said patting her on her back. She finally managed to disentangle herself and close the door before going around to her side and getting in. She knew her store was unlocked but with the firefighters there and in and out it was probably for the best. She trusted them anyway and they had saved her store, although she was certain it was a mess. She’d worry about that in the morning as well as the money in the various till’s and the ice cream melting from the power being out. She had to get Abby home.

  Amy stopped in her driveway and just sat for a moment, taking in everything that had happened that day. She had been looking forward to a date night with Abby and while she had her here, this was not how she wanted it. Not over the death of Bonnie. It had been so close with the children too. She had to wonder at all that smoke and how quick it had all been. She hoped the fire chief would have some answers and she had to call her insurance company. She’d had to change the insurance from the rental to an owner’s policy with her loan at the bank and thank goodness she had. She’d worry about that tomorrow too. She glanced over at Abby, she seemed to be in shock and Toby put his head between them, waiting for his humans to do something, like get out of the vehicle. Amy slowly opened the door and he hopped onto her seat right behind her. She removed his leash and let him jump down while she closed the door and went around to open Abby’s. She was staring straight ahead. Amy leaned across her to let her out of the seat belt. “C’mon baby, I gotch you,” she drawled as she pulled the brunette from the vehicle.

  Abby allowed herself to be led from the SUV and onto the porch and into Amy’s place. She knew superficially where she was, that her children were safe and with friends, but Bonnie was dead. Her home was gone. The home that had been her grandparents, and then her first real home with her wife, the house her children had been born into…was gone.

  Amy led her to the bedroom and undressed her, then took her to the shower and put her under the spray, adjusting the heat for her to take a warm one. She then left her to return to the bedroom and shake out Abby’s clothes. They smelled of the fire. She looked down at her own clothes, they were filthy as well but then she had actually been in the fire. She could only imagine how she looked. She quickly stripped and joined Abby in the shower, she hadn’t moved. Amy washed them both, including their hair and Abby just allowed her to do so. Amy admired the muscles on her girlfriend’s body but didn’t wash them down with the intention of arousing her; instead she simply cleaned them both, to get the smell of smoke and ash out of their hair and off their skin. She finished with a perfuming body wash that they both enjoyed. She pulled Abby from the shower after turning it off and rubbed her down with a big fluffy white towel. She used one on herself and ran her fingers through her hair. Leading Abby to the bedroom she considered dinner but knew that neither of them were really hungry. Remembering that she had left Toby outside she quickly tucked Abby into bed and then put on her robe and called to him, she found him lying patiently on the porch after giving the entire yard a thorough sniff. There were some interesting smells on the property these days, besides the normal animals that lived there.

  Locking up she turned out the lights and returned to the bedroom. Abby was just sitting there, silent tears running down her face. Amy climbed into bed with her, shedding the robe, and took her in her arms. She wouldn’t ask anything, Abby wouldn’t say anything, she just held her until she fell asleep, exhausted.

  Amy watched Abby from time to time throughout the night. She could tell she was having nightmares, but her exhaustion was mental and she didn’t wake from them. She herself dozed from time to time but never really got a good night’s sleep. When she finally got up in the morning Abby was still restlessly sleeping in her bed and she left her to it. It was not how she wanted to wake up next to Abby, or how she had dreamed it. Both of them had fantasized about sleeping an entire night together, but this was not the way to do it. She climbed out of bed and gathered her robe to go to the bathroom to pee. She looked in the mirror and saw the circles in her eyes from the restless night. Everything about the day before was fresh in her mind and she had gone over it time and time again, all night long. She saw her hair was a right mess from not combing it the night before when it was wet, she could only imagine what Abby’s would look like when she finally got up. She wet her own again and quickly brushed it into submission before brushing her teeth and going quietly back into the bedroom. She watched Abby sleep, thrilled to have her in her bed all night long, but not for this reason, not this tragedy.

  Amy quickly pulled sweats from her drawers to leave for Abby to change into when she was ready. They would be a bit small on the taller and more muscular woman but it was all Amy had. She was too petite in comparison and Abby had never left a change of clothing there. They would have to go buy her new clothes later. She went into the kitchen to put on the cocoa, feed the cat, and let Toby out into the yard. He ran to the back of the lot and she worried once again about him finding a skunk but instead he seemed to be on the trail of something else. She watched him for a moment before Tabby pulled her attention back to her. She usually spent evenings petting her pets or with Abby these last few months and she was content with this life. She wondered how things would change now with Abby and she worried about her. She glanced once more outside to see Toby lifting his leg at various favorite spots, marking his territory and she went back to the bedroom to get dressed herself.

  “Is that coffee I smell?” Abby asked sleepily from the bed as Amy pulled a shirt over her bra and panties.

  “No, I have cocoa. Would you like me to bring a cup to you?” Amy offered. She was pleased to see that Abby no longer had that vacant look about her.

  “Sounds wonderful,” she said politely and then noticed the sweats. “Are those for me?” she asked.

  “Yes. I have an extra toothbrush you can use and you might want to run my brush through your hair,” she pointed out as Abby sat up in the bed, naked to the waist, her beautiful breasts hanging down slightly from their weight, her hair all over the place from going to bed with it wet.

  Abby raised her hand to hair and grinned sheepishly. “I bet I look a sight,” she said ruefully.

  “You look beautiful,” Amy assured her with a laugh at the vanity.

  Abby smiled at her. “It all happened didn’t it?” she confirmed.

  “Yes darlin’ it did,” she didn’t lie.

  Abby sighed and got out of the bed, the coolness of the cabin never more apparent than when she was naked. “We better get going and find out what the chief has for me. I’m sure he’s called in an arson investigator,” she said as she pulled on the sweat pants, hopping to pull them up, and even then they looked like below the knee short
s in length.

  Amy was trying not to laugh at the outfit as Abby struggled into the too small sweat shirt. She turned to finish dressing herself and grabbed two pairs of socks and threw one to the now dressed brunette.

  “Are you hungry?” she gently asked, knowing that neither of them had eaten the night before.

  “I need coffee,” she grunted and that was all. Her mind was already on the case. “And the bathroom,” she added as she walked in sock clad feet to the bathroom.

  Amy watched her and wondered what she was thinking but she wouldn’t snoop, she would wait patiently for Abby to share with her. She absentmindedly looked at her angel tattoo before covering it up with her sock. She put her feet into her shoes and headed for the kitchen to let Toby in.

  “That smells good,” Abby commented as Amy poured two hot cups of cocoa for them both. Toby greeted ‘his’ other human good morning, and Abby absentmindedly petted him.

  “I can whip up some eggs and bacon,” Amy offered but Abby was shaking her head. “You’ve got to eat,” she insisted and Abby shrugged and went to sit down. Amy shrugged herself and started to pull out the eggs from the refrigerator along with bacon and bread, butter, and some local jam.

  After forcing breakfast on her Amy could see that Abby was fidgeting to get going. She quickly washed the dishes and put everything away. She gathered their smoke-filled and in her case grimy clothes and put them in a laundry bag. She’d wash them later after she found out what she could and what they would be doing. Gathering the bag and her keys they left, with Toby, in her SUV.

  “Let’s go to the store and see if the investigators are there,” Abby ordered in a no-nonsense voice once they were going.

  “Why do you think they would send investigators?” Amy asked surprised, trying not to take offense at Abby’s tone.

  “One, someone died,” Abby held up her index finger. “Two, I heard an explosion. I’m almost certain that someone used an incendiary device to start that fire, that means arson.” She held up her second finger and then her third. “Three, I’m the Chief of Police up here, a deputy sheriff, and they may have been targeting me personally or the police in general, that is terrorism.” She would have gone on but they were already pulling into town and she was anxiously looking for her first glimpse of the scene of the fire and its aftermath. The reality in the light of day was sobering.

  There were investigators there combing the site and sifting through the ashes. Amy didn’t bother parking on the side street but pulled right up to the police tape. Someone went to wave her vehicle aside but then the Chief of Police got out of it and he stopped to stare at the outfit.

  “Something amusing?” Abby braved it out. She knew she looked awful.

  “Not at all ma’am,” he said respectfully. “Chief Skinner is looking for you,” he mentioned to take the heat off of himself.

  Abby nodded and ducked under the tape that cordoned off the site. Amy followed, leaving Toby in the SUV. He stood between the seats with his front paws on the console, panting happily. He knew where they were, could see them clearly, and normally he would be going into work with Amy. There were so many people and he was anxious to greet them all. Amy didn’t look back as she walked away and towards the store.

  “Chief,” the Chief of the fire department greeted Abby.

  “Chief,” Abby nodded back. “What have you found so far?” she asked officially.

  He glanced at her outfit but didn’t say a word, never batted an eyelash as he became all business. “Well it’s definitely arson,” he began but Abby interrupted.

  “Well, duh,” she said succinctly.

  He grinned, knowing she didn’t suffer fools gladly. “We’ve got a team in there and it appears that someone lit a few firecrackers up on you,” he answered.

  “Firecrackers?” she asked incredulous.

  “It’s a term they used. Apparently it’s some sort of time activated thing that starts fires. I’ve never heard of that type of thing in all my years here,” he spread his hands helplessly. He was a simple fire chief in a small town in Wisconsin. They didn’t handle something like this. It was why these investigators from Green Bay were here. Someone was saying they would be sending some things to Madison, the state capital for analyzing. It was well beyond his scope of knowledge.

  “Chief, may I go into my store, is it clear yet?” Amy asked when she had a chance.

  “Well Ms. Adams, it’s safe. I’d prefer you to wait until those folks clear out though,” he nodded towards the teams of people going over things at Abby’s house.

  “Did they save anything?” Abby asked sadly.

  “Oh this and that, I had them stack them in that truck over there,” he pointed to a pick-up truck with the bed full.

  “You were able to save that much?” she asked surprised.

  “Yes, the upstairs and some other things that we found in the debris,” he confirmed.

  They began to talk about technical things that Amy had no interest in. She wandered towards her store but didn’t go in. Instead she pulled out her cell phone and called her insurance agent. He already knew about the fire and would be coming down to ascertain the damage. He was also Abby’s agent and would write up the report for both properties. Since they had shared an adjoining set of walls there would be overlapping on the policies but he assured her that everything would be taken care of.

  Someone found a decent outfit for the Chief to put on and Amy let Abby into the store so she could change in the restroom. She looked much better in the uniform of a cop than in the small sweats of Amy’s. She looked…normal. It also must have helped with her self-esteem as she became much more self-assured and took control of the scene. She began having her people fill out reports and demand information from the investigators as they had it.

  Amy met up with the insurance agent, Tom Grieves and they walked around her property which had very little damage except where it met up with the town jail and the house that had been Abby’s grandparents. That was a total write off. There was some damage to Amy’s roof but the fire department had arrived in time to put that out before it became too much of a problem. “We can get people in to fix this,” he pointed at some of the damage on the walls as they viewed the situation from inside. “Probably the same people who remodeled?” he offered and Amy nodded. As it was she would probably be closed for a week or more and she wondered what Abby would want to do. Tom was very generous in his reports and promised to file them immediately so they would get their claims in and a check out to each of them. “Sad thing this,” he nodded towards the people poking and prodding through the ashes. “That might affect both your claims,” he noted.

  “Why? My store has nothing to do with the town jail,” she pointed out.

  He nodded but kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. He would have to find out if it was arson and if it was, that would hold up the claims as the insurance companies wouldn’t want to pay out on arson. Especially if the Chief or her children had caused it. Right now it didn’t sound like they had, but that would have to be investigated. Also, with the death there would be further investigations from the insurance companies, further holding up of the beneficiaries check. He remembered that Abby had a life insurance policy on herself and her children, not a lot on the children, just enough to bury them and had Abby died, enough to support them for a while. He made a note to check if Bonnie had one too.

  Amy left after Tom did to check on the children. They had been taken to friends of Abby’s and they were a little skittish when she found them.

  “Is Mom okay?” they asked worriedly.

  “She’s already working to find out what happened. I thought I’d come and get you. I have a few things to do and I could use your help,” she told them to distract them and calm them.

  “What do you have to do?” they asked.

  “Let’s get in the car and talk about it on the way.” She thanked the friends of Abby’s who had taken them in and left with the kids.

  “What
is this?” Bailey asked as he sniffed in the back seat. The bag was beginning to stink from the clothes inside it.

  “Some laundry I need to do. That leads me to my errands. I need to order a washer and dryer and shop for them. We need to pick up a couple of outfits for you and your mom too. Where do you think we should do that?” she asked him as though it were important.

  They discussed the various stores in the smaller communities in the Thumb while she threw the clothes in a large washer. She washed them twice to get the smoke and grime out before throwing them in the dryer. There were quite a few she could shop at but really she wanted to keep them busy and off the subject of Bonnie’s death or to worry about their mom who was busy getting to the bottom of this investigation. She couldn’t go into work anyway, so she may as well help with Abby’s kids.

  “Grandma’s dead isn’t she?” Heather asked as she watched Amy try to teach Bailey how to fold their few clothes.

  “Yes darlin’ she is,” Amy drawled. She didn’t believe in sugar coating anything.

  The child stood there, she’d cried last night when she realized the truth of things but now, hearing it she started crying again.

  Amy went to her to pull her in her arms.

  “Why?” the little girl kept sobbing.

  Amy didn’t have the answers and when she looked up and saw Bailey crying too she held out her arm for him to join them and was surprised when he did. Both of them wet her shirt with their tears. Other patrons of the laundromat looked on curiously but didn’t interfere. When first Bailey and then finally Heather were all cried out she pulled them back to look at them both. “I don’t know what to say. I know you loved your grandma but your mama is hurtin’ and you’re gonna have to be patient with her.”

  They both nodded sagely even if they didn’t really understand why they would have to be patient. Their grandmother, their second parent after losing their birth mom and then their grandfather, was gone. She had been the second most importing person in their world and they didn’t understand that either.