by Joyce Lavene
“He may not have any choice,” JC added. “Maybe someone is keeping him.”
“Like kidnapping,” Banyin suggested. “The same way humans forget who they’re supposed to be with after they’ve been kidnapped.”
“Stockholm syndrome,” Kent said. “That’s what they call it.”
“He’s probably lost and confused,” David continued. “He’s only a puppy. We don’t even know how many homes he was in with Sylvia before we rescued them.”
Sylvia whined and laid down on the blacktop. Stella assured all of them that they weren’t going to stop looking for Hero. “Whatever is going on with him will make sense once we know all the facts. We have to find him. He’s got good instincts, running into that house today. His training is working out. I think David is probably right—he’s confused. Still, he knew his job and he did it. He’s a member of this fire brigade. Let’s not give up on him.”
Everyone agreed. No one wanted to give up on finding Hero, even offering their free time for the search.
Kimmie hugged Stella as the rest of the group went back to cleaning up and putting gear away. “I’m so glad you’re the chief. I wish you’d stay in Sweet Pepper.”
“Thanks.” Stella awkwardly patted Kimmie’s shoulder.
“Sorry, Chief.” Kimmie sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I couldn’t help myself.”
It appeared that everyone knew Stella wasn’t an avid hugger. She’d hoped she’d kept those feelings to herself. It seemed important to everyone else and she didn’t want to inhibit them.
“That’s okay.” Stella smiled. “I know everyone is feeling emotional right now after the fire and Hero going missing. It’s going to be okay, though. We’ll get through it.”
When the cleanup was done, the engine and pumper shining again, and the hoses put away, everyone said their good nights and headed for their homes or jobs. Tagger stayed at the firehouse on communication duty. Stella could hear him singing as she left.
She took the Harley back up the mountain. It was dark like nothing in Chicago ever was since there were no streetlights between the firehouse and the cabin. Though she felt like she could travel the road with her eyes closed, she was still careful on the sharp curves. She’d wrecked the Harley once since she’d been in Sweet Pepper—she didn’t want that to happen again.
She was surprised to see Walt Fenway’s old pickup in the driveway. She was even more surprised to see him sitting at the kitchen table with a thermos of coffee he’d brought with him.
Eric liked his old friend to visit him, but as far as she knew, this was the first time he’d opened the door for Walt. She’d found out the hard way when she’d first arrived that if Eric didn’t open the door, no one got inside.
“I brought my own because I thought you might be out.” Walt raised his metal cup to her as she walked into the kitchen. “I guess you went to town. I know you hate shopping. I meant to bring up a pound or two of coffee from my place after I drank the last of yours. I forgot. Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I was out of everything else too. Between Eric cooking all the time and people dropping in, everything goes.” Stella grabbed a Coke and sat down at the table with him. “I managed to make it to Sevierville and back before we had a call and lost a house in town.”
Eric was perched on the stairs that led to the second story of the cabin. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“I heard about that on the police scanner,” Walt said. “Darn shame. What happened?”
Stella laughed. “I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
“Eric, you here, buddy?” Walt looked all around. “I thought you must be. Wish I could see you and hear what you’re saying.”
“Everyone is fine,” Stella said. “I’m sure arson was involved.” She told them about the Loflins and Hero’s tale.
“Sounds like Don has his hands full.” Walt snorted as he laughed. Don Rogers had taken over as police chief when Walt had retired. “Normally I don’t like to see a fellow officer in trouble, but that man cheeses my grits.”
“I’m not sure what that means,” Stella said. “I’m not sorry for him either. He’s always gunning for me.”
“Rogers is lucky it wasn’t any worse,” Eric added. “It was his duty to inform you of this threat.”
Stella repeated his words for Walt. It was always a three-way conversation when they were together. Unlike the other people in Sweet Pepper who believed the cabin was haunted, Walt wasn’t afraid of Eric.
“I suppose you want to help find the thief since he’s committing arson too.” Eric hoped it wasn’t true.
“Yes. I do. And it occurred to me on the way back up here this evening that the incident with Hero and the fire might have something to do with the thief the police are looking for.” Stella grabbed an apple off the counter and offered one to Walt.
“No. I stay away from fruit. Too many pesticides,” Walt said. “So what’s rattling around in that brain of yours, Stella?”
“I think whoever has Hero is our thief and arsonist,” she explained. “He’s not letting Hero go because he’s afraid we could use the puppy to find him.”
“The chimney sweep!” Eric stood up suddenly. The deer antler chandelier shook and newspaper and mail flew off the table to land on the hardwood floor. “He took Hero with him when he left here. That’s why we didn’t understand what happened. I let down my guard for a thief and arsonist to come into my home.”
“What’d he say?” Walt chuckled. “It must’ve been a good one. That’s enough ghost activity to make most of the ladies in Sweet Pepper fall in a dead faint. Good one, buddy.”
Stella relayed Eric’s thoughts on the matter. “We don’t have any proof of that besides Eric’s intense dislike of anyone who has to come into the yard or the cabin to repair anything.”
“That’s not true,” Eric denied.
“What about the lineman for the electric company? And the two ladies from the Sweet Pepper festival who swear they will never come here again? You’re the same way with everyone who comes to the cabin.”
“He doesn’t try to scare me off.” Walt defended his friend.
“At least he understands me,” Eric replied.
Besides her housemate’s reluctance to accept help on the cabin and his need to scare most people away, Stella considered his words about Patrick. She had tried to call him all day but had received no answer. She’d left voice mails but he hadn’t responded.
That might only make him busy. Not necessarily a thief and arsonist.
“Well he didn’t steal anything from us,” Eric bragged. “I watched him very closely the whole time he was here.”
“You mean you were breathing down his neck the whole time.” Stella shook her head. “The poor man probably won’t return my calls because he’s terrified he’ll have to come back.”
Eric didn’t apologize. To his way of thinking, he was protecting his home.
“What’s Don got on the case so far?” Walt asked.
“Good question.” Stella threw her apple core into the trash. “John had to go behind his back to even tell me about the thief. Don didn’t like that I knew either.”
“The man’s got his brain in his backside,” Eric proclaimed.
“He might have, but he has all the information right now,” Stella said.
“Don might have information,” Eric reminded her, “but you’re the acting fire chief. You can investigate the Loflin fire since you seem to think it might be arson. If it leads to one of the other incidents, your investigation would overlap with his. Legally, he’d have to share.”
Stella told Walt what Eric had said. “I’ll have to investigate. The fire burned too hot. You know what I mean. It wasn’t an accident. I think the arsonist went a little too far this time.”
“Eric makes a good point. If Don won’t share
information, and you can prove you need it, I know a judge who will help you out,” Walt said. “You know, this fellow who’s starting fires to hide his thefts might not be a killer. It’s one thing to steal jewelry and light fires to cover it up. It’s another to let a child die.”
“And if he was still there after he took what he wanted and started the fire—and he had Hero—the puppy would’ve done what he knows to do,” Eric explained. “He saved the little girl.”
After she’d told Walt what Eric had said, Stella agreed that it seemed plausible.
“You said you had a recommendation for the chimney sweep,” Eric reminded her. “Who said he was good? Maybe someone who didn’t know they’d been robbed.”
“Maybe you should check with other people the chimney sweep has worked for,” Walt suggested at the same time. “Could be the thief has been working for them too.”
Stella smiled. It happened all the time during these conversations. The two men thought a lot alike. No wonder they’d been such good friends.
She didn’t want to say it but both men were staring at her now. She knew as soon as she told them who had recommended Patrick, they would both nod their heads and say something about not being surprised.
“It was the old man, wasn’t it?” Eric knew her too well.
“Holy smoke! It was Ben Carson, right?” Walt said.
“Yes,” she admitted. “My grandfather gave me the recommendation. No one broke into his house or set it on fire. He said Patrick did a good, clean job—which seems to be the case here too. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
Neither man liked Ben Carson, who owned most of Sweet Pepper, including the big pepper-packing business that kept the town running. Eric still believed her grandfather was probably responsible for his death forty years ago.
While Stella had been in Sweet Pepper, Ben had been the opposite of the portrait everyone painted of him. On the other hand, some people genuinely feared him. John thought he was responsible for his father’s death. Stella couldn’t tell which stories were true and which weren’t. Ben Carson’s reputation was larger than life, just like Eric’s.
“Never mind that we don’t like him and don’t trust him,” Walt said. “You should ask him point-blank if he noticed anything missing. He might not have thought about it seeing as he has so much up there at the mansion. He’s more likely to tell you than he would Don, Stella. It might be the best place to start.”
Eric agreed, except that he never liked Stella going to see the old man at his estate. He was always afraid she might never make it out again.
“Good idea,” Stella said. “I’ll start there tonight, and get going on the Loflins’ house tomorrow. Maybe between those things, we’ll get some answers.”
“If this chimney sweep fellow finds out you’re looking for him, it could be dangerous,” Walt warned. “Keep your head down. I’ll be glad to help you out however I can.”
“I will. Thanks. I’ll have almost the whole fire brigade with me at the Loflin house tomorrow. I think I’ll be safe at Ben’s house by myself. I’ll give you a call if I need some help.”
“I would say you need more help at the old man’s place than any other,” Eric muttered.
“Never mind that,” she told him. “You’re prejudiced against him. Your opinion doesn’t count.”
Eric nodded toward the front door suddenly. “John Trump is here. Maybe he’s already solved this case. I keep telling you, Stella, you’re a firefighter, not a police officer.”
Chapter Six
John was about to knock when Eric opened the door for him. He looked startled as he walked into the cabin when no one was actually there to let him in. He smiled when he saw Stella and Walt sitting at the table.
“Did the ghost do that?” He was still peering back at the doorway. “Or do you need someone to level that door for you?”
“Keep him away from my door!” Eric growled.
The door slammed shut behind John in such a way that no errant breeze or imbalance could have accomplished.
John jumped, clearly rattled. “I guess that answers my question. Sorry if I offended you, Chief Gamlyn.”
Stella knew John was on the fence about the cabin being haunted or even about believing in ghosts at all. Tales of ghostly appearances and other supernatural folklore were as much a part of his upbringing as picking peppers in the summer and skiing in the winter. But for whatever reason, John lacked the same belief as the other people in Sweet Pepper.
He wanted to believe it was possible, she thought. He was too practical.
Walt bridged the awkward moment by getting up and making a pot of coffee. He’d already finished what he’d brought with him in the thermos. With John there, he knew there would be more conversation. That meant he needed more coffee.
Stella got out another Coke for herself as John took a seat at the table. She saw Eric watching him, gloating because he’d scared him. Sometimes her ghostly friend could be devilishly childish with his powers.
“You’re both sitting around here trying to come up with a plan to get yourselves into trouble, aren’t you?” John asked.
“Why do you say that?” Walt took down another coffee cup from the antler rack above the sink.
“Come on, Walt,” John said. “I can smell trouble brewing like your coffee. I’m sure you can too. What are you all up to?”
“We’re trying to figure out if Don is going to do his job or what,” Walt said. “I don’t want to run for police chief again in this town, but I will if I have to. Stella told us what happened today.”
“Us?” John shivered and looked around the room. The glass door that led to the back deck opened and closed. “Okay, you two, knock it off.”
Eric laughed and the lights flickered a few times. He was truly enjoying himself.
“That’s enough.” Stella fixed her gaze on Eric’s malevolent face.
“Who are you talking to?” John gulped as he asked her.
“A troublemaker,” she replied and then changed the subject. She knew how John felt about ghosts and such. She didn’t want him to feel that he couldn’t come back to the cabin again. “I know you didn’t drive up here to drink coffee or worry about whether or not the cabin is haunted. What’s going on?”
John’s gaze swept the cabin again but nothing unusual happened. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “There’s been another dog sighting.”
“Hero?” Stella asked.
“I think it might be.”
Walt put down the two cups of coffee and sat beside Stella. “We’re all ears, son. Don’t keep us guessing.”
John told them about a missing-child report they’d received. “The little boy had only been gone a few hours. He got separated from his parents in the park. We brought in everyone we could to search for him. All of a sudden, he comes running out of the forest and he’s fine. He tells us a black-and-white dog helped him find his way back.”
Walt groaned. “That’s just great. Now everyone is going to see that pup everywhere they go. I don’t know if you’ll ever find him, Stella, but his legend will be famous.”
John sipped his coffee. “I’m afraid Walt is right. The more people think they see Hero and call it in, the harder it’s going to be to find him. There will be too many leads to verify all of them.”
“Do you think the boy was telling the truth?” Stella asked.
“I don’t know.” John shrugged. “The news about the Loflins has had time to make the rounds. He might have really seen Hero or he might have just heard the story.”
“Where was he found?” Stella took out a map of Sweet Pepper and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which surrounded the town.
John pointed to the area near the VFW Park. “He was off in this area.”
Stella looked at where he pointed. “Not too far from the Loflins’s place. It’s possible he
really saw Hero.”
“That could also mean our thief/arsonist is living in that area,” Walt said.
“Don has everyone on overtime looking for that suspect,” John said. “And thanks for letting him know I’d talked to you about the case, Stella. He stood in my face and yelled for thirty minutes.”
“Sorry. Sometimes he gets to me and I have to fire back.” Stella smiled at him.
“Sometimes?” Walt asked with a laugh. “It seems to me it happens a lot more often than not.”
“Are there any real leads in the case?” Stella questioned John.
“We know he drives a pickup and it’s leaking oil. We have tire tracks—if you want to call bald-tire marks ‘tracks.’ He wears gloves so we don’t have any fingerprints. He chooses his targets carefully. Every place he’s robbed has a well-to-do family living there. The families use services so we’re checking landscapers, plumbers, maids, the usual.”
“What about chimney sweeps?” Eric asked.
Stella asked the question for him.
“Yeah. That new fella Patrick Dorner has worked for most of them. It’s that time of year. The places he hasn’t been, Jack Carriker has been. Why? Is Dorner someone we should be looking at more than the others?”
She told him about Hero’s disappearance right after Patrick had been at the cabin cleaning her chimney.
“I can see why you’d think that,” John said. “But why would Dorner take Hero? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m only trying to piece this together, like you are. Do you know where Patrick lives? I called his cell phone but I can’t get in touch with him.”
John nodded. “I can look into that. He’s staying in a travel trailer over at the campground right outside of town.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Stella glanced up at Eric. “It would make me feel better if there was no sign of a dog being with him.”
“I’ll check it on my way home tonight.”