by Radclyffe
“Yeah,” Peterson agreed. “A wood building like that, there’s no way to stop it. This is a containment exercise, nothing more.”
“We’ll need the fire marshal’s report,” Reese pointed out. Fires in empty buildings were always considered suspect, and an automatic investigation was required. Although arson was, strictly speaking, the province of the fire department, it was also her jurisdiction because vandalism or vagrancy or malicious behavior might be involved.
“It’ll take until tomorrow for the heat to die down enough to comb through the place and probably a couple of days to analyze the forensics, but I’ll send along whatever we find as soon as we get it.”
“Good enough.” Reese turned her attention to Nelson. “We’ll need to keep someone from the night shift overtime for a few hours to handle traffic around this place. I’ll give Smith a call.”
“He’s back there on 6. Go ahead and tell him.”
“Roger.”
“Oh, and Reese?”
“Chief?”
“The new kid is waiting back at the station.”
She studied his face but couldn’t read a thing in it. “I’ll head back as soon as I talk to Smith, then.”
“Good.”
*
Within an hour, the fire was out, and all that remained was the cleanup. Reese headed back to the office. When she walked in, the newest member of the department was leaning against the corner of her desk. Reese pushed through the wooden gate and extended her hand to the young cadet in the pristine uniform.
“Officer Parker, welcome aboard.”
“Thank you, Sheriff.” Bri grinned fleetingly and then straightened. “I would have notified you when I got here, but you were already out on a call.”
“No problem. Come on, let’s take a ride through town, and we’ll talk about the game plan.”
When they settled into the car, Reese turned to Bri. “Have you seen your dad?”
“Just for a minute. He told me that my training officer would be along shortly.”
“You know, he needs to distance himself a little bit from your training so that there won’t be any question of prejudice in your evaluations.”
“I know that,” Bri said steadily, keeping her eyes forward. Plus he didn’t seem too keen for me to be here. I guess he still thinks I made a mistake leaving…New York.
She couldn’t think about the fact that she hadn’t talked to Caroline in over a month. Once she’d finally gotten over some of her anger and embarrassment over storming out and worked up the nerve to call her, all she ever got was the answering machine. Eventually, she’d just left a message reminding Caroline of the party this coming Friday and left directions, just in case. Yeah, sure. You know she’s not coming.
“You know,” Reese said, wondering about the distant expression on Bri’s face, “some people will still question the fact that I’m your training officer, because they know we’re friends.”
Bri stared at her, clearly surprised. “No way will anyone question you.”
“Well,” Reese worked not to smile, “we’ll still need to cross all our t’s and dot all our i’s.”
“Yes, ma’am. I understand.” Bri’s voice was firm. “That’s the way I want it, Sheriff.”
“Good. Then let’s go to work.”
Reese pulled the patrol car to the side of the road across from the smoldering ruins of the Moorings restaurant.
“Whoa,” Bri exclaimed.
“Take a look at this scene.” Reese led them across the street to the rubble-strewn parking lot. “Then tell me what you want to know about it.”
Bri looked around for a second and then began confidently to ask questions. Reese nodded in satisfaction as Bri succinctly elicited the vital information regarding time, circumstances of the call reporting the fire, initial impressions of the fire captain, nature of reported injuries, and other basic data from her.
“Good. You can write all that up when we get back to the station.” Reese was in her training mode, and they slowly circled the perimeter, each of them silently studying the scene. “How would you approach the investigation?”
Bri took her time, and when she spoke, she sounded thoughtful but steady. “First, we’ll need the fire marshal’s report as to whether this was accidental or incendiary.”
“Fire by natural causes or intentional,” Reese clarified. “Accident or arson.”
“Right.”
“What do you think the fire marshal is going to tell us?”
Bri squinted at the smoldering remains. “This place has been closed since last summer. As I recall, one of the big resort consortiums has been trying to buy it to build a timeshare here. The land is worth a lot, but the restaurant building had seen better days.”
“Uh-huh.” Reese realized what a benefit it was for officers to have a history with the community that they policed. She was still a relative newcomer, but after three years, she knew a great deal about the inner workings of the tiny town and its inhabitants. Bri, though, had an advantage that Reese would never be able to match. She had spent all of her life in the midst of these people, and her history was their history.
“Since the restaurant hasn’t been functioning in months, it’s doubtful that any of the power was on, which lets out electrical origins. Same for the gas.” Bri stopped walking and put her hands in her pockets, a gesture that unconsciously mimicked Reese’s stance. “No storms lately, so it wasn’t lightning. I’d say this is going to be ruled incendiary in nature.”
“The fire was man-made, you think?”
“Yes.” She didn’t waver in her response.
“But it’s not necessarily arson.” At Bri’s questioning look, Reese continued, “An abandoned building like this would be a good place for vagrants to camp, and an untended fire could certainly have started this. Incendiary and accidental.”
“Right.” Bri was enthused, captured by the excitement of having a real case to work at last. “So, we need to ask around town and find out if anybody has any info on vagrants—especially where they might be congregating. Could be kids, too.” At Reese’s raised eyebrow, she blushed. “Uh, when I was…uh…younger, you know…we’d get together in abandoned buildings to…get together.”
“Okay, good thought.” Reese clapped Bri on the shoulder approvingly while she sighed inwardly. She still had so much to learn about that period of life, which she seemed to have skipped over. Then it suddenly occurred to her that in not too many years, it could be her child partying in firetraps like this. Her stomach flipped. “Christ.”
“Ma’am?”
“Nothing,” Reese said briskly. “We’ve got several lines of questioning to pursue while we wait for the fire marshal. Let’s get started, Officer.”
*
Tory followed the scent of barbecue up the driveway toward the rear of her home. She was surprised to hear the soft murmur of voices and tried to recall if they had made plans with anyone for dinner. She hoped not, because she was beat. But her spirits lifted as she mounted the stairs and saw their visitor.
“Bri!” she cried in surprise. Reese and Bri were both in jeans and T-shirts, and a more attractive pair Tory didn’t think she had ever seen. Both of them grinned as she joined them. She paused to kiss Reese before giving Bri a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I forgot to tell you that Bri was starting her field training today.” Reese offered a contrite shrug.
“That’s terrific.” Tory smiled and tried to hide her weariness. “I’m going inside to change. I’ll be right back.”
“She looks great,” Bri commented as she popped open a beer.
“Yeah,” Reese said absently as she followed her lover with her eyes. And she looks worn out. This new guy can’t start too soon for me.
When Tory returned a few moments later, Reese and Bri set the outside table and piled chicken from the grill onto paper plates. She grabbed a club soda and sat down with a grateful sigh. Jed lay beside her, a hopeful expression in his eyes.
“God, this looks good.” After helping herself to salad and chicken, Tory turned to Bri. “Where will you be living? With Nelson?”
Bri blushed. “Uh, I’m not sure yet.”
“So where are you staying now?”
“Well, most of my stuff is still in Barnstable. I moved out of the apartment I was sharing this morning and stowed my gear at school. I was going to go up this Friday after work and move it down Saturday.” Bri glanced at Reese. “If I can take the morning off? I know it’s Memorial Day weekend, but classes just finished and I didn’t have ti—”
“It’s fine,” Reese said. “I’d rather you work nights Saturday and Sunday anyhow. More going on. You need help moving?”
“Nah. I don’t have all that much.”
“Give a holler if you do.”
“I guess you and Caroline will want an apartment for the summer,” Tory said as she reached for more salad. “Now is probably a good time to get one.”
“Carre’s not coming home.” Bri stared at her plate.
“How come?” Reese interjected.
“She has a job in New York.”
Tory studied Bri’s profile, noting the tight line of her jaw. “That’s hard.”
“Yeah, well…” Bri cleared her throat. “It’s a real good deal for her.”
“You can bunk here for a while if you need to.” Reese glanced at Tory, who nodded silently. “Although I’m sure Nelson would like you to stay at home.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Bri shrugged. “I don’t think Dad and I are ready to be living together right now.”
“No problem.” Reese stood and stacked some of the plates. “I’m going to take these inside and make coffee. Be back in a few minutes.”
“How is Caroline doing?” Tory asked gently, sensing Bri’s discomfort.
“Good.” Bri sat with head lowered, her hands in fists on her thighs. “She’s good. She got a scholarship to study in France next year.”
“Why, that’s wonderful. The works of hers I’ve seen are very good.”
Bri nodded her head, then reached for her fork and turned it aimlessly on the table. “Yeah, she’s terrific. It will be good for her…this next year.”
“How long have you two been together? Three years?”
“Four.” Bri’s voice was barely a whisper.
“It’ll take some getting used to—living apart,” Tory ventured softly.
“I…” Bri looked away. I can’t get used to it. I don’t know how to.
Tory had never seen Bri look so vulnerable, not even in the hospital after she had been viciously beaten. Bri had been so heartbreakingly strong then, mostly because she’d probably thought Caroline needed her to be. Tory smiled, remembering the fierce look on Caroline’s face when she’d stormed into the clinic, insisting that she be allowed to see Bri.
Tory forcefully interrupted Caroline’s headlong dash down the hall.
“Wait a minute,” Tory soothed, holding the struggling young woman. “It might be better if you see Bri tomorrow, Caroline. It’ll be hard to see her like this.”
Caroline fixed Tory with a contemptuous glare. “You’re just like all the rest. You think just because we’re young that our feelings don’t matter. Last night right about now, she was making love to me. Do you think that doesn’t matter either?”
“That’s not what I meant, Caroline. I know you care about her.”
“Care about her?” she said coldly. “What if it were Reese in there, Dr. King? Just how long would you wait out here in the hall?”
Tory stared at her, knowing that it could easily be Reese under other circumstances. Just the thought made her ill.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Tory said softly. “Nothing on earth would keep me away.”
She watched the pretty young blond, who now seemed so much older than her years, resolutely push through the doors to her lover.
Hearing the uncertainty in Bri’s voice now, Tory realized that all of them, including her, had always assumed that Bri was the stronger of the pair. Probably because she looked it, with her swaggering charm and bold good looks. Appearances. God, how we let them deceive us. You don’t know how strong Caroline really is, do you, my beautiful young one?
“You know,” Tory said tenderly, “it will probably be even harder for Caroline, being away from you and in a strange new country.”
Bri finally looked at her, a question in her eyes. “You think? It just seems like it would all be so…exciting, that she might…forget.”
Lightly, Tory rested her fingers on Bri’s arm. “No, sweetie, I don’t think that will happen.”
That slight, affectionate touch and the voice, soft with caring, sliced through the tenuous threads of Bri’s resolve. She was so scared most of the time and so lost. It had all seemed so clear just a few months before. Now Caroline was gone…Oh, that can’t be. Not really.
Suddenly, Bri stood and walked rapidly to the rail. She held on to the wood, polished smooth by hundreds of hands, so tightly that her arms ached—trying to get her breath, waiting until she could speak around the tears crowding her throat. Eventually, in a voice held tightly in check, she said, “Reese showed me the baby pictures.”
“Did she?” Tory’s own throat was suddenly tight. Oh, Bri. Baby, what is it?
“Yeah. It’s so neat. I’m…happy for you.”
Tory couldn’t help herself when she heard the tears in the wistful tone. She crossed the deck, turned Bri around with her hands on her shoulders, and enfolded the young woman in a hug. Brushing her cheek against Bri’s, she whispered. “Thank you, sweetie.”
For a fleeting second, as Bri surrendered in Tory’s arms, nothing hurt at all.
Chapter Twelve
It was almost ten o’clock Friday night when Bri reached the Breakers, a shoreside restaurant and bar in Barnstable where the party for the recent sheriff academy graduates was being held. Technically, she and her classmates were not graduates; they were on probationary status until completion of their field training. Nevertheless, she was wearing a uniform and carrying a gun and doing what she had always dreamed of doing. It would have been perfect if only Caroline were there to celebrate with her.
She sat for a moment in the parking lot, a long leg down on either side of her motorcycle. The lot was crowded with an odd assortment of jalopies and shiny new luxury cars. She pulled off her helmet and rested it on the bike’s gas tank, her hands spread on either side of the smooth round surface. Fleetingly, she thought of the last time she and Caroline had been together, and she thought not of fighting but of making love.
No one but Caroline had ever touched her intimately, and it seemed as if no one ever would be able to touch her the way she did. Caroline could make her so excited with just a look that she thought sometimes she’d come in her jeans, and yet when they made love, she felt—more than anything else in the world—safe. At first, it had embarrassed her to realize how much she needed Caroline to make her feel that way. Then, as the weeks had become months and then years, she had gotten used to the feeling, barely noticing that it was Caroline and her love that held her world together.
Without her now, it seemed as if everything was unraveling. They fought more than they ever had, and Bri didn’t know how to make it right. The longer they were apart, the harder it seemed to be to get close again. They hadn’t seen each other in too many weeks, and during the increasingly rare phone calls, they were both tense and awkward.
Fuck, this isn’t going to do anybody any good. What I need is just to forget about it for a while.
Nevertheless, the first thing Bri did when she walked through the door into the big room crowded with classmates, academy staff, recent graduates, and the usual locals was to look for Caroline. After a minute or two of fruitless searching, she admitted what she had known all along. Caroline was not there.
“Looking for someone, Bri?” The honey-smooth voice was instantly recognizable.
Bri turned with a resigned smile to
Allie. “Not anymore, it looks like.”
“Well, glad to hear it,” Allie replied, her tone clearly surprised. She tilted her head and studied the faint shadows beneath Bri’s eyes. “Did you work today?”
“Uh-huh. Second day. How about you?”
“Me, too. Directing traffic in Town Center. Thrilling.” She laughed and took Bri’s hand. “Come on, follow me.”
Bri let herself be led through the crowd that milled about in the center of the floor, taking care not to be sloshed by the drinks of the already rowdy revelers. A few people called her name, and she yelled hello in passing.
Allie took her out onto the back deck, which was nothing more than a wooden platform in the sand. The area was dimly lit and almost as crowded as inside the bar, but the noise level was lower. Although there wasn’t much to see, the air was clearer outside, and the sound of the surf rumbled not far away.
When Allie stopped, Bri asked, “What’s up?”
“Got something for you.” Allie bent down, dug around in an ice-filled chest, and came up with a beer. She handed it to Bri. “This is the unofficial drinking area for the underage graduates. Technically, we are not in the bar.”
“I believe that would be a very loose interpretation of the law, Officer.” Bri laughed and took a long swallow. It felt good after the dusty drive, and it felt even better not to be thinking about anything at all.
“It’s kind of understood that those of us who aren’t quite legal can partake out here—just for the party.” Allie helped herself to a beer as well. “It’s great to be done with the classroom stuff, don’t you think? They’re so shorthanded where I am, they don’t even treat me like a recruit. I’m on regular rotation with the other officers.”
“So you’re in Wellfleet for this summer?” Bri took another long pull on her bottle.
“Yeah.” Allie grinned. “Fifteen miles from you.”
“Some coincidence, huh?”
Allie moved a little closer as the crowd grew denser, her arm brushing Bri’s. “You know what they said in Criminal Investigations. There are no coincidences.”