Dead Burn
Page 29
Looking down at the rocks below, she saw some of the grisly remains of Angel’s shredded, broken, and burned body.
Not wanting to take her hand away from her leg, she forged on despite of her injury. She sat with her legs dangling over the edge, rolled to her side, scraping her stomach on the cement barrier, and slowly eased her feet down to the closest rock.
A crash blasted above her head. Pieces of embers swirled around in the wind. The burnt stench permeated the air.
A little bit farther… and she touched her feet to the rock. Hanging onto the flat ledge, she used the remaining energy left to hold herself steady, as she shimmied carefully toward safety.
Her weight pulled down hard and her fingers numbed. The rain picked up momentum, but the blaze still burned strong.
Wet from the rain and blood, Emily inched her way to another footing, not knowing what she would find. Her balance wavered. She couldn’t find another solid foothold.
She hung helpless.
This was how her life would end.
The wind picked up in huge gusts.
Emily thought she heard a voice several times.
“Over here!” She yelled. “I’m here!” Her own voice sounded hoarse and weak.
She couldn’t hold on much longer.
A strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.
“Em!” Rick’s voice competed with the wind and sounded hollow. He pulled her close and hugged her. Noticing her condition, he immediately took off his belt and affixed a quick tourniquet. “I think we can make it to the staircase and get out from there.”
Her pain intensified, but her relief was even greater. Rick was alive. He had minor scrapes and abrasions, but he was in one piece.
“Angel’s dead?” He asked.
“Yes…” Emily replied. “But I don’t think I can climb anymore.” Her words were lost in the wind.
“If we can beat the fire to the other side, you won’t have to…” He grabbed her hand firmly and they climbed to the base of the house.
The supports of the deck above rattled and creaked with an ugly sound.
With just a little distance to go, Emily and Rick moved closer to what remained of the house.
An unexpected burst of heat encircled them.
Emily’s chest felt tight, restricting her breaths. Her footing slipped on the second narrow ledge. She knew one of her next steps would prove fatal.
The wind whistled underneath the deck supports creating a fun house effect.
Rick kicked numerous times at the bottom side of the wooden staircase, which was still intact. He took out a couple of the lower steps, so they could climb through to safety.
The heavy rain slowed the fire’s progress.
A splintering commotion overrode the blustery wind and fire. The deck above crumbled, slowly at first, and then it balanced precariously.
Rick looked toward Emily in horror.
He moved quickly to pull her to safety, when the patio deck plummeted. Part of lumber and supports hit Rick and slammed him to the ground.
Emily shielded her face as the noise of the crash caused her momentary deafness.
Half of the deck hit the ground at a forty-five degree angle, leaving a makeshift shelter. She inched her way to Rick, he lay partially on his side, not moving. His arm bent in an awkward position, no doubt broken.
“Rick!” She cried.
All of her emotions rose to the surface and tumbled out. She wanted to cry and laugh, vent her anger, but didn’t know which one to emote first.
She rolled him carefully onto his back. He was alive and semi-conscious, blood and mud encrusted his shirt, face, and arms. He mumbled some incoherent words as he came around.
“C’mon Rick, you have to help me. Get up, we’ve got to get out of here now.” Breathlessly, she said. “It’s only a little bit farther.”
Emily sat him up and pulled him to his feet. Her leg felt strangely dead and she couldn’t feel the ground beneath her feet. Her main concern was Rick. With his good arm around her neck and shoulder, they managed to clumsily climb through the open steps, and stagger down to the path leading to the driveway.
Concentrating intently on getting to safety, Emily didn’t hear the sirens of fire trucks and paramedics approach through the deafening thunder and heavy downpour.
They fell several times, hurrying toward the road. Each tumble sent a new debilitating pain throughout her body. They pushed through the gate to safety.
Once they reached the road, she collapsed onto the street still holding onto Rick. Emily couldn’t remember if she cried aloud, or if it was in her own mind. She had left a part of herself back inside the house; her psyche now built a wall against the rage and war of killers. Something had changed inside her.
She looked at Rick who seemed more alert, but in extreme pain. Her world seemed to make less sense than ever before, as they lay on the quiet street, bleeding, burned, and partially broken in the pouring rain.
The fire had lost some of its earlier wrath, but the dense smoke continued to fill the air. The intense heat mixed with the humidity made peculiar clouds drift around the property.
The large emergency vehicles arrived. Men hurried to their duties, hoses were hooked up, and water immediately blasted into the smoldering structure.
Two firefighters and two paramedics came to their aid. They quickly assessed the couple’s injuries.
Emily was loaded onto a gurney as they tended to her leg. She closed her eyes. Exhaustion riddled her body and her mind drifted off.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Two Weeks Later
The gentle waves lapped up along the beach, moving the sand back and forth. The coastal sounds were hypnotic and the warm sun equally inviting.
A green tennis ball glided down the beach and bounced once. Sarge ran effortlessly along the coastline, wet from the waves, snapped up the ball in a full run, turned, and proudly galloped back to Rick.
The large dog dropped the wet ball at his feet.
Rick used the long plastic launcher to snatch up the ball. He hurled it again. His left arm in a sling, abrasions visible on his arms and face, but were well on their way in the healing process. He laughed as the wet Labrador skidded in the sand.
Emily walked with Jordan in the opposite direction. She still limped slightly from her injury, but her abrasions, minor burns, and lacerations marking her hands and arms had already begun to repair. However, her emotional trauma would mend at a slower rate.
“I still can’t believe that you managed to scare the crap out of me twice in one month.” Jordan said matter of fact. “And you closed a difficult serial case.”
“Well, I’ve learned my lesson. I will always wear my pendant from now on.” She smiled and touched the necklace around her neck. She looked at him seriously. “Thank you Jordan for erasing the contract on me. You gave me my life back. Well… at least my way of life.”
Jordan changed the subject and gestured to her leg. “No chance that you’d remove that bandage and let me count the stitches?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t think so.”
The sun lit Emily’s face, showed off her amber eyes, and the subtle scar she wore like a badge of honor on her cheek.
Emily stopped and faced him. “So what’s on your mind Jordan? You have been different since the fire.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think.”
“Sounds serious. Think about what?”
Emily was intrigued and hoped that he still wasn’t hurt about their kiss. She had never seen Jordan so serious for so long before.
“My life has been… let’s just say in a holding pattern and I need to figure out where to go to from here.”
“You going back to work for the F.B.I.?”
“Hell no!” He flashed his smile.
“Then what?”
“I’m going to be gone for a while. I have a friend up north near Red Bluff .”
“What’s her name?” Emily teased.
“Oh.”
“Very funny.” He made a face at her. “It’s my old college roommate. He needs some help remodeling his cabin, and I thought it would be good for me to take a break and gain some perspective for a while. It’s quiet. The fishing is good.”
Emily laughed. “I can’t picture you fly fishing…”
“Hey, if I can hunt serial killers, I think I can throw a line into the water and catch a fish.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
Emily stared at Jordan for several moments.
Emptiness filled her. She knew that he would not always be there to help. She cared about him and considered him a good friend. It would be strange not having him around, and not being able to run criminal profiles by him on a whim.
Jordan looked uncomfortable. “You can always send me any profile or photographic evidence. If you really need me, I’m only a few hours away.”
“Okay.”
“Just promise me to be careful. Send me a text every Wednesday and Saturday, so I know you’re okay.”
“Yes sir, will do.” She forced a smile.
“Good. I’m off to pack.” He stood awkwardly and hesitated.
Emily leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll miss you. We both will.”
“I think Rick could live without me.”
Emily turned to leave. She didn’t want Jordan to see that her eyes welled up with tears. “Yeah maybe, but Sarge will sure miss you. Take good care of yourself Jordan.”
Emily turned and walked back to Rick and Sarge. She didn’t know how long Jordan watched her, but now she felt, more than ever, that things seemed to be slipping away and out of her control.
She caught up to Rick and placed her arm around his waist.
“Everything okay?” He asked.
“Yeah, he’s just leaving for a while.”
“Oh.” Rick threw the ball into the water.
The dog happily chased the ball, swimming in circles until he latched onto it, and began his run back. “And how are we?” He asked.
Emily smiled, leaned in, and gave him a long lingering kiss.
She said. “Better than okay.”
THE END
More books by Jennifer Chase:
Emily Stone Series:
Compulsion
Dead Game
Dark Mind
Novels:
Silent Partner
Non Fiction:
How to Write a Screenplay
Short Stories:
First Watch
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