Firestorm

“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better coming from Mr. Love ’Em And Leave ’Em. I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this.”

Evan grinned. “I am what I am. And since we’re both currently unattached, why don’t you accept my invitation to dinner? We can have some fun.”

At her hesitation, he crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Surely you still don’t hold the window incident against me.”

“What window?” Kitty asked startled, thinking of the glass she’d broken last night. He glanced at the wide picture window beside them. “Oh! Well, of course I do. It was your fault. You called me a city brat and pulled my pigtails. I only tried to defend myself.”

“Yeah, with a big stick.”

“The stick flew out of my hands by accident. You left me to face Sarah all alone.”

“It takes a smart man to know when to retreat.”

“Or a coward!”

“Now, that hurts. As I recall, I was the one in danger.” He laughed and squeezed her hand. “Ah, Kitcat, despite our shaky—or should I say shattering—beginning, we had good times, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.” Kitty sighed. Not many thirteen-year-old boys would’ve paid attention to a skinny, shy eleven-year-old tomboy. Maybe he tolerated her because she was gullible enough to believe the sun rose and set by his adventures, which, unfortunately, landed her in trouble more times than she could count. But no matter the reason for their friendship, she’d cherished every moment. Hanging with Evan had been exciting, and in the process, Kitty learned her way down every back alley and dusty trail in Pine Lake. The knowledge had come in handy numerous times when eluding the sheriff.

“How about this?” Evan asked, glancing at his watch. “Let’s shoot for dinner together sometime this week or whenever you’re free. Call me when you know what your plans are. Deal?”

What could it hurt? Time had patched her cracked heart and made her wiser. “Deal.”

“Great, and while you’re sampling my barbecued steak, I want an interview. If you haven’t heard, I own the Pine Lake Tribune.”

Kitty snorted. “You bought that gossip rag? Why?”

“What can I say? It needed me. Really needed me,” he said with a playful smirk. “I have issues coming out weekly now instead of monthly. And it’s no longer just gossip and recipes. I have serious stories in there, plus, of course, exceptional photographs.”

“McGuire. We need to talk.” Tanner’s tone implied now.

Kitty looked up at Tanner’s flinty expression and extracted her hand from Evan’s as irrational guilt pricked.

“I’ll be at the station in five minutes.” Tanner nodded a greeting at Evan. “Stone.”

Before Evan could reply, Tanner proceeded out the door. After a stunned moment, Kitty stood and slapped some bills on the table. “I’m sorry, but I need to go.”

Evan scowled as Tanner passed the window. “He has some nerve. A flatlander who’s only been here six or seven months but already thinks he owns the town. He speaks and people jump, including you.”

Kitty bristled at his tone. “Hardly. We have an appointment.” She grabbed Evan’s arm and pulled him outside into the pine-drenched air. “Spill. What do you know about him?”

“You interested?” He smirked and nudged her with his elbow.

“Not in the way you mean,” she retorted as Tanner climbed inside his pickup. “It’s strictly business.”

“Right. Business.” He slipped on sunglasses and hid the mischievous glint in his eyes. “Tell you what, I’ll offer a trade.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I already said I’d have dinner with you.”

“Not enough.” He shook his head. “I’ll tell you what I know about Tanner, if you’ll give first dibs on news about the Wildcat Ravine Fire. That’s why you’re here, aren’t you? I heard the rumor the sheriff wants to pin the blame on your dad.”

Her stomach twisted. So, it was common knowledge. “Tanner does, too.”

“I’m not surprised,” he said wryly. “Do we have a deal?”

“All right, just don’t print anything until the investigation’s closed. Johnson would love to throw us in jail just for old time’s sake,” she said as Tanner’s truck rolled around the bend and disappeared. “So what are people saying about the new fire chief?”

“You’re so easy,” he teased, and she slammed her elbow into his ribs. “Ouch. Okay. You know how in this town everyone knows the scoop on people before they’ve even been here a full day? Tanner’s been here for months, and no one knows much about him. Not even me, whose job is to be nosey. But then, we don’t exactly run in the same crowd.”

“In other words, he doesn’t hang out at Harry’s Bar and flirt with girls every night?”

Evan snorted. “You think you know me so well. The girls hit on me these days. What I meant is he has a kid and hangs with the PTA and church crowd. His father’s the pastor of the community church.”

“Oh,” Kitty said, suddenly disgruntled at the thought of Tanner having a wife. She hadn’t noticed a ring on his finger the night before. “I didn’t know he was married.”

“He’s not. Widowed, I think. He’s closed-mouthed about it too, although I can’t blame the man. The hens around town are already setting out traps to snare him for their daughters. I’m not sure, but I think there’s a story there. Something to do with his son. The kid has behavioral problems. Been in detention so many times, he has his own desk.”

“That’s all you got?” Kitty asked with exasperation. “I spent a lot of time in detention too. So did you!”

Evan shrugged. “All I know is that the sheriff was pretty determined to have the town council appoint Tanner as fire chief. Not many people were eager for the position after what happened.” He shot her a contrite look. “Oh… sorry, I didn’t mean to imply your dad didn’t do a great job.”

“He did the best he could,” Kitty said, her face heating. “Thinking he’d resort to arson is ridiculous. What motive would he have?”

“Now see, that’s the big question circulating on the grapevine.” He waited until a couple passed by and entered the café before continuing, “Some say he was furious with the town council for cutting funds to the fire department, and he wanted to prove a point. Others think he dropped one of those awful cigars he always smoked in the wrong place. Oh, and my favorite rumor is the speculation that firemen are closet pyromaniacs just waiting for their chance to—”

“You’ve got to be kidding! Dad didn’t give a hoot what decisions the council made. If the fire department needed something, he found other ways to raise money if he had to. And he respected the environment too much to just drop his cigar butts. Besides, the last time we spoke, he said he’d given them up. As for pyromaniacs posing as firefighters?” She breathed out a disgusted sigh. “Sounds like a bad B movie.”

“Hey, I didn’t say I believed any of it. You asked. I don’t know what evidence they found. The sheriff officially told me to butt out, which means they must have something. That won’t stop me from digging, though. I’ll see if I can get more background on Tanner, and you keep me informed on what you find out about the fire.”

Kitty unlocked the car door and slid onto her seat. “I’ll give you a call, okay?”

“Here, take my card. My cell number is on the back.” The lines on his bronzed forehead deepened. He glanced over his shoulder at the café and leaned closer. “Listen, Kitcat, I wasn’t going to say anything, but you know me, I can’t mind my own business. You dad was a decent guy, but sometimes things aren’t as black and white as they appear. Like with a great photograph, there are layers to everything, depending on what angle you’re looking from.”

“What are you saying?” Kitty asked, outraged. “Do you think my father is guilty?”

“No, of course not, but someone set that fire and…I’m just telling you be careful, okay?” He pushed her door shut and then tapped on the window until she rolled it down. “And keep your guard up around Tanner. My instinct tells me the man’s hiding something.”

The heavy metal door slammed behind Kitty as she strode into Pine Lake’s fire station. She pushed her sunglasses onto her head and blinked until her eyes adjusted to the dusky interior. The large bay appeared deserted. Her boots echoed on the concrete as she followed the path of light to the back office.

“Hello? Tanner?” She stepped around a pile of wet, dirty fire hoses, brushing her shoulder on the side of the nearest fire engine. The sleeve came away black with soot, and the air hung heavy with the acrid scent of smoke.

She glanced up at the truck beds. Someone had packed the engines with fresh hose, but the filthy place was a disgrace to any well-run department and certainly didn’t inspire additional faith in the new fire chief.

“Tanner?” Her voice rang out into the bay. Where was the man? He’d demanded she meet him and then disappeared. She shivered, uneasy being alone in the large, shadowy building, which seemed absurd after spending so much of her youth there.

She reached the office and gasped. The battered gray filing cabinets were open, the drawers empty. She maneuvered around mounds of manila folders and paper. What was going on? If Tanner was trying to hide something, his method worked. Finding anything useful to the investigation would be difficult in this mess.

“Tanner!” she yelled for the third time, but only gurgling from the yellowed coffee machine answered her. She sidled around her father’s hefty desk. The painful knot rose in her throat again. This was the last place she’d seen Sam McGuire alive. The last place they’d spoken face to face. And argued.