Firestorm
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.
Files had fallen behind the chair. She squatted and examined the headings. Her father’s bold handwriting labeled some. The two desk drawers hung ajar. She tugged open the bottom where her father used to store his small, spiral-bound notebooks containing records of his activities, mileage and, most important, notes on daily events. Empty.
She pulled on the top desk drawer, but the railing caught. She yanked harder and something fell with a clunk to the drawer below. She lifted out a gray rock embedded with sparkling minerals.
Fool’s gold. She smiled as she rubbed the gold flakes between her fingers. Her father used to take her up to the waterfall and let her pick out pretty specimens to add to their rock and mineral collection at the cabin. Somehow, this specimen must’ve gotten wedged in between the drawers.
She stood up and smacked into someone behind her. “Oh, sorry.” She spun awkwardly and her boots slid on the discarded files. Steely arms caught her as she stumbled, her cheek landing against a white shirt.
“We really do need to stop meeting like this,” Tanner murmured into her hair, his arms tightening around her.
THREE
Kitty shoved Tanner away, her heart pounding. “Do you always sneak up on people, or is it just me you enjoy scaring?”
Tanner’s amused expression vanished. “Excuse me, but this is my office. If anyone was sneaking, it was you.” He glanced at her fist. “Trying to steal something?”
“What?” Kitty’s mind whirled. His musky aftershave was playing havoc with her already strung-out nerves, but what befuddled her most was that she’d liked being in Tanner’s arms.
“What’s in your hand?”
“Oh.” She uncurled her fingers. “Fool’s gold. And I wasn’t stealing it. There’s tons of this useless stuff around here. You want it?” She tossed the rock to Tanner. “This probably came from my dad’s collection. He had a special liking for pyrite.”
He examined the specimen and handed it back. “Keep it.”
“Thanks.” Kitty shoved pyrite in her back pocket. “Too bad it’s not real gold.”
“I hear there are still gold mines in the mountains. My father likes to research local history.”
“Most of the mines have been abandoned. My great-great-uncle owned a small claim during the gold rush but never made much progress. Dad said the tunnel eventually collapsed.” She glanced around the office. “Why is everything on the floor?”
He cocked a hip on the desk, blocking the exit. “I thought maybe you could tell me.”
The implication of his words hit her, and she sucked in a deep breath. “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“You still have a key, don’t you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She lifted her palms toward the ceiling. “But anyone in the department could get in here.”
“Johnson said you had a temper. Smashed the window at the café.”
“I was eleven. Give me a break. Besides, whoever opened these cabinets must’ve used a crowbar. If I had a key, why would I bother?” She shoved a drawer shut with her knee.
“Don’t touch anything.”
“If the sheriff’s going to look for fingerprints, he already has a copy of mine and no, you don’t need to know why. For the record, Mr. Fire Chief, I stayed in the cabin all night.” Kitty wrapped her arms over her chest. “You seriously don’t think I’d vandalize the office.”
Tanner’s dark eyes studied her, and then he sighed. “It crossed my mind, but no, I don’t. What were you looking for?”
“Just my dad’s personal items from the desk. I know I should’ve picked the stuff up after the funeral, but I had to get back to work.”
“You should’ve asked permission first. This is an open criminal investigation. You have no right being in here, especially without my permission.”
“You invited me, remember?” She mentally counted to ten. “But you’re right. I could’ve waited until you returned.” She forced a bright smile. “Last night you said I could see the evidence you’d found.”
“Nice try, but as I recall, I said you could stop by and answer some questions before you headed for home.”
Kitty leaned toward him, still smiling. “Read my lips, Tanner. I’m not leaving until you drop the case against my dad. You’re stuck with me, so get used to it.”
He studied her for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Was your dad as stubborn as you?”
“More.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Tanner muttered, moving to the valley wall map. “I consulted with Sheriff Johnson this morning, and he agreed you might provide some useful insight. Think you can handle being objective?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m Sam’s daughter, bred and trained to be tough.”
He looked unconvinced but proceeded. “Let’s get to it then. I have a lot of work today.” He tapped the map. “As you know, Wildcat Ravine is where the fire started. Your father’s truck was found here in the parking area, singed but luckily not burned. We found kerosene traces in the cargo area.”
“So?” Kitty moved closer so she could see. “That’s not unusual. My father ran a furnace business. People still use kerosene lamps and heaters in the more remote areas. Sometimes he made deliveries while out doing surveillance.”
“We found a canister tossed in the woods.”
“Where, exactly?”
“Top of the falls.” He pointed to the spot where someone had shoved a pushpin.
“Any fingerprints?”
He shook his head. “Burned off.”
“Anyone could’ve left a canister. It might’ve been there before the fire. The Bronco is a department vehicle and used by other personnel.”
“But not everyone smokes cigars.”
Kitty’s stomach clenched, remembering what Evan had mentioned about her dad being careless. “Again, it could’ve been someone else. He was giving up cigars.”
“Apparently not soon enough. DNA from the saliva on the butt matches his. The cigar had fallen among the rocks, near where he….”
“Fell.” She swallowed hard. “But the cigar could’ve been dropped there another time. Wildcat Ravine was a favorite place of his, yet another reason he wouldn’t have started a fire. If he saw smoke he’d go to investigate.”
“No one knew he was up there. There’s no record he called the fire in.”
“Maybe he didn’t have a chance to,” Kitty said with a sinking feeling as she remembered Tanner’s words from the previous evening. The only logical explanation would be that he was up there before the fire started. But…why hadn’t he called in the report on his radio?
She shook off the first tentacles of doubt and crossed her arms. “You don’t have much of a case. There are no witnesses and the cigar is circumstantial evidence. What aren’t you telling me?”
Tanner turned from the map, his gaze meeting hers. “Did your father ever mention belonging to an organization called SOLO?”
“Sounds vaguely familiar. What’s it stand for?”
“Save Our Land Organization. Started as conservational group, but some of its extremist wackos decided the political channels were too bogged down and took matters into their own hands.”
“Go on,” she urged when he grew silent.
“In Colorado last summer, the federal government approved a petition to allow developers to build two new ski resorts in a protected area. When it comes to national forests, the government is allowed to trade acreage across the country as long as the total amount of protected acreage remains the same.” There was sharp edge to his voice. “The Colorado project was well under way when a fire swept through and burned everything to the ground. When they started building again, another fire was set. They caught a couple of the perps, but the leaders are still at large.”
Kitty perched on the desk’s edge and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms. “I remember the fires. Several firefighters died, but I don’t recall any talk about SOLO. Where’d you get your information?”
“I have my sources. The FBI is still investigating, so the media has been kept out of it,” Tanner said. “People touted the Colorado town as the new Aspen, and the ski resorts would’ve brought in a thousand jobs. But after the fires, the developers moved to a less risky area.”
“So now you think this group may have come here because the town is planning to expand the ski resort onto government land? Then, why suspect my father?” Another sickening thud hit her stomach. “You think he’s a SOLO extremist? That’s insane. He may have joined the organization to support their conservation efforts, like I’m sure many people have, but he’d never support the radical fringe.” She groaned in frustration. “Their whole purpose doesn’t make sense. Burn down the forest—kill trees and wildlife so people can’t develop the land? Crazy!”
“Common sense doesn’t stop people like them.” He reached into his back pocket and withdrew a creased index card. “Did your father ever mention any of these individuals?”
She scanned the list. “I recognize some, but I can’t believe any of these guys would be involved. My dad knew almost everyone in Pine Lake. Sure, he opposed the new ski resort in the beginning, but mainly because the runs were expanding into an area he cared about. But he’d never put his own personal beliefs above people’s safety.” She ran her finger over the section of the map where the hotel once stood. “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe in data, and right now the facts conflict.”
Kitty pushed off the desk. “You want data? Fine. Let’s get started then. There must be a clue somewhere in this mess.” She wiped her cold hands on her jeans and scrutinized the piles of paper. “We have a lot to do.”
“We?” He barked out a short, derisive laugh. “I’m sorry, there is no ‘we.’ The sheriff and I are still following up leads. I know it’s hard, but you’re just going to have to trust us to do our jobs.” His tone softened. “Why don’t you just go home to L.A., and I’ll be in touch with you in a couple days.”
She gazed out the window at the giant oak tree her father had refused to cut down to widen the parking area. It would be a relief to leave Pine Lake, but what would she tell her grandmother if they continued to believe her father was an arsonist? Kitty didn’t trust Tanner or Sheriff Johnson to be as thorough as she.
“I’m going to stick around for a while.”
Tanner frowned but didn’t appear surprised. “Well, I can’t force you to leave.” He moved toward the door. “Just be careful.”
“You’re the second person to tell me that today. Do you think I might be in danger?”
“Don’t you find it strange someone would call you about the case against your dad without identifying himself?”
“From this town? Are you kidding?” She laughed. “No offense, but an isolated place like this can attract odd people. You ask the Pine Lake residents why they moved to seven thousand feet where jobs are scarce and the nearest shopping mall is more than a hundred miles away, and you’ll get as many different answers as there are acorns in the oak tree out there.” She nodded meaningfully. “It takes effort to want to survive up here. A lot don’t stick it out through the first winter.”
Kitty scrutinized Tanner’s strong profile as he straightened a stack on his desk. She didn’t have any doubt that if this man wanted to stay in Pine Lake, he’d make it work. What was his story? Was he running away from something too?
“Just the same, watch your step. Don’t give the sheriff a reason to nail you for obstructing justice.”
Kitty grimaced. “Don’t worry, he’s not someone I want to spend time with.” She ran her palm over the scarred desk. “I have a question. Do you know if the stuff in this desk was moved before last night?”
“Whatever wasn’t confiscated as possible evidence is in my garage.” Tanner glanced at his watch. “I didn’t see anything valuable. Mostly paperwork. Letters, newspaper clippings, stuff like that. Why?”
Kitty chewed on her lower lip, debating whether to mention the notebooks, but she really wanted to read them before the sheriff and Tanner did. She shrugged. “You never know what might be useful.”
“I’ll get the boxes for you this afternoon.” He glanced at his watch. “Now, if we’re finished, I have to get to work.”
Kitty hesitated by the dusty window as Tanner’s footsteps faded into the bay. Near her Jeep, a pair of Steller’s jays squabbled over a bug on the concrete. The wind shook the tree branches, and with a burst of dark-blue feathers, the birds flashed by and disappeared.
She sighed, a restless yearning filling her heart. Much as she enjoyed her fast-paced life in Los Angeles, she missed the wild beauty of the Sierras. The sound of the wind in the trees instead of the bustle of traffic. Wildlife consisting of animals rather than human predators on the streets. And sweet air she could breathe with carefree abandon and not have to check the smog levels on the morning news. Not that she’d ever consider moving back. Not after the way they’d treated her. Too many narrow-minded people, some supposedly Christians, who’d snubbed her because of her sullenness and her poor choice of friends.
Maybe she’d deserved their criticism. She’d been confused and hurt after her mother had dumped her in Pine Lake with a father she barely knew. She’d lashed out at her anger and frustration by running wild with the wrong crowd for a few years.
But weren’t Christians supposed to forgive? Ten years spent living in Pine Lake and she’d felt like an outsider. Now, some of the same people were trying to smear her father’s name. But they hadn’t bested him in life, and she wouldn’t let them succeed after his death.
With renewed determination, she marched into the garage. Tanner was dragging a fire hose across the floor to fold the length in half, a tedious routine she knew well. Fire hoses needed to be cleaned, dried and put away after each use.
She trotted to the opposite end, knelt and snapped the upper hose so it stayed aligned with the lower half as Tanner rolled it into a coil larger than a bicycle wheel.
“Thanks,” he grunted. His shoulder bumped hers as the coil reached the brass fittings. He heaved the bundle onto a rack against the wall.
“This place needs a good scrubbing,” she said and grabbed another hose from the pile on the floor.
“We’re short-handed, and two structure fires last week didn’t give us much time to clean up.”
They continued to work in silence. Kitty’s mind wandered. How long ago had Tanner’s wife died? On their last day together, had Luke told his wife he loved her? Or did they part on angry words like she and her father?
She tugged her cell phone from her pocket. No messages. Not even a call from Nana. She glanced at Tanner. Did he ever feel lonely? Probably not, because his son and a father lived with him.
She steered her attention back to the chaos. However competent Tanner might’ve been on past jobs, obviously he was in over his head here.
“You need me.” Her voice echoed off the metal walls. She sat back on her heels, stunned she’d spoken that aloud.
Tanner looked up from examining a dent in a brass coupling. “Excuse me?”
Kitty’s cheeks warmed. “I mean, you could use some assistance.” She sprang to her feet and pushed open the tall bay doors. Sunlight streamed in, exposing even more mud on the floor.
“You need someone to sort through the mess in the office and clean out here. I’m a trained firefighter, so you might as well put me to use.”
“I can’t just let anyone handle those papers. There’s confidential medical information in there.”
She held up a hand. “Don’t worry—I worked here. Because I was just a paid-call employee, I bet Dad never removed me from the books. You can check, assuming you can find the personnel files. I’m legit.”
She yanked on a skinny water hose dangling from a pipe in the ceiling. She aimed the nozzle at the muddy concrete. The water stream hit a puddle of motor oil, and Tanner jumped before it splashed onto his boots and jeans.
“Sorry, but please pay attention.” Kitty released the handle. “Admit it, what I said makes sense. We can help each other.”
“Maybe I don’t want your help.”
She shrugged with indifference even though her pulse raced. “You might as well let me try. Otherwise, I’ll just have to tag around after you until I get what I need.”
“That’s harassment,” he said harshly, but the corners of his mouth twitched.
“Maybe.” She shrugged again and focused on washing ash and sludge off a long, beige hose. After several minutes passed, she blew out an impatient breath, ruffling her bangs. “Well?”
She turned and found herself alone. “Tanner?”
“I guess we could work out something.”