had been taken care of. She was certain he had a running head count going in his mind. She didn’t want to interrupt it.
His face was smudged with soot. Apparently he had wiped it a few times, probably to get rid of sweat. The gear he wore was heavy and hot, at least fifty pounds as he was dressed now, more in full paraphernalia. She had worn it and hated it even though her life depended on it.
At last a firefighter came out of the house. “Clear,” he called. The second truck, which had been hosing the adjacent structure, was already pulling away. The fire rescue ambulance had departed a while ago.
It was then the chief noticed her. His gray eyes slid over her from top to toe. “Who are you?” he asked bluntly.
“Charity Atkins, Chief. We had a meeting.”
He shook his head a little. “Wayne Camden, and the meeting has to wait a little while.”
“Of course.” She didn’t even try for a smile. She held out a card. He looked at it, pulling off one of his huge gloves to take it.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Be sure the family gets it. My company insures this property, too. What happened?”
He had fully placed her now, his mind leaping from the all-important mess in front of him to her purpose in being here. “You’re the arson investigator about the Buell fire.”
“Yes.”
“Well, this wasn’t arson. Looks as if a grease fire started on the stove and was mishandled. The woman’s burned. Her husband’s out of town. You’ll have to wait to get your answers.”
“I don’t want answers. I just want them to know I’ll have an adjuster out here tomorrow if possible. We’ll cover alternate accommodations.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I need to finish up here. You can wait for me at the station, unless there’s something else you want to do.”
“I’ll see you there.” She returned to her car and called her company to give the family a head start on their coverage.
* * *
Randy Dinkum loved fires. He always had, even though it was a relief to open that damned turnout coat and feel cool air on his skin again. As he closed the last panel on the fire truck and got ready to board for the ride back to the station, he looked one more time at the house. Tragic now, but no one had died. Poor woman was a mess, though. He might love fire, but he hated it, too.
He wanted to pat his own back for how well they’d handled the whole thing. It hadn’t spread to neighboring houses, although that was always a huge risk in town, what with all these old buildings so close together. Dried out by the years, their frames and siding were practically tinder.
Kind of surprising they hadn’t lost the whole house. The interior was wasted, but a contractor should be able to fix that.
“Great job,” said the chief, clapping his shoulder briefly before moving on to the next fireman.
Randy beamed, then pulled himself up onto the truck. A few seconds later, Jeff Corner hopped up beside him. “That was a beaut,” Jeff said.
“It sure was,” Randy agreed. As the truck started moving, he saw the stranger in the business suit drive away. “Who was that woman talking to the chief?”
“Dunno. Heard him tell her to meet him at the station.”
“Girlfriend?” Randy suggested. They both laughed. “That’ll drive Donna crazy.”
“You think he moves in those kinds of circles? That was a fancy suit.”
“Wish we saw more of that around here. Damn, I want a cigarette.”
Jeff laughed again. “You know what the chief thinks of smoking in public.”
“Considering the amount of smoke we breathe on the job, why should he care?”
“Public image,” Jeff said knowingly. “Haven’t you heard? Gotta be a good example for kids.”
The familiar jolting began as they rolled down the street. They weren’t a big fire department and didn’t have the fanciest equipment, so they hung on to the rear of the truck since they all couldn’t fit inside.
Eventually, Jeff and Randy would graduate to inside seats and younger men would stand here. But even hanging on here was better than being a volunteer, those who responded only when needed.
Soon the summer would dry out the grasslands and firefighting would sometimes become a full-time job for them all. Randy liked those times best, not only working to beat back the flames but because firefighters came from everywhere to help out. When they weren’t actually facing the flames it was like a big party. A tired party, but still.
And those were the times he felt best about himself. People treated them all like heroes. He guessed they were, actually. Today they’d saved a woman and a baby.
He hadn’t known about the baby. No one had. “Say, Jeff?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you think no one knew there was a baby in there until Old Man Kroner shouted it out? Was it, like, a secret, or something?”
“I dunno,” Jeff answered, leaning as the truck turned into the station. “I thought everyone around here knew everything about everyone.”
“Yeah. Kinda weird.”
“Well, it looked like it was just born. Maybe the grapevine didn’t reach us yet.”
“Maybe.” Randy pondered that as the truck slowed to a halt. One of the advantages of being in such a small town was you knew who might be in a dwelling when you responded. People didn’t get easily overlooked. Which made the Buell arson even weirder. Someone who’d burn a house full of people was scary.
It was troubling, something Randy hoped would be solved—and soon.
* * *
Charity walked into the firehouse through a side door just as the final truck rolled up and joined two others in the bay. A young woman with red hair, wearing a comfortable dark blue station uniform, sat at the desk. Those uniforms were designed not to impede movement, as they were worn under the turnout suits, and designed not to ignite easily. Over her breast, a shield was embroidered, her last name below it.
The woman sat facing a wide plate-glass window that looked into the truck bay, surrounded by consoles and equipment. Her eyes widened as she took in Charity’s apparel.
Definitely going to have to change into native garb, Charity decided. Soon. “Hi, I’m Charity Atkins, arson investigator for the Buell fire. The chief has an appointment with me and he told me to wait here for him.” She wondered if she imagined the flash of instant dislike on the woman’s face, then brushed it aside. A lot of people, including officials, didn’t like arson investigators. Or maybe it was the suit.
The woman stood and offered her hand. “Donna Willem, fire inspector and admin, former smoke eater. Have a
