Up in Flames (Carlisle Fire)

Chapter 7

CHASE LOVED having Jerrod in his arms. Not the circumstances, but holding him like this was amazing. He didn’t say anything right away, just let the quiet settle around them, hoping it would help Jerrod.

“I just don’t know what else could go wrong,” Jerrod whispered, making no move to step away.

“I think you need to contact the landlord and let them know what happened. They should never have let anyone inside the house under any circumstances.” Hell, what they had done was illegal, but Chase wasn’t sure pointing that out would be beneficial. “Then we can inform the court that terminated her rights that she is causing trouble and try to get a restraining order. That will help keep her away from you.”

“I don’t know. Gizelle will still be Gizelle,” Jerrod said.

Chase stepped back slightly, his hands on Jerrod’s shoulders. “That’s true. But then the police will be able to help you easily. If there’s a restraining order, then there’s also a presumption of guilt on her part, and the police will take her away and the court will decide her punishment for violating the order.”

Jerrod shrugged. “I can’t afford all that. What money I have is going to making sure I can give Peter a home. Everything is just getting to be so much.” He sighed softly and pulled away. “I feel like the walls are closing in, and I have no idea how much closer they’re going to get.” He wiped his eyes. “I promised Johnny that I’d watch out for Peter if anything happened to him. I never thought when I agreed that I’d have to. Johnny was young and strong. But look what’s come of it. Peter was nearly killed in a fire because someone wanted to get even with me for some slight. And now his crazy mother has decided to come back. I don’t know if Peter is still in danger, and….”

The world seemed to be settling on Jerrod’s shoulders, and Chase knew there was nothing he could do about it. When Jerrod turned again, Chase tugged him back into his arms. This time he kissed him hard just because Jerrod needed to know that he was there. This wasn’t a kiss of passion as much as care and comfort, but with Jerrod, it only took a few seconds for the feeling to shift. But Chase had to hold back.

This was not the time to get carried away, though just being near Jerrod made his blood race. It was the rich scent of him, the gentleness in his eyes, and even the way he doubted himself when Chase could see how strong he really was. Chase pulled back, if only to stop himself from taking things further.

“What do I do to keep Peter safe? That’s all I care about,” Jerrod asked.

“We stay vigilant,” Chase told him. “Do you think Gizelle could have been behind the fire?”

Jerrod shook his head. “I doubt it. I don’t think she can plan that methodically. Everything with her is about how she feels and what she wants in the moment.” He paused for a few seconds and then shrugged. “God, I have no idea. Maybe she thought that making us homeless would somehow give her an advantage. I don’t know. I suppose she could have. My head is spinning, and I don’t know what to think anymore. I do know that the only way we are going to figure out who is behind this is to try to gather some evidence in order to pick this mystery apart. We certainly aren’t going to get anywhere trying to think it out.”

“We aren’t.” But this wasn’t something Chase had done before. The police should handle it, but they hadn’t even contacted Jerrod yet about the arson at his home, so they weren’t likely to get to the bottom of it. “I need to speak with Hayden and see if he can help us.”

“Isn’t he the guy who thought that my work had started the fire? The guy who was with us today?” Jerrod seemed edgy.

“It is. But he updated his report, and he doesn’t seem like he’s holding a grudge. I bet he wants to get to the bottom of this as much as we do.”

“So you really think he’ll help?”

Chase nodded. “I thought we might ask him to come for a beer. We can see what he thinks and if he’s found out anything about the fire earlier today.” He really believed the fires were linked, but he wasn’t sure how. Chase felt it was premature to say that Jerrod was the reason, but that seemed to the best guess they had.

“Okay.”

“Also….” Chase’s mind ran a mile a minute. “Can you give me the full names of the two men you let go? I want to see if I can speak to them. Maybe feel them out a little to see if they might know something.”

Jerrod nodded. “I had to look them up for the police. It’s Steve Wilson and Gary Lutz. I don’t think there’s anything secret about them working for me. The union would have records of it.”

“True. You can’t release any personal information you might have, but their names should be okay.” He was already trying to think of how he could track them down, but Chase had always been resourceful. Social media was often a great method for finding out basic pieces of information.

“Okay.” He went to the kitchen and wrote down the names, then returned with a sheet of paper that he handed Chase. “A lot of my job history records might have gone up in the fire. I kept most of my files in the house.”

“Where were they kept?” Chase asked.

“I had file drawers in my office, which was upstairs next to Peter’s room. I don’t know if that part of the house survived.”

Chase nodded slowly. “Let me see if it’s possible to check on them and how safe that section of the house is.” He hummed softly to himself. “Maybe there’s something in your records that someone didn’t want anyone to see.”

Jerrod shrugged. “It’s possible, but what? That’s my receipts and records for tax purposes. What could someone want with that? There are employee files and that sort of thing, but I don’t know how that could be a threat to anyone.” He sat down, and Chase did the same in the other chair.

“I suppose we aren’t going to know until we can take a look.”

“True,” Jerrod said. “But I can’t ask you to do all that.” He shook his head slowly. “I feel helpless.”

“All I’m going to do is get permission to go up the back stairs and check on the state of the office. As for Hayden, it’s just a quick conversation to see if he’ll help us.” Chase leaned across the space between them. “Let me go and see what I can find out, and I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

Chase got to his feet and kissed Jerrod gently before leaving. He needed to get to the station before it got too late to talk to anyone.

“WHY DO you need to go inside again?” the captain asked as he leaned back at his desk. “You were just in the house yesterday.”

“Then can the owner go inside? There are some business records that he needs. We don’t know if they survived the fire, and the owner needs to know if he’ll have to recreate them somehow.” That was as good an explanation as he could think of without raising too many additional questions.

“I got a note that the building has been condemned as unsafe for habitation by the borough, so it all has to come down. The police have been inside, but I don’t know what they did or found. So as far as I know, he might be able to go there as long as he’s careful.”

“I thought I’d go with him. If it’s too dangerous, then he’ll have to find another way to get what he needs. Thanks, Captain. I appreciate the help.” Chase left him to get back to work and smiled to himself. At least he’d managed part one of what he needed to do. He strode through to the break room, where Hayden sat at the table, drinking his coffee.

“What’s up?”

“Do you have a minute?” Chase asked, and Hayden stood and followed him out into the hall. “Did you find anything at the fire today?” Hayden nodded, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Can you tell me what you found?”

Hayden paused. “Let’s just say that I was surprised to find a couple melted electrical caps and the remains of some wire and metal. It was very familiar.”

Chase leaned against the wall. “So you think it was the same person?”

“I can’t discuss that right now. The police are working on what we uncovered, and it would be bad form to step on their toes.” Hayden’s gaze was as serious as a heart attack. “There were a lot of similarities to what we’ve found before. Why?”

“Because if that’s true, it may be connected. Jerrod told me that he was expecting to start work at that site in a few weeks.” He let the implications settle with Hayden.

“So you think that the fire may have been set because someone is trying to hurt Jerrod? At a job site he hadn’t started working at yet? That seems a little farfetched, but there’s a definite link.” Hayden didn’t seem to know what to think. “It could be that we have a firebug and that the only real link between the fires is the person who set them.”

Chase had to admit that was possible. “I know. But we can’t ignore any possible leads, which is why I brought you the information.”

Hayden put his hands up. “Okay. You’re right. I can meet with you guys to talk tomorrow after our shift. Maybe he has something that can help with all this. I’ve been in touch with Red at the borough police department, and he said that he was looking into this.”

“Invite him to join us if he wants. Maybe if we all put our heads together, something will stand out.” Maybe Chase was too new and na?ve, but it certainly couldn’t hurt.

“All right. I’ll make a call and let you know tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” Chase left the station and headed to Jerrod’s house.

CHASE STOOD outside the burned-out shell, the upper front windows like square black eyes devoid of life. Where that came from he had no idea. With a scoff at his own whimsy, Chase walked around to the back. He carefully went inside, the scent of burned wood stinging his nose. Going up the stairs, he was cautious, testing the floor the way he had the last time he’d been here. Chase checked what had been Peter’s room, more out of habit than anything else. Then he moved to the next door closer to the front of the house and pushed it open.

The wall closest to the front was mostly intact. It smelled heavily of smoke. The plaster was wet, with part of the ceiling hanging down. The desk sat near the partially burned wall, the papers soggy and sticking to the top. A single file cabinet sat just inside the door. Chase tested the floor and approached the cabinet, then pulled it toward the door and out into the hall, where he knew the footing was safer.

The three top drawers held files, and he pulled each one out and carried it down to the truck. The bottom drawer held supplies and various things Jerrod might have stashed there. He took that drawer as well before peering into the room once more. He wasn’t sure if he should try to check in the desk, but halfway across the room, he felt the floor begin to give, so he backed away and out of the room again, then closed the door behind him. He left the house just as a crash sounded from inside, followed by a bang and splintering wood. “Shit,” he groaned under his breath before peering in the side window. The floor had given way, and what was left of the desk lay in pieces on the floor below. He’d gotten what he could, and it was pretty clear that nothing more could be safely removed from the house.

He drove to Jerrod’s rental house. Jerrod met him at the front door. “Did you get the files?”

“Yeah. I had to leave the cabinet, but I took the drawers.” He blinked and sighed.

“What happened?”

“After I got the files, I tried to see if I could get to the desk.” He shook his head. “I must have destabilized the floor, because it came down after I left the building.”

Jerrod nodded. “At least you weren’t hurt. That’s all that matters.” He got him inside and hugged him tight. “I can replace the desk and everything else.” He stepped back. “You shouldn’t have gone in there alone. What if something had happened?”

“I’m fine. Let’s get these file drawers inside. The clouds are building. The file cabinet seems to have kept the papers dry, so we don’t want them soaked now by a rainstorm.”

They carried the drawers inside and placed them in the corner of the small dining area. “Hayden said he could come over tomorrow after our shift, and he was going to see if one of the guys from the police could come too.” Chase sat down in what was starting to feel like his usual chair. “I don’t know if he’s convinced that the two arson cases are related, but he did hint that they found the same types of debris at your home as at the construction site.”

“But that proves it,” Jerrod said.

“It only proves that it could be the same person, not that you’re the reason for both of them. This could be a firebug situation. And he’s right. It’s possible.” Chase sat back. “But I don’t believe it. I think we have to go with the assumption that this is about you, if only because we can stay vigilant in order to keep you and Peter safe.” Dismissing their possible involvement was a way to let their guard down, and Chase had no intention of allowing that to happen.

“So what do we do?”

“Look through your files to see if we can find the information on anyone you let go, someone who might hold a grudge. We can give it to the police, and we’ll look for any sort of pattern. I’m not sure if there is anything to find, but we need to look.” Chase had no idea what they might be checking for, but he was willing to help.

“It’s okay. Mostly there are tax records and receipts for various jobs and supplies. One of the drawers held the details of people I worked with, but most of them were contractors like me. They had their own businesses and weren’t employees of mine, so there isn’t going to be any detailed personal information.”

“Okay. Well, let’s go take a look and see if there is anything at all.” Chase stood, and Jerrod did the same.

“I think I’m going to put on a pot of coffee. We’ll need it.”