Up in Flames (Carlisle Fire)

Chapter 10

“SO MY house isn’t the first?” Jerrod asked. He tried to stay quiet so he didn’t alarm Peter.

“No. We are still running down some details, but apparently the previous times this was seen, the business owner was shaken down. They refuse to pay, and then their business goes up in smoke. That was a little while ago. What I want to know is if you were pressured not to bid on a job or warned to stay away by anyone.”

Jerrod paused to think. “I don’t remember anything. I heard about the chance to bid on the condo project through West Electric. Kurt there told me about it, and I looked up the bid details. I worked hard on the bid and then submitted it and was chosen.” It seemed pretty straightforward to him.

“Did anyone know you were bidding?” Red asked as he made notes.

Jerrod shook his head. “I don’t go around advertising my business. Loose lips sink ships and all that. There are guys who advertise everything they’re doing. Not me. I thought the job was something I could do well, and I arranged for two other guys I’ve worked with in the past to help. Do you really think someone tried to put me out of business by burning me out?”

“We aren’t sure. I’ll be speaking to the general contractor and the owner of the development to see if they have received any threats or anything. But I wanted to start with you.” Red sat patiently while Jerrod thought.

“Now that you mention it…. No. It can’t be.”

“Please take your time,” Red said.

“Three weeks or so before the fire, Peter was with the sitter, and I went to have a drink at Café Belgie. I like the Belgian ales they have on tap. I usually just walk over, and as I was on my way there, I passed some of the guys from Waverly Construction. They congratulated me on getting the contract, and we talked for maybe a minute. Just general pleasantries and then we moved on.” Jerrod paused. “The only reason I remember it at all is because it made me uncomfortable, like their words and actions didn’t match. After a while, I guess it just faded to the back of my mind. I mean, construction guys can be a hard lot, and I saw them around at some point on one of the job sites.”

“Do you know their names?” Red asked, and Jerrod shook his head.

“I think one of them is Sam, but they aren’t people I spend time with. Mostly just faces I’ve seen around sometimes. I wish I could give you more information. As far as I know, Waverly isn’t the general contractor on the condo job.”

“They are not,” Red said. “But apparently word on the street is that Waverly was outbid by AR Construction, and I’ve been hearing that the Waverly folks are none too happy about it.”

Jerrod leaned closer. “All I can say is that I would never let Waverly anywhere near my house. They don’t do good work and are always looking for ways to cut corners. If I were you, I’d check with the codes department at borough hall. I bet they can give you a heck of a lot of information on those guys.” Red made even more notes. “Part of the reason I bid on the condo job was because it was with AR. They’re good people, and the two men who started it have worked hard all their lives, and they built that business from the ground up. They’re solid people who give their clients their money’s worth. That’s why that team is always working.”

“And it’s also a reason why others might be jealous or want them out of the way,” Red submitted, and Jerrod had to agree. “Thank you.”

“I hope I was helpful,” Jerrod said as he stood up. Red did the same, and they left the kitchen and returned to the living room, where Peter and Chase were having some kind of coloring race. Chase and Peter looked up.

“I think mine is better,” Peter said, putting down his crayon as an alarm dinged. “I used more colors.”

“Hey. You were only supposed to use three,” Chase said in mock outrage before reaching across the table and tickling Peter until his laughter filled the room. Chase let Peter go, setting him on his feet. “Did you get the answers you needed?”

“I think I got the answers I was expecting, which is helpful.” Red turned to Jerrod and handed him a card. “If you think of anything else, please let me know.”

“Will you be in touch if you find anything?” Jerrod asked.

“If I can,” Red said and strode to the door.

“Thank you,” Jerrod told him, and he let Red out before closing the door. “Well, I suppose that could have been worse. But this whole situation just got even more convoluted. Now it seems that the fire may be part of some plan to not only stop me, but to hurt the general contractor on the condo project. What the heck is going on?” He lifted Peter into his arms, holding him for comfort.

“Daddy,” Peter said as he squirmed to get down. “Was the policeman bad?”

“No. He was trying to help.” He set him down again, and Peter hurried upstairs. “I’m not sure what to do right now. What if some local mob is trying to warn me off? What do I do? I have to work, but I can’t have my clients put in danger by these thugs.”

“Did you tell Red about what happened today?”

Jerrod shook his head. “I didn’t think about it. He had his questions, and I answered them. I think it was just kids. None of them were familiar, but Mrs. G told me she would know them if she saw them again, and you do not want to get on her bad side. Not that I know what I’m going to do now other than watch and do whatever I have to in order to keep Peter safe.” That was his main concern.

Chase wrapped Jerrod in his arms, holding him. Jerrod closed his eyes and rested his head on Chase’s shoulder, trying not to shake like a leaf. “I know, this whole situation sucks.”

“The only good thing about it is that I met you. The rest is terrible. I don’t know what to do next. Do I just quit and hole up here?”

Chase backed away, locking his intense gaze on Jerrod’s. “No. You continue to go out and make a living. You watch the people around you. And most important, you call me or Red if you see anything out of the ordinary. If there are people going around trying to intimidate others, then we need to put a stop to it, or else other people’s homes are going to be burned, and who knows what else. The people behind this are total shits.” He leaned closer and took Jerrod’s breath away with a single kiss. “Never let the assholes win. There are plenty of them in this world, but we have to keep each other safe and stop the jerks from getting what they want. These people don’t care who they hurt—you, Peter, or anyone else. All they care about is that they get what they want.”

“So I put myself out there and see if they come at me?”

Chase shook his head. “You live your life with your head held high and don’t let them intimidate you.” This was easier said than done. But Chase was right and he needed to try.

“I have a couple of jobs for tomorrow,” Jerrod said.

“Then park in an easily seen spot and watch your truck. Make sure that there are others around if possible, and don’t take any chances.” Chase lowered his voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to you or Peter.”

“I know, and I don’t want to back down. But it’s hard when the person you’re up against is in the shadows and could be almost anyone. But you’re right. I need to stand up for myself and move forward.” Chase held Jerrod again. “At least I’m not alone.”

“What do your parents think about all this?”

Jerrod quivered. “My mother told me the last time I spoke to her that Peter and I should leave town and move closer to them. With the house gone, she said there’s little tying us here and that we could start over fresh. It was tempting, especially with Gizelle hanging around again. But this is my home, and I want Peter to grow up here. This is where his father intended to raise him, and I want to do the best for Peter that I can.”

“Still, it must be hard.”

Jerrod shrugged. “Mom is just scared for us, and I can’t blame her. She thinks that Gizelle is behind all this and that she should be put in a straightjacket and locked up for the rest of her life.”

“I see. So they don’t get along.”

“Nope. Never did. Mom hated Gizelle on sight. She made an effort while Johnny was still married to her for his sake, but as soon as he separated from her, the claws came out and Gizelle was persona non grata. That’s one thing we could always count on about Mom. She could be a tiger when someone was hurting one of us. And Gizelle really tied Johnny up in knots. It was terrible the way she treated him. He kept records of everything she did for months in order to prove that he should have custody, and then once she disappeared and walked away from her responsibilities, he had had enough and petitioned to have her rights terminated. Since she never responded, the court ruled in his favor. I always wondered if she didn’t care or simply couldn’t be bothered.”

“So why did she show up now? It seems rather coincidental to me, and I don’t believe in coincidences. She’s tied to all this somehow. I just know it.”

“Maybe you’re right, but I can’t think how,” Jerrod said softly as another knock sounded on the door.

“What is this, Grand Central Station today?” Chase teased and released him. Jerrod got the door.

A man with a clipboard stood outside. “I have a delivery for Jerrod Whipkey.”

“You have the right place,” Jerrod said.

The man turned to the back of the truck. He and another man brought in a mattress and box spring set that they carried upstairs. Jerrod followed and showed them where to set it up. After the mattress, they carried in a sofa and end table and the lamp he had picked out. The delivery guys set the sofa on the main wall in the living room, and Peter jumped right up on it.

“No shoes on the furniture,” Jerrod scolded lightly. “This is new, and we need to keep it nice.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Peter said, then took off his shoes and stood on the sofa to bounce.

Jerrod caught him at the second jump. “No. You need to be good. No jumping. The sofa is for sitting.”

Peter looked at him. “But you only said no shoes.”

Chase snickered from beside him and turned away, probably so Peter didn’t see him laughing.

“You need to be good and listen, okay? No shoes, jumping, drawing, or eating on the sofa. Please be good so we can have a few nice things.” At least the insurance company had started to come through with some cash for him to replace household items. That had been a big start. “Now go up to your room and play for a while.”

“I’m hungry,” he said, sticking out his belly. “It’s empty.”

Jerrod pulled up Peter’s shirt and blew a raspberry on his belly, getting giggles. “We’ll have dinner soon.” He set Peter down, and he hurried up the stairs. The delivery men finished placing things and gathered the packing they’d pulled off the furniture. Jerrod signed their delivery slip and thanked them before seeing them out and closing the door. “At least now this is starting to feel a little more like a home.” He had a sofa, chairs, a few tables, a bed, and even a dining table of sorts. The kitchen was mostly mismatched things, but it was functional and filled their needs.

“That it is,” Chase said, and Jerrod sat on the new sofa, leaving room for Chase, who joined him. “You know, these are some of my favorite pieces of furniture.”

Jerrod smirked. “And why is that?”

Chase leaned closer. “Didn’t you ever make out on the sofa when your parents were gone?”

Jerrod rolled his eyes. “Not really. The sofa we had was right in the front room, and there were windows that went all the way down to the floor. Most of the time it felt like a fishbowl, so I stayed away as much as I could. Mom and Dad didn’t seem to mind, but I didn’t like it. So nope, no couch making out. How about you?”

“I did it with a girl once.” Chase drew closer. “Let’s just say that it didn’t go very well. She was nice and she was willing, but it just didn’t feel right to me. I had very little clue about myself back then, but I had these feelings that didn’t go away. I thought acting like the other guys would make me be like them, but as you know, that doesn’t work. I messed around with Anita some, but after that, I kept to myself.”

“So your couch make-out experience is limited,” Jerrod said, relieved for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that Chase had gone through a lot of the same things that he had. Jerrod knew what it was like not to feel like he fit in.

“Yeah, it is.” He leaned closer, sliding his around Jerrod’s neck, drawing him in. “But I think we have a chance to make up for that.”

“Daddy. I want dinner, please,” Peter said, and they both pulled back.

“Maybe later,” Jerrod huffed. “What do you want?”

“Rolly tacos,” Peter answered.

Jerrod got up and went to the kitchen, where he heated up the air fryer, another of his recent purchases. Chase joined him a few minutes later. Once it beeped, Jerrod put the taquitos in the basket and slid it into place.

“I know we eat way too much quick food, but….”

“I get it,” Chase said. “I don’t cook for myself a lot either. But you do have a backyard, and we could arrange to set up a grill. I cook a mean burger and hot dogs. We could have a picnic out there sometime.” He shook his head slowly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have just assumed that I could make invitations to your home.”

“No. It’s great. We could do that. Peter likes that sort of thing, and maybe we could invite some of the other people who have helped us. Hayden and his family, maybe Red, some of the people from the firehouse who pitched in, and a few clients. They’ve done so much, and I’d like to be able to thank them.”

“Okay. Set a date, and I’ll help get invitations out to people.” Chase leaned against the counter, tugging Jerrod into his arms. “You really are pretty special.”

“So are you,” Jerrod whispered. “But I can’t help wondering if I’m not dragging you into my mess. Look at all this. I thought that my house burned, and now it turns out someone set fire to it and that it could all be part of some bigger conspiracy to try to take over the construction business in this area. Are you sure I’m worth all this trouble? You might be better off to just walk away.”

Chase stood taller. “I don’t just walk away when things get tough. That’s part of being a fireman.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be just part of your job.”

“Things regarding you stopped being about my job some time ago. But my job is a big part of who I am, though there are times that I wish I could turn it off. And I’m not going to turn my back because the going gets a little tough. I want you to know that.” He drew even closer. Jerrod held his breath as Chase kissed him gently at first, but the heat quickly built between them.

“Is dinner ready?” Peter asked.

Jerrod pulled back before he came into the room. “Just about.” All he could think about was the fact that there was a brand-new bed upstairs and that he was more than ready to break it in. He held Chase’s gaze for a few seconds before the timer went off on the air fryer, indicating that dinner, such as it was, was ready.