Up in Flames (Carlisle Fire)

Chapter 16

THE LAST two days had been quiet, and Jerrod began to hope that his life was returning to normal.

“Did you see what’s happening?” Mr. Dunston asked as he brought Jerrod a cup of coffee. Jerrod was just finishing up the wiring to add a charging port in his garage for his new electric car.

“I haven’t been on the internet today. Why?” He sipped and set the mug away from where he was working, then checked that everything was hooked up properly before turning on the power so he could test it.

“You don’t think stuff like that could happen in a town like this,” he said. “Some firm was trying to muscle their way into town. Penn News just sent me an alert about a story.”

“The new condo complex?” Jerrod asked, and Mr. Dunston smiled as he nodded.

“I’m supposed to do the wiring for the units once they’re built.” He hoped that was still a good contract. He would need the work if he wanted to build the business so he could spend more time with Peter. “What did they say?”

“That the fire on the site was set by this rival firm and that it was possible that other fires in town were linked to them. The state police are involved, as are locals and maybe even the FBI. I don’t think I’d want to be these people. Some firm out of Philly, but now they’re being looked at there as well. Seems they aren’t on the up-and-up.” He grinned. “And all because they tried to get away with shit here.”

“Yeah, well….” Jerrod returned his attention to the job at hand. “I think one of those fires was mine.”

“Holy shit, man. You think so? That’s messed up. I hope they nail those bastards to the wall. Is there anything Jean or I can do? You need any help?” He drew closer. “Is the insurance company treating you right? You call me if they aren’t.” Mr. Dunston was a partner in one of the big law firms in town. “Hell, you call me in the office on Monday and we’ll make sure they are. Free of charge. You always did really good work for me, and you always came right out. We Carlislians need to stick together.”

Jerrod swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I appreciate that. The insurance company had been stalling because they thought I might have set the fire.”

“You call me and we’ll make sure that they are doing everything they’re supposed to. No problem. I have an associate who does nothing but insurance, and he’s really good. He almost never goes to court but gets them to pay up like they should every damned time.”

Jerrod flipped the breaker on the electrical box and checked that the charger had power. Then they plugged in Mr. Dunston’s Rivian. “It’s charging properly.”

“Excellent. Thanks for coming out on a Friday afternoon. This whole thing is a present for Jean, and I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed.”

“Has she seen the car?” Jerrod asked.

Mr. Dunston shook his head. “Today is her birthday. She’s been a little down about getting older, and I know she’s been looking at these. Blue is her favorite color, so this will be her surprise when she gets home from her classes.” His wife taught American studies at Dickinson College.

“It’s a great gift.” Jerrod finished his coffee and put away his tools.

“I hope she thinks so.” Mr. Dunston waited as he packed up and then walked with him out to his truck. “What’s the damage?” he asked.

“Well….” He figured he could do this in trade if Mr. D was willing to help with the insurance company bureaucracy, which was headache inducing, but he wouldn’t have it. He paid his bill through a cash app right on the spot.

“You have expenses and bills to pay. Helping you is the least I can do.” He smiled and headed up to the front door of the large historic stone home. “Now go pick up that son of yours, and you have a great weekend.” He went inside, and Jerrod finished putting away his gear before heading over to the Y.

The entire place was in an uproar. All the kids were sitting on the floor of one of the activity rooms with parents crowded around them.

“What happened?”

“Apparently one of the kids is missing,” another parent told him. Instantly, he looked around the room, but didn’t see Peter. His heart beat fast enough he became light-headed.

“Where’s Peter?” he asked one of the counselors as the director came in. Jerrod’s phone rang, and he took Chase’s call. “Peter’s gone. I’m at his summer day camp and he isn’t here.”

“God,” Chase said. “That body we found that we thought was Gizelle’s—it wasn’t her.”

“She has Peter,” Jerrod said.

“Okay. I’m on my way. Call the police. I’m going to see if I can get hold of Red. Don’t let anyone leave there, and I’ll be over as soon as I can get there.” He ended the call, and Jerrod called 911 and explained what was going on and reported that Peter had possibly been abducted. By the time he finished answering their questions, he was surrounded by people, including the executive director.

“The police are on their way. Everyone is to stay here until they get here,” Jerrod told her. “Do you have cameras outside the building?”

“Yes. They monitor the parking lot.”

“I want to see the footage,” he told her. “Right now.”

“But the police—”

“Time is of the essence.” He needed to see if it was Gizelle. “So show me.” He followed her down the hall into a small office. She pulled up the footage from the side parking lot closest to where the kids got out. It took about two minutes before he saw Peter and Gizelle heading across the lot and out of sight of the cameras.

“Do you know her?” the director asked as the police entered the room. He leaned closer, surprised at how quickly she moved and managed to corral Peter away from the others. She must have been watching and waiting for her chance. Damn her.

“Yes. Play them the tape. The woman is Peter’s mother, Gizelle Giordano. Her parental rights were terminated by the courts, and she’s taken Peter.” He took out his phone and pulled up a picture of the court order.

Red nodded, asked for a description, and requested an APB. “Do you know where she might have taken him?”

Jerrod shook his head. “How would I know? She showed up in town a few weeks ago. I don’t know where she’s been living, except out in the woods where the fire was.”

Chase joined them and put his arm around Jerrod’s waist. “The police will find him, but they need help. Did Gizelle have a car?”

Jerrod tried to remember. “I’m not sure. She would show up at the house, but I never noticed that she drove anything.”

“And she walked out of the camera range, as opposed to getting into a car. Is there someplace close she might know? A place that’s familiar?” Red asked.

“Maybe. She and my brother used to live out on Mooreland.” He gave them the address.

Red called it in and requested a unit to check it out. “Check out the trails to the west as well.”

Jerrod felt helpless and collapsed into one of the chairs in the office, his legs giving out. The police asked more questions; people talked on phones and across radios. All of it quickly became a blur. All he could think of was Peter and the fact that he was gone.

“It’s going to be okay. The police are going to find him,” Chase said from next to him, but it felt like a dream. Jerrod nodded because he felt he had to. “Stay with us,” Chase said, kneeling down to meet his gaze. “Take a few deep breaths. The police are out looking for him, and they aren’t going to stop. Red is on the phone with the state police just in case she has a car. They are putting out alerts all over the state. She isn’t going to be able to move without someone seeing her.”

Jerrod groaned. “I just want Peter back and for him to be safe. I should have made sure he was safe. I….”

Chase hugged him. “This isn’t your fault. Gizelle tried to fake her own death. I bet she was planning something like this.” Jerrod shook in his arms, trying to keep himself together, even as he felt the first cracks begin to spider through him. This was his fault. He should have kept Peter safer. He….

“Just breathe and try to stay calm so you can think. You need to help Peter, and that means staying alert and strong for him.”

He nodded, doing as Chase told him, breathing slowly and steadily. “I’m trying.”

“Okay. Think about what you know about Gizelle,” Chase told him.

“That would be helpful,” Red said after listening to the radio. “She isn’t at the house on Mooreland. The family there hasn’t seen anyone. We’re still scouring the area, but there isn’t any sign of her. If she did take him, then she would have had to have planned to take him somewhere.”

“And it’s probably nearby,” Chase added.

“I don’t know. Peter isn’t going to be happy about going with her. He doesn’t know her very well.”

“Okay,” Chase said softly. “If you were on foot and took someone, would you hide out, or go someplace with lots of people so you could get lost?”

“I have people checking out the area around the Walmart and the shopping center. Officers are also at the theater.”

“Thornwald Park,” Jerrod said. “In the back, near the mansion, there’s that old children’s theater and the trail back toward the highway. No one goes back there much, and it’s a great place to hide out. I remember Gizelle used to love hanging out back there. She and Johnny used to go there to make out before they got married.” Maybe there was some hope. But the longer this went on, the more distance she and Peter could cover and the less likely it became that they would be found.

“Good idea,” Red said, calling it in. “Be careful and don’t make a huge show of presence.” He continued talking.

“Maybe we should get you home,” Chase said. “Sitting here in the Y isn’t helping anyone. The police are doing what they can, and we need to let Red get on out there.”

Jerrod nodded and got to his feet. Chase took him by the arm and led him out to the parking lot. They got into Jerrod’s truck, and he handed Chase the keys and let him drive home while Jerrod stared at his phone, willing it to ring with news. “I want to go out there and look for them myself.”

“I know, but that’s a bad idea. We need to let the professionals handle this. We’d only be in the way.” Chase parked in front of the house, and Jerrod got out and let them inside. Peter had left some toys on the sofa that morning, and Jerrod gathered them and placed them on the coffee table. He sat and held his head in his hands. Jerrod wanted to cry and shout, but mostly he would give anything to have Peter back with him safe and sound.

“Here’s some water,” Chase said quietly.

Jerrod took the glass. After a few seconds, he barely knew it was there, his attention all focused on Peter. His phone chimed, and he set the glass aside, ready to answer, but it was only an app notification, and he groaned before setting the phone back on the table.

“How long has it been?” Jerrod asked.

“About two hours,” Chase answered.

It seemed like a lifetime. Jerrod’s throat threatened to close up, and he leaned back, concentrating on breathing. The waiting was excruciating. He needed to know something.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, his phone rang and he snatched it up. “Yes. This is Jerrod.”

“It’s Red. We have Peter. He’s fine, and I’m going to bring him over to you.” Jerrod could barely believe the words. “He wasn’t hurt. We’ll tell you everything in a few minutes. We expect to be there soon.”

Jerrod ended the call, and the phone slipped from his hand and landed on the cushions of the sofa.

“He’s fine. Red is bringing him home,” he managed to say to Chase, overwhelmed with relief. Still, he sat at the window until the cruiser pulled up out front. Then he hurried outside as Red got Peter out of the car. He knelt down and held open his arms as Peter ran to him.

“I’m okay, Daddy. Mommy took me to the movies,” he reported, seemingly none the worse for wear. Jerrod hugged him, tears streaming down his face as he held his son, trying to keep from squeezing him. “It was fun. She took me to see Puss in Boots , and it was funny but sad too. I like Perrito a lot. Then Mr. Red said that he was going to bring me home.” He jabbered on about the movie and something about a wishing star, but all Jerrod cared about was that Peter was safe at home.

“Can we go inside?” Red asked.

Jerrod took Peter’s hand and led them into the house. Peter hurried up to Chase for a hug and then ran up the stairs the way he always did.

“He has no idea,” Red said. “We found them in the theater, coming out of the movie. One of the officers explained to Peter that you were waiting for him and called me. I came to get him, and once he was out of her sight, we took Gizelle into custody. We were able to get Peter away before she began screaming and tried to get to him again. We had to restrain her. She’ll spend the night in jail and will be charged, but we’ll have to have her evaluated. I don’t think she’s competent to stand trial. She actually thought that she and Peter were on some outing and that taking him was no big deal. She got him popcorn. It was like they were just seeing a movie instead of a kidnapping.” He sighed.

“Thank you for finding him. I don’t know how I can thank you enough.” He knew he had tears tracked down his cheeks, and Chase placed his hand lightly on his back. “Both of you.”

“I’m just glad we were able to get him back home and that he doesn’t seem upset about all of it. Peter is completely unaware of all the worry that went on, and it’s probably best he doesn’t know. Let him just think it was his mother taking him to the movies.”

“How did you get him in the police car without making a big deal of it?”

Red smiled. “I told him that you had asked me to give him a ride and that we could turn the lights on and everything. He was so excited to ride in a police car that he didn’t think anything of it.” He lowered his voice. “This way there’s no trauma to him, and while you were worried sick, he’s still the happy little boy he always was.”

Jerrod nodded and realized that they were right. He might be a complete mess, but Peter was fine, and that was what counted. “It’s probably the best thing.”

Chase walked Red to the door. “Is there anything else we need to do?”

“Not at the moment. Until Gizelle is evaluated, there isn’t a lot that we can get out of her. It is going to be a few days, but I hope that I’ll be able to speak with her and get some information about what she did and what she was thinking. I do know that she isn’t going to be released no matter what. After this, she’ll either be tried or placed in a mental hospital to get treatment. This episode demonstrates that she is indeed a danger to others.”

“Thank you and the department for everything,” Chase said.

“Yeah, thank you so much.” Jerrod shook Red’s hand before Chase let him out. Once he was gone, Jerrod collapsed in the chair. “I don’t think I can ever go through that again. I—”

“Daddy,” Peter called, bounding down the stairs. “Where Rexxy?”

“Right here.” Jerrod held up the stuffed dinosaur. Peter cuddled the stuffed toy to his chest and then hurried back upstairs to most likely put him where he belonged. Then he came back down and climbed into Jerrod’s lap.

“What’s wrong, Daddy? Are you sad?” Peter leaned against Jerrod’s chest.

Jerrod closed his eyes, just holding his son. “I’m okay now that you’re here. I promise.”

“I’m good at making people happy, right?” Peter said.

Jerrod smiled lightly. “You are.” He took a deep breath as Chase’s hand settled on his shoulder. Jerrod placed one hand on top of it and tried to hold on to the fact that he had both of them and that everyone was okay. Peter was home and in his arms. Chase was here as well, and he’d been there the whole time. He was lucky to have that support.

“How about I order Chinese for dinner?” Chase asked.

“I’m hungry,” Peter said. “Mommy got popcorn at the movies, but it was floor popcorn, so I didn’t want to eat any.” Peter slipped down off his lap, running out of the room, and Jerrod shook his head, groaning, and bit his lower lip to keep from saying anything.

“It’s okay. He’s here and back home safe,” Chase said softly and squeezed his shoulder.

“What the hell am I going to do?” What kind of life was this? In the past few weeks, his house had burned down, Peter had been kidnapped, and there was still an arsonist out there. What kind of life could he offer Peter or Chase? Hell, what the fuck was going to happen next? Suddenly Jerrod could barely breathe.

“It’s okay. Take deep breaths. This is only a little panic, and you need to relax. In and out, deep and slow,” Chase said. “That’s it. Close your eyes and just listen to the sound of my voice. Breathe in and out and this is going to pass.”

“I wish it would. I really wish all of this would just go away,” he whispered.

“That isn’t what you really want. It’s only how things feel at this moment. I know it’s hard and that everything seems to be piling on right now, but you and Peter are okay. He’s home and he’s safe, so just relax and breathe. That’s it.”

Jerrod kept his eyes closed as the tightness in his chest eased. He said nothing, doing his best to push away the fear that seemed like black clouds on the edges of his vision. He kept wondering how much more he could take. The world really seemed to be piling the crap on his shoulders lately.

“Better?” Chase asked.

“Yeah, a little,” Jerrod said quietly, almost to himself. “How can you be so calm about this?”

“I’m not,” Chase said quietly. “I’m worried for you and for Peter, of course I am. When you told me he had been taken, I felt it like a punch in the gut. But I also knew that the best thing I could do was to try to keep my head level so I could help you and Peter.” He knelt down. “It’s part of what I’m trained to do. Stay calm in a crisis and do my best to work your way out of it. Peter is home, Gizelle is in custody, and she isn’t going to be able to pop around here any time she wants to bother you and Peter. Eventually she’ll get the help she needs and we can go on with our lives.”

“But what if I can’t?” Jerrod asked. “I keep thinking that maybe it would be best for Peter and me to leave and start over someplace else. I’ll have the money from the house. We could buy a place elsewhere and leave all this behind.”

Chase grew quiet. “I see.” His hand slipped off Jerrod’s shoulder. “Is that what you really want to do?” His voice grew colder and more distant.

Jerrod turned to look at him. “I don’t know what the heck I should do. I just want Peter to be safe. That’s the most important thing.” His head was spinning. “I’m probably just talking off the top of my head, and I’m scared right now, so I’m probably saying dumb things.” He held out his hand, and thankfully Chase took it. “I know that if all this hadn’t happened—that if I hadn’t lost the house and if you hadn’t saved Peter—I would never have known you.”

“Sometimes things happen for a reason, even bad things.”

“That’s true. I know that. But it’s still a lot to deal with. At this point, Gizelle is out of the picture, and I know that the article appeared about the fires and the construction company, but it doesn’t get us any closer to knowing who set fire to my house. Someone did it, and they’re still out there. Just because we think they did it at the behest of the Connor Warfield doesn’t give us the answers, and we both know they could try again.”

“I know that. And I’ve been thinking about that. But I don’t know where to start. Investigations aren’t my field of expertise. Maybe we give Red a few days and then see where he is on the arson. He’s been a busy guy these past few days.”

“Or maybe we see if we can speak with Steve again.” Jerrod leaned forward. “I’m sure he knows more than he’s telling. The guy is scared out of his wits, and he wasn’t going to say anything he thought could get him in any trouble. But I bet once he’s had a chance to think, that fear is going to grow, especially after that article in the news.”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then next week, after work, let’s pay him a visit and shake a few more leaves off the tree and see what falls out.” Jerrod nodded. “But for now, let’s get you and Peter something to eat and we can watch a movie for a while. Something to take our minds off everything that’s happened. Okay?”

Jerrod sighed softly. “Yeah.” There was still a threat out there, and they needed to handle it or else Jerrod was never going to feel comfortable in his own home again. But for now, a distraction sounded like a good idea.