Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
C ole Carter’s Review
Sarah Sloan: A thousand stars
Beautiful, kind and caring, beyond any I could ever imagine. Possesses the spirit of a warrior, a sage’s intelligence and a heart of pure gold. She embodies kindness and giving, strength and love. Now that I’ve found her again, I will never let her go.
“Scott did it.”
No.
No.
Yes?
No, it couldn’t be. Not kind, caring Scott, the deputy who took her side, who took everyone’s side. It defied all logic. Yet Cole spoke definitively, without the slightest doubt. Perhaps it was a joke, although an entirely illogical time and place for one. Because what else could it be? “I don’t believe it.”
“Well, I do.” Donovan’s voice had hardened to pure steel. “He fooled us before, and he did it again. He was always the nice one, always acting perfect. When we caught him puncturing the tires, he promised it was a onetime thing, but he never seemed genuine. He was just sorry he’d been caught. There were so many other red flags – how he’d somehow get an answer key before a test or suddenly have extra cash. Of course, it’s the perfect foil. No one would suspect the nicest guy on the force to be a criminal.”
“I knew that man at the Renaissance fair seemed familiar, and now I’m sure.” Cole fisted his hands. “It was Scott. How did I miss it?”
Donovan paced, his boots pounding the hard floor. “He always mentioned little things about Sarah to get me upset. He would bring up an incident from the past, something he knew would get me riled up. He also talked about becoming sheriff one day. The day of the fire, he’s the one who saw something shining in that field. He led me right to the earring.”
“He made sure you would find it,” Cole agreed, “so no one would suspect him.”
“We would all suspect her, especially me.” Donovan gave a deep grimace. “You really are innocent.”
A strange relief released the grip on her lungs. Why should she care if Donovan believed her? But she did, incredibly so. She cared what he thought, what everyone thought. She was upset when Cole first revealed the truth to her supposed enemy, but it had been the right decision. It mattered. “Thank you for believing in me.”
Donovan shook his head. “It’s far too late.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “It’s never too late. The past is over, and now we have a chance to fix the future. I’ve had to believe that to overcome all I’ve faced.” She inhaled a deep breath of hope . “What should we do now? Even if Scott is guilty, we don’t have any proof, and tomorrow they’re going to take my badge.”
“Which means we have tonight.” Cole rubbed his hands together. “We’re going to do the same thing you planned here – confront the criminal. Only this time, we’ve got the right guy.”
“I’m coming with you. I have a lot to make up for.” Donovan grabbed his keys from the counter and clapped Cole on the back. “You’ve got yourself a hell of a woman, Cole. You’re lucky I didn’t find out the truth sooner, buddy.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Possessiveness flooded Cole’s eyes. “I know what’s mine.”
As heat engulfed her, Sarah stomped out the door. Once this was over, they’d definitely have a talk about who belonged to whom.
The three of them entered Sarah’s car and sped down the road. Few cars prowled the darkened streets, which had grown even quieter since the arsonist’s activities. They reached Scott’s house in under ten minutes, parking across the way. When they approached the door, Sarah tried to be at the forefront, but Cole strode forward, an organic protective shield before her. He gave three sharp raps on the door.
“I’m still your boss,” she called from behind the mountain masquerading as a man. “I should be confronting Scott.” She opened her mouth to protest more, stopped as she noticed the dimmed lights, the quiet home. A slow burn sickened her stomach. “He’s not here.”
Cole stepped away from the path, scanned the front windows. “It’s too early for him to be in bed, but it’s quiet in there.”
“No sign of him here either,” Donovan growled as he pushed himself away from a side window. “I asked if he wanted to grab a beer tonight, but he said he wanted to stay home. Claimed his team was in the playoffs and he’d be watching T.V. all night.”
“What game?” Cole tapped on his phone, held it up to display the sports page. “There aren’t any professional playoff games tonight, at least not in any league I’ve heard of.”
“He didn’t say.” Donovan’s features tightened. “Why do I have a feeling there’s no game?”
Because there was no game. No staying home. No future tomorrow if they didn’t catch him tonight. Sarah clenched her fists until her palms turned as pale as the moon above. “He’s going to finish the job.”
“One more fire would do the trick.” Cole grasped her hand as they stepped from the house. He held her tighter as they hopped over a large tree stump. “He’ll make certain the vote goes his way.”
“He probably has something else of hers to plant to take away any doubt,” Donovan guessed. “He figured Sarah would be home alone without an alibi. Since everyone suspects her, they won’t be paying attention to him.”
“It wouldn’t be hard.” She grimaced deeply. Her office held various personal items and was usually unlocked. He had his choice of sweater buttons, snaps or other items he could use to implicate her. “How will we find him? Harmony Creek may be a small town, but it has a decent amount of land, much of it wooded. Once he sets the fire, he’ll be out of there in seconds. We may already be too late.”
Had the villain won, just when they’d finally deciphered his identity? She blinked up at the sky, gasped. A think plume of grey trailed from the nearby forest. “Or just in time.”
“Let’s go!” The three of them raced through the forested world, navigating brush that clutched at them like skeletons’ nails, jumping over fallen trees barely visible in the inky darkness. Sharp twigs sliced Sarah’s legs, their wet leaves plastering to her skin, as she lunged through the crunchy undergrowth. The scent of scorching wood stung her eyes and burned her nostrils, irritating her lungs as it grew ever-thicker. Seconds later, yellow and orange lights danced on the leaves, a haunting atmosphere no ghost could emulate. They reached a clearing and entered…
A hellscape.
This was no small job. No plywood shed, bale of hay or mere clock. No, before them, a full house burned, blazing white hot flames licking up shuddering walls. The carnage of crackling wood and breaking timber shook the ground, a cacophony of anger, anguish and destruction. Thankfully, the house was almost certainly empty, abandoned years ago by its owners, for it would be a total loss. The structure wouldn’t stand for much longer.
A gasp sounded, revealing the culprit in their midst. “What are you doing here?” Scott gaped at them, astonishment stealing the lines to his criminal act. Like before, he wore all black, although he’d left his mask behind, likely from the certainty he’d already won. He carried a lit torch and an even more telling object – one of Sarah’s scarves.
“I don’t believe it.” Donovan glared. “All this time, you’ve been the arsonist?” He stepped forward.
“I will deal with him.” Cole stopped Donovan. Somehow his quiet intensity was more threatening than the other man’s outright aggression. Power and authority forged total and utter command. “It’s over,” he growled. “Put down the torch.”
Scott’s features twisted with pure hatred. “It’s not fair!” he shouted. “She doesn’t deserve it. You both know she’s a criminal.”
Cole stepped closer, danger surrounding every move. Silhouetted by the roaring flames, he defined pure power. “You’re the one who put people in danger. You terrorized the entire town.”
“I only righted a wrong.” Scott waved the torch, its flames dripping to the ground like fiery raindrops. “A criminal shouldn’t have the job of top lawman. But no one will believe you anyways. They all know you’re sleeping with the bitch.”
Cole lunged forward, but Donovan held him back. “He still has the torch,” he hissed. “And Sarah’s right there. We don’t want him setting the whole forest on fire.”
Cole shook off Donovan but stopped moving. Now Donovan glared at Scott. “It doesn’t matter if they believe Sarah or even Cole, because they’ll believe me. I’ve been against her this whole time. You’ve been caught, Scott. Give up before someone gets hurt.”
“She’s fooled you, too!” Scott snarled. “The fires didn’t injure anyone, and they hardly caused damage. No one got hurt and–”
A scream pierced the air.
It came from the building, the barely standing structure that moaned and groaned in death’s throes. Yet it was no natural sound, no remnant of the forest and no animal. Someone was inside the fiery nightmare, trapped by flames and smoke in the rapidly deteriorating space. And if they didn’t do something soon, that person was about to die.
Scott paled. “It’s abandoned. No one was supposed to be there.” The torch slipped from his grasp, down, down, down to the crunchy undergrowth. The leaves started to glow…
Cole dove forward, grabbed the sizzling torch. His face contorted with pain as he stopped it from igniting the brush. He stomped both brush and torch out, pivoted to the raging inferno. Flames danced on the once white walls, higher and higher with each slipping second.
The scream came once more.
Sarah sprang forward, but Cole caught her by the arm. Captured by his iron grip, she couldn’t move. “Let me go! I have to help.”
“I’ll do it. I’ve had training for this in the military.” He infused pure power into his voice, an answer to every challenge. For a moment, she hesitated, then gave a curt nod. He turned to Donovan, who stood frozen in place, staring at the flames with haunted eyes. “Our phones don’t get service out here. Take Scott to his house and call the fire department.”
For a moment Donovan remined still, but then he gave a forceful nod and grabbed Scott, who was now muttering incoherent apologies. They ran toward Scott’s home.
“The scream came from the top floor, so I might be able to reach whoever’s in there before the flames destroy it.” Cole pointed to the building’s edge. “There’s an outside staircase in back. I remember it from when we were kids.”
They ran forward, giving just enough berth to escape the blistering heat as they circled the fiery building. The back fared better than the front, with fewer flames, yet every second the fire grew higher, wider. A series of steps stood that once upon a time could’ve been called a staircase rose to a second floor that was not yet engulfed. Crafted of ignitable wood, it was crippled by missing steps and splintered bits of wood.
“Will it hold us?” Sarah shouted.
“You mean will it hold me,” Cole challenged. “You’re not going in there. I thought you understood.”
“That was before I saw this.” Sarah winced as the crackling flames gobbled the house like a Thanksgiving meal. “Someone’s life is in danger, and two of us are better than one.”
Flames reflected emerald ice in Cole’s eyes. “That structure probably can’t hold one of us, much less two. You stay here.” Obviously assuming she would obey, he turned from her, charged to the stairs.
Stay still while someone else risked their life? That wasn’t why she became sheriff.
She waited a minute to avoid further protests, then followed as Cole scaled the stairs far quicker than he should. The air sizzled as she approached the home, the heat surrounding her like a sauna from hell. She reached the staircase yet stopped. What if he was right? What if her added weight caused it to collapse?
As Cole disappeared through an open window, Sarah paced the uneven ground. He had exactly one minute before she chased after him. The seconds ticked by in agonizing slowness, each one a lifetime of horror. Fifty-nine seconds to that limit, a tiny boy appeared at the top window, coughing and wailing and somehow alive . A second later he was hoisted through the window to the top stair.
“Tommy!” Now Sarah took the steps two at a time as they wobbled, creaked and cracked, praying and hoping they wouldn’t collapse as she rushed toward the small figure at the top. She reached the eight-year-old and bent down, grasping his slight body. Black soot covered him from head to toe, yet no other injuries were visible. As swiftly as she dared, she navigated the steps to the ground, adrenaline vanquishing any and all fear. She reached the rocky earth yet still ran, until she was far from the fire, and the air tasted sweeter. She gently placed the boy on the grass.
He blinked honey brown eyes, sniffled rapidly. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Sheriff. We didn’t mean to cause trouble. We didn’t start the fire, I swear.”
“I know, Tommy.” Sarah scanned the small child. He coughed again, yet his voice was strong, his breathing even. The absence of burn marks proved the fire had yet to reach him. She blinked tears of relief. He was going to be okay.
Yet suddenly she froze. “Did you say we ?”
“Yeah, Billy and me. The deputy is looking for him right now.”
An ominous creaking sounded, and the entire structure swayed. Sarah’s heart stumbled as the house tilted, tilted, tilted… and then stopped. Temporarily. She took Tommy by the shoulders. “I have to go back, but help will arrive soon. Don’t move.”
Sirens sounded in the distance, but she wouldn’t lose precious seconds by waiting for them. She turned toward the stairs.
Time to save the man she loved.
Blackness was approaching. Cole couldn’t see it, but he could feel it, along with the ticking of time running out. Time to find little Billy and get them both out before the entire building collapsed.
Before the visions overtook him.
He’d felt them coming even when he saved Tommy, could feel the pull back to the past, back to the bombing. He’d fought with everything he had and had managed to stay together enough to get the little boy to safety. He’d then gone back.
The smoke was thick and barely breathable. He had minutes at best, seconds at worst. “Billy!” he shouted again and again, listening for a cry, a scream, anything to alert him to the little boy’s location. And suddenly… a miracle.
The voice was so light, he barely heard it over the fire’s cackling. The darkness revealed a figure, tiny and diminutive but alive and breathing. Crouching in the corner, the little boy gasped and wheezed in the only pocket of air not completely inundated with smoke. He was next to a window, not big enough to escape, but enough to provide life-saving oxygen.
Adrenaline surged, as Cole pushed forward in the darkness. He picked up the little boy and pivoted back, toward a nearly impossible escape. Somehow there was still a staircase to send him to, and he hoisted the boy outside, then pulled himself out of the window. Grabbing Billy again, he raced down the rickety stairs. And then he was on the ground, yet still running.
He’d made it.
He ran until they reached Tommy, who cried out when he saw his friend. Now that the immediate danger was over, Cole studied both boys, grinning like a madman when it was clear neither were seriously harmed. Sirens sounded nearby, followed by the cadence of people running through the forest. Somehow, he’d managed the impossible. Now he would hold Sarah and celebrate life and the future. He scanned the blurry world, then froze.
A sliver of dread sliced through him.
“Where is Sheriff Sloan?” He knelt down to Tommy. “Did she go for help?”
The little boy shook his head, pointed with a tiny ash-covered finger. “She’s up there.” His voice cracked. “She went after you.”
No. Fear seized his breath, making his lungs crackle. With a barked command to the boys to stay, he ran back to the structure, barely noticing the thickening smoke, the sparks lighting up the world like the Fourth of July. His chances of survival were miniscule, but it didn’t matter. Sarah needed him.
He ascended stairs that swayed like a funhouse drawbridge, as jagged nails tore at his palms, splintered wood drawing blood on his legs. Finally, he reached the top, the entrance to an interior completely filled with smoke. He’d have the span of one breath to rescue Sarah, for an attempt at more would likely render him unconscious. With his last taste of oxygen, he raced in.
The world was alive with fire. Red and orange flames danced on melting walls, a juxtaposition of brilliant light and midnight darkness set to a symphony of sizzling, creaking and splintering. The house was a sea of shadows, concealing hidden perils and unseen dangers from a child’s nightmare. He stepped forward, and the ground gave . He grabbed a beam, somehow heaving himself up before he plummeted to certain death. Only seconds had passed, but time was running out. He couldn’t leave – not without Sarah.
His lungs burned, demanding oxygen, as the shadows shifted in the darkness. Was someone there? He took a chance and grabbed at it.
“Cole!” Sarah gasped.
Relief cascaded through him. Sarah was pale and shaken, but she was alive. Without wasting precious air, he lifted her, racing back to where he thought – hoped – the exit remained. A sliver of light lit their path, a gift of the full moon, and then they were at the window and he was pushing her through it. She made it to the top of the stairs, miraculously still standing, and he took a breath of sweet air through the open portal. Though laden with smoke, it still had some oxygen to offer. “The stairs can’t hold both of us,” he yelled. “Go down first!”
His beautiful partner looked ready to fight, but she must’ve known she wouldn’t win. Far too fast, she started down the precarious steps. He held his breath as the stairs creaked, the wood fighting valiantly but so ready to give up. She was met at the bottom by dozens of firefighters from Harmony Creek and beyond. “Hurry, Cole! It’s not going to hold much longer.”
No, it wouldn’t. He stepped onto the ledge, grabbed a beam…
That’s when the vision took over.
The world descended into an all too familiar nightmare. He fought it with everything he had, grasping for control, but it was too powerful, too all-encompassing. And suddenly, he was in a different type of hell altogether, the hell that always captured him. Only this time, something was different.
He refused to stop fighting.
“It’s not real. It’s over.” He repeated the words, shouted them, screamed them as loud as he could. This time he wouldn’t let it win, not when he was so close. He thought of Sarah, and suddenly the vision wavered. It was just the slightest change, the slightest lessening, but he seized it, fought for control. And just as suddenly, the nightmare dissipated and he was back in reality’s nightmare, back in the smoke laden house, his hand still gripping the beam, the fire so close, the heat licking his back.
“Cole!” Screaming came from down below, as Sarah desperately trying to reach him, stopped by three burly firemen who held her tight. He put his foot on the first step.
The staircase vanished.