Chapter 6
6
“ J esus Christ,” Buddy muttered as he rolled his truck to a stop two blocks from Keith Jones’ house on Cricket Boulevard only ten miles south of the station house. Fire trucks lined the streets along with a few police cars and an ambulance.
Flames still burned tall from the partially caved-in roof. A cloud of black smoke billowed toward the sky like a thick coat of coal. A partially charred Jeep with melted red paint and flat tires was parked under the carport along with a brand-new Harley that looked more like a pile of twisted metal than a motorcycle.
“That’s not good,” Duncan said with his badge in his hand. “Do you see Keith?”
Buddy looped his badge over his neck and shook his head. “Arthur and Kent are over there.” He pointed at the back of the ladder truck. While his team hadn’t been on call, this was one of their own.
Brothers to the end.
Arthur waved them over while other firemen raced to contain the fire. Hoses were held in place as water spewed over the blaze. Two of his buddies from the other crew ran past with axes in their hands, the intensity etched into their eyes more noticeably pronounced.
“Do we know what happened and where Keith is?” Buddy asked, scanning the area, his heart hammering in his chest.
“No idea on both counts,” Arthur said.
“Fuck.” Buddy didn’t like Keith, and he made no bones about it, but watching his house go up in flames, well, that sucked.
God, he hoped Keith was perhaps in the back of the ambulance, being checked out with nothing more than a few bruises. Or maybe talking with an officer down the street. “Who called it in?”
“His neighbor,” Kent said, standing with his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “He was at the station doing paperwork last night. He told Henderson he was headed home and would finish up in the morning for the internal review board.”
“He never showed up,” Arthur said, pointing toward the carport. “No one has seen him.”
“You think he’s inside?” Buddy sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. A fire that burned that hot, with that kind of smoke, could kill a grown man in his sleep before the flames got to him.
Buddy shivered at the unpleasant thought.
“Hey, Arthur,” Chastity yelled as she jogged from the front yard. “Garth says they can’t get to the bedroom, and Keith’s not answering his phone. It goes straight to voicemail.”
“Shit,” Arthur said as he raked a hand through his dark hair.
“The fire is under control, but it will be hours before we can get an investigative team in there.” Chastity pulled her hair into a tighter ponytail before swirling it into a bun on top of her head. “I asked one of the officers if they could come over here and report back to us on what they found out from the neighbors. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“Thanks,” Arthur said with a nod.
A few shouts from the front of the house caught Buddy’s attention. The sound of wood snapping cut through the hum of the hoses. The firefighters took a few steps back as two ran from the front door.
The ground shook, sending sparks into the sky like fireflies that had been set free.
“Maybe Keith crashed at some chick’s house. He’s always got a girl on his arm,” Duncan said with little to no conviction in his voice.
Buddy watched helplessly as the black smoke turned gray and dissipated into the morning sky. It appeared the flames had been put out, but they still would continue to douse the fallen structure until it no longer produced dangerous amounts of heat.
“Hey, Arthur,” Kent said, pointing to the barricade the police had made at the corner. “Who is that?”
Buddy looked over his shoulder. “Kaelie?”
“You know our new internal investigative officer?” Arthur asked with an arched brow.
“She’s my neighbor. We met when she moved in.” Buddy continued to eye Kaelie as she flashed her badge to one of the local officers, who puffed out his chest.
“She’s tight with a buddy of mine,” Arthur said.
“Yeah. Gunner. I met him at your wedding.” Buddy nodded at Kaelie when he caught her gaze. “I figured she’d get called in but not this soon.” He glanced at his watch. It had been less than an hour since he’d left her house. That was barely enough time for her to get to her office and then drive to this neighborhood.
“Not surprised considering it’s one of our own,” Arthur said, planting his hands on his hips. “It’s a delicate situation.”
“But you’re thinking the same thing I am.” Buddy’s stomach churned as he tasted the scorched wood and metal with every hard swallow.
“That fire burned too hot and fast for me not to be suspicious,” Arthur said.
“The call came in with a description of smoke coming from the windows,” Chastity said. “When Max’s team arrived, fifteen minutes from the time of the call, the fire was out of control and had taken the entire house.”
Buddy’s heart skipped a beat as Kaelie stepped closer. “Hey, Buddy. Duncan,” she said, then turned her attention to Arthur. “I recognize you from pictures Gunner has shown me over the years.”
“It’s good to finally meet you, but the circumstance sucks.” Arthur held out his hand. “Have you been introduced to Kent or Chastity?”
Kaelie shook her head, greeting them with slight smile.
“They’re going in, Arthur,” Chastity said, taking a step toward the house.
“Kent and Duncan, go with her. Stay out of the way but keep your eyes and ears open. I want to know what they find.”
“Sure thing,” Duncan and Kent said in unison.
“So, what have you been told?” Arthur might be the quiet, reserved type, but he never held back any punches. Always direct and to the point. Which was why he was being made captain.
“Not much other than Keith Jones is missing, and the fire is suspicious.” The uniform fit Kaelie, her demeanor commanding and professional. “If we find a body, or we suspect the fire was started intentionally, I’m here to formally take over the investigation.”
“That’s being a bit proactive without knowing what happened,” Arthur said.
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Buddy asked.
She nodded. “But I can’t divulge that information just yet.”
“Fuck,” Arthur muttered. “Rex leads my arson team. He’s a trained investigator. He can’t do his job unless we know exactly what we are dealing with, and I can’t have you keeping that from him.”
“Right now, everything goes through me.”
“Jesus, Kaelie, what the hell is going on?” Buddy held her stare and not once did she blink. Nor did her tight facial expression change. “You’re investigating something else, aren’t you?”
“Buddy, I can’t discuss an ongoing investigation with you or anyone right now,” she said with a slightly softer tone.
“Can you at least tell us if Keith is the center of the?—”
“No. I can’t.” She held his stare and gave nothing away. A trait expected of a seasoned investigator. But considering he’d just slept with her, he’d hoped he’d be able to find her tell or she’d give him some kind of sign. “If, and when, it’s deemed appropriate for you to know anything, I’ll inform you.”
“This is beginning to sound less like a typical arson investigation and more like internal?—”
“Buddy,” Kaelie interrupted him. “I need you to let me do my job.”
Jesus. Right now, he resented the professional side of Kaelie as much as he respected it.
“Arthur!” Chastity called. “We got a body.”
Buddy’s heart plummeted from his chest to the center of his gut. His pulse slowed for a half a second before it raced wildly out of control.
“Arthur, I need to speak with Rex. Is there anyone else on your team who specializes in arson?” Kaelie asked.
“I’ve got three trained specialists besides me. Buddy here is one. Kent and Rex are the other two.”
Kaelie let out a long breath. “I’ll call my boss and see who can aid me in this investigation. Be prepared to go in as soon as the house cools enough and please, for fuck’s sake, start getting everyone out of here. This is officially a crime scene.”
Buddy slipped on his boots and set his fireman’s hat on his head. It had been forty minutes since the first responders had found a body, which had not yet been identified as Keith’s. The medical examiner hadn’t remove the body since they had to make sure the house was safe for everyone to enter, which Max’s team had done about five minutes ago.
Buddy, his fellow arson team members, and Kaelie had gathered at the back end of the ladder truck. The crowd that had formed had been reduced in numbers, but the local news stations had set up camp at the corner, trying desperately to get the police to talk, but that was never going to happen.
A few local fireman and police officers gave statements about the incident, but they were even more in the dark than Buddy.
“Are you going to fill us in on the scope of the investigation?” Buddy asked what Arthur, Rex, and Kent were all thinking.
She shook her head. “We’ll do a full briefing back at the station where I know it will be secure. Too many civilians wandering around with big ears.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Arthur said as he pulled his fireman coat around his body. “How do we know what we’re supposed to be looking for if?—”
“I want you and your team to focus solely on the fire. Where and how it started. What caused it to burn so hot and fast.” Kaelie took the jacket Buddy offered, along with the hard hat.
“You’ve got to give us something.” It wouldn’t be the first time Buddy went into an investigation knowing very little, but not when murder might be on the menu.
“I agree,” Rex said. He’d arrived at the scene fifteen minutes ago and other than Arthur, he had the most training when it came to arson.
“All I’m going to tell you right now is that a week ago, my office opened an investigation into Keith,” Kaelie said.
“About what?” Buddy didn’t want to let it go. He couldn’t. They needed to know if they should be looking for something specific.
“Look.” Kaelie let out a long breath. “Today is my first day, and I’m not completely up to speed. But more importantly, we don’t know how far what we are investigating goes, so you’re just going to have to wait until we’re in my office. Arthur, you’re with me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Gunner told me Kaelie was one tough cookie,” Rex said, slapping Buddy on the back. “I hear she’s your neighbor.”
“Yep.” Buddy followed Arthur and Kaelie across the front yard. Just ahead of them was the medical examiner with one member of his team and a gurney. They all paused for a moment, the reality of the situation sinking in. “What the hell do you think Keith was into?”
No sooner did the words leave Buddy’s mouth, then Kaelie glanced over her shoulder, shooting him a dangerous look.
He nodded, acknowledging he needed to keep his trap shut and that made him even more nervous. He scanned the area, making a mental note of everything, wondering if someone had either set the house on fire or was in cahoots with whatever crap Keith had gotten himself into, which honestly didn’t surprise Buddy. Keith had known issues with authority his entire career, and his reputation preceded him wherever he went.
“If looks could kill, I’d say you’d be flat on your back,” Kent said.
“I hate that look. Tilly gives it to me every time I let the kids fall asleep in our bed.” Rex had two rug rats with one on the way and was probably considered one of the cool dads. Of course, he was independently wealthy, so that helped since he had a big house with a pool and every toy a kid could ever desire.
“Dixie gives it to me when I let Nicky play video games too long,” Kent said.
“No. She does that because you’re the one playing too long,” Buddy said as he stepped across the threshold.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?” Kent said as more of a statement than a question.
“Arthur and I will take the bedroom side of the house, you three have everything else,” she said right before she took the turn down the hallway, Arthur two paces behind.
In silence, Buddy, Kent, and Rex examined the family room, or what was left. Half of the roof lay on top of what Buddy assumed to be a coffee table, sofa, and an electric recliner. He knelt next to it, inspecting the wires that had burned into the socket on the floor, but there was nothing indicating it could have started with that.
“Look at that.” Kent pointed to the gaping hole that used to be the outside wall in the back of the house. “Does it look like it burned inward to you?”
“Yeah,” Buddy said, stepping over the rubble that was still warm.
“But it burned up and out over here,” Kent said, standing where the kitchen would have been. Instead, all that was left was a shell of a fridge and an oven. The counter had slipped right off the cabinets, which were scorched. Everything had a black layer of wet soot.
“It looks like the fire started on the other side of the house,” Rex said. “What direction is the wind blowing?”
“East to west,” Kent said.
“Make sense since there is less damage over here.” Buddy stood by the door that went to the side porch. He took his glove and tapped at the wall. “Pretty solid. Not very warm at all. I bet this wood isn’t singed all the way through.”
“That means point of origin has to be in one of the bedrooms,” Rex said as he headed in that direction, while taking pictures of the destruction.
“Two years ago, Keith failed his drug test,” Buddy said, shaking his head.
“I remember that.” Rex stopped in front of what used to be the bathroom door and snapped a few images. “He’d been on an extended vacation for twenty-one days and owned up to smoking a little weed. He got a slap on the wrist.”
The sound of feet crunching over debris caught Buddy’s attention. He glanced up to see the medical examiner pushing a gurney with a sheet over what couldn’t be much of a body, considering the size of the mound.
Out of respect, they stood silent for a moment as what they assumed was Keith’s body being removed from the house.
“Let’s continue,” Arthur said, standing in the doorway.
Buddy swallowed hard, remembering his last encounter with Keith, which ended in a confrontation and a fistfight, not to mention some pretty nasty verbiage they both had exchanged. He didn’t like the man, but Buddy didn’t wish Keith any harm. No one deserved to die in a house fire.
“I’m going with the medical examiner,” Kaelie announced as she appeared from the bedroom, her face pale even though perspiration beaded across her forehead.
“Kaelie?” Buddy started, staring into her dark, horror-filled eyes.
“Finish here. It’s going to be a long day,” she said.
Buddy wanted to race over and hold her. He had no idea how many dead, burned bodies she’d seen, and it didn’t matter.
Every single one would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Arthur nodded toward the hallway before following Kaelie out of the house.
Buddy carefully stepped over more wreckage as he made his way into the main bedroom. “Jesus,” he muttered.
There was nothing left of the room but black, charred material. The roof had completely caved in, and what should have been a door to the back patio was another cavernous hole. The temperature of the room had to be five degrees hotter than the rest.
He peeked his head out and scanned the patio.
“Holy fuck,” he said.
“What is it?” Rex raced to his side.
“That gas can right there.”
“Yeah, what about it?” Rex asked.
“It’s mine.”