Chapter 20
KINCAID
IndexEcho: Just showered after four days away from fresh water. You can’t imagine how disgusting I was.
DrunkenPoet: That sounds like an invitation. Hold on, imagining you in the shower now. brB.
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Alex Marian was a good man. It had been two days since his late-night tears, and I still couldn’t get over how upset he’d been when I’d told him about my parents.
It had taken me a little while to get past my prejudice against Alex from the mistaken identity situation in Amsterdam, but this was the perfect example of how wrong I’d been about him.
Lieutenant Pope popped her head in my office. “There’s a call for non-emergency fire response to a potential hazmat situation on Randolph and Gallatin.”
I quirked my head at her. It was unusual for my crew to involve me in a call like that.
“The reason I’m informing you is because it involves a Timber employee. And since you seem particularly interested in keeping them in compliance… I thought you might want to know about it.”
I immediately stood and grabbed my jacket. “Let’s go.”
When we arrived at the scene, a man I recognized as Karim Haddad was patiently scrolling his phone, while an older woman in Carhartt overalls and work boots shot him an evil eye from across the driveway.
The small house behind them was divided into two apartments—one side neat and tidy, the other with a collection of half-rusted metal outdoor furniture and dead plants in front.
The two-car garage was the same. One half was spotless, while the other was cluttered with a mishmash of storage totes and trash bags.
“What’s going on?” I started with Karim since I didn’t know the woman.
Karim tilted his head at his neighbor before sliding his phone into his back pocket and crossing his arms. “Sue seems to think I’m preparing to dispose of dead bodies.”
Sue snapped, “It’s a barrel of lye! What else does a man do with a barrel of lye, I ask you?
” She stepped forward and held out her hand.
“Thank you for coming, Chief. I’m Sue Garrison.
Mr. Haddad and I share this garage, and I found multiple suspicious chemicals being stored there.
Not just the lye. I’m concerned for my safety.
I have two dogs, and the last thing I need is to wake up in the middle of the night dead! ”
I saw Kinsey stifle a laugh out of the corner of my eye while Karim simply exhaled.
“Well, let’s take a look, then, shall we?” I asked. “Show me what you’re concerned about, and I’ll figure out whether or not it’s being stored properly. Karim, is that okay with you?”
Sue bustled forward. “He doesn’t have to consent since I consent for both of us, and it’s a single space.”
“That’s not exactly true,” I said as Karim said, “Go ahead. There’s nothing improperly stored, and I’d like her to have peace of mind, even though she’s being a pain in the ass about it.”
Sue huffed.
Just then, a car pulled up, and Alex got out. “What’s going on here?”
I could tell right off the bat he was angry. “Alex—” But before I could ask what he was doing there, Karim’s shoulders dropped.
“Thanks for coming. I’m sure it’s fine, but I didn’t want to be alone in case it wasn’t,” he said.
Alex moved closer and stood next to him, placing a hand on Karim’s shoulder. “Of course. It’s no problem. More problems with your neighbor?”
Sue’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, so you’ve been complaining about me to other people? Sounds about right. Maybe I’m the one you’re planning on using the lye on!”
I could tell Karim was considering agreeing out of frustration, but I didn’t want the words out there.
“Hey, everyone needs to take a breath and calm down. Karim, you and Alex can stand over there,” I said, indicating one side of the driveway.
“And Sue, if you don’t mind standing over there, that would be great. ”
I met Lieutenant Pope’s eyes and tilted my head toward one side of the garage so we could split the work.
Pope headed to the side that was the more obvious fire hazard. “Sir, right off, I can see empty cardboard boxes stored near a space heater.”
Sue’s eyes widened. “That’s… that’s not… those are mine! And those boxes are going to the dump next week. Look over there. Those barrels and cans.” She pointed to the tidy side, where there was a clear workbench with various cans and barrels stored underneath. Each was clearly labeled.
I squatted to look through them. Sure enough, there was a giant barrel of lye. There were also chromatic oxides, argan oil, and essential oils such as clary sage and neroli.
I peered up at Karim. “You make soap?”
His face broke out into a huge grin. “Yeah. And I sell it at the farmer’s market. Me and Tavo share a table. How’d you know?”
“It smells amazing in here,” I said with a grin. “And I recognize the silicone molds on the shelf above your workbench.”
Karim’s body seemed to relax even more as he grinned back. “Legacy Lather dot com. I make a Himalayan cedarwood scent that you might like. Check it out.”
Alex let out a huff of laughter. “I actually think he likes the white champaca,” he murmured softly enough that only I could hear it.
Memories of sniffing up the column of his neck to the spot behind his ear that always smelled sweetest, of running my nose up the back of his leg as I dropped kisses everywhere, came flooding into my head.
I cleared my throat and tried to focus. “Okay, well… I should… Do you mind if I peek inside to make sure the contents match the label?”
Karim shook his head. As I began checking, I could hear Lieutenant Pope lecturing Sue on half-empty gas cans, rusted paint tins, and various other dangerous items on her side of the garage.
When all was said and done, I found no violations on Karim’s side and wrote out several items in a written warning on Sue’s side.
“I have to send a copy of this to the homeowner as well,” I explained. Their landlord turned out to be Hazel Marian, who owned several rental properties around town. Instead of being there to watch over his cousin’s property, Alex had come to provide support to his friend and employee.
Once again, Alex Marian proved himself to be one of the good ones. And it only made me fall harder for him.
“Thank you both for your cooperation,” I said to Karim and Sue. “Hopefully, you’ll sleep easier knowing you’re plenty safe.”
Karim scoffed but didn’t say anything. I didn’t blame him.
It was awkward leaving Alex without being able to say anything to him or acknowledge him as anything other than Karim’s friend.
“Marian,” I said gruffly, throwing him a nod.
“Chief.” His eyes followed me as I trailed Pope back to the truck.
On the drive back to the station, Pope said, “I feel stupid. I knew Karim made soap, I just didn’t put two and two together because I didn’t know what was used in making it.”
I shrugged. “Not sure Sue would have been okay with us taking those cans at face value anyway. He was generous to let us inspect without giving us a hard time.”
Pope’s voice softened. “He’s a nice man. You should see his table at the market. He also has these lavender sleep masks that smell amazing. I didn’t see their backyard, but I wonder if he grows his own lavender for them.”
I glanced over at my second-in-command and noticed her slight blush. “Maybe I’ll check it out. They doing it this weekend?”
She nodded. “It’s the last one for the season, so it’ll be big. And there will be a ton of pumpkins and gourds, things like that. Stu Old-Chief makes Bapa Wohanpi with timpsila, and Beth Bower sells pumpkin muffins. Both are not to be missed.”
Which was how I found myself at the final farmer’s market of the year, browsing Karim’s soap selection, when the kid from Alex’s apartment—a subject that had been clearly off-limits the entire time we’d been hooking up—got into trouble.
“Hey, aren’t you from San Francisco?” a man in a baseball cap asked Tavo, who was helping a woman organize her stock at the next table over.
I didn’t think much of it until Tavo froze like a terrified animal faced with a predator.
“You are!” Baseball Cap continued. “I saw you at Pinch with Judge Miller last year sometime. I was waiting tables, and he handed me a hundred-dollar bill and told me to let him know if I saw you with anyone besides him in the back room.” The man chuckled.
“But you barely left his side except to dance. And it seemed like you were dancing just for him. You guys were cute.”
Poor Tavo’s face turned red, and he stammered. “N-no. That wasn’t me. I’ve never even been to San Francisco.”
He was a shit liar—possibly worse than Alex Marian himself—but his denial was enough for Baseball Cap to back off. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m not upset,” Tavo argued. “I’m just… not whoever you think I am.”
Baseball Cap leaned in and lowered his voice. “If you’re not out, that’s totally my bad. I’m so fucking sorry, bro.”
Tavo shook his head and indicated several of the flint and steel kits he was selling that were rainbow colored. “Not the problem. The problem is that I’m not that guy.”
Alex must have sensed Tavo’s discomfort from wherever he was because he started heading over. Meanwhile, I turned to the stranger.
“I couldn’t help but overhear you, and it reminded me of something that happened to me.
See that guy?” I pointed to Alex. “I could have sworn he was someone I met in Europe a few years ago, but it turned out it was just a guy who looked like him. Don’t they say we all have a doppelg?nger somewhere? ”
I gave him an easy smile and waited until he huffed out a laugh. “Bro, I once met a guy on a ski slope who looked just like my cousin Abe. Like freaky-twin shit.”
Tavo was able to relax enough to let out a weak chuckle. “Yeah. I’ve heard all kinds of stories like that.”
The guy reached out a fist to bump. “Sorry, my guy. Tell me about these fire thingies you have.”
As Tavo launched into an explanation of how to use the flint and steel kit, Alex moved up next to me. “Thank you,” he murmured.
I glanced at him and noticed the stress in his expression. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”
He shook his head. “No, but I’ll at least tell you why I can’t tell you.” He glanced around. “Just not here.”
I looked around and noticed a few people watching us. “See you around, Marian.”
Once I made it back home, I texted him.
Can I make you dinner tonight or do you have to work?
Firebug
I probably can’t leave till nine.
I’ll make dessert then.
Firebug
Thank you again for helping Tavo. I owe you one.
I took a chance and fired back.
Maybe I’ll use that favor to get you to agree to a proper date one of these days.
It seemed like forever before his reply came through.
Firebug
In what universe would you have to use a favor to get me to agree to that? The answer is yes. Name the time and place and I’ll be there, Chief.
As I spent the rest of the afternoon on boring shit like laundry and cleaning my bathroom, I couldn’t help my anticipation.
Finally, after years of avoiding emotional entanglements, I had found someone I wanted to be tangled up with in the very best way.