Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
S weat dripped down Zack’s shirt and threatened to drown him in a pool of heartbreaking loss. He stared unseeing at the wall in the firehouse weight room.
It’s all your fault. That’s why he’s dead.
It wasn’t Naya’s admission from yesterday; it was Powells’s. Back when Zack was a kid staring at the flames consuming his parents’ house.
Don’t leave meeee. The cry of his eight-year-old voice reverberated in his skull.
They’re gone, kid. You were too late. The fire chief’s curt tone pierced his eardrum.
Now Powells was dead.
The weights on the shoulder press clanked over and over with each repetition. But no matter how many sets he did, he couldn’t silence the echo of that voice.
Zack pulled the weight toward his chest once more, then let it drop back into place on top of the pile with a thud. He let out a grunt and fisted his hands. Too bad they didn’t have a boxing set in the firehouse gym. He could use a good couple of lunge punches.
Instead, he dropped to the floor and started a speed round of push-ups.
“With a routine like that, you’re going to be sore for the next couple of days.” Eddie swung a towel over his shoulder and sat on the bench, setting his water bottle next to him.
“At least I’ll be ready for a callout.” Zack pushed himself off the ground, breathing hard. He moved to the bench and grabbed a towel. After he wiped the perspiration off his brow, he took a swig of his water. “I can’t get yesterday out of my mind, man.” Zack shuddered. If he could take the guilt from Naya and shoulder it himself, he’d do it in a heartbeat. “It never gets easier.”
“We see tragedy too often.” Eddie’s low voice carried the weight of the reality. “But it’s a good thing it’s not getting easier. Or else we’d be calloused. And that’s a problem.”
“The emotions are hard to swallow at times.” Zack gritted his teeth. He’d already shared all the sordid details with his friend yesterday over the phone after he’d gotten home. “All I see are my parents. And Powells. So much loss.”
Zack sat with Eddie in silence for several minutes. Nothing could be said to change the outcomes or take the pain away.
“When we walk through the fire, we’re not alone. You’re not alone.” Eddie pointed a finger at Zack. “You’ve got the Lord and this crew.”
“I was just reading those verses in Isaiah the other day.” Zack gave a short laugh. Nothing like hearing the same truth in different ways.
“The Lord has a good way of reminding us what we need to take to heart.” Eddie smiled. “Naya’s gonna need people surrounding her too,” he said. “Reminding her it’s not her fault.”
“It feels like being back in the system some days. One loss after another, you know?”
Eddie grimaced.
“How many more need to leave, disappear, or die before one stays?”
“Jesus. Remind her of Jesus.” Eddie took a swig of water.
You are mine. I am with you. The words the Lord spoke in Scripture whispered an assuring response.
Eddie added, “Just be there for her. Sit. Listen. Pray.”
Yes, that’s what he’d do. However he could help her, he’d do it. “I called her this morning to check in, but she didn’t answer.”
“Is she by herself?”
“No. Her friend came over to stay with her.” Zack slung his damp towel over his shoulder. “That scene yesterday is haunting me. I kept telling Naya the danger was reason enough to give up finding the truth. But now I almost understand the need to get answers. This killer has taken too many lives.”
“Right now, Naya needs you.” Eddie stood up and closed the distance between them. “Don’t get wrapped up in more trouble when you can support her with your presence.” Eddie slapped Zack on the shoulder.
Eddie was right. Zack didn’t need to go out and find the killer. Or make Naya think this was all her fault. Not when he understood the blame game all too well. Sitting in the shame wouldn’t change the outcome. She needed him to be there to listen. Lord, watch over Naya. Remind her of the truth in the midst of this heartache. Encourage her heart with the reality that You will never leave her nor forsake her.
A rap sounded on the gym door. Trace popped his head in. “Lieutenant wants to see you in his office, Zack.”
“I’m going to change real quick, then I’ll be in.” Zack headed to the shower stall to rinse off.
Five minutes later, he put on a fresh uniform, then made his way to Bryce’s office. He paused in the doorway when he spotted the chief, Macon James, and city liaison, Allen Frees, in conversation with Bryce.
He pivoted on his heel, ready to give them space to finish up whatever they needed to discuss.
Instead, Bryce paused midsentence and waved his hand. “Come on in. Have a seat.”
Zack eased himself into the chair next to Macon, across from the lieutenant’s desk. Already his muscles protested the movement.
“What’s going on?” He drew the words out while making eye contact with each man. Whatever had happened must be significant. Allen never came to meetings unless it impacted the town.
Zack didn’t want to entertain the idea of trouble from the get-go, but having all the bosses in one room made his spine tingle.
“Have you kept up with the news over the past few hours?”
Zack’s mind kicked into overdrive, and his heart rate sped up. Had something new surfaced he didn’t know about? “Not really, why?”
Frees cleared his throat and spoke up. “An article was published two hours ago and has already gained an immense amount of traction and comments.”
Bryce spun his computer around.
Zack scooted to the edge of the seat and skimmed the glaring headline.
Firefighter working to cover up dad’s missteps puts department reputation at risk.
At the top of the article, a picture of Zack in the woods, glancing over his shoulder, was positioned next to another photo of him by the pile of sandbags and truck yesterday.
“Take a minute to read this, then we can chat.” Bryce handed him the computer mouse.
Zack scrolled down the page and couldn’t believe what had been written, never mind published. His throat tightened. He wanted to shout that none of this was true.
The author built an argument stemming from the water contamination situation.
Local firefighter Zack Stephens has known all along that the fire extinguishers and foam on the market were poisoning people. He was caught at the dumping ground, where sandbags concealed chemicals discarded in the river. His work at the fire department is putting people in jeopardy. Thanks to his hazmat training, he has all the knowledge needed to concoct the chemical reactions causing the water threat in the first place .
Blaming the entire problem on Zack.
But what had him ready to jump up and demand answers was the snippet about his time in foster care. Zack Stephens is a troublemaking goofball who is passing along those same qualities to teen foster boys—grooming them for a life of illegal activities.
Heat burned at the base of Zack’s neck, and he gripped the mouse tighter. He scrolled back up to the top in search of the person responsible for this news piece. Except he couldn’t find one. It only showed the Last Chance Tribune’s logo and banner at the top.
“Who wrote this?” Zack’s gaze flitted between the men.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Allen rubbed his face.
“Is any of the information in the article true?” Bryce steepled his fingers.
Zack clamped his mouth shut. How could they accuse him of any of that ? Surely they knew him better. Did they really doubt his integrity?
The walls in Bryce’s office closed in around him. Like interrogators, the three men waited in silence for the accused to fess up and admit his guilt.
Except Zack was innocent. It was all a lie.
Well, not the fact that his dad was a former chemist who’d known information about the fire foam. Or how Zack helped with the foster kids. But the truth had been twisted, given a wicked ending. Designed to degrade his credibility.
“You really think I’d do something like this?” Zack rubbed the base of his neck.
He didn’t know what else to say. How could he? This crew was supposed to have his back. He thought they were family. And family stuck up for each other. Believed the best until proven otherwise. He’d been trying to prove himself for a long time.
And for what?
“We’re simply covering all our bases. We want to get all the details we can. And hear your side of things.” Macon leaned back in his chair.
Zack turned to Bryce. “I thought you’d know my character by now. But if I need to defend myself…” Zack took a sharp inhale. “Yes, my dad was a chemist.”
Bryce blinked but didn’t say anything.
“Thanks to the cold case you gave me, Lieutenant, I recently found out he had information about a chemical in firefighting foam and extinguishers that could pose a hazard. He tried to stop it from going to the market and was murdered because of it. Given the recent events and near-death experiences I’ve had, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance someone wants me and Naya out of the picture too.”
Zack paused, searching for any kind of regret or apology on the men’s faces. Instead, they sat there with blank expressions, waiting for him to continue. “I mentor some of the boys that friends of mine are fostering, but I can assure you I want to see them succeed in life as upstanding citizens. They’ve been to the firehouse several times.” He turned to Bryce. “You’ve seen how I interact with them.”
Zack pointed to the screen. “Whoever wrote this story took defaming liberty on the other details, which are far from the truth.”
“I see.” Allen jotted something down on a notepad. “Thank you for those details.”
“Did you call the Tribune?” Surely someone had to have authorized the article going live on their site. They had to know who’d written it.
“That was the first contact we made,” Bryce said. “But they seemed clueless about the origin of the piece.”
“Well, something needs to be done about this bunch of lies.” Zack flexed his fingers to release the tension. These three men could throw around a lot of weight if they were so inclined. They had influence in town.
The sooner someone got to the bottom of this, the better.
“We already told the Tribune they needed to pull the article until facts could be verified and a proper statement made,” Allen said. “We do not want any allegations made prematurely.”
Bryce propped his arms on the desk and frowned. “I wish you had told me the case was your parents’.”
Zack swallowed. “I considered it. But I wanted to follow through on the task you gave me. Given it was a cold case, there wasn’t any conflict of interest.”
“Since we need time to sift through the information to get to the bottom of things, we’re giving you a two-day leave of absence.” Bryce pinched his lips.
“What?” Zack shot out of his seat.
“Don’t take it personally.” Macon rose from his chair.
How else was he supposed to view it? Zack had worked so hard to fit in with this team. To not be a hothead that caused trouble but a team player whose skills were needed.
Allen turned his wheelchair to face Zack. “It’s to protect all of us. And to give time for the rumors to die down.”
“Let us do our jobs and get to the bottom of this.” Bryce stood up and opened the office door. “We will see you in two days.”
Zack blinked. The flames of this fire threatened to set him ablaze. What was he supposed to say? Zack gave a curt nod, then shut the door. His footsteps pounded down the corridor, echoing in the empty space.