Forty
Luke
P lumes of smoke billow out from the house. Using my shoulder, I wipe the sweat dripping down the side of my face. Whoever is setting these fires has perfected their ratios because this is so much more of a pain in the ass to put out. We switched to two hoses being used on the houses next to our rental to make sure the fire doesn’t spread and one hose on the house to do what we can.
“You good?” the captain yells beside me.
“Yeah, why?”
When he doesn’t answer me, I look at him out of the corner of my eye and see him grabbing something from his pocket.
“Hello,” he barks into the phone. “What do you mean? Where?”
Without taking my eyes off the fire, I strain to hear what he’s saying because if there are two fires in one night, that would be unusual and against this person’s pattern.
“You’re going to have to call the on-call fellas. They were alerted of this fire already, and while you’re at it, call the dispatch from the next town over and tell them to send us some help. Where did you say the alarm was at again?” He pauses and turns to look at me. “Which farm?”
Panic threatens to seize my chest when he says “farm,” and I immediately know something is wrong. I shift my eyes to my right, to Sam with the second hose. I know he hasn’t heard anything, but I’m doing everything in my power to focus on the fire in front of me.
“Do you think this is the same type of fire we’ve been seeing the past couple of months?” the captain asks me as he stands next to me.
“Based on the way this is burning? Yeah, I do, but I think whoever did this has messed with their ratios because this is burning slower than before, which is why it’s taking longer to put out.”
“Damn, and nothing in your investigation with the police has stated anything about multiple hits in one night?”
“No, the only thing I can think of is that this one is a distraction. Is that what your call was about?” I ask, not ready for the answer but knowing I need to hear it.
He sighs. “Yeah, and I’m trying to decide whether the choice I’m going to make is good or bad.” Shaking his head, he yells as he walks away from me. “Carter!”
I hear him talking to Carter, but the roaring fire is drowning out the words. My gut is telling me something is wrong at Amelia’s farm.
My chest starts to tighten, and if my gut is right, I won’t be able to concentrate here, which makes me a liability.
“I’m taking point on this. The captain wants to talk to you by the engine,” Carter yells as he walks up next to me.
He takes over the front of the hose for me, and I let go once he has a handle on it.
Panic claws at my chest with every step toward the fire engine, and Jim, the fire investigator, pulls up.
“What’s up, Cap?”
He looks between me and Jim.
“The panic button has gone off at Amelia’s farm along with the fire alarms. I’m having Jim take you there, and you’ll only help in the investigation capacity and relieve people as needed on rotation. Someone from the on-call unit is on their way now to swap out with Sam.”
Breathe. She’s probably at home by now.
“Do not make me regret this. We have no real rules about fighting fires and family because we’re a small town and it’s bound to happen.” He pauses as one of the off-duty guys pulls up, gets out in his full gear, and runs up to us.
“I need you to go relieve Sam and have him come over here.”
Turning to Jim, I say, “This must have a higher content of diesel fuel in it because, while it seems to have quickly caught fire and done a lot of damage like the others, this one is harder to put out and is burning much hotter.”
“So the perp has tweaked their ratios dramatically for this fire and possibly struck twice in one night, a change like this is highly unusual,” Jim says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I honestly didn’t see this coming, but something caused this person to escalate.”
“What’s up, Cap?” Sam says, slightly out of breath as he walks up to us.
“There’s another fire across town at Amelia’s farm, and I’m pulling you two to assist in that fire. If you two can’t assist, I will pull you guys so fast your heads will spin. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” we both say, but I know we’ll say whatever we have to in order to get over there.
“Come on, boys, you’ll ride with me,” Jim says as he walks toward his truck.
With every step, every worst-case scenario crosses my mind, causing my panic to rise again. Sam must be thinking the same thing because he squeezes my shoulder.
“It’s just a fire. She was at Farmer Joe’s house for dinner, right? She would have no reason to go to the farm tonight. It’s going to be all right, brother.”
“I don’t know, Sam. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Starting the truck, Jim says, “We can’t jump to conclusions without all the information. The on-call guys are already there with the backup truck, and the second unit from one of our neighboring towns will already be there as well.”
I just nod because that’s all I can do as Jim pulls away. I know everyone is trying to remain positive, but my gut is telling me something isn’t right.