Chapter 27 - Rhea
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Rhea
The town meeting was taking place the next Monday. I would’ve had to go as part of the rules of my HOA, but being Calder’s date was a much better reason to actually attend.
Calder stopped in front of my house to pick me up in his car, along with Ash and Beck, who were in the back seat.
They didn’t look very impressed; probably because they’d wanted to drive themselves and were now relegated to being Calder’s passengers.
But, if we were all going together, then we needed to arrive together.
At least, that’s what I imagined Calder’s argument would’ve been.
“Well, hello, boys,” I said as Calder opened the driver’s side door, and got out to open the passenger side for me. “I’ve missed you all.”
“It has been a busy few days,” Calder answered with a sigh. “All these arson cases have us working overtime like never before. Honestly, the admin is driving me up the wall.”
I nodded understandingly as I got into the car, and Calder walked around to get back in, too. I offered both Ash and Beck a quick squeeze of the hand as a hello instead of a kiss. I didn’t want all of the neighbors seeing me kissing all of them; I wasn’t in the mood for all of that gossip.
As we pulled away from my house, I couldn’t believe that this was actually my life.
A few weeks ago, I hadn’t even owned my home, and I’d thought really being able to buy it was one of the biggest things that would ever happen to me.
But now, I was dating three men at the same time, and they were all as into it as I was.
It seemed completely crazy and impossible, and yet, here I was, with all of them.
Part of me wanted to pinch myself, just to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming.
I glanced around the car. “You’re all looking dapper.”
They weren’t in their usual clothes; instead, they were wearing dress uniforms, with all the badges and buttons and the neat white hats that came with them. Somehow, they were even more handsome this way, and I felt the butterflies fluttering in my soul.
“Thanks,” they all said together, before Calder launched into a speech. “Remember, we have to be professional, and we have to represent the station properly. No PDA, no scandalous sneaking off, no hints that something is going on here. We’re all friends attending an event together.”
I had the feeling that the neighborhood was already abuzz with gossip about us, but I nodded anyway. It was better not to add more rumors to the mill. Still, it was going to be hard not to give them sidelong glances and smiles and blushes.
“Understood, Lieutenant,” Beck joked from the back. “Any other commands you’d like us to follow?”
Calder raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Just behave yourself, alright? That’s all I’m asking.”
“No promises,” Ash grinned, but I knew he was just pulling Calder’s leg. All of us wanted this to go well, especially since Calder was up for that promotion soon. How he dealt with something this big would be a defining moment for his whole career.
When we reached city hall, there were already a whole bunch of people present.
Community members, journalists, and officials dotted the front stairs and parking lot, chatting about the meeting ahead.
Nobody paid much attention to us as we arrived, and we all followed Calder up the stairs and inside.
We were ushered into the hall and to the front seats by a set of assistants, and once there, we were met by the firechief, who got to his feet as we arrived.
“You’ll be leading the speech,” he said to Calder as they shook hands. “Are you ready for this?”
Calder took a deep breath. “Of course, Sir.”
“Good,” the chief nodded. “Then take your seats. The meeting will begin shortly.”
I sat down between Ash and Calder, with Beck on the other side of Ash.
The chief took the seat to Calder’s right-hand side, closest to the aisle.
On the stage in front of us were several podiums set up for the town council, and two for the chief and Calder.
To me, it was a bit intimidating, imagining that so many people would be looking to them for answers.
But Calder sat quietly and confidently next to me, clearly knowing exactly what was expected of him. It was immediately obvious, at least to me, why he had been chosen to move up to the rank of lieutenant.
His posture was perfectly straight, his hands in his lap. I didn’t see a single hint of nervousness in his body language, just sheer focus in his eyes. I wondered if his speech was prepared, or if he’d just memorized the facts and was going to speak from the heart.
I almost laughed at that thought. It was Calder. Of course he’d prepared himself right down to the last word. He wasn’t like Beck or even Ash; there was no way he’d simply wing something as important as this.
When the meeting started, the council spoke for a few minutes about other things.
Basic new policy ideas, zoning issues, stuff that nobody was paying real attention to.
Then, they mentioned the fires, and Calder and the chief approached the podiums. I noticed the sheriff ascending the stage along with them, standing just behind the chief.
The chief introduced Calder, before completely turning the floor over to him. Calder cleared his throat and looked out confidently at the crowd.
“Good morning,” he said with a nod. “I realize that there are many concerns about the recent string of fires in the local community. I would like to assure you that we are prepared to deal with any eventuality, and have protocols in place to keep the situation under control while the police continue their investigation. However, we are at this meeting to answer any questions you may have as citizens.”
As soon as he finished speaking, several hands shot up. Now, people were paying attention, and it was clear that most of those attending were here for this specific topic.
Calder pointed toward someone a few rows behind us, and someone offered her a microphone. “So, all of them are arson, then? It’s not some kind of weather or electric phenomenon?”
“We do believe the fires have occurred due to an arsonist, yes,” Calder answered, before taking the next question. He was unshaken by the amount of people peppering him; I could hear people yelling questions over one another, but Calder focused only on whoever had the microphone.
“How safe are we, really?” Came the next one. “They burned down someone’s house, and people got hurt! Even one of you, right? What if someone dies?”
That was a difficult question to answer.
I knew that Calder couldn’t completely allay those fears, especially after that last call.
The family had been lucky that they’d gotten there in time, that everyone got out with mostly minor injuries.
Ash had been lucky that Calder went in after him.
But next time, they might not be that lucky.
It could be a bigger building and a bigger fire, it could take longer for the engine to get there.
Someone could really die if this wasn’t stopped in time.
But what could the fire station do outside of reacting when fires were set? They weren’t the police. They couldn’t chase leads or solve the puzzle of who was doing this. They had to rely on the sheriff to find the culprit. So, how could Calder even realistically answer a question like that?
“We’ve put protocols in place to increase the speed of our reactions to calls,” Calder said evenly, but I could see that this particular set of questions were getting to him.
“We have also increased the amount of staff present per shift. We ask the public to be vigilant and to call quickly if you notice any fires, even small ones, as this might help the police investigation. If you see anything out of the ordinary or suspicious, or if you know anything that could assist, we urge you to call the sheriff’s office and report it. ”
“Things will be out of the ordinary because of the festival!” Someone yelled from behind me.
“Yeah, what about that? There are going to be so many people!”
“How can you guarantee that it will be safe?”
“Will it be cancelled?”
Calder held a hand up to call for silence, but the reaction was mixed.
Some people did settle down, but others doubled down.
I felt stressed myself, and I wasn’t even the one dealing with all of this pressure.
People were clearly getting heated, and they wanted answers.
Answers that I didn’t think Calder necessarily had for them.
“The festival is going forward as planned,” Calder said loudly, his voice edging into a shout over the microphone to be heard over all of the shouting.
“We have protocols in place to ensure its safety. Both the fire station and the police station will be sending additional staff to high-traffic zones to ensure everyone’s safety. ”
“Protocol, protocol, it’s all bullshit!” A woman yelled from across the room, her voice shrill and angry. “Clearly, none of you are qualified to deal with this!”
“Yeah,” someone added, closer to where we were seated. “If you knew what you were doing, it would all be over by now!”
“Talk, talk, talk, that’s all you do! We’ve had enough meetings, we need action! You don’t even know who’s doing this!”
I noticed the muscles in Calder’s jaw tighten as the accusations started flying in from everywhere in the room.
The crowd was now basically entirely out of control, and it seemed impossible to reel people back in.
Calder looked like he was willing to wait it out, but people really were upset.
I wondered how long they could go on like this before they’d give him another chance to talk.
I felt Ash shifting uncomfortably in the seat next to me. I was sure that he and Beck were both just as frustrated with the whole situation as Calder was. They’d been doing everything in their power to fight back against this arsonist, but it seemed like for the people, that wasn’t enough.
A part of me felt guilty, too. Perhaps they had been making mistakes because of me.
Maybe I was too much of a distraction. They were dealing with something huge, after all, and they couldn’t really afford to lose any focus.
The thought that I might be making things worse was enough to make me squirm in my seat.
I would have to talk to them about it, but I had a feeling that they’d all deny it and refuse to leave me, even if it was just until all of this was over.
I noticed the sheriff whispering in the fire chief’s ear, and the chief moving to one side so that the sheriff could approach the podium. Calder was still silent, taking the public hammering without flinching.
The sheriff tapped at the microphone, which caused the noise levels in the room to dim somewhat, just enough for people to hear him when he spoke.
“I would like to announce that we do, in fact, have a suspect, and an arrest in the case is imminent,” he said with firm, flat confidence, and the room instantly went silent.