Chapter FOURTEEN
With shaking hands and a sense of horror, Melissa managed to get dressed and hurried to her car.
Backing out of the driveway, she saw how peaceful her neighborhood looked, and, for a wishful moment, she could almost imagine her father had made a bizarre crank call.
But as she tore down the road toward the center of town, she heard sirens coming from neighboring villages and knew it was all too real.
That sense of reality didn’t compare to seeing her family’s restaurant going up in flames. Her stomach wrenched, and she struggled to hold in its contents.
She parked her car as close as possible, got out, and looked for her parents.
They were standing in the street with a crowd of supporters watching the flames. Melissa’s heart began to beat so fast she thought she might faint or throw up. She rushed over to them. “Oh, my God!”
“The fire department is here, but it’s not looking good,”
said her father. His grim expression told its own story. “I suspect we’re in for a total loss.”
“What happened?”
she asked.
White-faced, her father shook his head. “We don’t know. Some think the fire started in the attic and that lightning may have struck the building. But most restaurant fires start in the kitchen. The fire department will investigate.”
“All our life’s work gone,”
her mother said as tears ran down her cheeks.
Unaware of her tears, Melissa hugged her and watched as the firemen worked to save nearby buildings. Thankfully, Fins was a free-standing structure, but the fire was so hot it was peeling paint off the exterior walls of a nearby insurance company’s building.
Numb, Melissa was momentarily unaware that Crystal and Whitney were holding her up between them.
“I’m so sorry,”
murmured Whitney. “I know what this restaurant has meant to you, your family, and the entire town.”
“They’ll find a cause for it, I’m sure,”
said Crystal, whose café was far enough away not to be harmed.
Melissa stared at what was fast becoming the remnants of her family’s livelihood. The building seemed to be collapsing into itself.
“A couple of minor explosions had occurred when the fire erupted in the kitchen,”
said her father. “We’re just grateful no one was in the building.”
The thought of that happening made Melissa feel even sicker. She looked up as Ross hobbled toward her with his walker. He moved past Crystal and Whitney to hug her. “Dani and Brad brought me. I’m so sorry to see this.”
“Melissa’s dad said most restaurant fires start in the kitchen,”
said Whitney.
“He’s right,”
said Melissa, wondering if she’d forgotten to do anything before leaving last night. The thought of her being at fault caused her legs to wobble.
Ross grabbed hold and held on tight with one hand. As if he could read her mind, he said, “It’s not your fault. No matter what they find. Understand?”
Dirk made his way toward them. “Melissa! I just heard and came as quickly as I could. Are you and your family alright?”
Ross moved away so Dirk could approach her. “We’re fine. No one was hurt, but it looks like our restaurant is gone.”
She wiped the tears off her face with the sleeve of her shirt.
Dirk wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry. If I can do anything to help, please let me know.”
“Thanks, but this is one of those times when there’s nothing anyone can do.”
She gazed at what was left of the burning building and wondered how anything could be destroyed so quickly.
“When did the fire start?”
Dirk asked.
In a daze, Melissa looked at her parents standing together, a crowd of sympathizers surrounding them. “I don’t know.”
She moved toward her parents.
They held out their arms to her. She rushed to them, and the three of them huddled together while the firemen sprayed the embers and continued to spray the two closest buildings.
###
Later that morning, Melissa sat with her parents and the new, young Fire Chief, Scott Kane. The Chief was a heavy-set man who’d come with excellent references. Though his work entailed mostly small home and woodland fires, he knew about the possible causes of restaurant fires.
“It started in the kitchen,”
he explained. “Most probably from some faulty equipment. Can you think of what might have contributed to the cause of the fire?”
Melissa glanced at her parents. “I wonder if it could be the gas grill. We used it often last night.”
“Or the deep fat fryer,”
said her mother. “I saw a lot of French fries and fried fish going out.”
“Either of those seems likely,”
said Scott. “Have you been in touch with your insurance agency?”
Melissa’s father nodded. “Yes. I met with him last month, and he encouraged me to raise my insurance coverage. I almost didn’t.”
“It’s expensive, but thank God, we have it,”
said Melissa’s mother.
“Looking over the remains, I suggest we scrape the area clean before it becomes dangerous to anyone. In the meantime, we’ll fence it off. After things have cooled off, you can look for anything you might want to save. But from what I’ve seen, it won’t be much. I’m sorry.”
“Susan and I have been talking about retirement, but we hadn’t expected it to happen this soon,”
said Melissa’s father. “We’ll have to think long and hard about rebuilding.”
Scott emitted a sympathetic grunt. “It’s such a shame to lose you. Having Fins here was a huge benefit to the town. It was a favorite of mine and everyone else’s.”
Melissa’s father turned to her. “Well, we have a very talented chef in my daughter. We’ll have to see what she thinks.”
Melissa remained silent. Her emotions were so mixed. She’d complained about working such long hours, shouldn’t she feel a sense of freedom? But seeing the pain on her parents’ faces, she felt deep sorrow. And guilt set in. Had she or one of her staff caused the fire? She was on duty. She might have missed something.
Scott stood. “You’ll have plenty of time to think things over. We’ll get back to you with whatever news we have.”
While her father led Scott to the door, Melissa turned to her mother. “Do you think I forgot to do something, check something?”
Her mother clasped her hand. “I was there at the restaurant too. It’s not your fault or mine. You follow a routine every night. We all do.”
Until they found the actual cause of the fire, Melissa knew her emotions would be in turmoil.