Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Her eyes widened in recognition.
“My hairdresser! It was about four years ago, I believe. Oh, it was terrible,” she sighed. “She had the cutest little salon on Harmond Street. After her salon was burned down, she closed for good. I had to find a new hairdresser.”
Four years ago. A considerable gap.
“It seems like both businesses and homes are falling victim to this serial arsonist lately. Do you remember homes being burned down around the same time too?” I inquired as I wrote down a quick note.
“Oh, four years feels like ten in this old mind of mine. I think… I might’ve made a donation at my church because some poor old man’s house burned down,” she guessed. “But people make mistakes and leave stoves on or knock over candles. It’s hard to tell what fires are on purpose or accidental.”
Tobin could tell, but this was four years ago. My biggest question was is this the same arsonist? Did they decide to stop and let the heat cool down before setting buildings on fire again? And why?
Unfortunately, this sweet old woman couldn’t answer those questions, but she gave me a valuable clue. The past repeated itself.
I jotted down her information and wrote a few more notes before getting closer to the store as Tobin walked out.
“Find anything?” I asked him.
Tobin motioned for me to come closer.
“I didn’t find anything inside, but I found something interesting out back,” he said as he led me around the store to the small alleyway behind it. The fire hadn’t reached the back of the store, so there was no damage to assess, but I quickly saw what caught his eye.
“A gas can,” I said as my eyes widened at the sight of a red metal gas canister on the ground.
Tobin nodded and nudged it with his boot.
“And it’s empty. I’ll have the police check it out, but I doubt they’ll find any prints. Whoever is doing all of this is far too careful to slip up like that. I’m surprised they even left this behind,” he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest.
My eyes briefly swept up his body, admiring how broad and strong he looked in his uniform. Before he could catch me staring, I wrote down a few details about the scene, busying myself and my straying mind.
“Thanks for letting me look,” I told him. He could’ve easily not bothered to tell me about this.
Tobin shook his head.
“No need to thank me. I just want this figured out,” he replied before leading me back around to the front as the others got ready to leave the scene.
I lingered behind for a moment, staring at the burnt exterior of the convenience store as smoke and gasoline stung my nose. According to Nancy, destruction plagued this town over and over again, and I was going to figure out why and who was doing this. But in order for me to solve the arson case that was ravaging the town now, I needed to turn to the past.
The answers I was looking for had to be hiding there.
Chapter 11
Zoe
By the time the shift was over, darkness had fallen.
I hopped out of the fire truck for the third time that day, almost stumbling because my legs ached from so much running around. Only the first call of the day had anything to do with the arson case, while the other calls were general medical calls that the guys often had to respond to. Despite me being exhausted, it was incredible seeing all of them in action.
Obviously, storming into danger and helping people was their job, but it was still breathtaking watching them basically give death and danger the middle finger. It was a level of control and bravery that I was far from grasping. When faced with unexpected chaos and tragedy, I crumbled like dust.
On the scene of my mom’s accident, I could barely move, much less try to help anyone like my panicked father. I did find the strength to scream and cry, but I was… useless. At the fire on Grady Street, I wasn’t even near the house and ended up injured because I couldn’t even stay conscious.
These men were sturdy and strong. I admired that more than they knew.
“You were amazing helping that little girl,” I told Gabe as he started pulling off his gear, leaving him in a t-shirt and khaki work pants.
Just an hour ago, they’d responded to a call for a car accident. We were the first at the scene, and Gabe attended to an eight-year-old girl who had a hurt arm, while the others checked on the other crash victims.
Gabe smiled and hung his coat over his arm, a faint streak of soot adorning his left cheek. His dirty blonde hair was a bit matted from his helmet, but he still looked good after a long, hard shift.