Brody let loose a string of curses, frustration eating away at what little control he had remaining. Things were escalating if the arsonist had struck again. It had been less than twenty-four hours since they’d struck the Summers’ barn for the second time, now this?
“I’m on my way. Call in extra backup if you need it from Burnet County. I’m on my way.”
“I’m on it, Boss.”
Brody pulled out of the apartment drive and headed west. Santiago’s was located about twenty minutes or so from where he lived, and he stomped on the gas, hoping to cut that time in half. The restaurant had closed a few months ago. Brody knew they’d had trouble with a variety of things, including failing health inspections. It also wasn’t in the best location for foot traffic and tourists, not being in the city. Matter of fact, he was surprised it had stayed open this long, although it had been popular with the high school crowd on Friday and Saturday nights. Trucks full of teens would drive there, load up with to-go bags and then head out for the lake. More than once they’d been called in to douse bonfires left unattended by that crowd. Businesses couldn’t sustain itself with that kind of clientele, which probably led to their closure.
Black plumes of smoke spiraled upward the closer he got. Jeff hadn’t exaggerated the seriousness of the blaze, and he anticipated needing the additional support from the next county. He maintained a good relationship with the fire chief in Burnet County, and they had a mutually agreed plan of assistance any time it was needed. Looked like this morning they’d be taking advantage of that.
Slamming on his brakes, he raced from his car toward the area where he spotted Jeff, giving orders and directing the men of his company. The Burnet Company worked side-by-side with his team, rallying to contain the fire and keep it from spreading. Fortunately, there weren’t any nearby buildings to catch fire, but the tree line behind the restaurant was rife with downed branches and bushes desperately in need of water. It was a sad fact Texas was in the midst of a dry spell, and a lot of people were praying for rain. The natural vegetation alongside roadways and in unincorporated areas was especially hard hit, dry and broken. A perfect conduit for sparks to ignite into out-of-control blazes.
“Hey, Boss. Burnet County FD is handling the western half of the building, and we’re containing the right side. Two-in, two-out teams are checking for anyone inside. So far, no casualties. Burnet has another tanker on the way.”
“Good. Who called it in?”
“Anonymous nine-one-one call. Only on the line long enough to report the fire, then hung up.”
“Got it.” Brody surveyed his surroundings, watching his men work in a synchronized, well-organized fashion that might appear chaotic to civilians, but each member of his company knew their job, their responsibility, and performed their assigned tasks with exacting precision. Huge plumes of water sprayed the building, attacking from both directions. The flames, which had been shooting skyward when he’d arrived, were already diminishing, being contained by the men and women ringing the building.
He spotted Burnet’s captain and jogged over to meet him, waiting while he radioed information to his company. The firefighters from the neighboring county worked well, right alongside his own men and women, and he felt a surge of pride even with a company as small as Shiloh Springs, they performed on a level most smaller stations couldn’t match. All the extra hours of training, learning to work as a unit, paid off as the fire inside the restaurant was contained.
“Thanks for helping out. Things could have gone south pretty quick.”
Burnet’s captain nodded, shaking Brody’s outstretched hand. “Glad we could help. Rotten way to start a Sunday, though.”
“Yeah, it is. What’s your impression? You’ve been on scene longer than me. What started this?”
Brody watched the other man closely, noted the slight tightening of his muscles, the stiffening of his spine. He could almost quote verbatim what the other man would say, but he figured he’d at least see if his suspicions were correct.
“Hard to tell without getting a chance to examine the scene, once the fire’s out.”
Noncommittal. Exactly how he’d have answered, if questioned by somebody you didn’t know well. “I’ve got a reason for asking. I’d like your gut instinct, just between you and me.”
“As fast as the structure burned, my first thought would be deliberately set.” He held up a hand before he continued, “Now there are a lot of variables to take into account. Gas lines. Faulty equipment still inside the restaurant. Illegal electrical wiring. You know as well as I do, the list is endless. Without a thorough examination of the scene, I wouldn’t presume to toss out a definite cause.”
“Understood. Appreciate your expertise and your opinion.”
“You having a problem in Shiloh Springs? Anything I need to be concerned with, that might spill over into my county?”
Brody hesitated for a heartbeat before answering. “We’ve had a couple of suspicious burns in the last few months. Just got back the findings from the state lab on the latest one. Confirmed as intentional. I doubt it’s anything y’all need to worry about, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep your eyes and ears open. I’ll update you if I find out anything concrete.”
“Thinking you might have a firebug, huh? That sucks. Appreciate it if you’d keep us in the loop. Lemme know if there’s anything we can help with.”
“I keep you updated. And thanks for the assist,” Brody added, gesturing toward the smoldering building. “Got this under control fast. Always a good thing.”
As he started to walk away, back to his crew, his phone dinged. He snagged it out of his pocket, sorely tempted to toss it into the still smoldering building, but stopped cold when he spotted the e-mail sender’s
