When a fire broke out, children, in an effort to save themselves, often hid from the flames, not realizing that the insidious smoke would coil around them and take their lives long before the fire did.
“I didn’t search them all. I’ll go back inside.”
Joan realized the flames were now succumbing to the water.
As Ann turned, Joan caught a flutter of movement to her right. She looked out toward the expansive yard and saw a figure of a child standing and staring at the shed.
“Ann. Look over there! Is that Nate?” Joan asked.
Ann shouted her son’s name as she ran barefoot across the lawn. The boy did not respond to his mother but stared at the fire with an intensity she had never seen before.
The cold water from the nozzle dripped over her fingers and onto her clothes. The growing cold was sapping her strength, but she kept shooting the water at the fire. The fire howled as if it sensed it was losing this battle.
She glanced back to see Ann rush up to her son. He was dressed in light-blue pajamas that made him appear much younger than ten. Ann wrapped her arms around the boy, hugging him close to her body and then hurriedly drawing him back as she ran her hands over his arms, torso, and legs. The trance was broken, and he shifted his attention back to his mother.
When Ann hugged her son to her again, Joan decided the boy was physically fine. She looked back to the fire, which had curled in on itself and retreated. She remained vigilant, however, determined to eradicate every trace of the devil’s breath.
She lost track of time until a strong hand gripped her shoulder. Startled, she turned to see Gideon standing there. The fire was all but gone, taking with it its heat and allowing a chill to burrow into her bones. Her teeth chattered when she asked, “Where’s Ann?”
“She’s in my car getting warm with Nate.” He took the nozzle from her and stopped the stream of water. “The fire is gone, Joan. It’s okay.”
Her fingers were red from the cold as she shivered. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her. A rush of warmth vibrated through her body. “How did you know?”
“Ann called me.”
She tensed and dug her heel into the muddy mulch. “We need to take pictures. Preserve evidence.”
“The fire department is on the way. So is Clarke. There will be plenty of people to figure out what happened here.”
Her fingers had taken on a gray cast, but they still trembled, not with cold but with a surging adrenaline that she knew would keep her wired for hours, if not days. She looked back at the shed’s exterior, still smoldering and streaked in soot. The siding had melted and curled.
“I woke when I heard an explosion,” she said.
Gideon coaxed her forward. “Thank God you did. If that had spread to the woods, we’d have had a much bigger problem on our hands.”
She expelled the stale air in her lungs and pulled in her first deep breath since she had awoken. “How did it happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Nate was out here just watching the fire. He wasn’t screaming or running for help or trying to approach the flames. He was simply standing there and staring.”
“I haven’t talked to Nate yet. But I will.”
“He could have seen who did this.”
Moonlight glittered over the brim of his hat, shadowing his face. “Joan, you have to get in the car and get warm. You’re going to go into shock.”
“I’m fine.”
He grabbed her by the arm. “You’re not fine. Accept the goddamn help, Joan.”
The temptation to surrender was palpable. But lowering her guard would accomplish nothing. “I know what I need.” She gritted her teeth so they would not chatter.
“Sometimes. But not now. Now you need to get warm and out of wet clothes. Once you’re stable, then you can micromanage this entire investigation.”
“I’m detail oriented. I don’t micromanage.” But she started walking toward him, and when she closed the gap, he fell in step beside her. When they reached his car, a fire engine siren wailed in the distance. Ann got out of the car and immediately wrapped a blanket around Joan.
“Joan, you feel like ice,” Ann said.
“The irony,” Joan said, attempting a smile. “Is Nate okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s in the back seat with Kyle.”
“Did Nate explain why he was outside?” Joan asked.
“He said he saw the flames.”
“From where?” Joan demanded.
“He won’t say.”
“Let me talk to him,” Joan said.
“He’s fallen asleep.” Ann sounded defensive and on guard.
“I won’t upset him,” Joan said. “I just want to know if he saw anyone.”
“It’s too much for him,” Ann said. “We’ll talk to him in the morning.”
“By morning, whoever did this could be long gone.”
“I know.”
“She needs to get in the car,” Gideon said.
The fire engine lights appeared in the distance, flinging yellows and reds on the trees. The sirens grew louder.
Gideon reached for the door handle on the front passenger seat and opened the door. A rush of warm air beckoned her inside.
“You need to get out of your wet clothes,” Ann said. “I’ll hold up a blanket so you can strip.”
Whatever modesty she felt was outweighed by the practical matter of getting warm. She reached for the hem of her shirt and, as she pulled it up, noted that Gideon’s gaze lingered only a moment before he turned away. She peeled off her boots and jeans and left both in a wet, cold pile by the car.
Ann wrapped the blanket around her, and again her body shuddered, expelling the chill inside her. She slipped into the passenger seat, and Ann closed the door.
She watched as Ann and Gideon spoke to each other. Their voices were low, but she could see by the agitated looks on their faces that both were shaken.
Joan tipped her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Who the hell would set that fire? It was not lost on her that the fire had
