“So, you need Greg and Sam’s address?”
“Yes, please,” Sally said. “We need to go out to their cabin.”
“Well, I figure it’ll be easy to find today,” the postman drawled.
I frowned. “Today?”
“Well, yeah it should be easy to spot since that smoke seems to be comin’ from right over there.” He raised his hand slowly, and Sally and I followed where he pointed.
About a half a mile deeper into the forest, rolling black smoke and flames were billowing up toward the sky.
“Shit…”
Chapter Twelve Prosper Woods Chronicle. Letters to the editor:
“There’s a fallin’ down shed at the back of the Prosper Woods trailer park. Now, I ain’t one to complain but the other night, I heard a terrible ruckus and went out to see what was goin’ on. Can ya believe all that gardenin’ equipment was floatin’ off the ground? What’s goin’ on here?” Signed, “Not the sharpest tool.”
Romeo
Sally and I jumped into the Blazer and left Jedidiah staring after us as we tore down the road toward the smoke rising from the trees. Sally drove while I called 911. Judging by the flames leaping into the sky and the blackness of the smoke, whatever was on fire, posed a significant risk of spreading to the woods or the rest of the town. I was surprised that it was Precious who answered my call. Then I remembered she was the local town dispatcher for not only the sheriff’s department but apparently the fire and rescue as well. She told me she’d get someone out to Frederick right away, and we disconnected just as Sally drove up to a house which was fully engulfed in flames.
“Son of a bitch!”
Sally slammed the Blazer into park and shut it off as we took in the scene. Greg and Sam’s cabin was burning so hot that already half of the structure had collapsed. In the driveway, an older Jeep was burning as well. Plumes of noxious black smoke rolled out of the house, and I had to cover my mouth with one arm as I smelled plastic and other toxic scents in the air. Sally stood beside me, pulling something out of her duty belt. When she produced kerchiefs and surgical masks, handing half of them to me, I thanked her and hastily tied them around my face. The face covering blocked out some of the smell, but it was still rank.
I looked around, drawing my gun as I scanned the surrounding forest with my eyes. My sense of smell had been improving ever since I started paying attention to it. But the only thing I could pick up now was the overwhelming odor of scorched wood, melting plastic, and chemicals coming from I had no idea what. I was fairly sure my hair, skin, and clothes were going to reek of the stuff when this was all said and done.
Sally also had her gun in her hand as she scanned the surrounding woods. Sam and Greg’s cabin was set in the middle of a small clearing. I was relieved to note that the two men had done their due diligence and cleared a hundred feet of brush away from the structure as the county ordinance required. In California, all residential structures were required to have a buffer of cleared open space between it and any heavy vegetation or wooded areas. This was necessary due to the nature of wildfires which claimed hundreds of structures and many lives in the state each fire season.
After making a sweep, I locked eyes with Sally. She nodded. “Clear.”
“Clear,” I echoed. We both holstered our weapons and took in the damage. Sam’s Jeep and the house the men shared was a total loss. I also knew accelerant had been used on the vehicle and the structure. The scent of gasoline was heavy in the air. Until the fire department came, there was nothing we could do but wait. We weren’t going to be able to salvage anything from the flames.
“You think Floyd did this?” I asked, coughing beneath my mask as I backed up toward the tree line.
Sally followed me, turning to look back at the two separate fires as we stopped. She nodded. “It would make sense. If he didn’t, then his guys did. Floyd rarely does his own dirty work. Proving who did it is gonna be difficult, though.”
“Last night in the bar, he laughed when I told him I’d be out to collect the men’s things today. I have no doubt this fire was intentionally set but you’re right, damn him. What a vindictive piece of crap.”
“Yeah, this is no accident. That’s a gasoline accelerant in the air,” Sally said. She frowned at me. “You smell that?”
“Yeah, I smell it. Son of a bitch. How stupid is this guy?” I asked, incredulously. “Does he really think we’re not going to figure out what happened here?”
Sally shrugged, frowning deeply as she watched the flames sending up plumes of black smoke. A cloud hung over the whole area.
“Sheriff, Floyd Reardon is the Frederick pack’s alpha. I don’t think he cares what we think, and none of his folks are gonna cross him.”
She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. Last night I’d gotten the impression that Floyd had been hurting females in the pack. I wasn’t clear on what that meant
