3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Samuel

With Fox focusing solely on the arsonist, he was here at the station a lot, so we’d shifted some things around and set him up with a temporary desk in the office the shift captains normally used to do their reports.

I could tell he was excited to be back in a firehouse environment, even if it was in a different capacity.

He stepped into my office with two cups of coffee mid-morning. He held one out to me. “I brought you a cup. I asked Jax what you liked.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I took the coffee and inhaled the aroma before taking a drink. “What are you working on in there?”

“Just comparing people who adopted animals from the shelter to people who bought kerosene or large propane tanks and trying to find any cross-over.”

“Ah, any luck?” I asked.

“Nothing that amounts to anything. That puppy Keith found tied up in the old hotel had to come from somewhere, but, so far, I haven’t found a connection.”

“Yeah, I was hoping that would be a good lead for you. But something will break.”

“I sure hope so. How are things going on your end?”

“Pretty good. Three Bears Tactical have been great. Over the last week, they’ve installed cameras with video monitoring on at least ten of the firefighters’ houses, including mine, and I know they have even more scheduled.”

It surprised me how quickly they got everything done at my place over the weekend. They’d shown up Saturday morning, and a few hours later, I had a full set of outside cameras installed and an app that I could use to monitor them.

“That’s good. I have them coming to do my place next week. I felt weird about doing it because I’m not technically Station 69, but when I talked to Duncan Hawkins, he said that since I was investigating the arsonist, I was as likely to need security as anyone else.”

“They know their stuff. They’ve really stepped up to do all this for us, and at the price they’re doing it for, I would be surprised if they were making much off of it.”

He sat down in a chair and sighed. “I feel so useless, but I don’t really have anything to go on. There has to be something I’m missing.”

“You’re not useless. You’ve been digging through all the evidence and double-checking everything. You’re going to catch him.”

“I know you’re right, but I hate the idea that I can’t do my job until he strikes again. Who knows how long that will be? Nobody told me when I became a fire investigator, the work would be twenty percent investigating and eighty percent paperwork.”

“Tell me about it.” I picked up the papers I’d been working on when he walked in. “I had some big shoes to fill with Michael retiring, but I’d been honored to take his place. I just underestimated how much I’d hate all the red tape.”

“And how much you would miss the action?” he asked.

“That, too,” I agreed. The tones sounded just then, and Fox raised an eyebrow in question. “Don’t ask me.”

Structure Fire, 708 San Jose. Cross streets San Jose and 7th street. Engine 113, Ambulance 73.

“Want to ride along?” I asked.

A grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I do.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the pick-up.” As the station chief, the department provided me with what they called a fire command vehicle. It was an F-250 pick-up with a cap on the back. It had all the bells and whistles, literally, meaning it had been outfitted with a light bar and siren.

We headed to the bay where the guys were all getting their gear on. “I’ll meet y’all there,” I told Jax.

“Sounds good, Chief,” he said before running for the truck. “Come on. Load up,” he called out to the other members of his crew.

I pulled on my bunker gear and jumped in the pick-up. I flipped on the lights and sirens and pulled out.

San Jose was a quiet little street that was lined with older homes. It wasn’t a bad part of town, but it was mostly older residents and rental properties.

We could see the smoke way before we got to the house, and the closer we got, the more familiar the neighborhood looked. I was trying to remember who I knew that lived over here.

“Shit,” I said as we arrived at our destination.

“What is it? Do you know this house?” Fox asked. “It isn’t one of ours, is it?”

“No, but someone I know lives here.”

An older gentleman was standing out front, so I hopped out and hurried to him.

“Are you the one who called it in?”

“I am. I live across the street. I saw the smoke and called it in.”

“Do you know if anyone was home?”

“I don’t think so. I saw the car leave like normal around nine.”

“Okay, thanks.” That was good anyway. He lived alone, so if he left for work, the house should be empty.

I stalked back over to the pick-up and watched as the engine pulled in and the crew started pouring out. I pulled out my phone and dialed Steven’s number.

“Hey, Dad,” he answered.

“Steven, I need you to call Mars. His house is on fire.”

Mars

This had been the strangest day. Kismet had been acting odd even before we left the house, prowling around like an anxious tiger. She’d settled down when we first arrived at the shop, but she still wasn’t acting like herself. The rest of the day started out like always. I fixed myself a cup of tea and took a seat to pull some cards and do a reading for my day.

The first card I pulled was the Tower card, which isn’t bad in and of itself, but it was followed by the Three of Swords, which was concerning. Those two together indicated major upheaval and possibly even loss.

I flipped over the third card and laughed. The Ace of Cups. Upheaval, loss, and a new relationship. That all tracked since I had the worst luck in love, but that wasn’t anything I didn’t already know.

I’d stared at them for a minute. That reading should have been complete, but I strongly felt like I needed one more card. “Okay,” I said out loud. “What else do I need to know?” I flipped over another card and laughed. The Sun, which was basically good fortune and happiness.

Now I knew the universe was punking me because good fortune and happiness weren’t for me, no matter what the cards said.

I put the cards away, finished my tea, and got to work, but the reading had left me a little off balance. Like there was something there that I needed to be aware of. When Ziva came in, I told her I needed a minute and went into the healing room to meditate.

I lit my copal resin and went through my normal ritual before sitting down. I took a few deep breaths, focusing on each inhale and exhale. I repeated my mantra over and over in my head. I am healthy, I am happy, all things work in my favor. I am healthy, I am happy, all things work in my favor. When I was done, I slowly opened my eyes and took a minute to check in with myself. A peaceful sense of calm had settled in my spirit. Something was definitely coming, but whatever it was, I’d be fine.

I tried to hold on to that feeling. The one that said I would be fine, not the one that said something was coming, and luckily, we were pretty busy all day, so I didn’t really have time to dwell on it.

“What are we doing for lunch?” Ziva asked.

“I don’t know, what sounds—”

The door flew open, interrupting what would no doubt be our normal back and forth with neither of us having a preference until one of us got annoyed and picked something.

Steven stood there wide-eyed. “Mars, my dad just called me. They are at your house. It’s on fire.”

“My house is on fire?” Of course it was. I closed my eyes and pictured the Tower card. Yep, there’s the upheaval. “Umm, okay, I guess I need to go, Ziva. Fuck, where are my car keys?”

“Don’t worry about them. I’m driving. Just come on.” Steven grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door.

It was a short drive from my shop to the house I rented on San Jose Street, but I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. In with the positive, out with the negative . I was striving for peace and radical acceptance of whatever happened, and it worked, at least it did, until we pulled up to find a fire truck, an ambulance, and three police cars with lights flashing parked in front of my burning house.

I hopped out of Steven’s car and rushed towards the house, but not too close. I didn’t have anything important in there. Besides, even if I did, it wasn’t like I was a run into a burning building kind of guy. I just needed to get close enough to see what was happening.

Steven’s dad, Samuel, was standing there in front of the fire truck, shouting out commands to the men who were trying to save my house. There were two hoses stretched out across the lawn as the firefighters attacked the blaze from multiple angles.

I’d never wanted to be a firefighter, but I’d always been in awe of the men and women who did it. I just wished my first time seeing them in action hadn’t been here at my house. Hold on, why was my house on fire? I hurried over to Samuel.

“What happened?”

“We don’t know, Mars. It could be any number of things. Once they get the fire out, and it’s safe to go in, we’ll try to figure that out.”

A loud crack came from somewhere towards the back of the house, and Samuel sprang into action. “You go wait over there.” He pointed towards an ambulance sitting off to the side as he ran forward, speaking into the mic pinned to his jacket and yelling out commands to the firefighters scrambling to change their locations.

Steven and I moved to the area Samuel had pointed where two women were waiting. They both had on fire department t-shirts that said Emergency Medical Service on them.

“I know you just arrived, so you don’t need our help, but you’re welcome to take a seat,” one of them said, motioning to the back of the ambulance.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

We took her up on the offer and sat down to watch as they did their best to get the fire out as quickly as possible.

“I just can’t believe this,” I mumbled. “I know I didn’t leave the stove on because I didn’t use it this morning, and I didn’t burn any candles or anything. I just took a shower, got dressed, and left for the shop.”

“Like my dad said, it could be any number of things, but what matters is you and Kismet got out.”

“She knew something was wrong, you know.”

“Who? Kismet?”

I nodded my head and then turned to look at him. “Yeah. Animals sense things we humans can’t, but she knew. She was acting really weird this morning, pacing around and nervous like.”

I knew he thought I was nuts, but he didn’t argue with me. He just shrugged the way he did when he didn’t know what to say.

It didn’t take them long to get the fire under control, and once they had, Samuel walked over to where we were sitting.

“Sorry about this, Mars. We tried to put it out as fast as possible.”

I nodded. “When do you think I’ll be able to go in?”

“I’m not sure. Is there anything in particular you want us to look for?”

“I have a firebox in my closet. It has all my important papers in it, but other than a few sentimental things, that’s about it. Most of what matters to me is up at the shop, not here. I was planning to go shopping for new clothes anyway.” I tried to smile, but I don’t think I quite got there.

“Do you have renter’s insurance?” Samuel asked, and I nodded. “Good deal. And how about a place to stay?”

“You can stay with me and Roxy,” Steven said because, of course, he did. He was the best friend ever, but I shook my head.

“No, Kismet doesn’t do well with dogs, and Thor could swallow her in one bite. I’ll just stay up at the shop.”

Samuel shook his head. “You can’t stay at the shop, Mars. It’s a business.”

“Sure I can. My mom stays there all the time when she comes to town.”

“That isn’t legal, Mars.” He gave me a stern look. “It’s zoned commercial, not residential. You can’t live up there.”

“Sure I can. It’s an old house. It has a shower, a kitchen, and everything. And I have retreats up there all the time where people camp out on the property. If they can spend the night, why can’t I?”

I could tell by his expression that I was testing his patience, but seriously, it was my property. I should be able to use it however I wanted.

“Having people there for a retreat and living there is not the same thing. The retreats are a part of your business.”

“That makes no sense,” I insisted. “People live above businesses all the time.”

“Those businesses aren’t zoned strictly commercial, but I’m pretty sure yours is.”

“Fine, I’ll just get a hotel until I find a new place to rent. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

“You should stay at my dad’s house. He doesn’t have any dogs, and he has plenty of room. Right, Dad?” Steven asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t impose. Seriously, I’ll get a hotel room.” Or at least I would let them think I was getting a hotel. No one had to know if I did or not, and no matter what the rules said, I would be perfectly comfortable staying at the shop.

“It wouldn’t be in imposition at all, Mars,” Samuel said.

“Honestly, I’m rarely home, and Steven’s old room is empty. There’s no reason for you to pay for a hotel room.”

“You’re sure you wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.” He turned to Steven. “Do you have your house key with you?”

“I do.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and removed the key from the key ring. He held it out to me. “Here you go. Now, let’s get you back to your car, and I should probably get back to work.”