Page 30 of Rescuing Carolyn

With Zach at my side, I approached the store and stood on the sidewalk to peer in. Mucky water still ran from the building, soaking my hiking shoes. Zach shone a flashlight into the building. Water dripped from the ceiling. The shiny chrome display cases were twisted wrecks. An upholstered chair near the cashier’s desk still smoldered. The screen that hid the vault had been burned away, exposing it. It was charred on the surface but appeared undamaged.

“We should go home. There’s nothing more you can do here tonight,” Zach said from next to me. “And you’ll need some sleep to face this in the morning.”

I nodded, knowing he was right, but it felt as though I was abandoning my responsibility by leaving. After another look, I let him lead me away.

Zach

I wasn’t surprised to see Colin, as well as Alex, in Carolyn’s living room when we arrived back there. Chance was with them too, and that felt right. This was the kind of time when family needed to come together.

“Thanks, guys,” Carolyn said to them. “Was Austin okay for you?”

“We gave him beer and chips for dinner, and he passed right out,” Alex said, causing Colin to punch him lightly in the gut, but Carolyn gave them both a wan smile.

“He ate mac and cheese with applesauce,” Chance clarified.

“Good choice,” she said. “How’d you…?”

“I’ve had some recent experience with a kid that age,” Colin said. “We haven’t heard a peep.”

“I’ll look in on him and be back down,” she said.

“Go to bed,” I said. She was dead on her feet, although I knew that her exhaustion was more emotional than physical. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

“I need a shower first,” she said, which I could hardly argue with. We both smelled of smoke after standing at the scene for hours. “Thanks again for babysitting, guys.”

“No problem,” Colin replied.

As soon as Carolyn went up the stairs, I turned to the others. “What are you hearing?” Chance was my best resource—he’d probably fixed the cars of half the people in town, which meant he heard all the news, including the buzz within the firehall and police station.

“I made a couple of calls.” Chance kept his voice low. “There’s nothing official yet, but the sense is that the fire was deliberate.”

“Charlotte said she heard a crash and an explosion.” Her words had given me plenty to think about as I’d watched the store burn.

“Molotov cocktail through the front window?” Colin suggested.

“Maybe. Those windows are pretty thick, though.” Because of the nature of the store, the plate-glass windows were extra strong. I didn’t think someone could throw hard enough to shatter them.

Chance picked up on his idea. “You’re thinking it was propelled through in some way.”

“Yeah.” I considered the type of weapon necessary for the job and didn’t like it.

“That’s dangerous shit,” Alex commented.

“No kidding,” I said. Whoever was behind this was accelerating his game. “I may need you guys.”

“Always ready,” Alex said.

“We’ll take a look around outside before we leave,” Colin added. “Maybe hang out a bit. You take care of Carolyn.”

I said good night and let them out. After that, I checked the doors and windows before going upstairs. The shower was just shutting off, so I looked in on Austin. Out in the yard, I recognized a dark shadow as Colin and knew my family had my back. That gave me a little breathing room, but it didn’t solve the problem. I needed to find the son of a bitch who was behind this—and soon.

I went into the guest bathroom I’d been using and took a fast shower, I went to Carolyn’s room and slid into bed next to her. She immediately curled into me, and I felt the dampness of her tears against my skin. All I could do was hold her for the night and request a promise from her.

“I just want to know why,” she murmured, her voice hoarse from crying. She hadn’t cried at the scene. Instead, she’d comforted others and been a tower of strength. “Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but I’ll find out.” And when I did, I’d take care of whoever was behind it.

“You’ll find out?” she echoed. “Then you don’t think it was accidental either?”

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