Page 61 of Up In Smoke

He wouldn't have ever moved in with someone this early in a relationship. Then again, he thought, he’d never had anything that qualified as a relationship before.

Spotting a box of pasta, he set it on the counter and went in search of a jar of sauce. He grabbed shredded mozzarella cheese from the fridge but only moved it to the top shelf, not quite willing to let it sit out. He didn’t know when they’d both be back.

There was no time to bake anything unless he sat at home and he wasn't quite willing to do that either. Leaving everything on the counter, he climbed into his clothing and headed out to the car. He’d make the circuit around town tonight a little late, but he still felt compelled to get it done.

He left Ivy’s little neighborhood behind, took a few turns, and crawled slowly through the old section of town. He lingered at one house he’d lived at for just over three years, looking like a stalker in his own territory.

The night was dark enough and the slight snowfall thick enough to obscure most everything. One of the houses could already be ringed with accelerant and Mario could be standing in the back, match in hand, ready to go and Luke wouldn’t see him.

There had been no reply from the Redemption Police Department about what they’d done with the information that he and Ivy had sent. Luke could only assume that meant they hadn't done anything with it. Or that it hadn’t been enough. Not yet.

He kept pushing forward, leaving the neighborhood behind before anyone came out, asked what he was doing, and recognized him. They would try to hug him and then want to update both their entire life stories. He made a clean getaway and stopped at the next light.

Luke knew the dangers of texting and driving, so once he was fully stopped he checked his phone. No messages from Ivy …

Next to him, the scanner crackled to life, kicking his heart into high gear. But it was just an RPD officer writing a ticket, and Luke ignored the rest of it.

He was pulling forward taking a turn heading toward Mario's house when his phone buzzed. He waited for the next light to see that it was Jo.

— You awake yet. Did you see what Ivy sent?

Jo must have also just woken up. They’d agreed when they left the station this morning that they were both going to go face down into a pillow and sleep for approximately three years.

But he had not seen what Ivy sent. Since he couldn't very well park himself in front of his brother's house without raising suspicion, he pulled into a convenience store and picked one of the spots around the side. The area was now dark and he didn’t care if he looked suspicious, he wanted to see what Ivy had sent. Maybe it was her responding to his texts.

He noticed the snow began to accumulate on his windshield as he scrolled through everything he could on his phone. Sure enough, there in his emails was a forward from Ivy that had originated with Tavares. It wasn’t recent though. Ivy had sent it while he was asleep.

It took Luke a moment to scroll through the short email, but then he had to get each document open and attempt to read the very tiny type on a very tiny screen.

Another message from Jo came through.

— Did you know Carlos applied to RFD?

Luke felt his eyebrows lift. He hadn't seen anything about that in the documents, but he’d only given them a cursory flip through. The only one from the Redemption Fire Department had been his own application, he thought. But he opened it again and read it more carefully.

Everything was the same, but this time he also noticed the scroll bar on the side. His application was only half the document and, scrolling down, he saw that, yes, Carlos had applied and been rejected.

Another text came through. From Jo again.

— Holy shit. The search warrant!

This time, Luke noticed that the texts he was getting from Jo included Ivy. But she wasn’t responding, and it appeared she wasn’t getting his replies.

He told himself it was a good sign, that the library was doing well. Ivy was busy.

He pulled up the search warrant, the last document attached, and gave it a scan. It was as surprising as everything else and he was pleased that the RPD had done something with the information about Mario.

The police were after his brother. At some point, the signature would come through for this warrant and they would search his place.

Thinking quickly, Luke put the car into gear and peeled out of the gas station fast enough to arouse suspicion. He had to force himself to slow down as he headed toward his brother's house. Even before he was close, he could see the place was ringed with officers and flashing lights. Hanging back, he wondered if his brother spotted his car as Mario came out onto the porch, hands high in the air, expression dejected.

Thank God.

The relief rolled over Luke in waves.

As much as Mario broke his heart, he could relax. It was over. And Ivy would be home soon.

Though he hated to leave his little brother in trouble, there was nothing he could do here. The police department wouldn't appreciate him hanging around, even if he was just watching. So he turned to leave.

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