Page 81 of All Mine
‘Working with neighbouring authorities and the police force, we are investigating a spate of fires locally in both domestic and business premises that we wanted to bring to your attention.’
The word ‘business’ grabbed her attention. Walker had mentioned the house fires the other night, but not said anything about businesses being affected. Her mind flicked to Tutto Mio and she imagined how devastating it would be to lose it. It didn’t bear thinking about.
‘Our investigations have shown the fires have been started deliberately, so we are working to assist the police with anything that might help them to catch the arsonists.’
A murmur rippled through the hall. Rosie threaded her fingers through Wren’s. Isabella looked over at Etienne but he was on his phone.
‘We’d like to ask for your help. Please be on the lookout for any strange or suspicious behaviour and report it immediately. Fire spreads quickly. We can lose a building or business in minutes, so the quicker we get there, the better the chances.’
More anxious whispers and worried looks. Isabella nervously fiddled with a lock of her hair.
‘And finally, if any of you would like to schedule a premises check, we would be happy to come out and advise on your fire prevention and safety. We can recommend alarms, monitors and sprinkler services that could make all the difference. Any questions?’
A few hands shot up. Walker pointed at one. ‘Yes?’
‘Are the cases linked? Or are they random?’
‘I’m afraid we don’t know the answer to that yet. The police are following up.’ He pointed to the next hand. ‘Yes?’
‘How do we get an appointment for you to come and advise?’
‘Speak to one of the crew here.’ Walker indicated the team. ‘They’ll take your details and we’ll be in touch.’
‘Do you have any fire alarms to give away?’
‘We have a moderate fund to help people to buy smoke alarms, if necessary,’ the commander said with a nod. ‘Of course, we need to make sure they go to those people that need it.’
The community nodded as one.
‘Thank you, everyone.’ Replacing the microphone on its stand, Walker and the fire crew started to move down the stairs from the stage.
Wren bit her lip and Rosie pulled her in for a hug.
‘Walker checked our system last week, you know,’ she said.
‘I know. It’s just all the books. The Lit Lounge would go up in seconds.’ Isabella could hear the tension in her voice. Rosie tried a reassuring smile.
‘We’ve got no reason to think we’d be targeted.’
‘But if someone likes making fires and they realise what a quick fire our shop would make. . .’ Wren wrung her hands together. ‘What about the cats?’
‘Try not to worry,’ Rosie said, taking hold of one of those hands she was wringing, and leading her towards the door. ‘We’ve got to try to stay calm.’ The three of them threw a wave towards Walker, who was surrounded by a queue of people, and left the hall.
Old Fred Barrow appeared beside them at the exit, and saluted them with a rolled-up newspaper opened on the racing pages.
‘Were you lucky today, Fred?’ Isabella asked, nodding at his newspaper. He’d circled his hopefuls in red pen. There seemed to be a lot of them. He sucked his false teeth in an expression of disappointment, but then shrugged.
‘But tomorrow is another day,’ he said, tucking the paper back under his arm.
‘I have more maps for you too,’ Isabella called as he turned in the direction of Heart of Honeybridge. ‘My grandmother brought them with her from Italy for you.’
His face lit up. ‘I shall look forward to seeing them, and meeting your grandmother.’
The crowd spilled out into the car park and huddles of people stood chatting, or headed off up the high street. Isabella spotted Etienne ahead, still focused on his phone.
He looked up at that exact moment and she waved, thinking he’d seen her, but he frowned and went back to his screen.
‘Hmm,’ she said to her friends, feeling strangely let down. ‘He can’t have seen me.’ Rosie threw a strange look at Wren. Isabella stopped walking and put her hand on Rosie’s arm. ‘What?’ she asked. Rosie considered for a second.
