Page 14 of Ink and Ashes
Besides, the sooner it shines again, the better. So I grab the cleaning supplies and make my way over to our apparatus. Whistling the tune of “Tennessee Whiskey,” I get to work scrubbing the grime off the engine.
I’m about halfway through cleaning when the voice that’s been haunting me for over two weeks, accompanied by the clicking of heels on the app floor, calls to me.
“Hi, Lieutenant.”
I let out a sigh as I turn around, spotting none other than Holland Rhodes.
I knew she’d be back.
Dressed in a light pink blouse, charcoal grey skirt, and nude heels, with a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, no one has ever looked less like they belong here than she currently does.
And I plan on making damn sure she knows it.
“What are you still doing here?” I ask, hopping off the truck as she walks across the floor toward me.
Standing a few feet away from me, she leans against a sectionof the rig I just finished cleaning. I grit my teeth, forcing myself to keep from yelling at her not to touch it.
“You always talk to civilians that way?” she asks, a hint of humour in her voice.
“Only the ones who show up again after being told to leave,” I say, wiping my hands on a nearby rag. “And I’m not talking about the station, I’m talking about the town. You know there’s an evacuation alert. So what the hell are you still doing here?”
“I told you—I’m here to look into the fires. I’m well aware of the evacuation alert, but I’m also aware that an alert is sent to prepare you for the possibility of an order. If and when an order is put in place, I’ll leave. But until then, I’m not going anywhere.” She takes a few steps closer until she’s standing directly in front of me. “Better get used to having me around.”
I grind my teeth together as I stare down at her, a smirk on her face. She’s flirting with me—I know that much. I bet her flirting normally gets her exactly what she wants.
She’s shit out of luck if she thinks she’ll get that from me.
When I say nothing in response, she chuckles. “You’re so insistent on me leaving, yet you refuse to answer my questions. My job would be a hell of a lot easier if you’d help me out.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “And my job would be a hell of a lot easier without reporters constantly showing up and getting in the way.”
“Then point me in the direction of your chief, or literally anyone else willing to help.” She shakes her head, huffing a laugh. “And I told you—not a reporter.”
I scoff. “Investigative journalist, whatever. What’s the difference?”
“Seriously? It’s in the name. Reportersreporton the news they’re given. Investigative journalists?—”
“Let me guess—investigate,” I interrupt.
She smirks. “Bingo.”
“And what, exactly, are you planning on investigating here?”
“The fires?” Her brows pull together in confusion. “What else would it be?”
“Why would the wildfires need to be investigated?”
“To figure out the cause…” She looks me up and down. “How did you make lieutenant?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s called climate change, Rhodes. British Columbia averages sixteen hundred wildfires per year, and approximately fifty-five percent of those are caused by lightning. Last year, that number shot up to seventy-one percent. In Ember Grove, though, that number is ninety.” I take a step closer to her. “Ninety percent of our fires in the past decade have been caused by lightning. The strikes love to simmer underground, and once everything dries up again, it ignites a holdover fire. That’s what’s been happening over the past few months.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I keep talking as I walk toward her.
“Fire Investigation (FI) hasn’t officially labelled the cause of all the fires, but we’ve been doing this for a long time. We know what to look for. Yes, this town occasionally sees a fire from tourists not being careful, but it’s rare. The last man-made fire we had was four years ago. It was an unseasonably warm and dry winter here, and we’ve had an increased number of dry lightning storms too. These fires are not man-made.”
We’re nearly chest-to-chest when I stop.
Her breathing is heavy as she glances up at me. “Confirmed.”
