Page 82 of Ink and Ashes
“Hey, Lieutenant,” Ace says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yeah?” I say, not looking away from the ladder drill I’m currently running.
“I was just putting everything back from our drills earlier, and I noticed one of the practice dummies is missing.”
That pulls my attention. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I only counted nine.”
My brows pull together. A missing practice dummy shouldn’t be cause for alarm, but with all the weird shit happening around here lately, everything has me on edge. And it’s not like a dummy could just get up and walk away.
Practice dummies don’t just gomissing.
“Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
Ace nods, then heads back inside.
“Hart!” I call out, and he rushes over. “Take over for me for a sec.”
He does, then I make my way inside to find Beau. He’s in his quarters with Dom, and the two of them look my way as I approach.
“What’s up, Col?” Beau asks.
“Hey, Ace just told me a practice dummy is missing. Did you guys use them all earlier?”
Beau shakes his head. “Nah, I only had four out. You sure he counted right?”
I shrug. “Yeah, he said he only counted nine.”
“I’m sure it’ll turn up,” he says.
My shoulders fall. Something about this still feels off to me, but he’s probably right, so I jerk my head.
“You and Holland find anything new?” Dom asks next.
Now would be a perfect time to tell them about her firefighter theory. I may not want to believe it’s true, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t know. These guys are my best friends, and lying to them feels wrong—especially about something like this. Besides, if anyone can help us figure out who it could be, it’s them.
“Yeah, actually—” I start, but I’m cut off by the sound of the klaxons.
Convenient fucking timing.
An automated voice cuts through the loudspeaker a moment later. “Structure fire at thirty-six Elmwood Road. All units responding.”
Beau, Dom, and I share a glance.
“Another structure fire?” Beau asks.
“One in the red zone, no less,” Dom says through clenched teeth.
I blow out a breath. “Let’s go.”
We pile into the trucks, and before Dom pulls out of the station, I glance up at the conference room where Holland is watching through the window. I wave up to her, and she waves back, mouthing the words, “Be safe,” as we pull away.
Ten minutes later, we pull up outside thirty-six Elmwood, an old church on the outskirts of town. After the town built a new one a decade ago, this one was abandoned. We consider it part of the red zone, which consists of buildings in the area that are more prone to fires, but because of their age and conditions, will be harder to fight.
The only people who ever come out here are kids trying to find a place to party. They all know better, but teenagers aren’t the smartest. We’ve responded to calls here before, but never one like this.
The church is entirely engulfed in flames by the time we arrive. I already know the team is going to assume this was just a bunch of kids looking for a thrill, but with it being the day it is, I refuseto believe this isn’t the work of the arsonist.
