Page 103 of Ink and Ashes
After we left my parents’ the other day, we took the note to PD, and Holland has been working with them to uncover more about that fire and figure out if what the note said was true. I can’t figure out how it could be, given that there’s a death certificate for Joseph Welland and everything, and I don’t believe it would’ve been that easy for a homeless drug-addict to fake his death.
Then again, crazier things have happened.
I’ve been leaving most of the research to Holland, partly because it’s her strength and partly because this is all so overwhelming for me. The mere suggestion that Joseph Welland could be behind these fires seems absolutely insane, and I’m really not sure what to make of it.
In the meantime, I’ve been spending lots of time with Ollieover the past few days, both out of guilt for ever thinking it could be him and because I’m worried about him. Checking in with him has been a good distraction from my reality right now, and I think he appreciates having someone around too. He’s doing better since his release from the hospital, but it’s going to take him a while to come to terms with everything that happened.
The doctors wanted to keep him even longer at the hospital to give his burns more time to heal, but he was adamant about being at the funeral, so he’s been home for the past week and a bit resting. Chief Whitlock and I had returned the day after everything happened to tell him the news about Finn, and Ollie has been beating himself up for it ever since.
I really feel for the kid, because he looks a lot like I did five years ago when Ellie died. Mind you, he doesn’t have the press breathing down his neck blaming him the way they did me, but he’s blaming himself enough for everyone. I’ve tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault and so has everyone else, but our words fall on deaf ears. Ollie isn’t ready to accept that he isn’t to blame for what happened, and until he is, nothing anybody says will change anything. I know that better than most. But that won’t stop me from trying to convince him otherwise anyway.
He hasn’t been cleared to return to work yet, and he won’t be for at least another two months. He’s pretty banged up from what happened, and the whole team has been trying to help him through it, but there are some things people just have to deal with on their own. For Ollie, this is one of those things. I did give him the contact information for my therapist Dr. Talbot, though, just in case he wants to talk to someone that isn’t one of us.
All my time outside of being with Ollie or Holland has been spent at the station. There’s been a tension in the air on every shift over the past few weeks, all of us trying to cope with the loss of Finn and Ollie’s injuries. Couple those with the weight of knowing the arsonist is still out there, that any of us could be next, has tension rising even more.
Holland went through all their files again yesterday and told me there wasn’t anyone who stood out, but part of me also thinksshe’s keeping details of the investigation close to her chest so that I don’t start questioning all my teammates like I did with Ollie.
But it’s too late for that. Whether she tells me who she suspects or not won’t stop me from looking at everyone and wondering if it could be them.
I still haven’t told anyone else that the arsonist is a firefighter. Beau and Dom have been following up with me about everything, but I’ve continued to keep that part on the down-low on the off chance that we’re wrong. But given that we have two days until the next one, I figure it’s probably time I fill them in. I’m not sure how either of them will take the news, but maybe sharing that information with them will help. They may know things I don’t.
I should probably tell Chief Whitlock too. He’s stayed out of the investigation for the most part since I told him we had it handled, but I know he offered his help when he spoke to Holland at the funeral. If we can’t get to the bottom of this on our own, it might be worth it to enlist more help.
But I’m not ready to do that quite yet. I need to talk to Beau and Dom first.
I stand from my desk and make my way over to Beau’s quarters next door. He’s on the phone when I broach the doorway, but when he spots me, he says, “Yeah, Mom. Hey, Col just walked in so I’ll call you back, okay?”
I huff a laugh as I vaguely hear her say, “Tell Col I say hi,” on the other end of the line.
I raise my voice slightly to say, “Hi, Hannah,” and Beau laughs as he finishes the conversation.
“Talk to you later, Mom. Love you.”
She says it back, then he hangs up the phone.
“How’s she doing?” I ask.
“She’s good. Has a new boyfriend named Greg. Once this whole arson ordeal is over, she’s gonna come up for a visit with him.”
“Sounds good,” I tell him, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Speaking of the arson ordeal…”
His browspull together.
“Where’s Dom? I should tell you this together.”
“Right here, brother,” Dom’s voice says from behind me. I turn around to see him heading toward us. “What’s up?”
I jerk my head for him to join us in Beau’s office, then shut the door behind him.
“What’s going on, Col?” Beau asks.
I glance out the window, keeping my eyes trained on the guys in the bay for a moment. Then I turn around, and with a low voice, I say, “We’re pretty sure the arsonist is a firefighter. And that it’s someone in this station.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Beau says, rising from his desk chair. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I blow out a breath, then fill them in on everything. They both listen carefully as I share all the information we’ve found, including the tidbit about Joseph Welland, and when I’m done, they just stare back at me in disbelief.
Dom is the first to speak. “How is this possible?”
