Page 44 of From the Flames
His phone rang after noon, and Kevin snatched it up, completely bored. “What’s going on?”
“We got something,” Chase told him. “I was working with Red and Carter to see what we could find in the rubble of the apartment building, and it’s a miracle that place was standing at all. The foundation concrete was substandard and is crumbling in places. They sent it off for testing, but there is no way it should behave like that, even after a fire. Accelerant was definitely used, and we tested for residue.”
“So once the tests come back, we have a case against them?”
“Red and Carter aren’t so sure. Maybe not a legal case, but definitely a public safety one. They said that they will prepare a media statement. At least that should get people’s attention and bring the company’s misdeeds to light.”
“That’s really good. But are we any closer to figuring out who set the second fire and why the building went up so fast?”
“We are. You know they skimped on the interior walls that could have acted as firebreaks. But they also failed to fireproof the beams before sealing up all the walls. They did some of them, probably what they showed the inspectors, but other than that, they sealed the walls without it, so basically the building waswood-frame construction with nothing at all to stop a fire. It really is a miracle that no one was killed.”
“Great, but what recourse do we have?”
“Red and Carter are compiling everything and will give the information to the district attorney. Hopefully he will be able to find a way to bring a criminal case against the company. If nothing else, it should put them out of business.”
“And the arsonist goes free,” Kevin huffed. “There has to be a way to catch these guys. This isn’t the first building they’ve torched to cover up evidence.”
“I know. But we aren’t getting very far. No one saw anything other than the flames. There aren’t any cameras that caught anything either, so there aren’t a lot of places to look. It was a simple fire that anyone could set with a few cans of gasoline and sucky construction already weakened by the first fire. But maybe we’ll catch a break.”
“Maybe we will. You have to contact Red and Carter. When they make the public statement, I think I need to be there.” An idea formed in his mind, one he knew Willy would hate, but it was the only way he could see to bring the people responsible for all this hurt and heartache into the open.
“Why?”
“Willy and I have been trying to figure a way to lay a trap, and I think I just found it.” And Lord help him if anything went wrong.
Chapter 15
“ARE YOUcompletely crazy?” Willy asked the following evening as they sat at McDonald’s with the kids. Every head in the restaurant turned toward them, including April’s and Grant’s. April climbed into her daddy’s lap to try to calm him, and Grant, who sat next to Kevin, looked like he was going to disappear under the table at any second. “Sorry,” he said more softly. “But what are you thinking?”
“We figured we needed a way to draw this guy out, and I have it. The announcement of substandard construction will be made in a day or two. Certain details will be provided that will place the blame on the construction company. We will not accuse them directly by name, but give enough information that they will know we are after them. Red and Carter are going to then explain that the fire department is still investigating, and they’ll indicate me without bringing up my name. They’ll also allude to the fact that additional evidence is expected soon.”
“But that’s going to put you in the line of fire,” Willy said, his insides churning like a KitchenAid mixer. He pushed back his food and took a deep breath. “They’ll come after you.”
“Yes, they will,” Kevin told him as though it were no big deal. “I want them to. That’s the whole idea. I’ve already made a show of being at my house and walking the dogs, which I’d like to bring over secretly so they’ll be safe.” He pulled out his phone. “I found this at the house this morning.”
It was a picture of another of those awful threats. “And you’re acting like it’s a good thing.”
Kevin nodded. “It means they know where I live and that I’m not staying with you anymore, so you and the kids are safe.Now we just need to bring some heat down on them and we can bring this whole thing to an end. I won’t be alone. Chase is going to be with me at the house. We’ll sneak him in in the back of my car tonight, and he’ll stay with me for a few days. No one will see him. We’ll get the dogs out the same way.”
Willy swallowed hard. “And if this doesn’t work and they…?” He tried not to think about what could happen, but it nearly overwhelmed him. “You could lose everything, including your life.” The thought of that was too much, and he turned to look out the window at the cars passing on High Street.
Kevin took his hand, and Willy almost pulled away. “I know this worries you, but I’m going to have a ton of backup. The police will be involved, as will the fire department. Chase will be in the house with me, and I’ll have multiple ways to get help quickly. In addition, Red and Carter have installed temporary cameras around the house. They are up and working and face front, back, and through the sides. We’ve done everything we can to make sure I’ll be safe.”
Willy wasn’t sure he could do this. “I’ll take the dogs, of course. The kids have missed them. But….” He didn’t want to say something he would regret later. Willy knew Kevin was a firefighter through and through, and he would do what it took to keep others safe, even if that meant putting himself in danger. As much as the idea of Kevin getting hurt scared the hell out of him, he knew he couldn’t stand in the way of who he was.
As far as Willy was concerned, Kevin was a hero. He had saved their lives—all of them. And to ask him to turn that off… to stop being who he was… he couldn’t do that. So his decision was to either accept that or simply walk away. He clamped his eyes closed because the thought of that made his heart feel like it was being stabbed.
“Okay. I know you need to do this, and it scares me. But you need to be you.” He leaned over the table. “Just make damnedsure you come out of this in one piece, because if you don’t….” He met Kevin’s gaze with his best icy stare.
“I fully intend to.” He squeezed Willy’s hand. “I’ll figure out a way to bring the dogs over without anyone seeing. I want anyone who might be watching the house to think they’re still there. I actually recorded their barks so they can be played back if someone comes to one of the doors.”
Willy sighed. “Then it sounds like you’ve thought of everything.” He sure as hell hoped that was true, because a mistake could cause both him and Kevin a great deal of hurt.
“I’ve tried to think of every contingency. All we need to do is catch these people. From there we can get them to tell us what we need to know. Right now we don’t have much to go on, so it’s either trap them or they will be free to do this again and ruin other people’s lives.”
“I know. I’m just scared for you.” And for himself. Kevin was the man he was, but Willy hoped he realized that this little plan didn’t affect just him, but the rest of them as well.
“It will be okay,” Kevin said, and Willy hoped like hell that turned out to be true.
