Page 12 of Rest In Pink

“We have no place to put them,” Mac said.

“It would be a hero-like thing to take the bears,” Molly said, batting her eyes at him. “Very admirable. Every little kid deserves a teddy bear, especially one given by a big handsome firefighter.”

Vince frowned at Mac. “Is that going to work on you?”

“Probably.” Mac looked at me. “Let me talk to my captain first.”

“Or we could just drop them off tomorrow,” Molly said.

“Give me a couple of days, okay?” Mac said. “Captain’s got us doing training on arson and it’s hectic doing that and being on-call. The travails of a village fire department.”

Vince paused while reaching for a fry. “Arson?”

“How to spot it.” Mac looked surprisingly serious. “After the old factory burned, we went through looking for the cause as per procedure. The official report says lightning strike during that bad storm we had that night.”

Molly nodded. “I remember that. It was terrible.”

"It was,” Mac agreed. “But the captain didn’t like it. And then there was that mention in Thacker’s post about arson. He called a friend of his at the Academy and had him come out. Turns out what was left of the burn pattern was hinky. Plus, the instructor said the initiating point, as best he could determine, was not in a likely place for a lightning strike. The fire started inside, in an enclosed area.”

Molly was surprised. “Why would someone want to burn that old dump?”

Mac shrugged. “Probably kids messing around and it got out of control. But the captain was upset that he missed something. And he’s not afraid to admit he screwed up. So, all of us are getting additional training.”

“Who’s fire captain now?” Liz asked.

“Otto Olson. Came in from out of town about six months ago, just after Vince got here. Still getting a grip on Burney politics.” Mac stole another fry. “He’s a good guy, he’s just being careful.”

“The police review this week by the state is probably a good motivator,” Vince said, who seemed to have forgotten about the ties on my dress for the moment. “Do you know if Olson has told George about this?”

Mac shrugged. “No idea.”

Vince grinned. “Except you just did.”

Mac grinned back. “Except I just did.”

“You guys,” Molly said.

“What I want to know,” Mac said to me, ignoring her, which wasn’t easy for him, “is what is the notorious Elizabeth Magnolia Danger of Burney, Ohio, up to with her boyfriend, the dour police officer Vincent Cooper?”

“I have no boyfriend, and none of you are taking Thacker seriously enough,” I said. “This guy has no boundaries. He’s going to piss off everybody, multiple times. You think George and Mayor O’Toole are crazy now, wait’ll he starts in on them for real. There’s going to betrouble.”

Vince nodded. “George is a very unhappy man at the moment.”

“Anemone will fix that,” I said.

Vince looked skeptical. “O’Toole is meddling in the police department. And the senator is pulling his strings.”

“O’Toole is an idiot,” Mac said judiciously. “But as mayor, he’s a powerful idiot. In Burney at least.”

“And Senator Wilcox is not going to be happy with Thacker either,” Vince said. “I figure it’ll be a cage match; they can all have him.”

“You are unnaturally chipper,” I said, eyeing him with distrust because it was more than the usual happiness caused by ideas like a dress with ties. He usually kept that kind of stuff bottled up until unleashed.

“I just got a promotion.” He stole another fry. “Marvin retired. The man is smarter than he ever displayed on the job.” He popped the fry in his mouth and pulled out his wallet and flipped it open, displaying a gold badge that read DETECTIVE. He looked at me, eyebrows raised. “You’re sleeping with a detective now, sweetheart. I won’t play the sap for you.”

“Sure you will,” I said, beaming at him. “Congratulations! That’s great!”

“You can congratulate me later. I have suggestions as to how.” He put his wallet away and nabbed another fry. “Are you really worried about health insurance and retirement? Because I could actually afford a wife now.”

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