The Blackout

by K J Kalis

  The toothpick turned in Freddie’s mouth as he spoke, “Yup. I’m gonna head out a little later to MoonRock Canyon. The 51st thinks they may have stopped a brushfire. Someone was trying to burn some stuff. We’ll see when we get there.”

  “Did you see the weather forecast?”

  “Naw. What’s going on?”

  “The winds are gonna howl for the next few days at least. You know what that means.”

  “We’re gonna be busy.”

  “Uh-huh.” As Freddie walked off, Ned sighed. Every fall it was busy in the department. The combination of regular fires and rescues was complicated by the dry brush that could light up like a bonfire at any moment putting people, their property, their pets and their livelihood in danger. Ned rolled his neck side to side. He needed a workout. He was getting stiff. There was no time, though. He needed to stay available to his staff in case more fires blew up.

  “Chief!” Ned heard a voice call him from the floor below. “We’ve got Stan Lemmon on the phone for you.”

  He nodded. “I’ll take it in my office.”

  The phone beeped as Ned picked up the receiver. “What’s the news, Stan?”

  “Just wanted to give you a heads up that we are seeing a stronger than usual flow out of the north. Not looking like the Santa Ana winds are going to stop anytime soon.”

  “Thanks. Keep me posted. Gotta run to a meeting.”

  As the men hung up, Ned realized that no matter what they did, there were going to be fires and lots of them. It was going to be a long day and an even longer week.

  14

  Connor woke up with his computer still perched on his lap. He’d fallen asleep in the chair in his office. The sun was already peeking through the edges of the blinds that he kept closed all the time. When she was alive, Janet insisted that he open the blinds. “Let the sunshine in, Connor. It’s good for you!” Since she was gone, there was no reason to do so.

  He blinked a couple of times and opened his computer, checking the screen in front of him. In just a few hours, it would be time to do more, but he had an errand to run first. He stood up, put his computer back on his desk and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He checked his cell phone for the time while the water heated up. He was on schedule as long as he kept moving. Within a few minutes, he was ready to go, a fresh pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a light jacket were all he needed. He had already put everything else he’d need in Janet’s car.

  He got in, opening the garage door. This was the moment he had to decide. Everything he had done up until this point was minor. He could walk away and never have to deal with it again. Or, he could see his plan through. He took in a deep breath, realizing he could still smell Janet’s perfume in the car after all this time. His heart ached and then filled with anger. Everything had been taken from him. It was his turn to do some of the taking.

  * * *

  The drive up to the gated community where Theresa Walsh lived took about thirty minutes as long as the traffic cooperated. The mapping software said that he had about eight minutes left before he got to their house. Ahead of him, the light turned red and he could see a backup of red lights and orange barrels. Construction. The light turned green, but he couldn’t move. Janet’s silver sedan was blocked in by cars on every side, three lanes of traffic scaled down to one. By the time the light had turned again, he had crept forward about ten feet, at the head of the line of traffic, but stuck behind the red light. He felt a wall of rage building inside of him. He couldn’t afford this kind of delay. He pounded his fist on the steering wheel. If he didn’t do something to get out of traffic, he wouldn’t make it. He’d miss the opportunity. Now that he had decided, the urge to complete his plan was overwhelming. It was a compulsion. Connor looked to the left and the right for options. If he waited in line, he’d make it through the light on the next cycle, but he’d be stuck as the traffic squeezed down to one lane. He was in the center lane of traffic and the only way to get around the construction would be to take a left. With traffic backed up in both directions, he just didn’t know if that was possible. His heart was pounding in his chest. He felt like he was suffocating. The crush of the surrounding cars seemed to get closer even though nothing was moving.

  The light his direction was still red. In an instant, Connor drove his fist into the horn, his car blaring as he stomped on the gas and pulled the car hard to the left, across traffic, his adrenaline surging. The tires squealed as he nearly hit a car that was coming from the other direction and felt the crush of his left front bumper as he hit another vehicle that didn’t get out of the way. In his rearview mirror, he could see the car spin and two other cars hit it in the intersection. He kept going. He didn’t care.

  Out of traffic, Connor’s heart started to slow down, even though the adrenaline was still surging in his system. His mapping software quickly plotted him a new route to get to Theresa’s house within five minutes. With any luck, she’d still be where he could find her. He pressed on the gas even harder, pushing the sedan past any speed limit in the area.

  By the time he got to the gate at Theresa’s neighborhood, Connor had refocused. He typed in the code to the gate that he had gotten from a landscaper who had been stopped there a few weeks ago. Twenty dollars had gone a long way to getting him the information he needed. It had been an easy sell. The guy looked at him and said, “Yeah, man. If you’ll give me a twenty, I’ll give you the code. These people are jerks anyway.”

  The gate swung open on silent hinges and Connor drove the dented sedan around to the block behind Theresa’s house. If his calculations were right, she was probably still out on her daily walk. He pulled off to the side of the road, getting his bearings, the adrenaline still pumping in his system. On the seat next to him was a duffle bag that he had packed and repacked after he had watched the Walsh’s house for a few days. People had no idea how their habits betrayed them. Theresa did the same thing every day at literally the same time. In the house until seven o’clock in the morning, walk two laps around the neighborhood from seven o’clock until eight and then she usually left the house by eleven o’clock. Connor guessed that it was for lunch and shopping. He knew that Theresa’s kid wouldn’t be around. He’d be in school.

  Out of the bag, he pulled a set of rubber gloves and a gun. A baseball cap and sunglasses finished his preparations. Now he had to wait. A few minutes went by with no sign of Theresa. Anger boiled in his chest. If the construction delay wrecked his opportunity to find her, then he’d have to go to his secondary plan. He didn’t want to do that. Ideally, he’d be able to get to her while she was on the street behind her house. Most of the homes were unoccupied, the residents out of town at their luxury residences in the Cayman Islands, Italy or Monaco. Connor glanced down the street, checking the time on his phone. He pulled up the surveillance notes that he had and checked them against the time on his phone. If she had left earlier, she’d already be home. Connor swallowed hard, feeling his teeth grind one against the other. He couldn’t afford to wait much longer. He needed to find her when she wasn’t on her own street to avoid the peering eyes of the neighbors that weren’t traveling. He leaned forward in the driver’s seat, hoping he’d see her blond ponytail swinging. He didn’t see anything.

  Connor started the car, gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white through the rubber gloves he had on. As he put the car into gear, a lump of bile in his throat, he saw her. She was wearing black leggings and a bright pink jacket, a matching pink visor perched on her head, her arms swinging with every stride. Connor felt his vision narrow. He eased the car off of the curb and headed back around the loop behind where Theresa was walking. He would approach from behind.

  Connor goosed the engine some, a rattle coming from the front left bumper where he’d hit the other car on the way over. He ignored it. Janet’s silver sedan rounded the corner, Connor glancing at the palatial homes crowded one against another on the hills above the ocean. He passed a home with a Bentley and two Ferrari�
�s in the driveway, rounding the corner behind where Theresa lived. He leaned to his right, trying to see how far she had gone while he drove around the back. He saw her about a quarter mile down on the right side. She had stopped and was leaning over. It looked like she was tying her shoe on the side of the road. Connor inched the car forward and then hit the gas, increasing his speed so he could catch up to her. When he was about a hundred feet behind her, he pressed the gas, hugging the car to the berm of the road, the tires making a rubbing sound as he hit the curb. He swallowed, not blinking, staring at Theresa, his eyes locked on her blonde ponytail and her pink jacket. He was sure her earbuds were in. She wouldn’t hear him coming.

  He felt the car impact her body, a slight jostle as he slammed on the brakes. Her legs flew out from underneath her, her torso landing on the hood of the car, the back of her head slamming down last, almost hitting the windshield. He threw the car into park and hit the button for the trunk lid. As he got out, he stuffed the gun in the back of his pants. He approached her crumpled body, picking it up. In two short strides, he was at the back of the car. Theresa’s eyes were closed. He didn’t know if she was alive or dead. There was a trickle of blood coming out of the corner of her mouth. He walked to the trunk, pushing her inside. He tried to arrange her on her side, but one of her legs was twisted in an unnatural shape. He slammed the trunk lid, his breathing shallow. He checked the ground in front of the car. One of her white earbuds had fallen on the ground along with her phone. He picked those up and pushed them into the pocket of his jeans.

  Connor took a quick look around. There was no movement on the street, no curtains swaying, no blinds out of place. He was pretty sure that no one had seen him. The car was still running. He put it into gear and drove slowly out of the neighborhood, watching the gate close behind him as he pulled away.

  15

  Kat hadn’t slept well, but her alarm went off anyway. “Jack! Are you up?”

  “Yeah! I’ll be ready in a minute.”

  The power had come back on in the middle of the night. Kat wasn’t sure when. All she knew was that she tossed and turned, thinking about Theresa. Rolling out of bed in the same clothes she had on the night before, she went downstairs to the kitchen where Van was working on his computer. “Morning,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek as she made sure both of their phones and computers were plugged in. It was hard to do work, not to mention call anyone, if their devices were dead.

  “Morning.” Van stood up. “I didn’t want to wake you earlier, but I have to go into the office for a while today. Not sure when I’ll be back. I figured you have enough stuff to do on your own after what we discovered last night?”

  “Yup. You can go wrestle the corporate giants while I stay with the little people.”

  “Speaking of little people…”

  Jack walked into the kitchen just as Van finished his comment, Tyrant and Woof followed, busy playing a game of tug with a rope toy they had found. There was growling and snarling, but Kat knew they were just playing. “Okay, you two, go lay down. I’ll take you out for a walk in a little bit.” Kat turned to Jack. “You ready? Need breakfast before you go?”

  Jack held up a protein bar, banana and a bottle of water. “I’m good. Bus should be here in just a minute. Gotta go, Mom.”

  Kat grabbed his head as he walked by, plopping a kiss on his uncombed hair. It was hard to believe that he was this independent already. What would he be like when he was in middle school? Kat couldn’t think about it. “Have a good day. Come straight home on the bus after school, okay?”

  “Where else would I go?”

  “Good point.”

  Kat heard the door slam at the same time she heard the groaning of the bus engine on their street. She walked to the front window, watching Jack the entire way until he got on the bus and the doors closed. When the school year had started, she wanted to walk him outside and wait while the bus came, but he protested. “Mom, I’m in third grade now. I can do this!” After a glance from Van, she relented, Van whispering in her ear, “Just watch him from the front window.”

  “Before I head out, want to give me an idea of what you are up to?”

  Kat didn’t realize that Van was standing behind her. “Would that be as my editor or as my husband?” She put her hands on her hips.

  He kissed her cheek. “Both. I just like to know where my girl is.”

  “Okay. I’m gonna go for a run with the mongrels…” She looked past Van into the doorway where Woof and Tyrant were watching her, their ears pricked. “And then I’m gonna try to get a hold of Theresa to see what’s going on.”

  “You mean about the software?”

  “Yeah, I want to see if she figured anything else out. Seems like she would be the one that would know what was happening, don’t you think?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll be back for dinner, if not sooner.” Van leaned over and picked up his backpack. “Anything going on tonight?”

  “Nothin’.”

  * * *

  With Van off to work and Jack safely at school, Kat quickly changed into her running clothes. Unlike most people, she didn’t run with earbuds in. Not being able to hear when someone or something was near her made her afraid. She tied her shoes, pulling the laces tight and strapped on a running holster so she could carry her gun underneath her jacket. The area they lived in didn’t have a lot of traffic, which was nice unless you needed help. Between the dogs and the gun, she felt safe enough to go out and get a good run in. As she zipped up her jacket, the scuffling from the dogs started, more growling and snarling as they got to the door. Kat ignored them until she had their leashes and martingale collars in her hand. “Sit, you two!” Both of their butts hit the ground at the same time, Tyrant’s long tongue hanging out and Woof’s tail wagging in a mopping motion on the tile. Kat leashed them up, set the alarm to the house and walked down the driveway, doing a few stretches as she went.

  Outside, the day was sunny and dry. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky even though the temperature had dropped a little. Kat pulled off her jacket and pulled her shirt over her holster, realizing that she would be too warm as she got going. She stuffed the jacket in their mailbox at the side of the road, whistled to the dogs to get them to pay attention and started running.

  The first mile was always the worst. Her muscles and joints felt stiff and tired, no matter how much she stretched and tried to warm up. She just had to gut out the first section of her run. After about five minutes, she started to feel better, the rhythm of her breathing settling in with the noise of the dogs’ paws on the pavement. Questions began to swirl in her mind about what Theresa had told them the night before. Kat wondered if there was a correlation between the fires and the blue dots on the power management system that Palm Coast Electric & Power used? As she rounded a corner and started up a hill, Kat realized that it could all be a coincidence. Maybe the blue dots were marking the fires? Maybe Palm Coast had the software customized for that? Kat’s breathing deepened as she ran up the hill in front of her. She wasn’t sure it all made sense. Theresa and Bart had been married long enough that Theresa knew what work stress looked like. Theresa seemed to think there was something more going on. It could be an affair, Kat realized. Maybe Bart was getting ready to divorce Theresa and she thought it was work stress when it wasn’t. Kat crested the hill and slowed to a walk to let her breathing settle down. From where she was, she could see the plumes of smoke rising in the air over the ridge in front of her. It looked to be close, but she guessed it was more than twenty miles away. She couldn’t even smell the smoke.

  Kat picked up the pace again, ready to run the final leg back to her house. In her gut, she thought there was something else going on. It was more than just average work stress Theresa had described. The fact that Bart had been focused on the power management system when, according to the company, things were running the way they should, rose to the forefront in Kat’s mind. If there was a problem with the software, why was Bart edgy? Why h
ad he been staring at the screen that had the blue dots? Kat realized he wouldn’t be looking at anything that didn’t require his personal attention. CEO’s didn’t do that. They had teams of people to take care of daily operations. She was sure a utility company was no different.

  Kat turned the final corner toward home, her shoes making a rhythmic tapping noise on the asphalt. She glanced down, checking on the dogs. They both had their tongues out and were trotting along happily behind her as she pushed through the last section of her run. The time outdoors would calm them for the rest of the day, which would give her the opportunity to do more research. As she slowed to a walk, seeing her mailbox in the distance, she realized what was bothering her. Why would a CEO of a major utility company be staring at something as simple as a diagram of a grid when there were so many other things to do? It didn’t make sense. A quick check, sure. But, that’s not what Theresa described. She said he had been staring at the screen. What did Bart see on that screen that she didn’t?

  Kat walked up the driveway, retrieving her jacket from the mailbox. She opened the door, disarmed the alarm system and walked into the kitchen, filling the water bowl for Tyrant and Woof. They lapped up half the bowl before she got it down to the ground, water dripping and spilling on the tile floor. “Easy, now. There’s plenty.” Kat waited for a moment until they had finished and then refilled it again.