A Hope City Duet

by Kris Michaels

  She stepped through the doorway into the garage, and he followed her. The firefighters had finished and were pulling away, so they had full access to walk around. She stood in the center of the garage and turned slowly in a circle. Continuing to record, she said, “The sources of ignition or accelerant in the garage are on the far side. Lawnmower, gasoline can, power tools are near the back. There is shelving on the side that contains several old paint cans and what looks like a can of turpentine. No accelerants are close to the kitchen door which appears to be the point of origin.”

  She shoved her recorder into her purse and pulled out her phone. She began snapping pictures in the garage, squatting at several places, getting pictures that were detailed. She moved back into the kitchen, where she did the same.

  Sean was fascinated watching her work. “Your training was very similar to mine. And you’re just as methodical.”

  She sucked in her lips and looked up at him. “Um... I’m not used to having somebody watch me other than my instructors.” Glancing around, she added, “Now is when I would collect samples but want to do it after you do.”

  “I appreciate your strict adherence to the rules.”

  “That’s what upset me so much at the warehouse. I had been given clearance, but when you showed up so angry, I was afraid I had broken protocol,” she explained.

  “No, you were fine. It was obviously not my finest moment.”

  She offered a small smile and stepped back, allowing him to begin. He collected evidence, bagging and labeling the materials as he moved about the kitchen and garage. Jonas came into the kitchen, smiled at Harper, and took the samples from Sean, placing the bags and bottles in the evidence kit.

  “You can start your collection now,” Sean said.

  She nodded silently and began collecting samples of the charred wood around the door leading to the kitchen while he talked with Jonas. When finished, she stood and looked at him, the rosy blush still gracing her cheeks, now more evident with the sunlight pouring into the room.

  Jonas took the samples and headed back outside. Sean smiled and stepped closer, watching as she leaned her head back to maintain holding his gaze. A few wisps of her hair were floating around her face with the breeze that was moving through the garage and he longed to tuck the strands behind her ear. Instead, he smiled and said, “It was interesting to watch you work.” He glanced around, scanning the walls. “What are your thoughts? What is the evidence saying to you?”

  “I’m only certified in evidence collection right now.”

  Holding her gaze, he lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, but you’re almost finished becoming a certified fire investigator.”

  “You remember?” Her voice was full of incredulity.

  “Oh, yes. I remember everything about you, Harper.”

  With that, her mouth opened slightly, but no words came forth. He longed to lean down and see if her lips were as soft as they appeared. Just then, Jonas stepped into the garage and called out, “What have you found out here?”

  Both Harper and Sean blinked, and she jumped slightly as though coming out of a trance. Sean grinned. “I was just asking her what her thoughts were.”

  She inhaled deeply before letting it out slowly. “I find it suspicious that the fire did not start at a point of accelerants or heat sources. It appeared to start right at the door leading between the garage and the kitchen. I’ve collected samples that I’ll take to the lab, to see if there’s any evidence of an accelerant was used.”

  Nodding, he said, “We’ll be doing the same.” Glancing toward Jonas who grinned and moved into the kitchen, leaving Sean and Harper in the garage, he continued, “Perhaps when you get your evidence, we can meet.”

  Smiling widely, Harper lifted her hand and tucked the wayward strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”

  He stepped closer. “Perhaps we could have lunch together.”

  If possible, her smile beamed brighter. “I’d like that even more.”

  “How about today?” he pressed, holding his breath, hoping he was reading her correctly.

  She laughed out loud, the sound bright against the dark interior of the garage. “I won’t have my evidence by lunchtime, but I’d love to have lunch with you... anytime.”

  “Do you like Mexican?” Gaining her emphatic nod, he said, “How about we meet at Don Valero’s. About one o’clock?”

  “I’ll see you then.” Smiling, she twisted her head toward the kitchen and called out, “Goodbye, Detective Miller!”

  Jonas popped his head out and waved, winking at her and wiggling his eyebrows at Sean. Laughing, Sean flipped him off behind Harper's back, then watched her walk down the driveway to her car.

  “It’s about fuckin’ time,” Jonas said, stepping into the garage.

  Not giving his partner the satisfaction of knowing he agreed with him, he just smiled.

  10

  Lunch could not come early enough for Harper, but she detoured to the lab before heading to the restaurant, hoping she would have some information to share. Rushing inside, she waved toward John as she moved to his station.

  He threw his hand up in greeting as she approached. “I haven’t had time to run anything from this morning.”

  “I know. I was just hoping maybe you had something from the warehouse. It’s no longer one of my cases, but... well... I’m having lunch with one of the detectives, and I wondered if I might have something I can share with him.”

  “Oh, a date?” he asked, brows raised.

  “No! Not a date. Just a... um... business lunch together.”

  “Still, that sounds like a date to me.”

  John had never asked her out, but she had an uncomfortable feeling that he wished he had asked her first and was grateful when he turned to his desk, once more focused on business. He handed her a folder.

  “I actually sent this to your email this morning, but since you’ve been out and about, I have a copy for you here.”

  She looked it over and then lifted her gaze to his. “Just as we thought. Gasoline.”

  “Out of curiosity, why is it no longer your case?”

  “The city doesn’t own the warehouse anymore, so it’s out of our hands.”

  John nodded and turned back to his desk. “I did some further testing on the shed fire that you brought to me last week. I initially said that it was carbon disulfide but found traces of phosphorus as well.”

  Her head cocked slightly. “Phosphorus? Along with the carbon disulfide?”

  “Yeah. My guess, possibly solid phosphorus dissolved in carbon dioxide. Put it on anything flammable, then walk away. Or,” he shrugged, “you can throw in an added heat source and the fire really takes over.”

  Nibbling on her bottom lip, her gaze moved over the report. “Can I take this with me?”

  “Sure. Hope to impress your detective friend?”

  “I’m sure there’s nothing I can find that he hasn’t already found.” Tossing a small wave, she walked out of the lab, anxious to get to Don Valero’s.

  Sean waited outside the restaurant, a combination of excitement and nerves moving through him. Before he had a chance to think about his reaction to his lunch date, he looked up and saw Harper walking swiftly toward him. She was wrapped in the same wool coat with a woolen cap pulled over her head, her long hair flowing from underneath. Smiling as she approached, he was suddenly uncertain how to greet her.

  She stopped directly in front of him, her head leaned back to hold his gaze, and smiled brightly. “Is it crazy that I’ve been looking forward to this all morning?”

  Thrilled with her honesty, he chuckled. “No crazier than me doing the same.”

  They walked through the door of the restaurant, his hand resting lightly on her back as they moved to the hostess stand. The inside of the restaurant was a riot of color and the booths were deep red leather. Following the hostess to a table near the back, they settled in. With both working, they declined the server’s
suggestion of a margarita and ordered iced tea as they continued to look over the menu.

  Glancing up, he noted she closed the menu quickly. “Already know what you want?”

  “I don’t come here often, but when I do, I always get the Enchilada Supreme. That way, I get a little bit of everything.”

  He glanced down at the menu and saw that that item included one beef, one chicken, one cheese and one bean enchilada topped with sauce, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes. “Wow, you like to eat!” He immediately winced at the wide-eyed, red-faced expression on her face. Fuck… “That did not come out the way I wanted it to.” He rested his forearms on the tabletop, his palms upward in supplication. “I’m so sorry, Harper. I just meant that the choice has all our favorites... my favorites... and I’m glad you like to eat... shit, I’ll stop now.”

  Her laughter rang out, lighting her face as her eyes danced. “You’re fine, Sean. Honestly.” Shrugging, she added, “And you’re right... I do like to eat. But I order this so I can take half of it home for another meal later this week.”

  “God, you don’t have to explain.” He was glad she was laughing and not stomping out of the restaurant in a huff. Just then his stomach growled, and as soon as the server came by, he gave their order. Looking eagerly at the basket of nachos and salsa she had placed on the table, he nodded toward the platter. “Please, dive in.”

  She dipped the chip into the salsa, popped it into her mouth, and closed her eyes, groaning. “Oh, my God, that’s so good.”

  Her words accompanied by the groan shot straight through him, and he shifted slightly against the leather seat. Asking her to lunch had been impulsive, something he rarely was. Not wanting to stick his foot into his mouth again, he sat quietly, ignoring his body’s response to her as he wondered what to talk about.

  “Are you from Hope City?” she asked, her eyes holding his gaze as she smiled.

  Nodding as he swallowed, he relaxed, glad that she took the lead. “Yes. And you?”

  Shaking her head, she smiled. “I’m from Wallburg, North Carolina. And don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it. Believe me, it’s tiny. My parents are still there, and I know they hoped I would always return. But it’s such a little town, and I always longed for living in a bigger city. I got a scholarship to the university here and never left.”

  “What’s your favorite thing about living in a big city?”

  Scrunching her nose, she admitted, “I don’t go out as much as I used to, but I love having concerts, theater, and even boat rides in the summer.” She tilted her head to the side and kept her gaze on him. “Have you ever lived anywhere else?”

  “I was in the Army for eight years after high school. Once those tours were over, I just wanted to come back to where my family was.”

  Taking a sip of tea, her eyes brightened. “Besides your brother, do you still have family here?”

  Chuckling, he leaned back in his seat. “Oh, yeah. My parents are still here, along with my five siblings.”

  Choking on her nacho, she sputtered. “Five siblings? Your parents had six kids? Oh, that must’ve been fun!”

  He watched her eyes light, but then his gaze dropped to her mouth, and the idea of kissing her was all he could think about. Stop looking at her mouth… say something. “Um… my family grew up next to another family that we’re close to. They had five kids and we had six. So, you can imagine that there was a worn path in the grass between our house and theirs.”

  “Oh, my goodness!” Harper exuded, shaking her head slightly. “Eleven kids running back and forth!”

  Sucking in a deep breath, he dragged his gaze back to her eyes and tried to focus on their conversation. Clearing his throat, he said, “It was crazy at times. But it was also great. Brock was their oldest and the same age as me. Sometimes we got stuck watching the younger kids, but mostly, it was just a lot of fun. You always felt like you had someone around to talk to or play with.”

  Her voice softened and she tilted her head to the side. “I can see you being the oldest. I think that sounds wonderful.”

  He heard the wistfulness in her voice. Her gaze was penetrating, and he wanted to know more about her. “So, what about you? Siblings?”

  Nodding, she licked a dab of salsa off her lips, and he once again focused on her mouth, her pink tongue snagging his attention.

  “My parents were older when they had me. I don’t think it was because they couldn’t get pregnant. They were older when they met and married. I came along pretty quickly, but then I think they had a couple of miscarriages before my brother came along. They’re wonderful parents, but even when I was in elementary school, I knew that they were older. My friends’ moms didn’t have hair that was already turning gray. Other kids my age went to amusement parks with their parents, and my parents preferred more sedate vacations. We lived in an older neighborhood that actually had retired residents, so there weren’t a lot of kids to play with.”

  He cocked his head to the side, noting the wistfulness in her voice. “Were you lonely?”

  Shaking her head, she held his gaze. “It was all I knew. I occasionally had a friend over to play with or would go to their house, but I wasn’t unhappy. At least not until I became old enough to visit with other friends who had wild, crazy, fun families.” Laughing, she said, “Like yours.”

  “And your brother?”

  “We weren’t very close when we were children, probably due to our age. I was six years old when he was born, so I was already in school. By the time I was a teenager, he was just a pesky younger brother. Now that we're adults, we’ve become closer. He’s in the Marines, so we don’t get to see each other very often, but he said he’s not going to reenlist after this tour.”

  The server came back, setting their huge plates of food in front of them. Refilling their iced teas, she left, and Harper and Sean stared at their plates for a moment in awe. A giggle slipped from her lips. “I forgot how much food this is! I’ll get a box, and it looks like this will be my lunch for tomorrow... and maybe dinner, too.”

  They dug into the spicy deliciousness, and he was glad he took his cue from her and ordered the same thing. Their conversation was light as they continued to eat, and he relaxed, enjoying her company.

  He leaned back in his seat, sipping his iced tea. “I remember one time visiting a classmate at his house. He was an only child, and their house was quiet and orderly. I actually thought it was nice for him to be able to get his work done or listen to music or read a book without a thousand people all pulling at him.”

  “I suppose we simply get used to what we grow up with, and it’s only with time and age that we think about how something could be different. My grandmother came to live with us when I was in high school, so I didn’t often have friends over. Looking back, I’m sure that was harder on my brother, constantly having to stay quiet.” Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she leaned back in the booth. “I’m still close to my parents and talk to them at least once a week. They don’t care for traveling, so they haven’t been to Hope City very much, but I try to get to North Carolina a couple of times a year. Hopefully, they’ll visit soon.”

  She held him captive with her dark eyes and he almost missed her next question. “You said that in the Army you were Military Police. Was that something you always wanted to do?”

  Swallowing his last bite, he nodded. “My dad was in the FBI and had moved up the ranks from investigator to supervisor. When he was an agent, he and my mom lived in several places. I was actually born in Florida, but we moved here when I was a baby, so this is the only place I remember. Growing up, I watched every police show I could, thinking that was the best job ever.”

  “Being the oldest of six kids, you probably had to act like a policeman sometimes with your siblings!”

  “God, yes. It wasn’t easy. I never wanted to be the big, badass brother, but I also didn’t want my siblings to get in trouble. So, whatever rules my parents set down for us, I tried to make sure they followed th
em.” He glanced down at her plate, seeing that she had eaten almost half of her lunch and appeared to have finished. Wanting to prolong their time together, he asked, “How did you get into the insurance business? Especially dealing with fires?”

  Barking out a laugh, she held his attention once more with her bright smile and twinkling eyes. “You know how you just said that being a policeman was the only thing you ever wanted to do? Well, not me! It seems like I just stumbled into this job.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said, “Honestly, it’s not very interesting.”

  His voice was deep as he held her gaze. “If it’s your story, then it’ll be interesting to me.”

  A blush teased her cheeks. Her lips curved into a delicate smile, and she glanced down at the table. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to study when I was in college. I’m one of those people who like a lot of things, but I’m not necessarily brilliant in any one thing.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but she jumped in. “I’m not saying that to be falsely modest. I really do like lots of things, but no one thing had ever truly been my forte. I ended up majoring in marketing, quite frankly because I was going out with a guy at that time who was in marketing, and he made it sound interesting. But,” she shrugged, “my grades were higher than his and he didn’t seem to deal well with that. We broke up, but I finished my degree.”

  Sean had no problem imagining that her grades were high in college. “And the insurance business?”

  “Going from Military Police to city policeman probably was a logical choice for you. With marketing, I could have had a job in a lot of different areas. But fresh out of college, I started applying and interviewing and desperately needed a job to pay bills. The last thing I wanted was to move back home. There was no chance for a good job or advancement there. I applied for a position with Eastern Mutual Insurance and began with them as an insurance salesperson. Again, the work was not interesting, but it paid the bills. I was able to move up to claims adjuster, and that was a lot more interesting. I got to look at police and hospital records and inspect property. Several years ago, there was a fire that destroyed a house, and while the family escaped unharmed, the pets were killed. It was horrible.”