Smoke Stack

by Andrew Gruse

  “I don’t know,” Zack said. “He hid behind the central air unit so I couldn’t see. You showed up, and he ran.” Zack rubbed the smack on the side of his face. “I followed him.”

  “Oh my God! I let him in my house! Marvin? What is he doing outside my house?”

  “I’m going to his house now, and we’ll find out for sure,” Orb said with conviction.

  “No, Orb, don’t,” Zack said. “Just let it play out. Plus, I know he’s not there.”

  “What? Where is he?”

  “He’s at Weber’s house now,” Zack said. They looked at Zack expectantly. “The man is Weber’s lover. I think there’s something deeper going on here.”

  Orb shook his head. “Stack, what are you talking about now?”

  Zack wiped his face and hair with a towel. “Something is going on here, Orb. Something more sinister than we think.”

  * * * *

  Orb stayed another hour. Zack, when Orb finally left and after Zack finished a glass of the wine with Molly’s family label on it, decided that Orb was either really good at playing dumb enough to convince Zack he wasn’t a part of it, or he wasn’t a part of it.

  Zack just had to decide what it was.

  Molly finally calmed. Julie sat most of the time silently, but Zack knew there would be a reckoning. Zack was still restless but knew he needed to sleep. As the clock hit two AM, Zack’s body told him he was beyond exhaustion, and his mind was close behind. Zack wanted to hit the pillow the second he dried from a hot shower.

  * * * *

  Zack exited the hot shower with a towel around his waist, and he rubbed his short hair dry. Julie laid on the bed with her back to him. He found his pajamas, put them on, and slid under the covers next to her, but he didn’t turn off the light.

  He looked at Julie, but she sat up. The look on her face told him everything. Only he didn’t know what to say.

  She crossed her arms and stared at him.

  He frowned. “I’m sorry, Jules. I had to follow him. He’s a threat.”

  “I know, but you don’t understand, Zack. You just can’t do that anymore. You can’t just up and disappear and leave me all alone.”

  “I said, I am sorry. But we were hired to do,”

  “I know what we were hired to do, Zack. I was there, remember? But this isn’t just about you and me anymore. Things are different now. I depend on you. What am I going to do if you go and get yourself killed? We have to worry about more than just you and me now. You can’t do what you did tonight anymore.”

  “Honey, I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning on following Marvin at all, but then I, wait, what?” He stopped. “What do you mean? Who else do we have to worry about?”

  Julie laid her arms at her side. “I meant that it isn’t just the two of us. You know? You have a business, and people depend on you.”

  Zack stared at her. “That’s not what you meant. What did you mean?”

  Julie took a deep breath. “I meant that now that we are getting married, we are going to have kids. I need you with me. I need you to help me raise our kids because I am not going to be a widow raising our children. What am I going to do if something happens to you?”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up the paternity truck there, honey. We aren’t even married yet. Let’s not go ahead and get ourselves a family before we’ve said I do.”

  “If I wait for you, my eggs will dry up before you decide to step up.”

  “Step up? Seriously? Did you really just tell me to step up?”

  Julie’s face changed colors. “Zack, please, you know what I,”

  This time he cut her off. “I know damn well what you meant. So I’m not man enough for you?” Zack knew he was close to losing it. “Because I haven’t decided I’m ready for kids means I’m not man enough for you?” He shook his head. “Well, then you shouldn’t be sleeping with less than a man.”

  “Zack, please, we’re tired and upset. This case is making us crazy.”

  “Yeah, right.” Zack got out of bed and grabbed his pillow. “I’m going to sleep elsewhere tonight, do some soul searching and see if I can find my manhood.” He walked to the door.

  “Zack,” Julie called out, but he didn’t stop. He disappeared, and the bedroom door shut. She curled under the blankets and cried herself to sleep.

  CHAPTER 32

  A hot shower didn’t lift Zack’s spirits the next morning. Nor did the sunshine through the windows and the raucous birdsongs in the yard. It was almost nine, and it was much-needed sleep. But it was a new day, and his mind raced. Derek Willows. How do I find him? Where could he be? Did he really run away? I need to deal with Jules, but this isn’t the time.

  He heard footsteps at the doorway, and Julie appeared at the bedroom door. She stopped at the doorway. “Hey, you have company. Put a shirt on.” She disappeared just as quickly.

  Before Zack could answer, she was gone. That went as expected. He slid on his socks and found a long sleeve dress shirt. Zack left it untucked and rolled up the sleeves. Why won’t anyone search the Clyde Forest of Spirits? And what was psycho number 1 doing outside the house?

  Zack walked down the stairs, turned the corner and there stood Brian Sedowski, insurance investigator. He smiled and walked to Zack with his hand extended. Zack shook his hand.

  “Mr. Stack, I’m glad to finally catch up to you. You’re a hard man to find,” Brian said. “Which is quite a feat in this small town.”

  “Call me Zack,” Zack said. “I’ve been called a lot worse so hard to find I’ll take.” Zack offered Brian a seat and sat on the couch across from him. Julie appeared with a glass of orange juice and sat beside Zack. “What can I do for you?”

  Brian leaned back in his chair and pushed his black-rimmed glasses up his nose. “I’d like to hire you.”

  “To do what?”

  “Investigate the school fire.”

  Zack shook his head. “I’m not a fire investigator. I’m sorry, but you have the wrong guy.”

  “No, I don’t,” Brian said. “The cause of that fire isn’t going to be found on site. The rain that already fell, the rain in the forecast, the search for the car, and now the boy, I could go on, but the site has been contaminated.”

  “I’m already on a case to find the missing boy,” Zack said.

  “That’s the best part,” Brian said. “I heard you believe they may be connected.”

  “You heard that?”

  Brian smiled. He reached into the pocket of his windbreaker and pulled out what looked like earbuds for a phone or music source. “The last two days after their inspector Pritchett pretty much blew smoke up my ass about the cause of the fire in his mind, I decided to hang out in town. I ended up most of the time at Ma & Pa’s Diner eating, having coffee, just passing the time,” Brian explained.

  “That seems like a common theme at that diner,” Zack said.

  “I wear these, people think I’m listening to music or something and talk freely. What they don’t know is that sounds are amplified by these things. I can hear just about everything in the diner. Amazing piece of technology,” Brian said.

  “I need a pair of those,” Julie said and nudged Zack.

  “So, because I’m getting stonewalled, I decided I’d pull out of town. But I need your help on this.”

  “I don’t think you understand how important finding that boy is,” Zack began, but Brian cut him off.

  “And I don’t think you understand how well we pay. Look, I know the boy’s car was found underneath the rubble of the school. The body isn’t there, but he’s missing, and it’s related to the fire. You know it, and I know it. I don’t have the resources you do, but I do have a very large checkbook to get to the truth here.”

  Zack looked puzzled. “Why do you think I have resources?”

  “The people in this town talk. I overheard a lot of things at the diner. People know you saw the car there; they know you found out his phone was last located at the school. I know you didn’t go through the police to get
that info, which tells me you have resources. I know you think you saw and heard a C4 explosion not only at the school but at the Johnston property coming into town. Now, who else in this town would suspect that orange smoke and the sound of an explosion might have been plastique?”

  “How much do you pay?” Julie asked. Zack looked at her, surprised.

  “Let me put it this way,” Brian said. “If we can’t rule it was intentional and violates the terms of the insurance policy, we have to pay out seventy million and change. If we can prove insurance fraud and/or violation of the policy, well, do you really think we’ll bat an eye overwriting you a nice, fat check?”

  “You heard about the C4 in the diner?”

  “I’m telling you, everyone in this town knows everything you tell Sheriff Orbison. You two are the outsiders here,” Brian said. “No one has allegiance to you. Maybe the missing kid’s grandmother, but that’s it. No one is talking to me, nor will they. Which leaves me one choice, and that’s you.”

  “I need to find Derek Willows,” Zack said.

  “I heard they are searching the Miller woods today,” Brian said.

  “Really?”

  Brian nodded. “Look, there’s no rush on the fire. The people in charge here are breathing down my neck for that check, but I can delay a little bit. In the meantime, I need you to do what you do and get me some answers.”

  “And how do you know I’m the person to do that?”

  Brian sighed. “You aren’t the hardest person to research. Your firm has solved some tough cases, and one of your associates already does insurance fraud cases. Can I count on you or not?”

  “Of course you can,” Julie spoke again and squeezed the inside of Zack’s arm where Brian couldn’t see her hand. “We’ll get on it right away.”

  Brian smiled and nodded. “Trust me, it will be worth your while if you find what I think.”

  “And if we don’t find anything?”

  “Document your time, and we’ll pay your normal fees.” Brian folded his hands as if his case was complete, and it was a done deal.

  Zack looked at Julie. “You want to call Michelle, or should I?”

  Julie kissed the side of his face. “I’m on it.” She stood and left the room. Zack looked back to Brian.

  “You have anything else?”

  “They’ve already started demolition and clearing of the south wing. I had to give them the go-ahead on that since it had the least damage, and clearly, the fire didn’t start there.”

  “They want their money, Brian,” Zack said.

  “Yes, they do,” Brian said. “But right now, Pritchett’s electrical theory is plausible.”

  “You would agree that it smells a little fishy, right?”

  “Like a seafood buffet at a sushi bar.”

  Zack smiled. “I’d bet they used C4 to take out the boiler and the oil tank took out the rest. After that explosion, the blast wave destroyed the integrity of the rest of the building.”

  “But unless you find a detonator, I can’t go on that. There’s no trace left. The records Bloom showed me had no irregularities.”

  “The place burned way too fast before the explosion,” Zack said.

  “Then you need to prove it,” Brian said. He changed the topic. “You know I went out to that farmhouse fire you saw last Saturday on a hunch that it was arson.”

  “Surprised it was cleared already?”

  “Shocked, actually. A pod of dolphins couldn’t find anything fishier.”

  Zack smiled and guessed this guy liked deep-sea fishing.

  “There is a ‘Sold’ sign in front of the property, but nothing else remains.”

  Zack rubbed his forehead. “Tri-County Realty, right?”

  “Yep,” Brian said as he read it off a notepad. “Unfortunately, if the two fires are related, any links are ruined now that they cleared the property. And any chance of investigating the death of Bertram Johnston is up in smoke now, too. I heard you were looking into that,” he said.

  Zack sighed. He still wasn’t sure he couldn’t have prevented that. “The coroner who looked at the body,”

  Brian cut him off. “Is an unqualified amateur who was appointed because he’s the son of Bruce Perks.”

  “Who’s that?”

  Sedowski smiled. “You sure know a lot for not knowing much, Stack.” He chuckled. “The mayor of Clyde and the wealthiest man around here. His son is Larry Perks. Not only does he work in city hall with dear old dad, but he was also appointed the coroner. According to Larry, the wife wanted the husband cremated immediately. She apparently sold out to Tri-County or whoever is behind the purchase and moved. I can’t find them, so that is now a dead-end.”

  Zack sighed. “Someone killed him and burned the place down because he wouldn’t sell.”

  “Prove it, Stack,” Sedowski said. “You’re already on the right track. That place is an ideal location if there’s any expansion out here,” Brian said. “I mean, it would be perfect right at that intersection where State Highway 9 heads south towards the land Ag-Cen is looking at. I can see a huge truck stop, fast food restaurants, chain hotel, you name it.”

  “Someone, or a small group of men with some foresight, perhaps?” Zack asked.

  Brian smiled and nodded. “I hired the right guy. I’m going to get going. I’d like to be home before the brunt of the storms hit the area.” He shook Zack’s hand. “Keep me informed. I’m letting them know I’m done with my investigation. Do us both a favor and don’t mention to anyone I hired you. Even Barney Fife.”

  Brian left, and Zack watched him. Zack scratched his head. Julie appeared from upstairs, holding her phone out to Zack.

  “I can’t wait to tell Andre that we’re a firm. And Darnell is an associate. We finally made the big time,” Zack joked.

  “Take this,” Julie said icily. “It’s Michelle. I wanted her to tell you.”

  Zack took the phone and put it to his ear. “Hey, Michelle, what’s up?”

  “You know, I was thinking about why I broke up with you. Your communication skills suck. I mean, I understood you had issues to deal with. But you chose not to deal with them at all, do you remember?”

  Zack turned around and looked at Julie. “Are you really calling to tell me what a shitty boyfriend I was?”

  “No, but you need to hear it. You need people like me in your life, so sometimes when it feels like you are pushing me away, a feeling I’m used to since I got to know you at age 18, I wonder why do you still do that and do you even know you’re doing it?”

  Zack rubbed his forehead. “Seriously, Michelle. Now? Really? What the shit?”

  “That’s you, Zack. Now is never a good time. It never was.”

  Zack took a deep breath. “Is this why you had Jules hand me her phone?”

  “Maybe, but I thought it apropos.”

  “Apropos? I’m half the country away from Baltimore, and you decide to tell me that? I thought this had something to do with something serious. I thought it was important.”

  “It is important, and I do have information for you. But we need to deal with your issues.”

  “Fine. We’ll deal with it when I get home, but right now, I just need information. I really want to get out of this place,” Zack said. He turned to see Julie talking with Molly.

  “You’re avoiding again.”

  “I know,” Zack said. “Michelle, please, I need you, ok? I have needed you since the first day we met, and I’m sorry if I am an asshole about letting you know it.” He was flustered and knew it. He let the agitation show and suspected Michelle was on a mission. “I promise when I get back, we will sit down and have a long talk, ok? But right now, I need information.”

  “You need to convince Julie of that,” Michelle said, less confrontational. “And you need to open your mind about being a father. I think you’d be a wonderful father.”

  “Don’t start on me, Michelle. This isn’t the time.”

  “See what I mean.”

  Zack l
et out a disgusted Ugh. “Why the blitzkrieg about me being a father all of a sudden? We aren’t even married.”

  “Zachary, you NEED to talk to Julie about that, OK?”

  Zack exhaled. “Fine. What do you have?”

  “Don’t blow this off, Zack. You’ll regret it. As for the information, I emailed it. Jules has it. I’ll look into what Jules asked for. Hey, a lady just walked into the office. I’ll keep checking and get back to you.”

  “Ok.”

  She chuckled. “When you get back, you’re making do on that promise.”

  Zack handed the phone back to Julie in the kitchen and smiled at both women.

  “So? How did it go?” Julie asked.

  “My guess is just as you planned.”

  They stared at each other, unsure of who would speak first. Zack’s eyes showed his displeasure and suspected Julie didn’t want to talk about it in front of Molly. Zack took a deep breath.

  “I’m going to the school. If they’re doing a search, I want in.”

  Without another word, Zack left Julie there in the kitchen with Molly.

  CHAPTER 33

  Zack stopped the car in the parking lot and stepped outside. He saw two familiar pick-ups and Orb’s police vehicle. Parked inside the cordoned off section, Zack walked towards the group of five men. Orb noticed him first. The talking stopped, and all stared at him.

  “Stack, what brings you here?”

  “I heard a rumor that this land was to be searched for Derek,” Zack said. “I want in.”

  “We got this, Stack,” Gary Pritchett said.

  They looked at Zack in silence. “I’m sure you do. It’s just there’s a lot to cover. It seems to me you could use all the eyes you can get.”

  “We don’t need no outsiders,” Marvin the electrician said.

  “Look, Stack,” Orb said. “These men are familiar with this forest. They grew up here and used to hunt these lands. You of all people know that forest isn’t safe. The fewer people we let in there, the better.”

  Zack nodded. “That’s all fine and dandy, but I can take care of myself. I want in.”