by Kim Hamilton
Maria glanced at Olivia, then lowered her head again. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Olivia. I’m sorry.”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joe, there’s smoke.” Kari looked toward the house. Black plumes of smoke rose from the rear corner. Chantel’s parents’ house was on fire.
I was such an idiot. That’s what Maria meant by “smokey smoke”. They had set the fire. Chantel was desperate for a windfall of money after Harvey lost her inheritance. She must have figured she could torch the house and collect from the homeowner’s policy. I gave Chantel a death glare. “Your family home? How could you?”
“Whaddya mean? I didn’t do anything,” she said.
Detective Jones arrived with a new partner. Now that he was no longer in the shadow of O’Mallory, he looked less like Howdy Doody. I explained everything that I had uncovered about Chantel’s plan.
“How’d they get cuffed together to a lamppost?” he asked me.
I couldn’t rat on my mobster friends, but I also couldn’t lie to the police. A vague answer would suffice. “It wasn’t me.”
“Some muscle-wrapped guys with guns showed up out of the blue. They tied us up and drove off. That’s when this bitch”—Chantel jerked her head in my direction—“showed up.”
I shrugged. “My timing was perfect. I have an instinct for these things.”
More sirens. Two fire trucks raced up the street toward us.
Detective Jones raised his eyebrows. “And the fire?”
I waved my hand toward Chantel. “She started the fire for the insurance money.”
Turning to his partner, Detective Jones said, “Let’s get them downtown.”
I felt a hand on the small of my back. “Are you okay?” It was Chip.
“I’m fine. Thanks for getting the cavalry here.”
With his hand still on my back, he guided me across the street. We watched as the fire trucks pulled up in front of the house. Kari and Olivia followed. Thick black smoke continued to rise from the back of the house, and I could see an occasional flame reach upward. I looked around for Mark but didn’t see him.
Helen pulled up and joined us on the sidewalk. I rehashed the events for her, speaking into her recorder. Olivia and Kari chimed in with their own details.
Exhaustion overwhelmed me. I hurried to the end and told Helen to call me to fill in the blanks. Stepping from the curb, I realized Chip was still with me.
He offered to take me home.
“Thanks, but Kari will give me a ride.”
He stayed by my side as we walked to Kari’s car. “Are you sure you’re alright, Jess?”
“I’m fine. Just tired. Now that it’s over I realized how much energy this whole thing has sucked out of me.”
He reached out for my elbow and turned me toward him. “You know you did a hell of job here. Do you realize that in the last week you helped me put away a drug dealer, nailed O’Mallory for grand theft, survived a kidnapping, and now you caught a couple of murderers?”
“Not bad for an ambulance chaser,” I said.
Still holding my elbow, he pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead. “You’re way more than that, Jess.”
It was an uncomfortably tender moment. I had rid myself of my law-school crush on Chip days ago, and now I sensed the tables had turned. Could I resurrect my feelings for him? What about Mark? I liked Mark, and I was pretty sure Mark liked me.
As I pondered this delicious dilemma, I glanced over Chip’s shoulder and saw Mark approaching. I pulled free from Chip. Mark was in street clothes. His Suburban was parked next to Helen’s sedan.
“Hey, I guess it’s your day off.”
He looked at Chip and then at me. “I heard about the fire and thought I’d come by to see if they needed me to suit up. Helen told me what happened. Are you okay?”
“Just another day at the office. Kari was about to take me home.”
“I can take you home,” he offered. His eyes bounced back to Chip.
I realized I hadn’t introduced them. “Mark, this is Chip. Chip is the State’s Attorney I told you about. The one who worked out that plea so Sharlyn didn’t have to testify against her ex?”
“Oh right.” Mark reached out to shake Chip’s hand. “Heard that turned out well for everyone.”
They pumped hands while sizing each other up. Then Mark turned to me. “They’ve got the fire under control. I can take you home if you’re ready.”
I was ready. I wanted Mark to take me home, but I had declined Chip’s offer in favor of Kari giving me a ride. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. As I struggled to find the proper response, there came the distinct sound of tires screeching followed by metal crushing together. Our heads whipped around toward the noise at the intersection. A gray sedan had been T-boned by a black pickup truck. It went eerily quiet for the seconds following the impact. No one moved.
Then my training took over. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911 with one hand. With the other, I grabbed Kari and tugged her with me in the direction of the intersection. “Do you have some of my cards?”
“You know I do, girl.”
We set off toward the accident at the intersection in full stride, leaving the men behind to battle over which one of them would drive me home.
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