Fire and Obsidian

by Andrew Grey

  “I heard Sarah talking before I left, and there’s a chance she could be away tonight or tomorrow. Her parents need her. So when the house is empty is going to be the thieves’ best shot… and ours.” Mattias wished he’d remembered that earlier, but it was fine.

  “I’ll make a call. You go pick up the van and call here when you’re in place. Don’t draw attention to yourselves. The purpose of having you there is just to make sure we don’t miss a time window.” James took a pan off the stove and set it on the back burner. “Mattias and I will take over about ten. If anything does happen, call for backup right away and don’t let them leave. We’re only going to get one shot at this, so we want to make it good.”

  “We know,” Clay and Pierre said before bundling out of the house in a hurry.

  “That didn’t take long,” Mattias said as he sat down.

  “They’re good guys and know what to do. The department will have the van ready, so all they’ll need to do is pick it up and drive it over.” James sighed. “Stakeouts are the most boring part of this job. Most of the time, you wait and wait, hoping you aren’t wrong and that what you expect actually happens. A lot of the time it comes to jack squat.” He turned back to the stove but didn’t seem to be doing anything. “What if all this effort comes to nothing?”

  Mattias got up and walked up behind him. “Then we’ll follow whatever leads we have. Don’t doubt yourself now.” He wound his arms around James’s chest to try to reassure him. Or, the more he thought about it, Mattias might have been comforting himself as well. He was the one who had suggested they watch the house, and now a great deal of resources were being allocated to it. What if he was wrong and this whole home tour idea was way off base? He had no way of knowing if the thieves had even been on the tour. Mattias closed his eyes, resting his head on James’s shoulder.

  “I know, but I keep wondering if we’re making huge leaps in logic,” James said.

  Mattias nodded. “Yes, but we have to get ahead of them. Waiting for the next robbery and hoping they make a mistake isn’t going to get us anywhere. It certainly isn’t going to help the sheriff with the election. We have to try to get out in front, and that means taking chances—following hunches and intuition to try to look into the future to see if we can think like them. It’s a leap of faith of sorts.” He released James even though he could have stayed like that for hours. “What can I do to help with dinner?”

  “I figured something simple, but my head is in other places,” James admitted, so Mattias checked what he’d done and took over from there, finishing the potatoes while making a salad. When the bell rang, James got it while Mattias sliced the beef he’d cooked under the broiler and dished up.

  “I’m sorry for having you come so far,” James was saying as he led a lady into the kitchen. “This is Kim Miller. Mattias is an associate of mine.”

  Mattias shook her hand, and James offered her a place to sit.

  “I really appreciate you calling me back.”

  “I nearly didn’t,” she said as Mattias set a plate down in front of her. He then put one at James’s place as well as his own before taking a seat. “There are two children that meet the description you gave me. I can’t tell you their names or give you much information. I have to protect their privacy.”

  “We understand that,” Mattias said as he took a bite of the well-seasoned beef. “But we need your help.”

  “Yes, I know. One of the teachers heard one of her students talking to the other kids. This particular boy is quiet, small, and when he does talk, speaks with a southern accent. The family just moved here recently, and the kids started a few weeks ago.” She took a few bites and smiled. “This is really good. Thank you. My husband is away on business, and I had planned to go in to work tonight. It’s been a while since someone cooked me dinner.”

  “Kim…,” James said rather plaintively.

  She reached into her purse, which she’d placed next to her chair. “This is the address we have on file. The only reason I’m giving this to you is because of the things my teacher heard. They were concerning enough that we thought someone needed to look into them. Apparently one of the first-graders told his teacher that he had to go to work after school. When she asked if he meant doing chores, he shook his head and said he worked with his mommy and daddy. Under normal circumstances we probably wouldn’t think much of it, but last week his arms were scraped, and he said it happened when he crawled through a doggie door.” She set down her fork and took a drink of ice water, clearly more than a little upset. “My first concern is for those kids. If they’re being used for something wrong, then it needs to stop. It must stop.”

  James took the piece of paper. “If these people are involved, then we will do our very best to make it stop and see to it that the kids get the best help we can give them.”

  “I know.” She took another few bites. “I’m protective of my kids, and I have to think of them first.”

  “Of course you do,” James said. “I have some wine if you’d like some?” They probably should have offered earlier, but she declined and continued eating.

  “You have to promise me that if this family isn’t involved, the children aren’t going to get hurt.”

  “We’ll be discreet and very careful. I can promise you that,” James said even as his eyes did a little dance. Mattias could tell James was itching to make a few phone calls to get things rolling. But to his credit, he stayed where he was until they finished eating. Kim, however, was still a little nervous.

  “You did the right thing,” Mattias told her. “James is a good cop. He’ll investigate before he does anything.” Mattias was sure of that, but the story Kim had told them sounded exactly like the people they were looking for. Mattias’s heart beat a little faster, and he was ready to hop into action as well.

  “If we suspect that our kids are in danger, then we have to report it, but it’s always a matter of weighing things against privacy and what’s best for the kids.” She had a tough job, there was no arguing with that. It was pretty clear that she cared for her students and wanted to help them as best she could.

  “I’ll do my very best. I never want to hurt innocent lives. That isn’t my goal. But if these people are using kids in their robberies, we need to get the kids out of that environment and into a place where they can be kids and have a chance at a better life.” James shivered, and Mattias knew it wasn’t the temperature in the room. It wasn’t hard for Mattias to imagine James putting himself in the position of those kids.

  “It’s possible they have nothing to do with what we’re working on,” Mattias said, knowing it was true, but hoping this was a solid lead that would allow them to finish the case. Though the end of the case meant the ending of whatever was between him and James, and that wasn’t something Mattias was ready for.

  “I almost hope it does,” Kim said. “These two kids… they’re always tired, and when you watch them, you know they don’t have things easy. Their teachers both say that they sometimes fall asleep in class, and at lunch they eat up everything they’re given and are the first ones done every time. The teachers have taken to keeping granola bars and things in their desks that they can give the kids.” She swallowed and shook her head. “Sometimes our teachers… they provide whatever their kids need. It’s a hard job, gentlemen, because most of them care almost too much about the kids in their class.”

  “We’ll do what we can. I can promise you that,” Mattias said around the lump in his throat.

  Kim met his gaze, and for a second, he felt completely exposed. Then her principal’s gaze moved on, and Mattias breathed a sigh of relief. It was like being back in school again and she knew what he was thinking. “You understand about these kids,” Kim said, and Mattias nodded.

  “So does James,” Mattias added. “We will do everything we can for them if their parents have them involved in this.” The thought of those kids being hurt and forced to rob for their folks took away Mattias’s appetite. If it was true, he
wanted to string people like that up by their ears. His grandparents had loved him. At least Mattias had had that to remember during the years afterward.

  “Thank you.” She finished her food and pushed back the chair. “I have to get home, but thank you for the dinner, and please let me know what you find out.” She stood and picked up her purse, clearly as shaken as Mattias felt at the moment. “If there is something I can do to help those kids, please tell me.”

  Mattias and James stood as well and walked her to the door. “We appreciate your help.”

  She paused at the front door, turning back to them. “I only hope that’s what I’ve done. The kids in my school, all of them… they’re part of me. I try to help each of them as best I can, and so do the teachers.” It had clearly been a difficult decision for her to contact James.

  “You did the right thing. James will handle this as delicately as anyone possibly can. He’s very good, and like I said, he understands. If these kids are being used as part of these robberies, he will be able to help them.” Mattias turned to James for reassurance and received a nod in return. “You did the right thing, Kim. I promise you that.”

  She smiled slightly, nodded once, and then left the house.

  Mattias closed the door and locked it.

  “Finish eating, Mattias. Then you and I will check out this address and these names before meeting Clay and Pierre. Bring that computer of yours along. We may need it.”

  They finished their dinner, and Mattias helped with a quick cleanup. He packed what he thought he was going to need and met James in the living room with his bag, then followed him out to the car. Mattias drove while James made phone calls. When they reached Carlisle, James directed him to the address Kim had given him.

  “Is that it?” Mattias asked as he peered out the window at the house with missing siding, and plywood nailed to the outer walls. The front door and windows had wood screwed over them.

  “That’s the address.” James parked the car, got out, and carefully approached what was left of the house. “I was afraid of this.” He looked all around, but other than a few passing cars on the street, no one stirred in the house or in either one of the neighboring homes, which weren’t in much better condition. “Stay here with the car. I’m going to go around back.”

  Mattias didn’t want to be left alone, but he stayed by the car, watching nervously as James disappeared around the rear of the house. That gave him a chance to be grateful that it seemed they had a false address. They were getting closer, though—he could feel it. But that meant a few more days with James were probably all he could hope for.

  Chapter 10

  JAMES RETURNED to the car and climbed inside. “No one has lived there in a long time.” He’d been hopeful, but as soon as he saw the house, he realized Kim had been given a false address. That could very well mean they were getting closer and on the right track. On Monday he was going to have to talk to Kim and possibly watch the school to see how the kids in question got home.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s part of the job.” He sighed. “Come on. We need to get to the stakeout. It’s getting late.” His heart beat a little faster as some of the pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place. The thieves had arrived in Carlisle a few months ago, enrolled the kids in school to allay suspicion, and used a fake address. What Kim had said about the kids fit with the picture he had in his mind.

  “What are you thinking?” Mattias asked before James could start the engine, placing his hand on his arm. “Clue me in.”

  “Just how helpless those little kids must feel. My dad is a thief, I know that. But he didn’t bring it home, and he never involved me in a job.” James felt half shattered, and Mattias leaned over the console, drawing him into an awkward hug.

  “This case is hitting close to home for both of us.” Mattias closed his eyes and sighed into James’s ear. “We need to bring it to an end.”

  James’s own emotions were stirred up, and for a second, he wondered if that was why he’d developed this attraction to Mattias so quickly. It wasn’t like him at all, and he knew it. James wasn’t the kind of person to trust easily, and Mattias, from what he knew, wasn’t either. So why was this moving so fast? It could only be the situation, and maybe once it no longer existed, things would return to normal and the heat between them would cool.

  Then James did something he’d rarely done in his entire life. He sent a silent wish out into the universe, a hope that this was truly real. But only time would tell.

  “Yes, let’s find out what’s going on and bring this puppy to an end.”

  “HAS THERE been any activity?” James asked over the phone as he approached the area of the stakeout. He didn’t want to garner any unnecessary attention, so they talked before he approached the van.

  “No. The house is quiet. There were more lights on, but then some of them went out and a car pulled away. So I think the house is empty at the moment.”

  On one hand, that was good, because maybe the bait would be taken sooner rather than later. But there were no guarantees. “We’re on our way. Mattias and I will walk there and take over for the two of you.”

  “Let’s stop at a store,” Mattias suggested, and James made a turnoff. Mattias hurried into the grocery store and came out with cold caffeinated drinks and plenty of food. Then James drove to where they were staking out the house, parked a bit away, and walked up around the apartment building and to the van.

  Mattias opened the door and climbed inside, with James following behind, doing his best not to watch the way Mattias’s pants clung to his backside. He was here to work and needed to try to keep his feelings for Mattias separate from the task at hand.

  Mattias settled into the back seat, and James closed the door. “Anything new?” Mattias asked. The only light came from a streetlamp half a block away. The interior lighting inside the van had been disabled, so from the outside it seemed dark and empty. There was just enough to see the basic outline of things in the van. James hoped that would improve as their eyes adjusted.

  “No. The house is quiet. No one has approached.” Pierre handed him a set of night-vision binoculars. “There also hasn’t been any activity from the side either. We figured it would be best to monitor the woods as well.”

  “Thanks, guys. You might as well go on home. Mattias and I will see things through for most of the night. Come on back in the morning, and we’ll switch out. I’ll call if there’s any activity or if we need backup.”

  “You better. We want to be in on any action,” Clay told him, with Pierre nodding his agreement.

  “Okay. Get some rest. This could turn out to be a long one.” James thanked the guys for all their efforts, and they left the van. He settled into a seat and tried to get comfortable as soon as the door closed. As James continued watching out the window, Mattias shifted from the very back seat to sit next to him.

  Mattias pulled out his computer and darkened the screen to a minimal level. “What did you want me to try to do?”

  “The address Kim was given was obviously bogus. But we have a name, probably fake, and a picture. There are a number of pieces, and parts of it have to be real, right? If the lie varies too far from the truth, then it’s easier to spot. So take what we know and see if we can put it together and find anything that might be truthful.”

  Mattias chuckled. “You don’t want very much.”

  “I know. I sent a message to Kim already and told her what we found. She is going to get me the names and the information she has on the kids. We have to keep that information private, but something about them has to be real.” James was growing more and more frustrated.

  “When you get me the information from Kim, I’ll add it to what we have and see if I can come up with anything.” Mattias got busy, and when James’s phone vibrated with a message, he handed it to Mattias, who got the information and went to work in earnest while James continued watching.

  Time went by with its usual slowness. Stakeouts were like
that. Hour after hour of watching and waiting, hoping something would happen while sitting, eating, and drinking anything to help keep alert and awake. There were times, many of them in his career, that he had wanted to give up, but stakeouts were a matter of perseverance, and James had plenty of that.

  “Have you found anything?” James asked as he scanned the area around the house with the night-vision goggles. He lowered them before turning to Mattias. Even the dim light of the screen would be blinding with the goggles.

  “Maybe. But I’m not sure. I didn’t find any kids with that name in the area. So I was a little stumped, but then I started looking at the homes in the neighborhood of the address that they gave us, and I came up with something interesting….” Mattias paused as he continued typing.

  “Hold it,” James breathed. “I think we have activity….” He grabbed the goggles and scanned the area. “Yes….” He checked the time. It was nearly one, but James messaged the guys and made the call for backup. “I need you to stay here.”

  Mattias closed his computer and set it aside. “I’m going with you.” Before James could tell him no, Mattias had the door open and was already getting out of the van.

  “Stay here,” James whispered between clenched teeth. “I can’t keep you safe, and you’re not trained for this.” He knelt down, peering around the van, using the goggles to see more clearly. Two people were at the door on the side of the house near the back. It was clear enough that they were trying to get in, and it seemed to James that they weren’t having much luck. He made another call. “Approach quietly. I want to catch them in the act,” he told the dispatcher.

  “Backup is a minute away,” he received in response.

  Sure enough, a car with no sirens or lights came around the apartment building, parked near the van, and two officers got out.