Hot For You

by Cheyenne McCray

  Cody gave Mike the details. “Looks like it could be the same bastard,” Cody said as he finished.

  Mike’s expression turned hard as Cody spoke. “We’ll get him,” Mike said, determination in his voice.

  Cody nodded. “You’re damned right we will.” He thought about it a moment as he raised his ball cap and pushed his fingers through his hair. “So far we don’t have a motive and the only consistent thing between all of the fires is the fact that a doll was left at the point of origin.”

  Mike nodded. “That’s not enough.”

  Cody set the cap back on his head. “It sure as hell isn’t. Damn, but we’ve got to find him before someone gets killed.”

  It wasn’t until Mike had left that Cody finally remembered where he’d seen Carilyn before. The last time he’d been in Leigh’s home he had seen a photograph with her, Leigh, and another woman. Even then he’d thought she was cute.

  He shook his head. At least that mystery was solved.

  As he left his gear and the truck behind to head from the garage into the fire station, he came to a complete stop as a thought occurred to him. All four businesses and homes had belonged to women. All of the Barbie dolls had different colored hair and the different shades matched each woman’s own hair. A blonde woman owned the dress shop, the dance studio was owned by a brunette, the home was owned by a woman with black hair, and then the redheaded Carilyn owned the car.

  Why hadn’t he seen it before? It had been the red-haired doll, whose hair matched Carilyn’s, which had given him the new piece to the puzzle.

  He frowned at the implications. The arsonist might hate women and he might be targeting women in general. Or he could be fixated on each woman involved.

  Anger burned inside him. The sonofabitch, preying on women.

  Cody pushed away any thoughts that what he’d come up with could be coincidence. His gut told him that dolls with hair matching each woman was no damned coincidence. The fact that each woman was beautiful was probably no coincidence, too.

  Instead of heading into the common room, he went into the office and seated himself in the office chair in front of the large screen computer monitor. After entering his password on the keyboard, he opened files for all four victims and arranged them on the screen so that he could see them all at once. The notes for Carilyn’s case were already there as his iPad had automatically synced the information with the computer system. He skimmed through the contents of each file. From the interviews he’d conducted, there were no other common threads, nothing that could be considered a viable lead.

  Why would someone be torching businesses, homes, and vehicles of women? Were they random acts by someone who was a stranger to the women? That was possible considering Carilyn had just rolled into town today and the arsonist likely wouldn’t have had the time to establish any kind of relationship with her.

  Were these women in danger? Each one would need to be interviewed again to see if anything suspicious had happened since the time each woman’s property had been torched. He could be wrong, but he didn’t think he was. Not at all.

  He pulled his cell phone out of the holster on his belt and dialed his cousin, Detective Reese McBride, who was the lead detective on the case.

  “Cody,” came Reese’s voice when he answered. “It’s been all of two days and you already miss me?”

  Cody couldn’t help a grin, but it faded as he got to the point with Reese. “I need to discuss the arsonist case with you.” He explained the theory he’d come up with.

  Reese sounded grim when he replied. “I think you’ve got something there. It’s late, so tomorrow we’ll arrange to interview all four women again, right away.”

  “Before someone gets hurt,” Cody said. “Or worse.”

  “Agreed,” Reese said.

  “I want to go with you,” Cody said.

  “You’ve got it,” Reese replied. “I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

  After disconnecting the call, Cody shut down the computer. The chair’s wheels rattled as they rolled across tile as he pushed back, away from the desk.

  This just might be the break they’d been looking for.

  ***

  Chapter 4

  Nathan Morris watched the news with rapt attention. He grinned as the newscaster reported that police officials had no new leads in the arson cases. They did, however, believe that today’s car fire was related to the three other arson attacks, but they didn’t give any details.

  The fact that there was still no mention of the dolls annoyed him, however, and his grin turned into a scowl. It was one of his better ideas. The damned police were keeping that evidence to themselves.

  No matter. He’d leak the information himself if he had to. He wanted the world to know how smart he was. Rather than just having kept the information from the public, the police were probably too stupid to have made the connection between the dolls’ hair color and the women.

  He glanced at a duffle on the floor and the half a dozen or so Barbies and glass wool tubes resting inside. He had plenty of both on hand because he would be searching for more victims

  Today he’d screwed up, though, and had almost forgotten the doll. He hadn’t had time to stuff the Barbie in the tube and would be lucky if the doll had survived. Although, considering the police believed the arson fires were linked, the doll had probably made it. He never left any other clues behind—he made sure of it.

  The redheaded bitch he’d seen today was beautiful. He hadn’t actually met her, but she was so fucking gorgeous that she was probably like the rest—a slut who wouldn’t give him the time of day. Like the girls in high school had, women still ignored him and refused him. Well, he was getting his revenge now, wasn’t he?

  Nathan used the remote to turn off the TV and pushed himself out of his recliner and walked to his kitchen table where the scrapbook rested. He started flipping pages, grinning to himself as he did.

  Pictures of every woman before and after the fires headed each section. He took pictures of them with his camera phone before researching their property and other belongings. Today was the first time he’d picked a woman and had started a fire without investigating her first. He didn’t know why, but hadn’t been able to help himself.

  He’d printed out color photos of each woman on his printer and taped them into the scrapbook along with pictures of their business or home, or car—before the fire. Then he’d taken pictures as they began to burn before fleeing the scene. He’d printed out news articles he’d looked up online and taped them into the albums, too.

  People were starting to get scared, and they should. He wasn’t going to stop and he knew the police would never catch him.

  He ran his finger over the picture he’d taken of the pretty redhead. He’d managed to avoid her attention and had taken her picture before melting away where she’d never see him.

  The news had said the redhead’s name was Carilyn Thompson and she was from Kansas. He’d figured as much from her license plate. He’d thought she was probably a new transplant who hadn’t had a chance to change her plates. According to the news, though, she was here visiting.

  He wondered who she was here to see, where she was now, and how long she’d be here. He’d have to make it his business to find out. He was good at tracking people down. Real good. After all, that was his job—to find people. He wasn’t one of the world’s best hackers and trackers for nothing.

  Money had never been a problem—he’d always made enough to get by. He got paid very well just sitting on his ass at home and working his magic for his clients.

  As he closed the scrapbook, he smiled. This was so fucking fun he could barely keep from telling his online buddies about it. Although he covered his tracks so well that he’d never be found, he was still careful. Maybe he would tell them. He’d have to give it some thought.

  For one brief moment, he thought about his mother. What would she think of what he was doing? Would she even realize it was her fucking fault? All of those cigar
ette burns had only been the start of what she’d put him through.

  He shoved aside the thoughts. This was his time to glory in his brilliance.

  Humming to himself, he went into the kitchen and grabbed bread, peanut butter, and grape jelly, along with a carton of milk. He was famished after his successful day. Being an arsonist of his caliber was like being an artist. It took talent, time, and patience. Not to mention a lot of hard work.

  Rather than waiting a few weeks to strike again, he was hungry for more.

  And he was hungry for it now.

  ***

  Chapter 5

  Thursday morning the kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip pecan cookies. Carilyn popped another nugget of cookie dough into her mouth as she spooned globs of it on the baking sheet. “Do you always bake cookies for the firefighters?” she asked Leigh as she set the spoon back in the batter bowl.

  Leigh took the filled cookie sheet. “Sometimes I make muffins, Rice Krispy treats, or brownies. Treats easy to cut up that can be picked up with your fingers.”

  Carilyn grabbed a smaller bowl and plopped a spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough with no nuts on a new banking sheet. “The guys must love you.”

  “The feeling is mutual.” Leigh opened the oven and slid the sheet she was holding inside before closing it again. “They risk their lives every time they go out on a fire and they don’t get paid or appreciated nearly enough.” She gave a sly grin. “Besides, it gives me an excuse to see all of those sexy firefighters when I deliver the goodies.”

  Carilyn laughed as she finished another row. “I hear you about them not being appreciated enough. Firefighters, police officers, and teachers. Three of the most important professions, yet they don’t get paid what they’re worth.”

  “Amen.” Leigh shut the oven door. “That’s the last sheet?”

  “Yep.” Carilyn scraped the bowl with a rubber spatula and then scooped out the last of the dough to make one more cookie. “This is the batch with no nuts for Cody.”

  Leigh returned to the table and grabbed the now full sheet and set it beside the stove to wait its turn. “He’s going to appreciate that you made cookies just for him.”

  Carilyn shook her head. “You would have done it anyway.”

  Leigh grinned. “I’ll make a point to tell him that you made those special.”

  “Stop playing matchmaker.” Carilyn shook the rubber spatula at Leigh. “I’m only going to be here a month so there’s no point in it.”

  “Sure there is.” Leigh picked up the empty batter bowls from the table and carried them to the sink. “It would be awesome if you moved here, Cari.”

  “I’m not moving here.” Carilyn gave her an exasperated look. “I’ve lived in Kansas all my life.”

  “So.” Leigh rinsed out the bowls in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher. “You could do with a change. You’ll love it here.”

  Carilyn couldn’t help a smile. “Give it up.”

  A mischievous look was in Leigh’s eyes. “Never.”

  Carilyn helped Leigh put ingredients away in the pantry, clean the counters, and straighten the kitchen as the cookies baked and then cooled.

  “I talked with Mike about you not having transportation now that you don’t have a vehicle.” Leigh leaned against the counter. “So that you don’t have to rush out and buy a new car, you can use mine while I’m in Europe. He’s going to take me to the airport Saturday.”

  “Thank you.” Carilyn rested one arm on the breakfast bar. “Are you still up for some shopping before we take the cookies to the fire department?” She looked down at the too-long, loose jeans she was wearing that belonged to Leigh who, at five-ten was a good five inches taller than Carilyn and a size bigger. “I can’t keep wearing your clothes.”

  “You look cute with the jeans rolled up like that.” Leigh grinned. “But yes, you know I love to shop, whatever the excuse. Plus, maybe I can find a cute dress to take on my trip. You should find something a little dressy too.”

  Carilyn smiled then sighed. “I need to replace so many things. At least I have a toothbrush,” she added. They’d gone to the corner convenience store last night to get a toothbrush and toothpaste. “But replacing my laptop is the most important thing I need to do.”

  After the cookies were finished baking and had cooled, they headed out to look for a laptop, clothes, and other things that Carilyn would need during her stay in Prescott. It was always fun shopping with Leigh who was bubbly and enthusiastic and had a great eye for style and for what looked great on Carilyn.

  When they finished shopping, they unloaded the bags at Leigh’s house and put them all into the guest bedroom, including the box with the new laptop. Carilyn sighed. It was going to take forever to upload everything and get it all back into working order so that she’d be ready to work come Monday.

  Leigh had a hair appointment scheduled later in the afternoon, so they planned to take the cookies to the fire station and then go to the salon and spa. Carilyn had made an appointment to have a pedicure while Leigh was getting her hair cut.

  They grabbed the containers filled with the freshly baked cookies and left. It was a short drive to the firehouse, which did turn out to be close to the location where Carilyn’s car had caught fire.

  Or was deliberately set on fire, she thought with a frown as they passed by the businesses along the street that hid the parking lot from view.

  Leigh parked her Mitsubishi near the fire station and they each grabbed a container of cookies before climbing out of the car. Carilyn’s stomach flip-flopped as they walked toward the station. She had no reason to be nervous, but for some reason the thought of seeing Cody again made her feel jittery inside.

  The bay was open and the red fire truck gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. A firefighter was polishing the chrome bumper, his back to them. She would know that muscular back anywhere, not to mention that nice ass. Cody’s backside was the first thing she’d seen of him yesterday, and she didn’t mind getting another look at him from behind.

  “Hi, Cody,” Leigh called out.

  He turned to face them and flashed a grin. “Hey. Good to see both of you.” Carilyn’s belly flipped again as his gaze met hers. “How are you doing, Carilyn?”

  “Good.” She managed a smile. “Went shopping earlier so I’ll be back in business in no time.”

  He was holding the rag he’d been using to polish the fire truck and he set it on the big chrome bumper. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “We made chocolate chip cookies.” Leigh held up the large plastic container she was holding. “Carilyn made some for you with no nuts.”

  Carilyn wanted to elbow Leigh but she extended the smaller container to Cody.

  He smiled at Carilyn and she swore she was going to melt as he took the container from her. “That was really nice of you.”

  Carilyn returned his smile. “Leigh said you don’t like nuts, so it’s pure chocolate chips for you.”

  “Thank you.” His gaze held Carilyn’s a moment before he nodded toward a door leading into the firehouse. “Come on in. The guys are gonna be happy to see what you’ve brought.”

  They headed inside and into the kitchen. Soon Carilyn and Leigh were surrounded by some of the best looking, sexiest men that any woman would feel blessed to be around. There was definitely something hot about a man in uniform, even if the uniform was simply a T-shirt and pants.

  “Cari,” Leigh called out. She was standing next to an exceptionally handsome sandy-haired man who was just over six feet and had an athletic build. Leigh gestured to Carilyn to come to her. When Carilyn reached her, Leigh said, “Mike, this is my best friend, Carilyn Thompson.” She turned to Carilyn. “This is Mike Lawson.”

  Mike held out his hand and Carilyn took it. “Great to finally meet you,” Mike said, a spark in his blue eyes. “Leigh has told me some stories.” He shook his head as he released Carilyn’s hand. “Hard to believe someone as cute as you could have gott
en into so much trouble.”

  Leigh gave an impish grin as Carilyn put her hands on her hips. “Just what did you tell him, Leigh?”

  “I didn’t give away too many of our secrets.” Leigh said with a laugh. “Just enough to make him wonder.”

  “Uh-huh.” Carilyn gave a look of mock disapproval. “You know the code.”

  “Code?” Mike wore an amused expression. “You two have a code?”

  Carilyn and Leigh both nodded solemnly. “The girlfriend code,” Carilyn said.

  Mike laughed. “I’m not sure that’s a code I’d want to break.”

  “Good,” Leigh said. “’Cause there’s no breaking ours.”

  Mike put his arm around Leigh’s shoulders. “Why don’t you two join me and the boys for drinks Friday at the Highlander?”

  “Sounds great.” Leigh tilted her head and smiled at Mike. She glanced at Carilyn. “Are you up for a little fun tomorrow night?”

  Carilyn nodded. “Sure. Why not?” She met Cody’s gaze and he smiled at her. As she looked into his warm brown eyes she felt a flutter in her midsection and she wondered if spending time in his company was smart. She could fall for a guy like him and that was not a good idea.

  In a matter of moments, she found herself alone with Cody, separate from Leigh and Mike. The other firefighters had polished off the cookies, and after thanking Leigh and Carilyn again, they went back to what they’d been doing.

  Carilyn looked at the empty container. “The two dozen cookies sure went fast.”

  “They always do.” Cody inclined his head toward the cabinets. “That’s why I put away the cookies you gave me after eating a couple. I’ll break them out and share with the guys later.”

  “Can I ask what you found out about the fire that burned up my car?” Carilyn asked.

  He gave a nod in the direction of the kitchen table. “Let’s have a seat and I’ll tell you what I can. If you don’t mind, I have a couple of questions for you, too.”

  Carilyn walked with him toward the kitchen table and sat across from him. “What can you tell me?” she asked when they were settled.