Familiar Fire

by Caroline Burnes

  Night has fallen, and in the glimmer of the neon lights and the raucous shouts coming from some of the casinos, I can imagine what life must have been like during the late 1800s. Kate’s been gone a couple of hours, so I’ve had plenty of time to poke. What I’ve discovered is a family history that would make a bestseller. It would seem our hot-tempered sheriff is the descendant of Kath-erine West McArdle, the first infamous Miss Kitty. Just down the street is the old opera house, which Miss Kitty built with her personal savings and where traveling stars stopped to perform and lend an air of culture to the otherwise wide open, Wild-West settlement.

  When the opera stars weren’t in town, Miss Kitty sang and danced to an audience far more appreciative of her charms than those of some Italian soprano. Keeping up with the latest fashions, Miss Kitty held literary readings in the afternoons and cancan dances at night. A hardworking miner and his golden nuggets were soon parted, once he fell into the cunning ways of Kitty and her Kittens.

  The talents of Kitty’s girls drew men from all over the West. And Kitty’s shrewd business sense made her a wealthy woman, one of great independence and outspokenness. So I can see a real family resemblance here. Except that my Kissing Kate upholds the law. The modern-day Kate bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the original Kitty, except that the old Kitty broke laws hither and yon, always leaving a man with a smile on his face.

  And Kissing Kate is the first of her line to walk completely on the right side of the law. It appears her mother took a long hike with a fast-talking man. No wonder Katie girl is so sore about the past You know, I once heard a famous author point out that we love our horse-thieving, pirateering relatives as long as they are at least four generations removed. Any closer and they are an embarrassment instead of fodder for a good story. This is Kate’s problem. She can’t bury the past because it’s local legend and because it’s not so past. Too bad humans can’t learn a more feline approach to life. I have my scars and my old wounds, but I live for today. We cats have nine lives, and I intend to wring every drop of living out of every single one. Mayhap I can teach Kate a few valuable life lessons before I solve this arson mess and head home.

  What is that I spy? Why, it’s that moth-eaten dog. He’s sneaking out of the fire station as if he were up to no good, which of course he is. God didn’t make him a dog for nothing. I’d better follow. Besides, I think I smell grilled swordfish with a light dill sauce. I’m not complaining about the grub—yet. But I will say Kate doesn’t have the palate of a great chef. She needs just a little refinement. Something else I can help her with.

  Ah, it feels good to be moving, and with just the exact pressure of my shoulder against the door—voila! Super Sleuth is on the prowl!

  JAKE GLANCED at his watch. It was not even ten, and he’d be back in Silver City in plenty of time to walk a shift with Kate. So why had he avoided it like the plague? Because he was a coward. Kate had walked over and apologized for her hot words. But Jake had made a discovery about himself that no amount of apology could fix. And he surely owed Kate one. He’d let her down, and the least he could do was tell her that he finally realized he should have left Silver City with her. He shouldn’t have made her choose between him and a new future with a clean slate.

  “Damn!” He thumped the heel of his hand on the steering wheel. Tonight would have been the golden opportunity. He’d felt something between them when she’d walked across the street, her buckskin leather jacket swinging in the breeze. Whatever magic they’d shared as teenagers had, for a split second, been rekindled. And like before, he’d let it slip through his fingers. He was as bad as one of the old-time prospectors who used to pan for gold, never seeing the precious silver that slipped beyond his grasp.

  “Damn and double damn!” Jake hit the steering wheel again. When he got back to town, he’d use the crime lab report as an excuse to track her down. He maneuvered a sharp curve and the city limits of Silver City burst upon the night. As always, he was struck by the garish glare. He didn’t like the idea of another casino in town. The entire county was being taken over by gambling interests, and there was little left of the small community that he’d grown up loving. But perhaps that would make it easier, in the long -run, for Kate. He pushed his thoughts aside as he planned his next moves. He’d hurry to the fire station, shower and change clothes. He didn’t expect Kate to hug him, but he’d been up since dawn and his body was tired and his clothes worn.

  As he passed one of the casinos, the Ruby Slipper, he caught the black flag of a tail that almost made him brake. But he’d left Ouzo securely locked in the station. Ouzo was a regular Houdini, but not even he could have gotten out of doors that were padlocked and secured. Especially when he’d been left in the living quarters on the second story. With access to the stairs blocked, the only way to ground level was the fireman’s pole. Not even Ouzo…Nah! He kept going, parking at the curb of the Royal Flush Rosery to rush in and buy a bouquet of flowers—just for the hell of it.

  In less than three minutes he was pulling into his space behind the fire station.

  He used his key to open the heavy metal back door. He had six daytime firefighters who worked for him, but at night he was on his own, unless there was a blaze. The city council had been talking a lot lately about building a new fire station, and Silver City desperately needed one. The town had grown by leaps and bounds in the last two years, and the city services hadn’t kept pace. Truth was, Jake wasn’t too inspired by all the changes. He’d enjoyed small-town life—before the casinos. Now, maybe it was time to think about giving up his job and rebuilding the Double J. Or else moving on.

  The irony struck him hard, and he handled it with a grunt and a wry grin. Just as Kate was coming back to Silver City, he was thinking about leaving.

  He took the stairs to the back door of his private living quarters two at a time. The stairway gate, which had originally been plastic, then wood, and now cast iron, was still in place. Ouzo had eaten the plastic and wooden gates. Wrought iron had been the ultimate solution.

  “Ouzo!” He whistled, listening for the dog’s response even as he unlocked the gate. “Ouzo.”

  An ominous silence greeted him.

  “Ouzo!” He didn’t bother relocking the gate but hurried into the kitchen area. The garbage was knocked over, but there was no sign of the dog. He went to the den, where the sofa still held the imprint of the dog’s body and a Spaghetti-O can was wedged in the cushions, licked clean. Ouzo had definitely been there. But where was he now?

  “Dammit all to hell,” Jake said, able to clearly visualize the trouble that was sure to come. It had been Ouzo he’d seen slipping around the corner of the Ruby Slipper. And right down the street from the casino that had once been a hotel were Mrs. Tanner’s cats. Ouzo had been caught at least a dozen times chasing the felines.. Susan Tanner had promised if the dog came one more time that she’d call animal control and have him captured and destroyed as a public menace.

  “Ouzo,” Jake said, angry and worried. Well, the shower and change of clothes were out. He’d have to find the dog and then worry about finding Kate.

  He turned back to the stairs. He never saw the blackjack that came out of the shadows and caught him a glancing blow on the side of the head.

  Jake crumpled to the floor, oblivious to everything around him.

  KATE’S STEPS SLOWED as she neared the old opera house, now called the Golden Nugget. The ping, whir and clatter of the one-armed bandits floated out on the night air, along with the tinkle of a player piano and the sounds of laughter. Kate didn’t have to step inside to see the painting of her grandmother that still hung over the bar. Even though she wore her hair in a modest French twist and her figure was disguised by her uniform and gun, she was a walking replica of the woman in the painting. Her namesake and nemesis, Katherine McArdle. Miss Kitty.

  Standing in the cool night air, Kate felt the past come alive. Kitty had died when Kate was a child, but the memories were as vivid and fresh as if they’d happened o
nly yesterday. Even as an old woman, Kitty had retained her flamboyant ways, and her total lack of remorse at her career as a madam. She’d built a comfortable house on the outskirts of town and managed the dance hall and saloon from there, dressed in bright red loungewear and turbans. In the middle of the front parlor of her home was a grand piano, which Kitty played with bawdy abandon, entertaining her friends, and Kate. Kate had loved her dearly. Until she’d gotten old enough to realize how Kitty had made her money.

  At the age of twelve, Kate had refused to have anything to do with her grandmother. A year later, Kitty had died, unexpectedly, of a stroke.

  The saloon style door swung open and a laughing man came out, a dazzling blonde on his arm. Arms linked together, they continued down the street, stopping at the next casino and looking in. Still laughing, they went inside.

  The sight of them gave Kate a cold and unexpected ache. She moved away from the Golden Nugget and went down the street, stopping at each alley and walking behind the casinos. She’d chosen to walk the casino beat without a backup. She had deputies who would have been glad to partner with her, but she’d wanted the solitude. Seeing Jake earlier in the day had left her in a pensive mood. And Reverend Lyte had opened the door on a line of speculation that wasn’t headed in a good direction. Was Jake guilty? All Kate knew for sure was that he’d loved his ranch more than he’d loved her.

  Jake was firmly in her mind when she saw the black dog ambling along the street. Silver City had a leash law. One Jake obviously didn’t feel compelled to obey. Kate shrugged. She was the sheriff, not the dogcatcher.

  There was the sound of barking and an aggravated yowl. She hurried down the alley toward Mrs. Susan Tanner’s house. Sure enough, Jake’s black dog had treed a big yellow cat. Tail wagging, the dog was leaping in the air and snapping at the cat’s tail.

  “Ouzo!” Kate spat out the word and was amazed at the way the dog turned to confront her. He instantly dropped onto his belly and began to whine and grovel. “Easy, boy,” she said, amazed that the mere tone of her voice had sent the dog into a spasm of abject fear. It was almost as if…no, Jake would never mistreat a dog. Never. Jake’s soft spot for animals had been one of the problems at the Double J. Jake had found it hard to sell the cattle he did manage to raise on the hardscrabble land.

  “Ouzo?”

  The dog came to her, crawling on his belly. At her feet he began to lick her boots.

  “Hey, fella,” she said, kneeling down to pet him. “It’s okay, but you can’t chase the cats.”

  Susan Tanner’s porch light blinked on, and the petite woman came out, a bathrobe wrapped around her.

  “Is that black devil after my babies again? I swear, I’ve warned Jake enough. Now keep a grip on that dog while I call the dogcatcher. That animal’s going to the pound, and Jake can pay the fine to get him out.”

  Kate eyed the dog and then Susan Tanner. She was a lovely old woman, but a little overprotective of her cats. “Scram,” Kate whispered, and released her hold on the dog.

  Ouzo took off without the need for any prodding. His black tail disappeared around the white picket fence and he was gone.

  “Sorry, Mrs. Tanner, he got away.”

  “Was it Jake’s dog?”

  Kate considered. The one thing she didn’t want to get involved in was a dispute over Jake’s dog. “I can’t be certain, but my deputies and I will be walking a beat every night until the arsonist is caught. We’ll keep an eye on your cats for you, and if we see that dog again, we’ll nab him.”

  “Thanks, sheriff,” Susan said. “I voted for you. It’s about time we had a woman who knew how to get things done.” She stepped back in the house and flipped off the light.

  Alone in the dark, Kate smiled. She’d have a word with Jake about the dog. A friendly word. In the morning.

  She walked on down the block, turning left at Bank Street, which ran behind some small boutique businesses that had sprung up at the west end of town. She passed the remains of Roy Adams’s insurance company.

  Roy was unrelenting and hard-nosed, but it was obvious he had the best interests of Silver City at heart. Of course there were folks who were sore about their insurance claims. She shook her head. There just wasn’t enough evidence to come up with a clear suspect, one that connected to every fire.

  Other than Jake.

  She was turning back to Main Street when she saw a shadow flitting from the back of Evelyn’s Boutique. A jolt of adrenaline made Kate’s heart race and alerted all her senses. Holding herself perfectly still, she tried to think through the situation.

  Since Evelyn Winn, the owner, was about as petite as Susan Tanner, Kate knew instantly that it wasn’t her. The man who slipped among the shadows was big. Not fat, but tall and well built Or, at least, that’s how he looked in the dark.

  Kate’s hand went to her nightstick and she checked to make sure the flap that kept her gun secure in the holster was free. Heart pounding, she started after the fleeing shadow. Maybe it was nothing, a high-school kid. Or maybe it was someone up to no good. She could feel her pulse, strong and steady, as she crept silently after the man.

  Out of the darkness another shadow sprang, this one smaller and close to the ground. Before Kate knew what was happening, she felt her feet knocked out from under her and she tumbled to the street, barely able to clutch a handful of black fur.

  The man she’d been stalking heard the noise of her fall and took off at a dead run. Kate sprang to her feet and began pursuit, but he was too far ahead. She lost him in the back of the casinos.

  Breathing hard, she stopped. Well, if he was up to attempted burglary, maybe she’d scared him off for good.

  She turned back to see if she could spot the dog, obviously Jake’s Ouzo. From the back of Evelyn’s Boutique a yellow blaze licked out a window.

  Kate stared in disbelief. “Fire!” she cried, running toward the blaze. “Fire.”

  In the deserted back street no one heard her. She quit wasting her breath and ran to the building. Kicking in the door she saw the blaze. It was roaring out of a trash can and climbing the chintz curtains that Evelyn Winn had so carefully color-coordinated with her shop’s decor.

  Kate didn’t waste a moment. She rushed to the counter that held the cash register and began pulling out boxes and clutter until she found the fire extinguisher. In less than a minute she was in the back room, soaking the blaze that had already begun to lick at the ceiling.

  Within minutes she had the fire under control, and it wasn’t until the ashes were thoroughly soaked that she lowered the fire extinguisher and took a breath. She went to the phone and dialed the fire station. After five rings, the call was transferred to one of the firemen, who answered.

  Kate gave the details, assuring the man that the fire had been extinguished. “I need someone to alert Jake Johnson. It was definitely arson,” she said, wondering if Jake had gotten back from Denver yet.

  “I’ll be over to seal the scene,” the fireman assured her.

  “I’ll wait,” Kate said, suddenly realizing that she needed to sit down for a moment. At the sight of the suspect, she’d gone into automatic, relying completely on her training and instincts. Now she wanted to think.

  She replayed the sequence of events. She’d seen the suspect coming out of the boutique. Or had she? She couldn’t honestly say she’d seen him come out the door. He’d simply appeared in the shadows beside the door of the boutique. She’d begun to follow him, and then Ouzo had leapt at her from the alley. Or had he been running from something else?

  She couldn’t be sure because she hadn’t truly gotten a good look at him. One minute she’d been on her feet and moving at a pretty fast clip after the suspect, and the next thing she knew, she felt her legs knocked out from under her and found herself on the pavement And the shadowy man was gone. But he’d been a big man, and if her suspicions were correct, he was the man who’d started the fire in the boutique.

  But why?

  How did Evelyn Winn fit int
o the string of arsons?

  Because Silver City was, at its heart, a small town, Kate knew a lot about the people who lived there, including Evelyn Winn.

  The thirty-two-year-old woman moved to Silver City not ten months before. She was close to Kate’s age, and Kate had hoped to make a friend of her. That was before she’d found out that Evelyn and Jake had been dating.

  Lately she hadn’t seen them in the coffee shop or their cars parked at Chuck’s, a local restaurant and bar that hung off the side of a mountain with a breathtaking view.

  Kate didn’t like the direction her thinking was taking, so she chose a different path. Evelyn Winn was from Alabama and she’d done well with her exotic bath supplies and her certificate as a massage therapist. Local gossip was that she was earning a hundred dollars an hour giving massages.

  The pay was a helluva lot better than what a law officer earned.

  Kate glanced around the boutique. Evelyn’s taste was ruffles and frills that matched or coordinated with towels and rugs and lotions. The soft lighting in the shop showed off the rich bubble baths and soaps carefully molded into golden nuggets, silver dollars, flowers, stars and jewels. It was the beautiful shop of a very feminine woman.

  So who would have it in for Evelyn enough to try to burn her out?

  Kate’s instant answer was a rejected suitor. She pushed beyond that to a creditor, or debtor. Following a hunch, Kate went to the counter and pulled out the account books that she’d seen while hunting for the fire extinguisher. When she saw the amounts of money folks paid for bath products she whistled softly to herself. She smiled when she saw Susan Tanner’s name. Along with her cats, Susan also pampered herself. She continued down the columns and whistled softly under her breath. The hotel accounts were incredibly lucrative.