Arsonists Anonymous

by Nora Snowdon

  He nodded and squeezed her hand. “Do you want me to check these incidents out?”

  “I don’t want to go to jail or to the psych ward, but I would like you to believe me.” She laughed. “Susan does, but I guess she’s not the most credible person right now.”

  “Not your best defense witness,” he agreed. “Wasn’t there a fire starter in one of Stephen King’s novels?”

  “Yeah, but in the movie, Drew Barrymore could control her ability,” Lu complained as she lay down. He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his chest.

  “You can’t?”

  Lu looked up to try to read his face. He sounded as if he believed her. Then again, he must deal with lots of crazy people and knew how not to rile them. “These days, I can sense the fire coming just before it happens. If I calm myself and think of cold or happy things I can usually stop it. You’re not going to have me committed, are you?”

  “No. If you can’t set fires and are delusional, then you aren’t a danger to anyone other than yourself. But if you can set fires … I don’t know. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be convicted for it. I’d hate to be working for the prosecution and try to prove that case.”

  “Oh.”

  “But, uh, you don’t have any other super powers you’d like to tell me about, do you?”

  Lu smacked his arm.

  “Hey! That’s abuse. Maybe I should lock you up.”

  “Yeah? Then you’d have a hard time explaining why I was working for you on the sting.”

  “No fair. You’re playing hardball.”

  “Not for another week, but then we’re apparently playing it twenty-four-seven.”

  His face broke into a wide grin. “Ah. I knew there was a reason I was crazy about you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now go to sleep. Some of us have to work in the morning.”

  *

  Susan loaded up her car with her new suitcases. Lu had convinced her that she was fine and, after an extra day where Susan hit every store in the Greater Seattle area, she was finally heading home to Springfield. She justified the expensive clothes by saying she’d require designer outfits when she started working in Greg’s office. Lu suggested she should meet the outgoing pregnant receptionist just to get an idea of the work, but of course, Greg had already told her not to, as the woman was sensitive about being replaced.

  “I can’t believe you’re up and walking around again after only two weeks,” Susan said. “After the bike accident, it took you over a month to get back on your feet.”

  “Last time I had other injuries,” Lu reminded her. “And Byron can do any heavy chores for me.”

  “He seems like a nice guy, although I didn’t see him much. Does he always work those long hours?”

  “It depends.” Lu avoided meeting Susan’s eyes. Byron had apparently decided a little of Susan’s company went a long way. But today he’d promised to ditch work early and drive her to the hospital so she could get her staples out.

  “Yeah, Greg’s busy, too,” Susan said. “Sometimes I won’t see him for over a week. He looks after his sick mother most nights. But that’s what you get when you fall for a hardworking, compassionate guy; other people need him, too.”

  “Yeah.” Lu leaned down to hug Susan. “You’d better go. You don’t want to get caught in the baseball traffic. Thanks for driving down from Springfield and helping me. I’m sure Kaitlynn appreciates your visit, too.”

  “She’d better. At least Byron helped by convincing the court to put her boyfriend into rehab. Hopefully that should keep her out of trouble.”

  Lu nodded and tried to look convinced. Susan ducked into the driver’s seat.

  “Hey, Lu. One thing I’ve wondered about. Can you still do the—” she lowered her voice, “fire thingee? Or did the second bang on your noggin …?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s gone,” Lu answered, smiling. “I hope so.”

  Lu hadn’t told Susan about the last fire. It was very scary to think that she might’ve blown up the house on Kroger Street in the brief moment between being hit and passing out. Or worse, had she done it while unconscious? Strangely, Byron hadn’t mentioned her fire-starting confession since she’d told him. Maybe he’d attributed it to delusion from all the drugs she was on.

  “Okay, well you take care and rest lots,” Susan said as she started her car. “And come home to visit. You’ll love Greg.”

  “Bye.” Lu watched Susan’s car roll down the street. When she wasn’t in mother-mode, Susan could be quite entertaining. It would be nice if they could get back to that fun relationship again. But between Ross’ desertion, Kaitlynn’s troubles, and Susan’s new sleazy guy, it seemed like their carefree days were still a long way off. Lu sighed and walked back to her empty apartment.

  At first, the quiet felt relaxing. She wandered around her rooms taking down the posters of cute animals with inspirational messages. It was enough to receive these pictures every day in Susan’s e-mails; she sure didn’t need them on her walls. She stuffed the little knick-knacks into drawers, but wondered what to do with the burglar alarm frog crouched by her door. It was funny listening to Byron try to bypass the damn thing when he snuck in after dark.

  Lu didn’t feel the satisfaction she’d hoped for as she looked around at her unsweetened apartment. It was awfully white and sterile; Byron was right. Maybe next week, if she was still off work, she’d look at some paint chips. She was feeling close to normal again and if she spent any more time lying around her apartment she’d go nuts. She was actually missing work. It was nice when Ace, Red and some of the other guys from the hall had dropped by. Still, she couldn’t go back early. Firefighting wasn’t exactly a desk job and she’d hate to risk anyone’s life by not being in top shape.

  CHAPTER 16

  “What was it like pickin’ out your attacker from a police line?” Laurel Ann asked as she sat down at the café table with her caramel latte. Her poufy, teased hair bobbed in excitement.

  “It was weird, a lot like on TV. They line these guys up and you’re looking at them behind glass, but I swear, it’s the creepiest thing. A few of them seemed to stare right at me. Byron promised they couldn’t see me.”

  “And did you identify the guy that hit you?”

  “Yeah. He had a real scary psycho look on his face.” Lu shook her head. “Sometimes you see people and you know they’re in exactly the right job. You know, like sweet childlike women teaching preschool, or the accountants wearing glasses and crinkled white shirts with too many pens in the pocket. Well, when I looked at that guy with his massive build and evil-looking face, I couldn’t think of any job other than crime that he’d be suitable for. Maybe a TV wrestler?”

  “Prob’ly him being nasty made his face turn bad,” Laurel Ann said.

  “I guess. When you read all the priors the guy had, it’s amazing he was still on the street. You’d think they’d have locked him away for life.”

  “Now, I thought Albert said you’d finished being a policewoman?”

  “I was working for Byron that one night because it was too late for him to request another cop.” Lu looked Laurel Ann in the eye just as Byron had instructed her. She felt guilty, but it was good to practice the story.

  “You’re so brave, Lu. I’d a pooped my pants.”

  Lu chuckled. “Me too, if I’d thought about it. Oh look, there’s Ace.”

  Laurel Ann jumped up to wave. “Yoo-hoo! Over here.”

  Ace ambled over, his lopsided grin widening when he saw Lu. “Hey, it’s my two favorite girls.” He gave Laurel Ann a kiss and a hug then looked at their table. “Didn’t’cha order anything for me?”

  “I’ll get you a coffee if you’ll spill the gossip around the hall,” Lu said, as she stood up to place his order.

  “You know me too well.”

  “Well?” Lu prompted a few minutes later, putting Ace’s coffee in front of him. “Let’s have it.”

  “Reynolds is spitting nails. From the way he’s going on, you’d think Mo
rgan had tried to kill you himself.” Ace groaned. “And we got the darned college kid back. He dyes his hair, for heaven’s sake. Probably gets manicures, too.”

  “Your hands could use a little more care, honey bear,” Laurel Ann said.

  Ace grimaced. “No way. That’s for poofters.”

  “What about David Beckham?” Lu teased him.

  “Oh Gawd,” he moaned. “The biggest one. You don’t see real football players prancing around like that. Just those Europeans.”

  Ace took a sip of his coffee. “I heard Reynolds filed a complaint against Morgan. Don’t imagine it’ll go anywhere. Everyone knows about them.”

  “Great,” Lu grumbled.

  “Are you still working for Morgan, and do you get to collect comp from both jobs?”

  “I’m on leave from the firefighting and I’m not working for the police … I think.”

  “Have they found out anything?”

  “I’m not allowed to say,” Lu paused at Ace’s frown and then added, “but they’ve enough evidence to warrant a bunch of wiretaps. Byron’s confident they’ll nail the big guy soon.”

  “When’re you coming back to work?”

  “Next week. I’m finally allowed to exercise again, so I should be fit enough.”

  “Good, but no more working for Morgan. It’s too dangerous,” Ace grumbled.

  “And scary,” Laurel Ann added.

  “I agree. I mean fighting fires is dangerous, but at least it’s not someone wanting to kill you.” Lu looked at her watch and stood up. “But first I have to check over some mug shots for Byron then I’m off duty.”

  “Be careful out there,” Ace said, while Laurel Ann enveloped her in the now-familiar marshmallow hug.

  *

  The man in the mug shots looked like the calm Asian guy she’d seen at the first grow-op fire she’d set, but her memory was fuzzy because she’d had Kaitlynn with her and been worried he’d shoot them. The face in the photo was maybe thinner. And she’d been in her car, so she had no idea about his height or weight. She hadn’t noticed the small scar on his right temple, but then again, she’d been scared, so she hadn’t been looking for facial imperfections. Byron reassured her that he hadn’t expected a positive I.D.

  “Eye witnesses sound good, but you throw in the darkness, adrenaline, and the time between the crime and the actual trial, and they’re pretty damn useless. Hell, it was worth a try.”

  “Sorry.” Lu glanced over at Byron’s “Pyro” board. He still had “early fire??” written under the last two cases. Of course, he couldn’t write her name up on the board, but Lu wondered if he’d believed her when she’d told him about starting them. Kaitlynn’s boyfriend’s mug shot made him look much older and harder. There was now a name for the female vic who died in the Baker fire, but no picture. She studied Byron’s asterisks trying to follow his patterns.

  “You’re thinking the intentional fires were to get rid of evidence?” she asked.

  “They’ve been taking the expensive equipment out first. The fire lets them clear out, erase evidence, and send a message to the buyers. The kingpin seemed to be getting notice just before the power grids are recording extra juicing, and that’s when he pulls up stakes. Or more accurately, burns up stakes. I’m thinking he’s got someone on the inside subverting the electricity records until he’s harvested.”

  “Would that person have to work for Seattle City Light?”

  “Could be, or just a good hacker.” Byron stretched. “The plants only take about two and a half months to yield. They time the harvests so they only have to tamper with one electricity billing cycle before they’re out.”

  “If they lost their last two crops, they must be hurting a bit, wouldn’t you think?”

  “I hope so. It’s odd. I smoked a little pot when I was at university, but now when I see what they’re growing, it’s a whole new ballgame. The THC is up from seven to almost thirty percent. That’s way more addictive and yet you still get parents afraid to tell their kids not to smoke pot because they don’t want to be seen as hypocrites. It’s not the same shit. And then the growers …” He shook his head in annoyance. “You’ve got mom-and-pop outfits growing pot in their basements while their young children sleep upstairs breathing in all the pesticides, mold, not to mention the fire hazards.” He stopped. “Sorry. It pisses me off.”

  “I was too chicken to try drugs in college,” Lu admitted. “My rebellion was cigarettes.”

  “One of the legal drugs.” Byron walked back to his desk and shut down his computer. “Hey, what say I cut out early and we’ll go for a relaxing walk?”

  “Sure, sounds good.” Lu watched him straighten the pile of files that had spread out over his desk. His office looked disorganized, but there was a methodical system in place. He scooped one file from the bunch and locked it in his cabinet.

  “How come—?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Byron said pocketing his keys. “C’mon. Let’s go play hooky. I’ll take you out to Green Lake. “

  *

  “This is beautiful,” Lu exclaimed. They’d walked far enough into the wooded park that they no longer heard the city traffic. The sun stippled through the evergreen branches shining spotlights on various ferns and bushes beneath them.

  “Yeah. This is one of my favorite places to get away from the city.” Byron pointed to the left and Lu led the way through the narrow trail. “I think there’s a small lake further ahead. Annie and I used to go there as kids to catch tadpoles.”

  “Really?”

  “Dad had poked holes in an old MJB coffee tin and attached it to a long stick. We’d scoop the tadpoles into a plastic bucket and take ’em home. Most of them died before becoming frogs and we’d have a funeral for each one. One year though, three survived and we released them into the neighbor’s pond. Turns out they were tree frogs and really loud.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “It was. I think it was also my parents’ way of cheaping out on pets. They always said if we took good enough care of our tadpoles and they lasted past a year, then we could get a dog.”

  “Did you?”

  “Yup. A short-legged beagle mix Annie named Mr. Kirkpatrick.”

  “Was that a family friend?”

  “I never knew. Annie just insisted that was his name.”

  They walked down a slope and found themselves beside a small pond. Byron looked puzzled. “I wonder if this is it. It used to be a lot bigger, but the path seems to end here.”

  “Things were always bigger when we were small. I remember going back to my Grandmother McCallum’s mansion after she died. I’d only been there once as a young child and my parents had made such a big thing out of the visit, I think I’d imagined Grandmother McCallum to be some sort of wicked queen with a huge, scary castle. When I went back to see the mansion as an adult, it was a small rancher. She’d willed the house to a cat rescue program.”

  “You didn’t get to know your grandmother?”

  “Not my mom’s mother. She never approved of my dad.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “What you don’t know, you don’t miss.” Lu shrugged and changed the topic. “When did you start locking up your files?”

  “Not much gets past you, does it?” he asked with a smile.

  “Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “And so you should.” He took a deep breath. “I think we’ve got a leak on this case. No idea who, but Huang seems to be getting inside information.”

  “A bad cop?”

  “Maybe. The DEA’s been pulling in so many favors from so many departments it’s hard to know whose fingers are stained.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This is a pilot project. We’ve been using the fire departments to catch illegal growers. They look at excessive power usage and do inspections for ‘safety’ reasons. If there’s a grow-operation on the premises then the police are called in. It’s a way of circumventing some civil libert
y codes. The trouble is now we have too many people in on what should be secret take-downs.”

  “I haven’t heard about this.”

  “No. It’s more senior fire fighters. And the management pulling files in the Electric Billing department. Then we have to hope the mayor and his cronies can keep their traps shut. They’re so eager to look like they’re ‘winning the war on drugs.’” Byron shook his head in frustration.

  “So how do you catch the leak?”

  “I’ve got no idea.” Byron raked his fingers through his hair and turned back the way they’d come. “Hey, we’re supposed to be playing hooky here. No more work talk. Want to check out the duck pond? There should be some ducklings by now.”

  “Okay.” Lu grabbed his offered hand and followed him back up the path. When they reached the pond there were plenty of ducks, but no ducklings.

  “Here’s my great nature outing and I couldn’t deliver tadpoles or baby ducks,” Byron complained.

  “No, but it’s pretty, and not crowded, so I’m happy,” she told him.

  “As long as you’re happy.” He smiled and pulled her closer to kiss her temple. “Are you tired?”

  “I’m good now. I even went jogging earlier.”

  Byron looked alarmed. “Are you supposed to?”

  “Uh-huh. And there’re other things I’m allowed to do today.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

  “Really? Can we do them here?” His face lit up with a mischievous smile.

  “Um, no.”

  “You’re so conservative,” he grumbled. “And if it’s gonna be twenty-four/seven, I’d better take off work for a week.”

  “I’d love to hear your excuse on that one.”

  “Hmm. Me too,” Byron admitted. “You hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  “Good. I’m starved, and we’ll definitely be needing fuel before we start our sex marathon.”

  *

  “Let me get this straight,” Lu took a bite of her falafel while she thought about what Byron had just said. “You gave the mayor and all the other people involved in the last drug sting the wrong date for your operation?”