by J. J. Cook
“Thanks, Chief.” Banyin hugged her. “It’s gonna be great. I can’t come back for six weeks, but Jake can go ahead and start training. Right, Jake?”
“Right.” He put his arm around his wife. “I’m gonna be the best firefighter you’ve got, Chief Griffin.”
“You’ll have to take a seat behind me.” Banyin looked at Petey. “Oh yeah. And you can’t mind when Petey shows you up all the time. She’s small, but she’s fierce.”
Once everyone was finished talking and looking at the baby it was time to head over to Beau’s. Stella wanted to get everything set up before the crowd arrived.
She was too late. The cold morning was giving way to a warmer afternoon. The blue sky and dry weather had already brought out a crowd for the event. Stella wasn’t happy that they would have to set up between groups of people, but she had no choice.
“It won’t matter,” Eric said. “And look at that dessert table. Aren’t you glad you brought my cake?”
The team was unloading the ladder and taking Clara and her family to the old car that Walt’s friend had brought for the occasion. The silver Thunderbird looked as though it had rolled down the side of a mountain. The windows were smashed and there was damage done to every part of the vehicle.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to really rescue people from that wreck,” Stella said.
“You should be.” A man with a mass of curly gray hair came up beside her. “I’m Max Morrison. This here was my car. I missed a turn and took a little tumble. Lucky I was alone. My father tanned my hide, even though I had a broken leg and a couple of cracked ribs to learn from. He didn’t let me drive again for a year after that.”
Eric laughed. “I remember that. It was a mess and no Jaws of Life to get him out either.”
“You’re the new fire chief, right?” Max asked.
She held out her hand. “Stella Griffin. Nice to meet you.”
“That’s right. You’re the old man’s granddaughter. Quite a ruckus when you first came to town.”
“A woman likes to be noticed.”
Max and Eric both laughed at that.
Stella’s cell phone rang. It was John.
“We found Gail Hubbard. Someone ran her off the road. The highway patrol is out here with the Sevierville Rescue Squad. I can’t tell what kind of condition she’s in right now, Stella. It doesn’t look good.”
Chapter 33
Stella thanked John for the information. She offered to go out there, but he told her there was nothing she could do. He promised to keep her updated on the situation.
“You might have to let Rufus or JC take my place on the ladder,” John told her. “I don’t want to leave until I hear about Gail’s condition.”
She understood. “I knew something was wrong. Whoever was following her is probably responsible for the accident.”
“Hold up on that,” John said. “People run off the road on their own all the time. She could’ve been looking back too much and missed the turn. Let’s wait and see what the highway patrol says.”
Max had wandered away to look at the dessert table that had been set up in Beau’s parking lot.
“I feel like I should be there,” Stella said to Eric. “That could’ve been me.”
“The fire brigade needs you here. The rescue squad can handle the accident. It’s not even your jurisdiction. Let’s take the cake over to the table.”
“I think you’re more worried about the cake than what happens around it.” Stella got the cake out of the Cherokee.
“I worked hard on it to make you look good. I get no appreciation. It’s not easy harnessing my energy to make things move.”
“You’re right. I don’t appreciate you enough. Thanks for making the cake that you don’t believe anyone will think I made. What do you expect them to think?”
He shrugged. “That you bought it from a store.”
“That’s what I thought.”
People were already walking around the fire trucks asking questions of the volunteers who’d kept their bunker gear on despite the day heating up. Rufus took questions and donations at the fireboat. The smell of hickory-smoked barbecue filled the area.
It looked as though half of Sweet Pepper was coming out for the event. Even before they’d started the demonstrations the boots, boxes, and bags were filled with donations.
Stella saved what she considered to be the best demonstration for last. With the ladders on Beau’s roof, Royce rushed up and down like a pro with a hose across his shoulder. People in the audience applauded enthusiastically.
Next up was JC. He was fast and a little showy. He got to the roof and held up his hose, doing a little dance that could’ve come from an NFL touchdown. More people crowded in to watch what was happening.
Stella called out the names of all of the volunteers. Each person came up with their pry ax, looking tough and ready to handle anything.
Banyin came up with Jake and Meagan to take her bow.
The people of Sweet Pepper were wonderfully appreciative of their fire brigade. As one man told Stella later, having the volunteers made him feel safer and made his wife happy when she wrote out the check to pay for homeowner’s insurance.
Stella would have moved on to the next event, but Kent stopped her. “Let’s give our fire chief, Stella Griffin, a big hand. She brought all of this together. We know we’re doing the right thing because she tells us when we’re not.”
The large audience laughed and applauded. Stella doffed her helmet, a surge of pride and happiness running through her.
As they set up for the next event—having a tug-of-war with a three-inch-diameter hose—people from the community asked for autographs from Stella and the rest of the fire brigade.
The first group to try the tug-of-war consisted of police officers versus firefighters. There was a small runoff ditch that still had a little trickle running through it. The police officers stationed themselves on one side, firefighters on the other.
Stella could tell where their new recruits’ real loyalties lay when she saw Clyde and Nancy with their comrades on the police side. She didn’t let it bother her.
She’d noticed that Chief Rogers was absent from the event. She was hoping things were better between them. Maybe she was wrong.
The whistle blew to start the tug-of-war. The two teams began pulling as hard as they could.
“Look at those puny police officers,” Eric remarked. “My money is on the firefighters.”
“Big surprise.” Stella took off her jacket and left it on a chair near the fireboat. “When wouldn’t you choose the firefighters?”
But Eric was right in his choice. The firefighters pulled the police officers into the runoff ditch. There was laughter and some wet feet, but everyone seemed to be having a good time.
“Are we ready for Hero and Sylvia yet?” Kimmie asked. Neither dog was happy with waiting, but both had maintained their positions at Kimmie’s feet. They whined a little, eyes shifting left and right, feeling the excitement around them.
“Let’s get the car set up,” Stella said. “Where’s Tagger?”
Tagger was putting Clara and her family into the old Thunderbird. Bert was standing by with the new saw. JC and Royce joined them with Kent and Allen getting ready for the demonstration.
“Do you need us, Chief?” Nancy asked.
Since she and Clyde weren’t in their turnout gear, Stella decided to go with the volunteers who were dressed.
“I don’t need you this time, but make sure you pay attention. We’ll be practicing this soon.”
“Thanks, Chief Griffin.” Clyde touched his hat and moved back from the car.
To set the mood, Rufus sounded the siren on the engine and turned on the lights. This got everyone’s attention. A large group wandered away from the tug-of-war.
“Let’s suppose the fire brigade has been called to the scene of an accident.” Stella addressed the crowd with a handheld microphone. “There are people trapped inside the car who need to be rescued. We
have some new tools and our certified rescue dogs, Sylvia and Hero, who can get the job done.”
Rufus turned off the siren and lights. Tagger was behind the wheel of the Thunderbird. He was moaning pitifully and had even squirted ketchup on his forehead for effect.
“Okay, ready?” Bert looked at his proud parents and turned on the saw.
Rufus and Royce stood by the driver’s door ready to assist Bert as soon as the door was cut away from the car.
Sylvia and Hero took their instructions from Kimmie. The two dogs raced into the backseat of the car to save the dummies. Each dog dragged one person by carefully holding a sturdy part of their clothing with their mouths. The dummies were heavy enough to make this a realistic task for the dogs.
Mayor Wando and his wife immediately began applauding Bert’s job with the saw. Most of the other people were clapping and cheering the two dogs as they dragged their victims to safety.
There was one victim left in the backseat. Before Sylvia could turn around, Hero leaped over her and headed back to the car for the last dummy. Even Kimmie laughed at that. Hero brought his dummy to safety with thunderous applause from the audience. He sat down at Kimmie’s feet and barked twice, eagerly wagging his tail.
Tagger had been rescued by Bert, Rufus, and Royce. Kent and Allen immediately brought out the basket stretcher to take Tagger to safety. JC checked his injuries.
When the applause had died down Banyin took the microphone from Stella. “I want to say that I don’t know if my husband, daughter, and I would be here if it wasn’t for the time and training the fire brigade volunteers receive. I want to publicly thank all of them for saving our lives.” Banyin started crying and hugged Jake.
“Let’s see you do that trick with the electric wires again, Chief Griffin,” Doc Schultz yelled out from the crowd.
“Yeah,” Max Morrison agreed with him. “I’d pay good money to see that.”
Stella thanked them and everyone else for coming that day. “I think lunch is probably ready. The fire brigade appreciates all of you. Our job is to protect Sweet Pepper.”
More applause followed her words. She stepped away from the microphone.
“Have someone cut some wires,” Eric said. “We could do it again.”
“No thanks.” She turned her head to the side. “I’m going to eat.”
While Stella waited in line for lunch, Eric went to watch the tug-of-war competition that continued with the hose and the runoff ditch.
Stella found herself in the food line with Flo and Matilda Storch. They both had too many questions about how she’d managed to move the electric wires. The event had been captured forever on a YouTube video.
“You could make Sweet Pepper famous all by yourself,” Flo told her. “I’ve watched that video a dozen times. There were more than a million views last time I was there.”
“Curious how that wire seems to float away from the pole you’re holding,” Matilda observed. “Sometimes it looks like you’re not touching it at all.”
“That’s because you’re looking at it on the Internet.” Despite Stella’s decision not to comment on what had happened that night, she felt trapped into saying something. “It looks different than it really was.”
“People who were there said the same thing,” Flo pointed out. Her very blond hair was covered with a flowered scarf and her dark blue gaze stared curiously at Stella.
“Let’s admit it,” Elvita Quick chimed in from behind them in the food line. “It was Eric Gamlyn. He was out there helping her. We all know it.”
Flo looked back at the short, stout sisters who wore bright pink dresses and matching pink hats with daisies on them. “Elvita, you know a ghost can’t leave their residence. I believe Eric stopped his cabin from being bulldozed by Bob Floyd. But no way was he out on Pepper Street.”
Other people in the line, before and after them, began to join in the discussion. Stella was surprised and happy to see Ricky Senior and Lucille from the café at the event.
Ricky Senior clasped her hand tightly and then hugged her with tears in his eyes. He looked older and thinner than he had when he went to prison. Even though it hadn’t been long, she could see it had changed him.
“Stella! It’s good to see you! It’s good to see anyone without tattoos and shaved heads,” he joked. “To be here today in the sunshine with everyone is a blessing.”
“Thanks, Ricky. It’s good to see you too. I’m glad you’re back. Where’s Ricky Junior?”
“He’s around here somewhere with Valery from the coffee shop.” Lucille raised her expressive brows as though to let Stella know what she thought of that idea. “Nothing good can come of it.”
“You want my son and his mechanic skills, I hear.” Ricky Senior stood back and smiled. “Thank you for putting in a good word with your grandfather. A young man shouldn’t be washing dishes and cleaning tables at his age.”
Lucille called her husband’s attention away from Stella to the food laid out on the long tables. “Let’s eat. It’s not often someone makes food for us!”
Stella couldn’t take credit for Ricky’s new job with her grandfather. She didn’t argue though. They could always talk later. Ricky Senior was right. It was a good day to enjoy the sunshine and the company of friends.
Stella was glad to finally see the barbecue, coleslaw, and desserts come into view. She was starving. She could still hear Flo and Matilda whispering about the possibility that Eric had helped her with the electric wires on Pepper Street. She was ready for her fifteen minutes of fame to be over.
She reached for a plate, and Brad Whitman appeared at her side.
“Please tell me you aren’t planning to cut in line,” Flo said tartly.
“No, ma’am.” Agent Whitman inclined his head, wearing a faint smile. “I’m here to borrow Chief Griffin for a few minutes. I’m sorry. Duty calls.”
Stella gave Flo her plate. “I’ll be back. Don’t let everyone eat it all.”
“You want me to make you a plate, sweetheart?” Flo asked. “I can make one for your friend too.”
“Thanks.” Stella appreciated the gesture.
“That would be nice of you, ma’am,” Brad said. “We won’t be long.”
Stella got out of the food line and walked away from the crowd as some local musicians were setting up and tuning their instruments. She was looking forward to coming back and enjoying a lazy afternoon.
She looked around for Eric. He was still standing at the tug-of-war area. The runoff ditch had become muddy—which meant everyone who’d lost was walking away covered in red mud. Eric was laughing so hard he’d drawn Hero and Sylvia to his side. She thought he might as well enjoy himself. She could talk to Brad by herself.
“Chief Rogers is waiting for us at his office,” he said. “I told him I’d get you and bring you there to finish the meeting.”
“I was wondering where he was. People thought he’d stayed away because he doesn’t like me.”
“No.” Brad smiled. “There’s been a break in the Falk case. He called me early this morning. We both realized we needed you there for details about the fire. It shouldn’t take long. Think you could drive?”
Stella looked around for his vehicle. “How did you get here?”
“I hitched a ride from one of the police officers in town.”
They were standing beside the Cherokee. Stella took out her keys.
“I guess I should tell someone.” She looked around to see who she could leave a message with.
“It won’t be that long. They won’t even miss you with all this going on,” Brad assured her. “Would you like me to drive?”
“No thanks. They probably won’t even notice I’m gone.”
All of the fire brigade members and the police officers she knew seemed to be eating or watching the tug-of-war. She got into the Cherokee as Brad got in on the passenger side.
“What kind of new information did Chief Rogers find?” Stella put on her seat belt and started the engine.
She was glad she’d parked away from the crowd and the other vehicles. It might be hard to get out otherwise.
“According to your friend, Gail Hubbard, she gave you a detonator she’d retrieved from the Falk house. Chief Rogers said you were going to turn that piece of evidence over to him. I told him it belongs to the state investigation.”
Stella faced him. Something was wrong. Chief Rogers knew what had happened to the detonator—he had it. Was this some weird game he was playing?
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” She reached for the keys again to turn off the Cherokee until she could find out what was going on.
“I didn’t want it to be this way, Stella.” Brad pulled out a nine-millimeter Glock. He held it high against her side. “Just drive. We can talk on the way.”
Chapter 34
There wasn’t much else she could do. Stella carefully nosed the Cherokee out of Beau’s parking lot. No one could save her from a bullet that would do a lot of damage very quickly unless she went along with whatever Brad had in mind.
“The only way Gail told you about the detonator was under duress.” Stella kept her eyes on the road. “You ran her vehicle off the road this morning, didn’t you?”
“You two were quite a team. Good work. The only thing is that the people who pay me were hoping you and Mrs. Hubbard would keep your mouths shut. What didn’t you understand about our warnings?”
Stella kept the Cherokee moving at a slow rate of speed as they approached the town. She thought something would come up—a distraction of some sort—so she could get away without taking the bullet that seemed to have her name on it. She was scared. Her palms were sweaty. What could she do?
“You should’ve told me how serious you were about it. I would’ve paid more attention.”
“I don’t think so. You’re the heroic type, I’m afraid. People like you tend to live short lives.”
Stella stopped at the red light on Main Street. The whole area was deserted. Many of the stores and restaurants—even the coffee shop—were closed. Everyone was at Beau’s.
“Just park over there at town hall. Chief Rogers is waiting for us.” Brad nodded toward the parking area. The Glock was still pressed into Stella’s side.
