Her Only Hero

by Marta Perry

  She was too busy pulling tissue paper out of the gift bag to answer, but that didn’t matter. Her expression when she pulled a fluffy, black-and-white stuffed puppy from the bag more than made up for it.

  She hugged the stuffed animal close, burying her face in its fur.

  “I thought you’d like it.” Nolie’s voice sounded a little choked.

  “She’s going to have you accepting one of those puppies whether you want it or not,” Brendan murmured. “Better watch out.”

  “It might be worth it, to see Mandy that happy.”

  She couldn’t believe she was saying that. Probably she was lightheaded. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until their presence chased her fears away, at least for the moment.

  Did they know about the investigation? About the breach between her and Ryan?

  Her tension came flooding back. If so, they’d be on Ryan’s side. The Flanagans always stuck together—everyone knew that.

  She didn’t want their comfort under false pretences. “I don’t know if Ryan told you—”

  Brendan cut off the words with a quick squeeze of her hand. “We know about the investigation. Lieutenant North is crazy if he thinks you had anything to do with starting the fire. We’re all sure of that.”

  “Thank you.” Her throat tightened at the sureness in his voice, and she had to force the words out. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

  They probably still thought Ryan had done the right thing in telling North about her insurance, but at this moment, she didn’t care. They believed in her and they were here, that was all that mattered.

  Brendan pulled another chair over, so that they sat in a semi-circle close to Mandy. Brendan reached out to clasp her hand.

  “Shall we pray?”

  She managed a nod. She wouldn’t reject prayers on Mandy’s behalf.

  “Father, you know why we’re here today.” Brendan’s tone was relaxed and conversational, and Nolie’s smile was warm as she translated his words. “We ask You to be with Mandy and her doctors and help her to get well quickly. We all love her. Amen.”

  “Amen.” Laura’s voice trembled a little, and she fought to steady it.

  Maybe it was fortunate that the nurse bustled in just then. Otherwise she might have let a tear escape.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s time for this little lady to have something to make her sleepy. They’ll be ready for her soon.”

  Laura’s tension spiked again as she moved back from the bed to give the nurse room. Brendan slid his chair back against the wall.

  “Maybe we’d better slip out for the moment,” he said. “I have a few other people to visit, but I’ll come back afterward, if that’s okay.”

  She nodded. She wouldn’t have asked him, but it would be good to have someone there while she waited. It wasn’t Brendan’s fault that he wasn’t the right Flanagan.

  Was she crazy, longing for Ryan’s presence even when he’d let her down so badly?

  “I have to go, too.” Nolie leaned over to hug Laura and then patted her bulging tummy. “Doctor’s appointment. I hope she’ll say this baby is coming soon.”

  “Good luck.” Laura let her hand rest on Nolie’s, remembering the feeling of carrying a child, knowing your life was about to change irrevocably. Would she ever feel that again? It seemed unlikely. “And thank you for coming.”

  “How could I not?” Nolie smiled and waved at Mandy. “And don’t forget, one of those puppies is earmarked for you.”

  Laura didn’t bother protesting, knowing Nolie was just trying to lighten her mood. Nolie understood. They could be good friends, if not for the fact that she was Ryan’s sister-in-law. If Ryan helped prosecute her for arson, no friendship was likely to survive that.

  She kept coming back to that, no matter how hard she tried to push it out of her mind. If Ryan—

  The door opened, and Ryan came in.

  For a moment she couldn’t speak. Brendan and Nolie, probably sensing the tension, exchanged glances. Then they slipped out the door behind him.

  She finally found her voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “I promised Mandy I’d come.” Both his face and his voice were tight. He held up a teddy bear dressed in a firefighter’s costume. “Believe it or not, I keep my promises.”

  For a moment Ryan thought Laura would push him right out the door, teddy bear and all. Then she stepped back, and he caught sight of Mandy, her figure incredibly small in the high, white hospital bed.

  She lay back against the pillows. Her eyes drooped, but she gave him a sweet smile. That smile reached right into his chest and squeezed his heart until he couldn’t breathe.

  This must be how Seth had felt when his little boy was sick—helpless, desperate, ready to change places in an instant if he could.

  Mandy wasn’t his child. She would never be his child. But still, the feelings were there.

  He went to her bedside, holding out the teddy bear. “See? I told you I’d bring you Firefighter Teddy to keep you company while you’re in the hospital.”

  Mandy smiled sleepily. She held out her arms—not for the teddy bear, but for him.

  He bent to hug her, feeling her small arms tight around his neck. And his heart.

  Laura’s accusation the previous night slid out from the hiding place where’d he’d locked it.

  You’re terrified of emotional involvement, Ryan. Well, congratulations. You’ve found the perfect way out.

  That wasn’t true. It wasn’t.

  He slammed the thought back behind doors and concentrated on Mandy. That wasn’t easy, but it was easier than looking at Laura and seeing the pain in her eyes.

  “You’re sleepy, aren’t you?” He brushed dark curls back from Mandy’s face.

  She nodded. I knew you’d come. Her fingers signed the words slowly.

  If so, she’d known more than he had. North had told him he should steer clear of Laura and her child, but he couldn’t do it. Not today, not when he’d promised to be here.

  “You need to go to sleep now, sweetheart. I’ll leave you with Mommy.”

  She grabbed his hand, stopping him when he would have moved away. Come back. Promise.

  He could feel Laura’s tension, even without looking at her. But this wasn’t about him and Laura. It was about Mandy’s needs.

  “I’ll come back. I promise.”

  She nodded, face relaxing. Her eyes flickered shut.

  He turned toward Laura, but before she could say any of the things she undoubtedly had stored up to blast him with, a nurse and an orderly came in, pushing a gurney.

  “Time to go,” the woman said quietly.

  He stepped out of their way. He ought to leave them alone, but one look at Laura stopped him. She bent over the bed, helping to move Mandy to the gurney. She even managed a smile as she bent over to give her daughter a kiss. But he could feel her pain as if it were his own.

  “I’ll be right here waiting when you come back,” she whispered.

  Mandy’s breath was even, her eyes closed. She didn’t hear the words, but no doubt it comforted Laura to say them.

  The nurse nodded, and they wheeled the cart smoothly out the door.

  Laura took a step after them, reaching out as if she couldn’t help herself. The door swung shut. She turned, walked back to the empty bed and stood there, her hands clasping the railing.

  His heart was a heavy weight in his chest. He had to help her, but what could he do?

  “Laura, let me stay with you. Please.”

  He knew the answer before she shook her head. She didn’t want him there. He was the one who’d let her down.

  All the familiar arguments he’d been rehearsing since the night before flickered through his mind. He was only doing his job. He couldn’t help it. He had a duty.

  Funny. None of them even convinced him.

  “I’ll come back.” He spun and stalked out of the room, restraining the frustration that made him want to slam the door on its hinges.
/>
  “Whoa.” Brendan took a step out of his path.

  “What’s eating you?”

  He glared at his cousin, glad to have someone to vent his feelings on. “That’s obvious, isn’t it? Especially to a trained professional like you.”

  Brendan glanced at the closed door, grabbed his arm, and pulled him the few feet to the end of the hallway. A window looked out over flat roofs.

  “It seems like Laura doesn’t need to hear this conversation.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Ryan braced his hands on the windowsill, staring out. A light rain had started, and the black tar roofs glistened with moisture.

  Brendan just waited.

  Whatever he might say was safe with Brendan. Trouble was, he really didn’t know what he was feeling right now, so how could he put it into words?

  “Look,” he said gruffly, “go in there and stay with Laura until Mandy gets back from surgery, okay? She shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  Brendan didn’t move. “Why don’t you stay?”

  He rolled his shoulders against the tension. “Because she doesn’t want me. She thinks I betrayed her confidence. Thinks I’m helping North railroad her.”

  “Is she right?”

  “Not that anyone is railroading her. North’s an honest man. But—”

  “But North thinks Laura is guilty,” Brendan finished for him.

  “Who knows what he thinks?” Irritation edged his voice. “The man’s like a sphinx. But when I tried to defend Laura, he accused me of losing my objectivity.”

  “Are you?”

  He glared at the rain-wet pane. “Maybe. I can’t think straight where Laura’s concerned.”

  “You don’t doubt her innocence, do you?”

  “Of course not. Laura would never put that little girl in danger. Ever.”

  He could hear the certainty in his voice. He might not know a lot of things about this case, but he knew that beyond question.

  Brendan leaned against the concrete-block wall. “That’s my feeling, too, but you know Laura a lot better than I do. Have you told North that?”

  “Several times.” His mouth twisted in a wry grin. “Several times too many, probably. He’s ready to boot me from the squad if I can’t ‘forget my feelings for the woman.’” He shot a defiant look at his cousin. “And don’t ask me what those feelings are. I haven’t figured that out yet. I just know she didn’t start that fire.”

  “Then it looks like you have to prove that, whether North wants you to or not.”

  “Are you telling me to disobey a direct order? Isn’t the fire-department chaplain supposed to keep us on the straight and narrow?”

  “Sometimes you have to decide for yourself what’s right, no matter what the regulations say.” Brendan’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “But don’t you tell your dad I said that.”

  Ryan almost felt the weight slipping off his shoulders. He had to do what was right. That meant finding the proof that Laura hadn’t started that fire.

  And if it cost him his job—well, that would be worth it.

  He slapped Brendan’s shoulder. “Thanks, Bren. I’ll be back. Take care of them for me.”

  He turned and strode down the hall, energy coursing through him. He felt right about what he was doing for the first time in days.

  The proof was out there somewhere. No matter what, he had to find it.

  A few hours later, Ryan had begun to doubt. Not Laura’s innocence—that was never a question in his mind.

  No, what he doubted was his own ability to find out the truth. He slammed his hand down on the desk next to the computer keyboard. He’d been through all the reports, all the forensic tests, a half dozen times. Still he wasn’t seeing anything new.

  Give him a burning building, he knew what to do. With this—

  “Having problems?” North leaned over his chair, scanning the report of the second fire that was displayed on the computer screen. “Why are you going over this one again?”

  An evasion leaped to his lips, and he forced it away. He wouldn’t try to hide what he was doing from North. He owed the man honesty, at least.

  But maybe he didn’t have to start with his conviction that Laura was innocent. That was emotion, not fact.

  He pointed at the screen. “This doesn’t make sense. Not to me, anyway. It almost looks as if the second fire was intended not to cause any damage.”

  The lines in North’s face deepened. “If Ms. McKay started it, she did it to make us think we were chasing an arsonist. She might not have wanted to cause damage.”

  “If you’re trying to make me believe she left her sleeping daughter alone in the house so she could creep through the streets with a gas can and take a chance of being caught, you’re going to have to come up with a better reason than that.” He let his skepticism show in his voice. “She’s not a stupid woman. She’d know what the risks were.”

  North didn’t give any indication that Ryan’s argument impressed him, but at least he didn’t tell him to shut up. “What’s your theory then?”

  “I don’t have one.” He glared at the screen. “If she did it, why was there a second fire? If there really is an arsonist, why hasn’t he struck again? And who’s making the anonymous calls?”

  North’s face tightened. “I don’t like anonymous calls. Never have. This caller—it’s like he’s trying to lead us along a path, dropping bread crumbs leading to Ms. McKay.”

  “That’s how I feel about it.” Ryan tried not to sound too eager. For the first time, North was actually listening to him. “If there was someone in the alley where she says she found that paint-thinner can, then it looks like someone wants to torch that particular building. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with a pyro.”

  North raised his eyebrows. “That theory leads us right back to Ms. McKay. Who else has reason to want that building down? She’s the one with insurance on it. Who else would benefit?”

  “I don’t know.” He shoved his chair back. “But I’m not going to find out staring at reports I’ve already read a dozen times.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To talk to everyone in the surrounding buildings again. Maybe someone saw something they haven’t mentioned. Or maybe we didn’t ask the right questions.”

  North looked at him for a moment, as if weighing him in his mind. Then he nodded.

  “All right. We’ll open it up again.” He put up a hand to forestall any thanks. “But understand this, Flanagan. No matter what either of us feels, if we don’t find anything new, the case against Ms. McKay is going to the district attorney’s office on Monday.”

  “We will.” Ryan headed for the door.

  We have to. Father, are You listening? We have to.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The waiting was endless. With Mandy no longer in the hospital room, Laura gave in to the impulse to pace.

  “It’s hard, I know.” Brendan’s gaze held sympathy. “Waiting for word on your child has to be the most difficult thing in the world.”

  She nodded, realized her hands were twisting together, and let them drop. “Really, Brendan, you don’t need to wait with me. I appreciate it, but I’m sure you have other people who need you.”

  “There’s no place I’d rather be than here right now.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands lightly linked. “Besides, I promised Ryan.”

  She shot a startled glance at him. “You promised him what?”

  “That I’d stay.” He said it as comfortably as if the polite barriers between people didn’t exist between them. As if they were family. “He felt you didn’t want him here, so he asked me to stay. Not that he needed to. I would have, in any event.”

  “I see.” But she didn’t see, not really. Was he saying that Ryan, despite what happened, still felt responsible for her?

  She was still struggling with that when the door began to swing open. Her heart seemed to catch in her throat. The doctor—

  But it was Siobhan, not Dr. Phi
llips.

  Siobhan glanced at Brendan, a question in her eyes. “Still waiting?”

  He nodded, glancing at his watch. “From what Laura told me about the procedure, I’d say they’ll bring Mandy down from surgery soon.”

  “It seems like forever, doesn’t it?” Siobhan crossed the room and hugged her. “I know. My kids put me through the waiting more than a few times. Especially Ryan. For awhile he had a broken bone every year, it seemed.”

  Tears spilled over at the warmth of Siobhan’s hug, and Laura dashed them away. Silly. She didn’t long for her own mother’s presence, but somehow Siobhan made her feel like a child being comforted.

  “Thank you for coming.” She ought to say again that they needn’t stay, but she didn’t want to. She wanted them here, despite everything that had happened with Ryan.

  Siobhan set the oversized purse she carried on the bed and pulled out a thermos. “I brought coffee from home. Nobody should have to drink hospital coffee, especially at a stressful time like this.”

  She produced mugs and poured, then handed a thick white mug to Laura.

  Laura wrapped her fingers around it, feeling the warmth. Feeling comforted. Amazing, how Siobhan created a sense of home wherever she went.

  The door swung open again, and Dr. Phillips strode into the room. Her throat choked, and her heart seemed to stop beating.

  His eyes lit at the sight of the coffee. “If that’s real coffee, Siobhan, I’ll have some.”

  “First things first,” Siobhan said quickly.

  Dr. Phillips’s lined face relaxed in a smile as he looked at Laura. “There’s nothing to worry about—the procedure went perfectly. I’ve just checked on her again. Mandy’s on her way down now, and everything should be fine.”

  Her legs didn’t want to support her, and the coffee sloshed dangerously in the mug. She felt Brendan’s arm supporting her as he led her to a chair.

  “It’s okay, Laura. She’s going to be fine. Just take it easy.”

  By the time the room stopped spinning around, she realized that Siobhan was scolding the doctor as if he were a ten-year-old in her church-school class. He looked rather sheepish as he came to squat next to Laura’s chair.