Fire Escape

by J. R. Tate

  “Michael McGinnis?” The female asked, holding her badge out.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “I’m Detective Reynolds and this is my partner, Detective Vasquez. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

  Michael felt a lump form in his throat. This was strange. They were acting as if he were a criminal. “What’s this about?”

  “We’ll discuss that elsewhere. Is there an office or something we could use?” Detective Vasquez, a short and chubby man, finally spoke up. He had a cigarette behind his ear and another he was puffing on.

  “I think my Captain might let us use his. You have to put that cigarette out first.” He tried to play it cool and not let them know he was freaking out on the inside. “Is my family okay?”

  “Your family is fine, Mr. McGinnis.”

  He led them to Captain Rooker’s office. His boss seemed skeptical and patted Michael on the back as he left. Did they all know something he didn’t? The silence was pissing him off.

  They all remained standing and Michael broke the silence. “We’re away from everyone. Care to let me in on why you need to pull me away from my job?” His tolerance was low and being nice was out the window now.

  “We need to ask you about your whereabouts last night, as well as the night before.”

  Taking a step back, his heart skipped a beat. “And why in the hell would you need to know that?”

  Detective Vasquez pulled out a notepad and flipped through a couple of pages. “Where were you on those two nights, Mr. McGinnis?”

  Michael grit his teeth, frustrated that they wouldn’t give him any more information. He had to stay composed. Getting angry would just dig his hole deeper, whatever hole that might be. “Home with my fiancé. I worked a tour last night and got home a little later than usual, but was at the apartment by eight. Was home the night before too.”

  Detective Reynolds poised her pen, ready to write. “What is your fiancé’s name?”

  “Eva Crisante.”

  “Do you have anyone else who can confirm your alibi?”

  Michael scoffed. “Again, I ask, why in the hell do I need an alibi? Care to fill me in on this, or do I need to call up a lawyer?”

  Detective Vasquez looked up from his notes. “It’s in regard to the warehouse fires that have been popping up all over the place. Right now you are a person of interest in the case. That’s it for now. We just need to do some checking before we progress with the investigation.”

  A wave of vertigo passed over Michael. Had he just heard them correctly? It felt as if a wall had toppled over him, and he had to lean against the desk to gain his composure. “I’m uhh… I’m not sure why you think I’m a person of interest, but I was home.” His voice was low and he closed his eyes to fight off the nausea.

  “It’s early in the investigation, Mr. McGinnis,” Detective Reynolds replied, appearing sympathetic for the first time since he had met them out on the sidewalk. “We have to check everything that’s brought up.”

  Michael shook his head and looked down at the floor. “I’m curious as to how I was brought up. Where did you get my name or even the initial need to come talk to me in the first place?”

  The two detectives looked at each other, both solemn, both not wanting to answer him.

  Michael slammed his hand against a chair. “Let me guess, it will compromise things if you let me know too much?”

  Detective Vasquez nodded toward his partner. “You’re right, Mr. McGinnis. We can’t talk about too many details right now, as we are still trying to piece them together ourselves. You were mentioned so we are following up on it.”

  “I was mentioned?” Michael pointed toward his chest. “How is that…” he trailed off, turning away from them. Facing the wall, he eyed several of Captain Rooker’s firefighting plaques. Was this another damn nightmare? No, it was too real. “How can someone just spout off my name like that?”

  “That is why we have to come and ask our questions. We’ll be in touch.”

  Michael didn’t say anything as they left the office. He stayed in there a few minutes, desperately attempting to calm down. How was he supposed to work with this heavy on his mind? Lieu came in shortly after, squeezing Michael’s shoulder.

  “Hey, Mikey.”

  He glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “I need to take a personal day, Lieu.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  Shrugging, Michael ran his finger over some dust on one of the picture frames. “Hell if I know. I just can’t be here today.”

  “It’s rare that you use your PTO, so go ahead. We’ve got it covered.” He walked toward the door. “I’m here if you need to talk about anything. And if you want to keep whatever this shit is quiet, I respect that too. Just know you aren’t alone.”

  “It’s a damn misunderstanding. Just one big fucking misunderstanding.” He pushed past his superior and out to the garage, ducking all of the other guys. He felt like a trapped animal. He needed solitude. He needed some time alone. Most of all, he needed a good, stiff drink. Screw sobriety. It just got him into trouble.

  Pausing at the same bar he had the night before, he was glad it was closed. It was still too early to buy anything, as most of the liquor stores weren’t even open. It was the only saving grace he had. If it wasn’t for that, he was sure he would pick up the largest bottle of whiskey he could find and chug it. Damn, how good that would be.

  The wind whipped around him, sending a chill to his core. What was he going to do? What was he going to tell Eva? Explaining why he was home early would be hard. She would see right past him.

  Michael couldn’t think up an excuse. The best thing he could do was tell her the truth. She would hear it on the news or see it in the paper. What would his mother think? Even worse, what about her dad? He would definitely recognize his name. He felt nauseous. News like this traveled fast, but the detectives did say he was just a person of interest right now. He had read enough of The New York Times to know that names aren’t listed until they are officially suspects, and many times those aren’t even released for a long time. Hopefully by then, the cops would know it wasn’t him and would move on.

  He walked a slow pace back to the apartment, pausing at the stoop. It had been about forty five minutes since he had left work, though it felt like time had flown by. Meandering down the cold streets had wasted enough time. He would face Eva sooner or later. It was best to just get it done.

  Walking up the steps, he unlocked the front door and closed it quietly behind him. Eva was in the living room, the TV low as she stared down at the floor. What in the hell was going on? She looked upset. Hopefully it was just her pregnancy hormones.

  “Eva?” Michael kept his voice low so he wouldn’t scare her.

  She turned her head slowly, her eyes red and soaked. She held a tissue in her hand and wiped her nose. She didn't even seem the least bit curious as to why he was home so early in the day.

  Michael sat beside her on the couch, taking her hand in his. “I’m assuming they stopped by here?”

  She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “By they I’m assuming you mean the cops, right?” Her voice shook and another tear trickled down her cheek.

  He didn’t say anything. His posture slumped. There were so many questions that needed answering. Who named him?

  “Mikey, what in the hell is going on?”

  “I don’t know, Eva. I wish I knew. What did the cops have to say?”

  She finally looked him in the eye, wiping a few tears away with the already soaked tissue. “They wanted to confirm that you were home those two nights. Just asked how you were lately. Brought up some of the stuff that’s recently happened and if I think you are mentally unstable. You know, every day run of the mill questions.” The sarcasm was thick and she stood up and walked toward the window.

  “Well, what did you say?” Michael wasn’t sure why he was feeling so insecure. She seemed so mad.

  “What do you think I said, Mikey? I told them things
seemed to be falling back into place. That you were back on your routine of work and it all felt good. Silly me for thinking that, though. Seems any time anything feels normal with you, something gets thrown at us from left field.” She rested her forehead on the window as she looked down at the street, whimpers escaping her throat. She was sobbing and Michael wasn’t sure if he should embrace her or give her some space.

  He tried to keep his anger in check. This was not his fault. The best thing to do was to keep his cool, even if it was a hard task. “I’m sorry, Eva. I’m not sure what to say. I don’t know where this is coming from or why. You know I’ve been here on those nights. You know I wouldn’t do something like that.”

  She shook her head yes. “Do you think I’d implicate you?” She looked at him again.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just now you asked me what I said to the cops. Do you think I’d say something to alert them?”

  Michael stepped toward her, grabbing her hand. “No. It’s just that you seem so angry with me and I’m not sure why. I didn’t ask for this to happen. I don’t know who would even think to say my name to the damn NYPD.”

  Eva moved away from the window and cupped the side of his face with her free hand, a nurturing look replacing her frazzled and stressed demeanor. “I know you were here. I don’t think you’re capable of setting those fires. I just hope the cops see it the way we do.”

  Michael kissed her forehead, feeling calm for the first time since the scene in Captain Rooker’s office. “I’m just a person of interest. That could mean a lot of things right now. We’ll be cooperative. There’s no evidence because I wasn’t there.”

  Eva looked up at him. “It’s just hard being happy about anything. It’s like we get knocked flat on our asses every time.”

  ***

  To kill time and get them both out of the apartment, Michael and Eva decided to ride the subway up to his mom’s house. They had both agreed to not tell too many people about the pregnancy since it was still early, but his mother deserved to know. It would be helpful to both of them to be around her with her positive attitude and good advice.

  Michael didn’t let go of Eva’s hand the whole trip over. He was thankful he had her by his side. As Casey had said, it was good to have support of such a good friend, otherwise, it was certain he’d be in a bar right now, or even worse, a gutter, drunk off of his ass.

  “Let’s not mention this other stuff to Ma, sound good?”

  Eva agreed, and they exited the train, making the short walk to her house. Michael was glad to see her working out in her yard, pulling up weeds and watering her flowers. They walked up the sidewalk, waving when she saw them.

  “What a pleasant surprise! You two were able to get the same day off?” She hugged both of them. “Eva, you look as stunning as ever!”

  “Thank you, Ms. McGinnis.”

  “Let’s go inside and have some tea. I’ve gotta catch up with Miss Eva here. Seems like I haven’t seen her in forever.”

  Michael forced a smile, pushing back the depressing thoughts he had been experiencing. When she poured the tea, all he could think about was how some hard whiskey would accent it perfectly. The brown color of the beverage was a constant reminder of the drink he’d rather be having. Gulping it down fast, he tried to fight off the craving that seemed to be coming on stronger and more constant than it had in a long while.

  “So, how are you guys doing?”

  Michael watched as Eva and his mom chatted away as if nothing was wrong. He admired the fact that she could act like there wasn’t a care in the world. He dazed off, his mind fading into a random day dream about the weeks leading up to his dad’s death. Right before he had passed was the best time of Michael’s life. He had taken him and Casey to a Mets game and was making plans to help restore an old muscle car they had bought cheap at an auction. He longed to go back to that time when things were too perfect.

  “Mikey? You wanna tell her our news?”

  Eva’s question pulled him back to reality and he felt his cheeks warm up. Shifting in his chair, he drank down the remainder of the tea and chewed on a couple of ice cubes.

  “I guess we better. That’s why we came, isn’t it?” When Eva didn’t break in, he cleared his throat. “Ma, Eva’s pregnant.” He didn’t know what else to say. Those few words said enough, and he waited to gauge her reaction.

  It took her a second to digest what he had said, but when the news finally hit her, her eyes lit up and she laughed. “You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes ma’am, I am. We just found out ourselves. We’re only telling a few people right now, but you were top of our list.”

  “That’s just wonderful! I’ve always wondered when my boys were gonna make me a grandmother!”

  She reached over and hugged Eva, and when she went to hug Michael, he pulled away and walked out to the back porch. He just didn’t feel like celebrating. Eva getting pregnant was the best thing to ever happen to him, but right now was just not the time to break out the cigars. Someone out there was falsely accusing him of being at the scene of the fires and it was killing him on the inside. He felt trapped. He felt lost. He wanted answers and his name cleared immediately.

  He heard the screen door creak and turned to see his mother. He could only wonder what profound words of advice she’d hand him.

  “You okay, son?”

  He shrugged and stared out into the yard.

  “You don’t have to tell me what’s bugging you, but if it’s worry about this little one that will be here soon, you know damn well you’ll be a great father.”

  “Will I?” It wasn’t his main worry, but it was something that had been on his mind.

  She checked on some of her potted plants on the porch, sticking her fingers down into the dirt. “I have all the confidence in the world in you.”

  If she only knew the half of it. How would her confidence be if she knew the accusations being thrown his way? He hoped she’d never hear about it.

  “What do I do for a living, Ma?”

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you getting at, Michael?”

  “I’m a firefighter, right?”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “Just like dad, right?”

  “Yes, you’re a lot like your father. Michael…” she reached for his arm but he pulled away.

  Walking back toward the house, he turned to face her. “Last time I checked, dad died when I was young. He left me here with you and Casey and all of this bullshit we’ve gone through since. I’m an alcoholic, Casey is a coke head, and you’ve had to work your ass off to get us out of trouble.” He shook his head and threw his hand up in the air. “Just so you know, Ma, I’m in some trouble again. Tell me how that’s being a good father to this child that isn’t even here yet?”

  “Michael, I didn’t know…” She stepped toward him. “What’s going on?”

  “You’ll find out soon, I’m sure.” He opened the door, pausing before he went inside. “I haven’t thanked you enough for everything you’ve done. And I’m sorry that I got so angry today. I just can’t do this right now.”

  He pulled her in for a tight hug and then let the door slam behind him. Grabbing his coat, he couldn’t make eye contact with Eva as they headed back to the subway. He wasn’t guilty of what the detectives were questioning him about, but the fact that he was in yet another situation to cause both his mom and Eva stress was bad on his part. Trouble seemed to find him. The only difference now was that he had so many others involved, including a baby on the way. The guilt was killing him. He needed to make the negative stuff go away for good.

  Chapter Eleven

  Eva lay in bed that night, wide awake. She felt Michael next to her, tossing and turning, talking some in his sleep, and feeling restless. He hadn’t spoken much to her the rest of the day and it killed her. He was so angry and lost. Her biggest fear was his sobriety. They had been friends for years and whenever something major had happened, he seemed to turn back
to alcohol as a coping mechanism. She didn’t know what she would do if he relapsed. Of course, she’d offer him the support he needed, but what would that mean for the future of their family?

  Turning on her side, she ran her hand down her stomach, thinking about the tiny life they had created inside of her. Everything she had read had said that the baby could feel every bit of stress the mother had. She needed to be careful. Things were so delicate at this stage. She wondered about the genetics of the baby. Would it have the McGinnis addictive tendencies? Would it be a boy or a girl? If it were a boy, would he be as cute as Mikey? Or if it were a girl, would it be her mini me? The thought made her smile, but as if someone were changing the channel in her mind, she went right back to thinking about their current troubles.

  Kicking her legs off the side of the bed, she grabbed her cell phone on the nightstand and walked to the living room. It was three AM, but she needed someone to talk to. Mikey had closed up in his own bubble and she felt like she was about to go crazy with all of the pent up thoughts screaming inside of her.

  Scrolling through her contact list, she paused at Gregg Walsh’s name. Hesitant for a split second, she pushed it and waited as the other end rang.

  “Hello?” His groggy voice answered, and she felt bad for waking him.

  “Hey Gregg, it’s Eva. I’m sorry for waking you.”

  “No, no, Eva, you didn’t wake me.”

  She smiled and kicked her legs up on the coffee table. “You’re a horrible liar.”

  “It’s fine, I promise. Is everything okay?”

  Eva looked down the dark hallway to their bedroom. She didn’t hear Michael and kept her voice low so she wouldn’t wake him. “I’m sure you’ve heard about those fires on the news? You know, the warehouse fires?”

  “Yeah, of course. It’s the talk around the station. Why?”