Burned by Deception (The Dark Side of Springwood Book 2)

by Jennifer A. Brown

  He heard sirens in the distance and hurried back to his car. Moments later, he was gone as flames licked away at The Book Stop.

  ****

  The entire back wall of the store that housed the Young Adult section was burning. Tammy slowly backed up; terror engulfing her like the flames engulfed the books on the shelves before her.

  She frantically scanned the area for a fire extinguisher. Even though, as fast as the fire seemed to be growing, she wasn’t sure how much a little fire extinguisher would help.

  She knew she had to figure out something and quick.

  Then she heard the loud sound of shattering glass from up front. She blinked, trying to think, but she was growing weaker.

  ****

  Becky’s throat was growing scratchy from screaming, and she finally had no choice but to stop. She coughed more, feeling pain in her chest. The smoke was really getting to her.

  She had no idea where Tammy was. She hoped Lyn hadn’t come back and taken off, not realizing Becky was there. Another chill raced through her with that scenario, despite the growing heat from the burning books surrounding her.

  She tried to look around the smoke filled store. There was absolutely no sign of Tammy. There was no sign that someone else was there, besides her.

  She winced, unable to fend off more tears.

  ****

  Dan was unable to sleep much that night and got up once to stand and gaze out his window. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that photo of Tammy that had been on the pillowcase. It haunted him. He finally gave up and went into the kitchen to get a drink.

  It was after midnight as he sipped the wine cooler in his hand, gazing out his window that looked over the street leading up to the Springwood Mall. Traffic was still busy with late night holiday shoppers. He saw a few fire trucks zipping through the traffic, their sirens piercing the night with a loud wail. Eventually they stopped, and it sounded close.

  He continued drinking until he felt that familiar relaxing sensation he got whenever he drank. It wasn’t much, just enough to help him sleep.

  He set the bottle down on his table, going back into his bedroom. It was darker in there compared to his front room where he just was. A streetlight shone in there, making it easy to see at night.

  He got back into bed, drifting off to sleep within five minutes.

  Chapter 17

  Justin went to bed that night but had trouble sleeping. He heard Camryn moaning at one point while he tossed and turned. He hobbled up, making his way into the bathroom. Then he hesitated in the doorway after using the toilet.

  He did wish he could do something to help find Tammy. If it weren’t for the fact he was on crutches, he would be out looking. He thought it was a good idea for Camryn to stay out of it, but he couldn’t. Not when it was his little sister.

  It was going on nearly one in the morning. Why hadn’t anyone called yet? His heart missed a beat.

  He hobbled through the short hall to what was once his sister’s room/office. He bit his lip as he went over to the desk drawer he’d hidden Camryn’s ring in. The black velvet box sat in the corner beside a few memo pads with his sister’s name on them. He was hoping he could pay his sister back before she even realized what he’d done. There was no way he was returning the ring now. It was time he got some happiness. There had been too much turmoil already.

  He closed his eyes, shutting the drawer.

  ****

  Jacob frowned, remembering the scene he had walked into in his room between the two girls after overseeing final preparations for Gavin’s concert. He’d walked in on the tail end of it, but it was quite obvious Tammy had been hostile toward Becky.

  “Oh God. It’s possible.”

  Robin’s brows rose. “Do you have Becky’s number?”

  Before either could say or do more, Jacob’s phone rang.

  ****

  Becky’s tears continued to fall as she felt herself growing weaker. She had tried to fight the restraints on her wrists, getting burned a few times by a daring flame. She already had a black spot on her jeans where a flame had gingerly licked against her leg earlier.

  She thought she heard a crashing sound from behind her several moments before. Her breath was still coming in panicky gasps, wondering when something burning would come crashing down on her.

  Suddenly she felt determination wash over her. She attempted to get up, but the heavy office chair she was tied to weighed her down. Unsuccessful at balancing herself, she fell backwards into a smoldering pile of her own books as she passed out.

  ****

  Brian’s killer got home that night, proud of himself. He grabbed a bottle of beer from his fridge, popping the top. He’d had a little to drink at the party but thought another was due.

  He walked into his bedroom and over to his unmade bed where he laid back. He took a long gulp of his beer before staring at the framed photo beside him. It was a photo he’d gotten off the internet of Davis Cauley.

  “I did it, dad. I think I got her.”

  ****

  Jacob’s call had been from 911 dispatch. His car had been found.

  Wasting no time, Robin drove him to the location.

  Jacob was out of the car before Robin even stopped it, dashing over to his car, where a few policemen were looking it over with flashlights. “It appears to be in good condition, Mayor.” One of them said as he opened the door and looked inside.

  “So where is my sister?” he demanded.

  Both officers exchanged glances as Robin spoke. “Why do I smell smoke? Is something on fire?

  Jacob frowned and sniffed the air as one of the officers informed them The Book Stop was on fire. That made Robin exchange an urgent look with Jacob.

  “Shit!” Was all he said, as he took off running toward the source of the smoke.

  ****

  Robin screamed for Jacob to slow down as she tried to keep up with him, but it was useless. Once the police told them about the fire half a block away, she knew they both had to be thinking the same thing. The very thing neither of them wanted to.

  She finally reached the building that housed the book store, out of breath and already feeling dizzy from the excitement. Robin put both hands to her mouth, watching the flames inside the building as Jacob disappeared into them despite the protests coming from the firefighters battling the blaze. Tears came to her eyes, and she fought back a sob. “God. This can’t be happening.” She said to herself, her foot moving forward onto something. She felt it crack beneath her shoe. Startled, she looked down to see a pen, broken.

  It looked familiar, though.

  As she bent down to examine it, she realized why. It was a pen that had Jacob’s business, the address, phone number, and email printed on it. She’d noticed Jacob using one before.

  “Aw, damn…” she whined, picking it up.

  ****

  Springwood fireman Oliver Gaines was proud to be a part of his department for eight years. He was also one of only three African-American firefighters there. He was the first one to follow Jacob and scan the flames for any people. The store was closed; there shouldn’t be anyone in there…except for the damn mayor.

  He trudged through broken, burning shelving, still not seeing anything.

  So why had Jacob Barnes bolted in there like a bat out of hell?

  ****

  Jacob coughed, holding an arm up over his nose and mouth. The smoke was already getting to him. But his gut told him his sister was here. He had to find her.

  He thought he heard someone behind him, but ignored it, knowing it was probably a firefighter. He would just order him out of there. And there was no way in hell he was leaving until he found Lyn.

  ****

  Robin still held the broken pen in her hand, now unable to keep the sobs from coming. Neither Jacob nor the firefighter had reappeared yet.

  After a few moments, she noticed another fireman head inside. Robin felt herself shaking despite the coat she wore. It was more from anxiety than the
cold.

  “Ma’am? You were with the mayor, correct?”

  She turned to face another fireman. “Yes.” She said, nodding.

  “You have any idea why he ran in there like that? Do you suspect someone is in there?”

  ****

  “Becky?”

  She could vaguely make out her name being called. She could feel her restraints being yanked off and looked up to see Jacob.

  She frowned. Was she dreaming?

  He looked at her, managing a smile. “Thank God. You’re okay. Is Lyn here?” She weakly nodded as he picked her up. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  She gazed into his eyes, letting herself rest on his shoulder. She remembered falling asleep with him after he got drunk in the middle of his campaign. He had obviously thought she was someone else, she was pretty sure, but—suddenly she felt cold air and a stretcher beneath her as paramedics looked over her. They started asking her questions, but she ignored them, looking for Jacob. He’d saved her life.

  “My sister is still in there. I have to go back.” she heard him telling someone frantically.

  It was the last thing she heard as everything went black.

  Chapter 18

  A little less than twelve hours later, Charity surveyed the damage done to her store as investigators roped it off with yellow tape. She had gotten the message that morning that there had been a fire and two bodies had been pulled from it. What shocked her was one of them was the very girl who was going to have a signing there that day.

  She walked around what had once been her store with her hands up to her cheeks. It had taken them clear up until five that morning to fight the blaze. She was still waiting to hear about a cause.

  “Excuse me.”

  Charity glanced up at the source of the voice. A young girl stood there, her red hair pulled back in a pony tail. “Hi, I’m Melissa Fairbanks with The Springwood Daily. Could I ask you a few questions?”

  ****

  Dan stood in the corridor of the hospital, slowly sipping a cup of mocha.

  He had gotten the call from Jacob around seven that morning, waking him. There had been a fire at The Book Stop overnight. Jacob had saved Becky, who was inside for some reason, and a firefighter had found Lyn, carrying her out like a limp rag doll right as Jacob was about to run back inside.

  A shelf of flaming hard covers had fallen over onto her. Lyn was still unconscious, but Becky was all right, just trying to recover from a lot of smoke inhalation.

  Dan stared down at the lid of his cup he’d gotten only fifteen minutes ago at the cafeteria. He hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to go into Lyn’s room.

  There was no denying it now. Something had happened between him and Lyn. Well, Tammy. The thought of it scared him. He could only remember flashes, but it was enough to know it had gone over some boundaries. And it was enough for her to send him that chilling gift.

  That thought caused his hand to shake as he nearly spilled the mocha he held.

  “Dan? Is my sister all right?”

  He looked up to see Justin coming in with Camryn right beside him.

  “I haven’t been in to see her yet.” He admitted.

  Justin frowned.

  “I’m going to the gift shop.” Camryn quickly kissed Justin on the cheek before taking off in the opposite direction. He sighed, moving on past Dan without another word.

  ****

  As much as Robin wanted to stay with Jacob early that morning, she let him go in the ambulance with his sister to the hospital. She told him she’d be there later, and he had only nodded…obviously distracted and upset. She needed to distance herself for a little bit and focus on presenting that new evidence to the judge.

  She sat outside his chambers thanking God she caught him on his last day there before the holidays. What she held in her briefcase…along with the fact her client was now unconscious…should be enough to get a delay for quite a while.

  ****

  Becky lay back in bed, taking her second breathing treatment since she’d been brought in. Confused, overwhelmed and emotional, she inhaled through the small breathing apparatus. Trent sat beside her, where he had been for the last hour, trying to comfort her.

  She hadn’t seen Jacob since he saved her. She had tried to find out where Lyn was, to no avail.

  Finally, the treatment ended, and she turned to Trent. “I have to know if she’s okay, Trent.”

  “Even after what she did to you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t her. It was Tammy.”

  Trent shook his head. “Whatever. I’m sorry. I just have a hard time believing in that multiple personalities crap.”

  Becky gazed at him. “Believe me, she does have it. I’ve known her for years and…she totally changes.”

  He sighed, sitting back and crossing his legs. “And you don’t have any problem being friends with someone who nearly killed you?” he went on. “I’m sorry, Becky, but I do.”

  ****

  Justin slowly opened the door to room 216, hobbling in to see a curtain surrounding a bed and Jacob standing off to the side gazing out the window overlooking Main Street. The door creaked behind him, making Jacob turn around.

  “Hey, bro.” he said, coming over to him and nodding at the curtain. “They’re putting a catheter in Lyn.”

  Justin briefly nodded before his brother pulled a chair up for him to sit in. It was the only one available in the room. He sat in it, setting his crutches aside.

  The room remained silent then, except for the occasional sound from behind the curtain. A Dr. Mertens was called over the loudspeaker to the third floor.

  “Why was she in there to begin with?” Justin finally asked.

  Jacob hesitated. “According to what Becky said, Lyn invited her out for a drink to celebrate her signing then Tammy took over and held her captive in the store. She doesn’t know how Tammy did it; she couldn’t remember.”

  Justin stared at his brother with a shocked frown. “Did Tammy start the fire?”

  Jacob closed his eyes solemnly. “According to Becky…she thinks so. But she never actually saw her start it.”

  Justin let his head fall back. “Why would Tammy do this? What did Becky do to her?”

  Jacob took a deep breath before answering. “Tammy claimed Becky stole her book.”

  ****

  Robin felt relief wash over her as she walked out of the judge’s chambers an hour later. Stepping out of the courthouse, she dialed Jacob’s number to let him know she was on her way. He answered on the third ring.

  “Hey,” he said, his voice sounding exhausted.

  “Hi. Still no change?”

  “They just put a catheter in. She hasn’t responded to anything yet.”

  “Well, I have a little good news. I just spoke to the judge. We have another continuance.”

  There was a pause. “Thank God. I hope and pray she’s conscious by then.” Jacob said, his voice cracking with emotion.

  ****

  While his brother stepped out in the hall to take the call from Robin, Justin got up and went over closer to his sister. He winced, seeing the burn marks on her arms. Part of her head was covered in gauze too. Justin imagined half of her hair being gone, singed in the fire, her scalp, red and burned, showing.

  “Fuck you, Tammy…Fuck you, bitch.” He muttered.

  His sister continued to lay there, still. He hesitated. “Lyn, if you can hear me, you’ve got to fight this, all right? Don’t let Tammy win. That’s all she’s wanted all this time. She’s not you. You have to fight this.”

  He stared down at his sister’s face, and before he realized what he was doing, reached his hand out, stroking the side of her face.

  ****

  Ugh. Wish he’d stop caressing my cheek like I’m his lover or something. It was bad enough I couldn’t do anything about him calling me a bitch. This unconscious thing is what you call a bitch. Hearing everything that’s being said about me without being able to do or say anything
myself.

  Ah, what’s this? He stopped. Jacob’s back in the room saying Lyn got another delay in her trial.

  Ha! Lyn! What a laugh!

  What these idiots don’t realize is, Lyn’s gone. I am in full control now. They can kiss their little prissy ass sister good bye!

  ****

  “And make sure you get those orders taken care of for Mr. Schwartz. He’s expecting them today.” Dan finished reciting all the tasks that needed done that day at the shop to Toby over the phone.

  “All right. Gotcha.”

  Dan sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I get to talk to Jacob. I don’t feel right not doing that.”

  “Sure. I understand.”

  Dan ended the call and headed down the hall to the elevator.

  Thankfully, Toby had really proven himself lately, despite some instances. He’d made a copy of the store key for him.

  He got onto the elevator and hit the button for the proper floor he needed. As the doors shut, he saw something else. Another flash. He and Tammy were in another elevator, and she was wrapping her arms around him, kissing him as the doors closed. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image as he rubbed his face with both his hands.

  “Sir? Are you okay?”

  He looked up, removing his hands to see the young blonde nurse standing beside him. He didn’t realize it, but the elevator had stopped. Embarrassed, he nodded. “Yes. Sorry. Excuse me.” He said, briskly walking off the elevator.

  ****

  Melissa Fairbanks spoke to Charity for about ten minutes before trying to find someone official enough to ask about the cause of the fire. After a few moments of debate, she approached a guy with a clipboard, wearing a badge on his belt, who was jotting stuff down.