Hearts on Fire

by Amber Thielman

  I cussed at the TV and flipped it off, shaking my head. I wanted to punch a hole in the wall as anger seized in my throat and threatened to boil over. Guilt ripped at my insides; I had to do something, but what? If this went to trial, would the judge actually find Hallie guilty based on what little evidence the city had dragged up? Was it enough to prosecute her? We all knew damn well that Hallie’s acceptance onto the crew had not been taken well. The entire city had been up in arms ever since we’d hired her, and that enraged me. She was a hardworking, stand-up employee, and her family at the station had let her down by allowing this to happen.

  I set the bottle of liquor aside to sober up. I’d be useless to Hallie in this state. Something had to be done now, before things got worse. I had to figure this out if it was the last thing I did.

  At around seven, when I’d sufficiently sobered up, I drove to the station to find Kyle. Half the crew was out on a call, but a moment later I found Chief Davis in his office. He waved me in when he spotted me, and I obliged, sitting down across from him on the other side of his desk.

  “You heard?” I asked. Preston Davis closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again to look at me as he slowly nodded his head.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Prove Hallie’s innocence,” I said. “But I don’t know how in the hell to do it, Chief. I’m so lost right now.”

  “Imagine how Hallie feels.” Our Chief sat back in his chair, hands over his belly, an expression full of wisdom gazing at me, waiting.

  “I don’t—-I-don’t know what to do.”

  “You are the captain of this squad, Becker,” Chief Davis said. “You better figure it out quick.”

  We stared at each other for a moment, and I longed to drop to my knees and beg for his help. My mentor, my chief, the man who had fought so hard alongside me to bring Hallie onto this team. For some reason, I felt ashamed sitting in front of him now, mortified that I’d let this happen to her when Chief Davis had put the crew’s well-being into my hands.

  “What are you thinking right now, Tate?” Chief Davis asked me.

  I leaned forward in the chair and rested my head in my hands, shaking my head in my hands.

  “I haven’t been able to think straight since I got the call,” I admitted.

  “Do you believe she’s guilty?” His tone was so calm, so matter-of-fact that for a fleeting second, I thought that maybe he did.

  “No,” I said, and didn’t hesitate this time.

  “Me either.”

  “Then what should I do?”

  Chief Davis didn’t answer straight away. He shifted in his seat, his eyes still steady on my face, expression thoughtful.

  “I heard that Holland Jensen came to pay you a little visit not too long ago,” he said. “Is that true?”

  “Yeah, he did.” I shrugged, unsure of what he was getting at.

  “What did he say to you?”

  “The same thing he’s been saying; that Hallie being on the crew was pissing people off. He’s always felt that way. He wanted us to fire her.”

  “And did you?”

  “Of course not,” I said defensively. “She’s one of my best employees.”

  When Chief Davis met my eyes again, he said nothing further, but he didn’t have to.

  “Do you think that—?”

  “Don’t bother making assumptions,” the chief said, cutting me off. “That’s what they did, didn’t they, and that’s why Hallie is in contempt.”

  “But, Chief, I—”

  “Fix this,” he said. He finally looked away from me, resuming the paperwork he’d been working on before I’d come in. “I want Hallie Harper back to work on Monday. I don’t care how you do it, just do it. Fix this.”

  “Yes, sir.” I stood from the chair and nodded my head just once before backing out of his office and closing the door behind me. In the lounge, I found Kyle kicked back in one of our recliners, reading an open newspaper with one hand.

  “Hey, Cap,” he said, tossing the paper aside. “What’s up?”

  “We need to go see the mayor.”

  “What for?” He jumped to his feet in a second, raring to go.

  “If anyone has some pull when it comes to getting Hallie out, it’s Jensen.”

  “I don’t know if I trust Jensen, Cap,” said Kyle as he followed me out. “He wasn’t very supportive of Hallie’s employment in the first place.”

  “Exactly. Something is up. I need to know what he’s done.”

  The drive to the mayor’s office was quick and silent; neither of us spoke as the cogs turned in our heads. Once we reached the building and rode the elevator to the sixth floor, the receptionist at the front desk made a valid attempt to turn us away, but I wasn’t having it. Not when Hallie’s life was at stake; not this time.

  “This is urgent,” I said, walking right past her. She opened her mouth to argue again, but when Kyle followed me, she closed it again, defeated. I didn’t knock before entering, and we found Mayor Jensen sitting behind his desk, typing away at his computer. He glanced up when we barged in, but somehow didn’t look surprised to see us there.

  “Captain Becker,” he said kindly. “What can I do for you gentlemen?” He waved one hand airily towards a couple of empty chairs on the far side of his desk.

  “It’s about Hallie Harper.” I took a seat in one of the chairs, but Kyle continued to stand. Mayor Jensen looked at me, an expression I couldn’t quite read flitting across his face. It was gone as soon as it had appeared, and he replaced it with a warm smile.

  “What about her?”

  “She’s in jail,” Kyle said forcefully. “And we want to know why.”

  “What do you mean, why?” The mayor stood from his desk and walked around us to pour himself another cup of coffee from the pot sitting on a small side table. He offered some to us with a motion of his hand, but we both silently shook our heads and refused.

  “Hallie Harper is not guilty, sir. There’s no way she could have done what they’re saying she did.”

  “I guess I don’t understand, Mr. Becker,” said Mayor Jensen. “We have a witness, and a scorned lover. She has no alibi for the nights in question. No one can vouch for her. Ms. Harper is absolutely guilty. All evidence points to her.”

  “She’s innocent until proven guilty,” Kyle said.

  “Ah, yes she is, my dear boy, and luckily for us, proving her guilt shouldn’t be any problem at all.”

  “Mayor, something else is going on,” I insisted. “Someone else is behind all this. It’s not Hallie.”

  “Do you have evidence to support that?”

  “Do you have evidence to deny it?” asked Kyle. He stepped up next to me and rested his hands on the Mayor’s desk, leaning down to look the man in the eye. “You’re doing, what, taking the word of a random witness and a fight with her asshole boyfriend before his house caught on fire? Hell, for all we know it’s her ex doing this to her out of spite.”

  “I’m sorry, gentlemen, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Bullshit.” The bottled rage I’d had simmering all morning finally boiled over, and my fist hit the desk with enough force that a pile of paperwork fluttered, a few of them falling to the ground. No one moved to pick them up.

  “Please try to contain your anger when speaking to me, Captain, or I will have you both escorted out.”

  “No need,” Kyle said, bending down to pick up the papers near the edge of the desk. He straightened up and placed them back on the pile, smiling. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

  I looked over at him, startled, unwilling to leave until we had some helpful information, but Kyle jerked his head towards the door and walked out. I had no choice but to follow.

  “What in the hell was that all about?” I snapped as soon as we were back to the car. “We didn’t get anything from him.”

  “He had nothing to say to us, Cap,” said Kyle, sliding into the passenger’s seat. “We can do this without him.”

  “Great, K
yle, let me know when you come up with some extravagant plan to get Hallie released. I’ll be here waiting.”

  Chapter 42

  Hallie

  “Hey, Mom, it’s me.” I rested my head against the brick wall and closed my eyes, fatigue burrowing into my bones.

  “Hallie, thank God! Your father and I have been worried sick,” Mom said, and a note of hysterical panic rose in her voice.

  “Yeah, sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I only had one phone call when they booked me.”

  “Preston Davis told your father what happened. I can’t believe this, Hallie. What on earth is going on?”

  “It’s a long story.” I sighed and tapped my skull softly against the wall. Next to me, the security guard looked sideways at me, shifting nervously like he was expecting me to throw the phone at him and run.

  “Hallie, you’re being accused of things I cannot even begin to fathom,” said my mother, her pitch dropping to a near-whisper. “Are they true?”

  “Gee, thanks, Mom, for having such faith in me. Of course they’re not true.”

  “Well, we spoke to Jeremy and—”

  “You talked to Jeremy?” My hand tightened around the receiver, wishing it was my ex-fiancé’s neck. “Why did you talk to Jeremy?”

  “For God sakes, Hallie, Jeremy’s your fiancé and it was his house that burned!”

  “First. Jeremy and I are over,” I grumbled. “He’s not my fiancé, and I fucking hate him.”

  “Language.”

  “Mom, I’m innocent. I did not set Jeremy’s house on fire, for Christ sake. I’m not a monster. I can still hate him and not want to kill him at the same time.”

  “I know that,” Mom said softly. “But the circumstances surrounding the fire are—”

  “False,” I said. “They’re shit lies, Mom. You know as well as I do that no one in this town supported me when I took this job.” I glanced at the guard, then turned my head away just slightly, lowering my voice. “Someone is framing me.”

  “Oh, dear, you really think someone would go out of their way to cause you this much trouble?”

  “Obviously they would, otherwise I wouldn’t be in here.”

  “Yes, well, what about your friend’s place? The other house fire? We heard a witness stepped forward and identified you.”

  “How did you hear about that?” I tried to keep my voice steady so I wouldn’t be forced back into the cell early for losing my shit.

  “It’s on the news, Dear,” Mom said. “Mayor Jensen spoke about it early this morning.”

  “Awesome.” The grip I had on the phone made my fingers ache. I flexed my hand, while my heart beat rapidly in my chest, ready to explode. “Holland Jensen hates me, Mom. He’s the biggest opposition I have.”

  “Hate is a strong word, Hallie.”

  “It’s still true. He’s probably basking in his own bath of smugness as we speak.”

  “Hallie, I—”

  Next to me, the guard mumbled into his radio, responding to something that had just been said. He looked at me, and I pulled the phone away from my ear.

  “Time’s up,” he said. “And you have a visitor.”

  “Mom, I gotta go.”

  “But Hal...”

  “I love you.” I slammed the receiver back into place and allowed the guard to escort me back to the holding cell. Excitement bubbled in my chest; I wanted to see Tate, to hold him, to sob and cry and never let him leave me alone again. Maybe he’d found evidence that could support my case and prove my innocence. The guys out there, my team, they were the last hope I had.

  As the cell door closed behind me, a buzzer sounded down the hallway, and a moment later Jake appeared, looking tired and haggard.

  “Oh, Jake.” I reached through the bars and took his hand in mine, relieved to see someone who didn’t believe that I was guilty.

  “How are you, Hal?” Jake asked. His throat was scratchy, eyes rimmed with red as if he’d been crying. He turned his head to look at the guard, who was staring at us suspiciously. “Do you mind if we have a moment?” he asked. “Just a few minutes?”

  For a second, I was sure the guard was going to refuse the request, but after a minute he nodded, just slightly, and stepped out the door to leave us in peace.

  “Do you have any news?” I asked once the guard was gone. “Does Tate? Does anybody? I’m going crazy in here, Jake, and I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m sitting on my own execution.”

  For a long moment, Jake said nothing. He dropped my hand and leaned against the cool bars of the cell, hands deep in his pocket now, brow furrowing with an emotion I couldn’t quite read.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. When he didn’t answer at once, my chest tightened with apprehension.

  “I’m not okay,” he said. “And neither are you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Jake closed his eyes and rested his head against the bars, his body shaking with each breath he took.

  “I know you’re innocent,” he said. “And the reason I know this is because I know who’s been starting the fires.”

  “You do?” I took a step in his direction, heart fluttering with anxiety against my chest. “Who was it, Jake?”

  His head dropped, eyes averting to the floor so that he was no longer looking at me.

  “It’s me,” he said. “I’ve been doing this.”

  The silence that filled the air was suffocating, and for a second, I thought for sure I was having a heart attack. Blood roared in my ears, and my head swam with dizziness. I reached out to grab onto a bar to keep from falling.

  “I’m sorry, Hallie, I’m so sorry.” Jake put his head in his hands and his entire body set rigid like stone. I stared at him, silent, unable to form the words I wanted to say. I hated him. I wanted to hurt him like he hurt me, and I couldn’t even imagine the way to do it.

  “You need to tell the truth, Jake,” I said steadily. The voice didn’t even sound like my own. It trembled, threatening tears. Not screaming at him was becoming increasingly difficult by the second, but I couldn’t lose my cool now, not when the truth was dangling by a frayed thread. “You need to go turn yourself in right now.” I looked towards the door where the security guard had vanished moments before, praying to God that someone had heard his confession.

  “Jake. Please.”

  Jake didn’t respond. His chin was down, hands in his pockets as he shook his head slowly back and forth.

  “I can’t,” he said.

  “Jake.” I reached my hand through the bars and clenched his arm, pulling him closer. He didn’t fight it, but he still wouldn’t look at me. “I’m in jail, Jake, for something I didn’t do. I’m literally just waiting to be prosecuted. You need to help me.”

  “I’m sorry, Hallie.” He pulled his arms away from me, taking a step back from the bars. He finally looked at me, anguish etched in the features of his face. “I can’t say anything to anyone.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’ll kill me.” He turned to leave, face hidden by the shadows of the building. I reached desperately for him, knowing that my last hope was slipping through my fingers and there was nothing I could do about it.

  “Who will kill you?” I cried. “Who are you talking about, Jake? Who is threatening you?”

  The only answer I received was the slamming of the door as Jake vanished out the door.

  Chapter 43

  Tate

  It was almost ten when Chief Davis told me to take the night off and go home, to gather my bearings so I’d be ready to work soon after. The station was a depressing place to be, anyway, as most of my men had fallen quiet, brooding over Hallie’s senseless arrest. A few of the guys had taken me aside, asked what they could do to help, but I’d been unable to tell them anything, mostly because I still had no idea what in the hell to do myself. No one did. Even Tanner Rey had gone silent, poking at dinner, deep in thought but listening to the conversation anyway.

  On my way home, I passed
campus district, mindlessly gazing to the side before I spotted the crime scene tape wrapped around one of the apartment buildings; Jeremy’s building. Without thinking about it, I turned the car around and pulled into the empty lot, putting the car into park as I stared at the charred building in front of me. For a second, I was tempted to sneak in and look around, try to find something that could prove Hallie’s innocence. As I considered this, a car with bright lights pulled into the lot next to me, and I looked over just in time to see Jeremy step out of his own car and make his way towards the evacuated building. A second person was with him, a young woman with dark hair and flawless skin; she looked half his age.

  I watched them go for a moment and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. What in the hell was Jeremy doing there? The building was empty, and off limits; neither of them shouldn’t have been there.

  The logical part of my brain seemed to dull out then, and before I knew what was happening I found my feet on the lawn, jogging across the grass in the dark towards where Jeremy stood with the strange woman, gazing up at the building through a pair of spectacles. They both turned as I approached, surprised, and Jeremy took a step back.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I certainly hope so.” My fists formed into balls and I leaned against the brick wall, eyes searching his face for something I hoped would explain what was happening.

  “Who are you?” the brunette asked. She glared at me between a pair of artic blue eyes. Before I could answer her, Jeremy spoke up.

  “You’re familiar,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Do I know you?”

  “My name is Tate Beckett, I’m Hallie’s Fire Captain.” If I’d even considered lying, it was too late now, but I didn’t care. Someone had to get to the bottom of this.

  “Right,” he said, sounding less than enthused. “I remember you from the hospital.”

  “Yeah.” I pushed myself off the wall and took a step in his direction, secretly pleased when he took a second step back. The woman stepped to the side, unwilling to get in the middle of whatever was about to go down. She was still scowling.