“What do you want?”
“Answers.” Somewhere in the distance, the whine of an ambulance sliced through the air. The boys were on a call; I just hoped the sound of a police siren didn’t follow.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jeremy said, his chin tilting just slightly as a drunk group of college kids passed us, laughing about something, barely recognizing that we were standing there.
“I think you do.” I took another step towards him, but this time Jeremy didn’t back away. He straightened up instead, as if sizing me up.
“Whatever you need, I can’t help you.”
“You do realize that Hallie is in jail, don’t you?” I asked. “She’s been wrongfully accused.”
“I do know, but I don’t believe there’s anything wrong about it.”
My hands flexed as rage simmered in my throat. “You can stand there with a straight face and tell me that you sincerely believe your ex-fiancé started this fire to harm you?”
“Without a doubt,” Jeremy said. “She’s had a vendetta against me since we broke up.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
“That’s neither here nor there, and it’s certainly not your business, asshole.”
“You’re walking a thin line, Jer.”
“Get out of my face before I call the police.” He tried to shoulder past me, but I put my arm up against the wall, blocking his way. To the side of us, the woman pulled her own cell phone from the pocket of her jacket and flipped it open, hand ready to call the police and have me dragged away for harassment. I didn’t care.
“You need to tell the court that your suspicion is wrong, and that you don’t believe Hallie would be capable of doing this.”
“Then I’d be lying.” Jeremy said. He hesitated for a split second before he spoke the next words. “It’s not like the bitch didn’t deserve it.”
Something inside of me snapped, and it was a split second before my fist connected with Jeremy’s face. I wasn’t sure if it was his nose or the glasses that made the cracking sound, but he stumbled back, holding his nose as a string of cuss words flew from his mouth. The dark-haired girl gasped, hand fluttering over her mouth.
“Mother fucker!” Jeremy snarled, but he didn’t try to fight back. When he straightened up, his glasses were lying in the grass next to his feet, and blood poured from a supposedly broken nose.
“I’m going to call the police!” the woman shrieked, but Jeremy glanced over at her and shook his head, just slightly.
“It’s fine, Brenda. Don’t involve more police.”
“Here’s the deal, asshole.” I took a step towards him. “If Hallie goes to prison because you didn’t fight for her due to some childish relationship problems, then I will hunt you down. And I will kill you.”
I turned away from Jeremy, hands shaking with rage. I wanted to pummel him into the ground, but I couldn’t, not like this. Hallie was in trouble, and I had a job to do: prove her innocence and get her the hell out of there. Jeremy was a grade-A douchebag, and I refused to be just like the lying, cheating fiancé she’d left. It was time to prove to Hallie that good men did exist, and we weren’t all like her ex.
Chapter 44
Hallie
“How are you doing?” Kyle leaned up against the bars, hands in his pockets, one foot kicking the cold, tiled floor with the toe of his boot. It was morning, about nine, and I’d only been able to make one call. Just one, and now he was here.
“I’m doing swell.” I rested my head against the bars and closed my eyes, wishing I could sink into a huge, black hole and never face this life again.
“Are you eating?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Quit trying to be nice,” I teased. “It doesn’t suit you.”
Kyle cracked a smile, but there was no humor around it. Not this time. “We’re going to figure this out,” he said. “I know you’re innocent.”
“I’m glad someone does.” I ran my hands through my hair, wishing for a hot shower. “I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
I took a deep breath. “Jake Finn was here last night.” I leaned my head against the bars and closed my eyes again. A migraine was coming on, and my stomach swam with nausea. “He admitted it, Kyle. He admitted to starting those fires.”
“Wait, what? Hallie, what in the hell are you talking about?” Kyle’s brow furrowed as he stared at me, his expression one of confusion.
“He told me he started the fires. I still don’t know why, but it was him, Kyle, it wasn’t me.”
“He admitted to it?” Kyle repeated. “Hal...”
“He did.” I sounded desperate, I know I did, but the fact that I wasn’t crying on the floor in the fetal position yet was reassuring. “He told me he did it, and then he walked out.”
“Who have you told?”
“You,” I said, exasperated. I flung my hands in the air, on the verge of tears. “You really think someone is going to believe me? I’m in here, Kyle, and he’s out there.”
“Jake Finn,” Kyle said, and a muscle in his jaw popped. “Why? Why would he do such a thing?”
“I have no idea.” I rested my head against the bars, shaking my head. “He was threatened by someone, I think. He said, ‘they’ll kill me’.”
“Yeah, well, they’d better get in line,” Kyle snapped. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then reached through the bars, taking my hand abruptly in his. “I have to go,” he said. “But I’ll be back.”
“Kyle, what are you going to do?”
“Just wait here,” he called over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes, wishing I could throttle him.
“Yeah, no problem,” I yelled after him. “I won’t be going anywhere any time soon.”
Chapter 45
Tate
Around noon, a loud banging on my front door pulled me out of my concentration. I’d been in the middle of researching the police reports, the ones Chief Davis had slyly emailed to me a few hours earlier. I had three pages of notes on the yellow legal pad in front of me as I read and re-read each report, trying tirelessly to find a hole in the reports that could prove Hallie’s innocence. My hand still hurt from punching Jeremy, but the adrenaline coursing through me forced my body to ignore the pain.
“Who is it?” I yelled at the door. I could only pray that it wasn’t a police officer sent here on assault charges. Then we’d both be screwed.
“It’s Kyle. Open the door, Cap.”
I crossed the living-room and opened it up for him, squinting into the bright light as Kyle shouldered past me into the darkened house.
“Christ, are you preparing for winter hibernation?” Kyle asked but I ignored him not in the mood for his sarcasm.
“I’m kind of busy. What is it?”
“Oh, I think you’ll like this.” Kyle flipped on the living-room light and reached into his back pocket where he produced a cell phone. He set it on the work desk scattered with papers.
“What happened?”
“I knew something was up, Captain,” Kyle said. I looked down at the glowing screen, wondering if there was something on the screen I was supposed to be seeing. He leaned forward to tap on the screen, and an audio recording began to play. For a moment, whatever was being said on the tape made no sense, a conversation I had no knowledge of, but as I listened closer, the hair on the back of my neck prickled straight.
“Is anyone onto us?” someone said. I wracked my brain, trying to put that voice to a face. It sounded so, so familiar.
“No one,” said a second male voice. “It’s her word against ours. But...I think this has been taken too far, sir.”
“Is that...?” I looked up at Kyle, who stared at me grimly, his arms folded. He nodded.
“Jake Finn.”
“But what is Jake...?” I let my question trail as the other man started to speak again.
“I’ll have her serve some time and then be released. I’m tired of this city’s fire de
partment looking like some fucking whore house.”
“She’s the only female, sir,” Jake said. “And I don’t think—”
“Thank you for your help in this matter, Mr. Finn, but I’ve got it under control now.”
There was silence, and then, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor.”
Kyle reached over to pick up his phone from the desk, but I barely saw him. I felt dizzy suddenly, sick with realization. For a moment, I almost doubled over to vomit in the trash can next to the desk. When I caught my breath, and looked up, Kyle was still staring at me.
“That was...Mayor Jensen?” I confirmed. Kyle nodded. “How do we know?”
“Because I planted it in the mayor’s office after Hallie’s arrest,” he said. “The day we went to see him. Under his desk. I stopped to grab it on my way over here. It was still under his desk where I’d left it.”
We stared at each other, and I searched his face for any trace of shame or guilt. There was none.
“Why?” I said.
“Because I knew she didn’t do it,” Kyle said. “And that little twerp Finn had been acting strange since the beginning.”
“This was a set up,” I said. It wasn’t a question. “Hallie was framed for the fires.”
“Yeah. To get her kicked off the department. But it went too far, and she was arrested all because the mayor didn’t want a female firefighter on the department. It dampened his reputation.”
“The thug that attacked Hallie...?”
“Works for the big man,” Kyle said. “When the fires weren’t working, they took it a step further.”
“Jesus.” I put my head in my hands and took a deep breath, a whirlwind of emotions slamming me in the gut. “She’s innocent.”
“Of course she is,” Kyle said. “She always has been. This just confirms it.” He paused, then shook his head. “But I still don’t know about that witness. How is she involved? Is she also working for Mayor Jensen?”
“Actually,” I pulled over the notepad I’d been scribbling on earlier and showed it to him. On the paper, I’d written a name, and below the name was a bit more information. “The lawyer told Hallie the day he visited her that the witnesses name was Brenda Sharpe.”
“So?”
“So, I paid Jeremy a little visit last night.”
“Cap.”
“Just listen.” I picked up the pen I’d been using and circled Brenda Sharpe’s name three times. “There was a woman with him. A younger woman. He called her Brenda.”
“You don’t think...?”
I smiled, then grabbed another sheet of paper from the pile I’d been working on. I handed it to Kyle. On the paper was a yearbook photo of Brenda Sharpe, a student at the university. Her undergrad was history; her mentor: Jeremy Miller.
“You don’t think...?”
“I think Brenda is the woman Jeremy was and is having an affair with.” I leaned back in my office chair and laced my hands over my stomach. “And what better way to get rid of the fiancé than putting her behind bars? I’m guessing she knew that Jeremy was trying to make amends with Hallie, and she didn’t like it. If Brenda caught wind of the arson reports, that’s all the motivation she needed.”
“Holy shit.” Kyle took a deep breath, trying to gather his bearings. “I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it.”
“Okay.” He straightened up, reaching automatically for the cell phone in his pocket. “I’m calling the chief.”
“And I’m calling the police,” I said. “It’s time to get this shit taken care of.”
Chapter 46
Hallie
I was so tired.
That was only the tip of the iceberg; I also smelled like grime, my clothes hadn’t been changed for days, and the holding cell was slowly driving me to madness.
I sat on my cot in the corner of the room with my knees pulled up to my chin. I closed my eyes I tried to breathe through the ensuing panic. Finn’s confession meant nothing if I was the only one to hear it, and that meant I was still totally fucked. Whatever Kyle and Tate had been up to the last few days, nothing seemed to be helping. I’d been told by my lawyer earlier that the case was going to trial. Tomorrow. If I was found guilty, which I had no doubt at this point I wouldn’t be, I’d be sent to prison. My sentence was still waiting to be determined.
The buzzer above the door rang, and I looked towards the hallway, not caring one way or the other who was there to see me; it didn’t matter anymore. Words of comfort only stretched so far.
“Hallie.” Tate stepped into view with Kyle right behind him. Behind Kyle, next to a police officer, was Chief Davis, and closely behind them was my lawyer.
“Tate. Oh, God, you’re here.” I reached through the bars to take his hands, interlacing my fingers with his. His skin felt so warm against mine that I never wanted to let go. “I’m so sorry,” I said, resting my head against the bars. “I’m sorry for making you leave.”
“Hallie, I could never,” Tate said, squeezing my hands. “I’m sorry it took so long; we’ve been trying to figure this out.”
Before I could answer him, my lawyer stepped up next to Tate, and the cop joined his side, fiddling with a ring of keys.
“Ms. Harper? Your charges have been dropped.”
“What?” I dropped Tate’s hands in shock, staring at the small crowd of people. “How? What happened?”
“Evidence was found to support your innocence,” Johnson said, nodding at me.
“Finn?” I asked. “Did he confess?”
“More or less,” Kyle said, smirking. “But your witness did. All she needed was a come to Jesus talk and she admitted to making the whole thing up.”
“What do you mean? Who was it?”
“Does the name Brenda Sharpe mean anything to you?” Tate asked.
“Brenda Sharpe,” I repeated, my mind swirling. “She’s one of Jeremy’s undergrads, and I think that’s who I saw in his office...” My voice trailed off, and the pieces of the puzzles seemed to finally fit. “She didn’t.”
“She did.”
“We nailed them, Hallie. You’re free,” said Kyle.
“Oh my God.” The cell door opened, and before I could take a single step, Tate had already come in. He pulled me into him, holding tight, his lips brushing my hair as I burrowed my face in his shirt.
“It turns out Holland Jensen has been blackmailing Jacob Finn,” the cop said. “They set you up to get you thrown out of the department due to the lack of support from the city. Your employment with the department intimidated him. He wanted you gone.”
“So what happens now? With...with the Mayor? And with Jake?”
“He’s an accomplice, Hal. The police already brought him in.” Tate lifted my chin with his fingers and kissed me, one hand rubbing the small of my back. “You’re innocent. You’re free.”
I erupted into ugly tears, burying myself once again in his shirt, sobbing. He smelled so good, so familiar, that I almost fell to my knees.
“I’m sorry,” Tate said. His sturdy arms held me against him, heart beating softly against my cheek. One hand held the back of my head, the other caressed the small of my back. “I’m sorry for walking away when you needed me. I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
I sighed, sniffling, and allowed the heaviness of my eyelids to take over, sinking into him with silent desperation. He held me tighter, his lips lingering near my temple. I felt so blissfully content in that moment that I could barely speak.
“You were protecting your crew from something you couldn’t understand,” I said. “I might have been offended had you actually refused to doubt me as you would anybody else.”
“I could kill him,” Tate said. “I could kill him for what he put you through.”
“It’s over.” I ran my fingers through his hair, cheek resting against Tate’s chest. “It’s over, Tate, and that’s all I want.”
“You held strong, Miss Harper,” Chief Davis said, stepping up next to Tate with a nod of his head. He re
ached out his hand to shake mine, but I ignored it and went in for a hug instead, tears still slipping down my cheeks. He held me for a moment, then held me out at arm’s length. “I expect you to be back at work on Monday. No excuses.”
“Yes, sir,” I said through tears as Tate led me out of the cell and into the open hallway. Kyle patted me awkwardly on the shoulder, and I turned and hugged him, too, not caring when he cleared this throat loudly and went rigid.
“It will be good to have you back, Kid,” he said. “Shit has been too normal since you left.”
“I’m sure.” I wiped the last of my tears and leaned into Tate as we walked out, holding onto him with no intention of ever letting go.
“Hallie,” he said after a moment, and stopped me where we stood. He turned me to face him, both hands on either one of my arms holding me firm. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I ever laid eyes on you, and I love you even more now.”
“Oh, Tate.” Refusing to break down again, I shook his hands off and stepped into his embrace, tilting my head up to kiss him, teasing his lip with my tongue, a blissful euphoria wrapping me in a tight cocoon. “I love you too, Captain.”
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