Page 2 of Heating Up (Nugget)
“She thinks she left a candle burning.” Aidan suspected the stain or paint she’d been using had probably been in close proximity to the candle. “I’ll know better in a few hours.”
Aidan glanced at Dana. It looked like Cecilia had brought her a pair of tennis shoes. “She have relatives or friends she can stay with?”
“Her family lives in Reno, but in this town they’ll be no shortage of people who will take her in,” Jake said. “We live just a block over and have a couple of spare bedrooms if she wants to stay in the neighborhood. My guess is the insurance guys will show up first thing in the morning.”
“Yup. She should make sure she knows the extent of the damage and construction costs before she accepts a check.” Aidan didn’t want to see her get ripped off, and it had been known to happen. At least in Chicago.
“She’s a real estate agent so I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
The captain waved him over and Aidan excused himself.
“Talk about your trial by fire, huh?” Captain Gregg Johnson reminded Aidan a little of his father. Barrel-chested, ruddy-faced and, according to word on the street, a leader who inspired unwavering loyalty. “Sorry to have pulled you in like this, but we’re short staffed.”
“Not a problem.” Aidan was anxious to jump in, especially because he’d be wearing two hats: working for Johnson as a firefighter and reporting to the state fire marshal, who oversaw the agency’s arson investigations. “She says she was staining some furniture and left one of those scented candles burning to deodorize the room.”
“Yeah, seems consistent with the odor. Dana’s no firebug.”
That’s what Aidan liked about this town. Everyone knew one another. “I’ll go in and take a look around. Anything in there salvageable?”
“Not likely,” Johnson said. “Can you come in tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I just have to sign the rental agreement on my new house. But it’s only a couple of blocks from the firehouse.”
“Tawny Wade’s old place?”
Aidan laughed. Small towns were funny. “That would be the one. I don’t think Sloane wants me to get too comfortable in her guest room.”
“Nah, she and Brady love having you. The girl’s been walking on sunshine ever since she knew you were taking the job. Us too.”
It was nice to be wanted, Aidan thought as he made his way through the shambles of Dana’s house. The guys had gone a little crazy with their axes. But with the property line being so close to the state forest, he knew they couldn’t mess around. Those pines would ignite like dry kindling. He made his way to what was left of the dining room using a flashlight. The cracking patterns on the windows corroborated that the fire had started here. He could see remnants of burned rags. Dana had probably used them for her staining project.
“You the probie?”
Aidan looked up from a deeply charred table to see a guy in his turn outs, holding an ax, smiling. “That’s me.”
“Welcome. I’m Kurtis. Glad to have you on board.”
“Thanks, Kurtis. Glad to be here.”
Kurtis swept his flashlight around the wreckage. “Poor Dana.”
“You know her?” Of course he did.
“She sold me and my wife our place in Graeagle. Nice lady and a straight shooter.”
“Looks like she’ll have to rebuild.”
“Yep,” Kurtis said and shook his head. “It’s a shame.”
At least she’d made it out. Plenty of times folks slept right through the fire and never woke up.
“Catch you later, probie.” Kurtis continued through the house, looking for hot spots.
Aidan finished up in the dining room, satisfied with Dana’s story. From what he could tell, one of the rags had caught fire from the candle. Add in the varnish and poof! Too bad. If the neighbor’s places were anything to go by, it looked like it had been a nice house. Nothing fancy, not like his sister and Brady’s palace, but comfortable. By the time he got outside, the crowd had dispersed. From the dark houses that dotted the tree-lined street, he figured they’d gone back to bed. Dana and her car were gone and Aidan wondered if she’d gone home with Jake and Cecilia.
“You done in there?” Captain Johnson asked.
“Yep. Unless you want me to help out with the overhaul.”
