Page 5 of Shadowed Rubies
I joined my crew fighting the flames to get the raging fire under control. We worked together like a well-oiled machine. We might not have many calls to action in this small town, but at least we were prepared and adept at dealing with emergencies when we were needed.
It took a long time for us to put out the fire, but we did it. By the time we were finished, Mimi’s Diner was nothing more than a smoking pile of charred rubble, but at least we had managed to keep the flames contained to just that building. If the adjacent businesses had caught fire, it would have wiped out the main street in town.
As we turned to begin loading our gear back in the truck, I saw Fire Chief Walters standing next to a devastated Mimi Dawson. The woman’s pallor was gray and she looked older than her years as she stared with blank blue eyes at the remains of the business that was her namesake.
“How could this happen?” She wailed, even though she didn’t really seem to expect an answer.
Chief Walters put a comforting arm around the woman’s shoulders, but didn’t speak. There wasn’t much he could say.
I was heading to the rig, when Matt, the bus boy from the diner stepped forward to say, “It’s my fault.”
We all gawked at the young man as he rushed on with his confession. Speaking directly to Mimi with anguish-filled eyes, he said, “You trusted me enough to give me a promotion from busboy and put me on the grill, but I let you down. I knew the grease trap needed to be cleaned, but it’s such a dirty, stinky job. I wanted to go to Molly Malone’s Halloween party last night, so I put off doing it.”
The mention of my little sister’s name perked up my interest even more. If this kid tried to find some way to blame Molly for this disaster, he’d be answering to me.
Taking the high-road by accepting full responsibility, Matt went on. “I should have cleaned it out. I’m so sorry, Mimi.”
I felt bad for the young man. It was obvious by the distraught expression on his face that he was devasted by the horrific turn of events.
Mimi nodded slowly as if she was struggling to process everything she was being confronted with.
Chief stepped in to say with his deep voice, “You should have cleaned the trap, Son. But the fire really shouldn’t have spread so fast.”
“That’s my fault, t-t-too.” Matt had tears streaming down his face, and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the guilt-ridden young man.
All eyes were on Matt as he continued. “Mimi showed me where the fire extinguisher was kept and how to use it, but when I saw the flames shooting off the grill, I panicked and threw water on it.”
I winced, knowing that water on a grease fire created disastrous results like we were facing right now. The boy obviously hadn’t done it on purpose, but he was the cause of this mess.
Chief huddled together with Matt and Mimi to speak quietly with them, effectively cutting off the rest of us, so I got back to work.
We almost had the rig loaded when I heard Meg’s voice calling my name. Her shrill tone made my spine stiffen, but I plastered on a smile and turned to face her, even as I wondered what my friend, Levi, saw in the impossibly difficult woman.
“Yes?” I asked, trying to sound friendly, even as I realized I should have known that her quick flash of warmth earlier would be temporary and short-lived.
“I need your help,” she informed me sternly.
The woman barely came up to my chest, but I had still always been half-scared of her. She was so bristly all the time. I would never hit a woman, so I wouldn’t be able to fight back if she got riled up and aimed that wrath in my direction.
I raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to tell me what I would be helping her with.
She crossed her arms, practically daring me to deny her request when she said, “Danica Waters, Bruiser’s mom, is lost in the woods. You seem like you’re able to get things done, so I want you to help me organize a search party for her.”
Feeling extra-brave, I said, “That sounds like a matter for the police to handle.”
“Those two bumbling idiots on the police force couldn’t find their own balls without a map,” Meg quipped.
I snorted out a laugh of surprise at her crass, but accurate statement. The town cops had made a mockery of our local justice system by failing to find Meg’s sister, Claire, for nearly a year, even though she was mere blocks away from her home. They then proceeded to lose her captor in the woods, and they still hadn’t located the fugitive.
“I’m a fireman, not a detective,” I tried.
Meg stamped her black leather boot and pursed her lips as she glared up at me. “You just put out a big fire. That will probably be the only action you see around here for the next ten years.”
I couldn’t deny the accuracy of that assertion. Brunswick Bay Harbor wasn’t usually a hotbed of activity for the local fire department.
My wavering must have shown on my face because Meg said, “Come on. We’re wasting daylight.”
Then she whirled around and headed away without a backwards glance. She knew I would follow her, and she was right.
