Page 267 of Her Reluctant Hero
“It isn’t a problem,” Kim said. “It’s the point of origin, it should be fuel-free. We’ll be fine.”
“That’s not true,” Jen argued. “It was undamaged enough to leave the drip torch and fibers behind. I don’t think it’s safe. Besides,” she told Peyton, “Gabe wanted you to wait for him.”
“We’ll be back before he is.” Peyton stood, adrenaline surging, glad to be able to do something. “Should we walk, or can we drive it?”
*****
They’d deployed too late. Before he reached the site, Gabe could see the silver shelters fluttering open on the ground. What had gone wrong that they didn’t get in the shelters on time, or was the fire that hot? Had they let in some of the superheated air and suffocated?
The fire that had almost killed him and Peyton twice had killed these people. His friends. Jon, who’d been such an asshole when they’d been training, but who’d come through for Gabe more than once when he needed a favor. And Bev with that great dimpled smile, the disposition that held even on the longest days, the toughest fires.
He had to push the thoughts out of his mind or he couldn’t do this.
Over the scent of the truck’s exhaust, he could smell it, the indescribable scent of burned hair and flesh. Howard turned and vomited out the open window. Oh hell. He should have brought more seasoned people instead of people he was familiar with, should have considered their comfort instead of his.
At least Peyton wasn’t up here.
The first step was to assess what happened, then get out the body bags. He opened the door and got to work.
It was easy to see what had happened. The fire had left the trees, hit the open grass, and the rocky terrain had been too much for the firefighters. Worse, they’d deployed in the fuel. They should have known better. They must have panicked. Only one, a rookie, was mostly inside his shelter and had died from suffocation. Gabe supposed he was lucky.
Howard was still green when he helped Gabe wrap the rookie’s body, and Gabe determined he would use Ray or one of the others to get the bodies in worse condition.
And he would see to Bev, and not think it could have been Peyton.
He forced his thoughts to Doug, to who could have framed him. Yeah, he’d had a moment of doubt, but Doug wouldn’t do anything to endanger others. He’d be like Howard over there, puking his guts up.
The trip to Missoula convinced him that it was a firefighter, a smokejumper. He wanted to believe it was Gordon, but the son of a bitch didn’t have the courage, not that arson took much. Still, he had an alibi. Peyton said he’d been on a fire in California when the Bounty fire started.
That’s what they had to do, if they couldn’t talk to all the smokejumpers. Find out who’d been in the area when the fire started, and work from there.
It was good to have a plan.
But again and again he remembered Kevin O’Doul and his reaction to Doug. He hadn’t known anyone—aside from himself—to have such a strong reaction to the man. It could be jealousy the young man held for the veteran, but it was so—acid. It just sat wrong in Gabe’s stomach. He’d never been wrong when trusting his instincts.
But O’Doul had no more motive to set up Doug than anyone else. So who did?
He decided not to wait on the list. He pulled out his radio—his third this fire, not a good sign—and called Jen.
“What is it?”
Over the radio he could hear her exhaustion. “I want to know all the smokejumpers who were in Montana two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks ago? I don’t have time for this, Gabe.”
“It could help Doug.”
“You don’t think—”
“I didn’t want to think. But I know, Jen.”
She was silent a long time. “Bev? The others?”
“It’s bad. They deployed in grass. We’re bringing them home.”
She paused. “I’ll have the list ready for you.”
*****
