Page 19 of The Ruckup
Fuck. This is turning out to be way harder than I expected.
I want Maddie to be in charge, but I also want her to know I can be patient. That I’m not after one thing. I’m aftereverything. And it doesn’t have to happen today. Or tomorrow. It doesn’t even have to happen this year.
But one day, I want it all.
Thankfully, the universe has mercy on me, and her cell starts to ring where it sits on the counter next to the food.
Maddie breaks our kiss, the cutest snarl I’ve ever seen twisting her lips as she turns to the offending device. “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” She leans, gripping my shoulder for balance as she stretches to grab the phone, swiping across the screen to answer it. “Someone better be on fire.”
She listens for a second, eyes closing as her head tips back. “Okay. Thank you.” She drops her cell phone to her lap, forehead coming to rest against my chest.
I smooth one hand up her back, unsure what the fuck is happening. “Is everything okay?”
Maddie sighs, straightening to meet my worried gaze. “No.” She rakes one hand through her dark hair. “Someone’s on fire.”
7
No One Cares About Your Saggy Tits Mrs. Bennett
Maddie
“ARE YOU SURE?” I stare across my desk in disbelief at the detective who was waiting at my office door when I got here this morning.
“Positive.” He lifts up a stack of papers like I can see what’s in them from where I sit. “Fire marshal said the accelerant test came back positive immediately, so he doesn’t need to wait to classify it as arson.”
I rub my tired eyes, grateful I woke up so late I didn’t have time to apply mascara. “What does this mean for me?”
The detective shrugs. “Not much of anything where I’m concerned. You didn’t witness anything yourself, and we hauled the crime scene away, so there’s nothing I need from you.” He tips his head. “I will be going door-to-door on the apartments in the area surrounding the fire, though. See if I can find out if anyone saw anything suspicious.”
I look the guy over. He’s older than me, but still in great shape. There’s gray at his temples and scattered throughout his cropped beard. All in all, he’s a pretty attractive man.
Which makes me a little afraid for him, since I’m not sure how well-behaved some of my residents will be in his presence.
“Good luck.” He’s not gonna take it the way I mean it, but I’m not elaborating. I’m too tired. Physically and mentally.
I had no idea how long it would take the police to catalog the scene of a crime, so when Leo and I left my apartment to rush a few buildings down where a parked car was up in flames, I foolishly believed we’d still be enjoying our Dave’s dogs. Instead, we were stuck standing around until well after midnight, making sure the police had access to anything they needed. The whole thing was chaotic and crazy.
Then they put out the fire and discovered someone reallywason fire, and things went from bad to worse.
Crispy dead guy in a stolen car, worse.
“We’ll find out what’s going on.” The detective stands, sliding one of his cards across my desk. “If you hear or see anything suspicious, don’t hesitate to call me.”
I manage a weak smile and a halfhearted ‘thanks’, waiting until he leaves the building before letting my head fall to my desk.
I’m not looking forward to my next task, but it’s a necessary one. For my own peace of mind if nothing else. The car wasn’t one I recognized, so I don’t believe it belonged to any of my residents, but whoever was inside is going to have to be identified by dental records.
And I can’t wait that long. If it’s one of my renters, I need to know now.
The possibility churns my insides. I know some of these people are a total pain in my ass, but I don’t want any of them to die. Especially not like that.
Straightening up, I take a healthy swallow of my coffee, then dig into my contact list. I start with the building closest to the site of the fire, calling each resident in order according to their address. Thankfully, their generation is much more willing to answer their phone than mine is, so I’m able to talk to every one of them.
For an extended period of time.
I should’ve known these calls wouldn’t be a simple, ‘Hey, are you alive? Yeah? Awesome. Bye.’ Instead, I’m stuck listening to all sorts of stories about everything from their grandchildren to erectile dysfunction and bowel movements. I know I should be grateful they’re all still living and breathing, but I have a lot of people to call.
And a whole-ass crime to freak out about.
