Page 16 of Through the Fire
Looking at the two men’s closed expressions, though, she knew it wasn’t a fight she was going to win. She resolved to let it go for now, and to keep an open mind as the investigation continued. If she dug in and decided that Elena was involved without actual evidence just because Hugh—and probably Theo—were determined to think the opposite, then no one would be doing any objective investigating. Taking in a deep, silent breath, she exhaled, trying to let go of her building resentment. It worked…sort of.
Jules waved at the passenger door in invitation, but Kit hesitated. “Do you mind having Justice in your car?” Kit asked. “He’s a bloodhound, so he smells a little…well, houndy. I could walk him back.”
Jules laughed. “Please. No dog smells worse than three teenage boys, including one who works at a kennel. Climb on in.”
“Thanks.” As she smiled back, Kit decided she liked Jules. Anyone who accepted her big, slightly smelly, occasionally drooly hound went onto Kit’s good-person list. She opened the back hatch. “Load.”
Justice jumped in, settling on the blanket that covered the floor, and Kit carefully closed the door. To her surprise, Theo and Hugh had gotten into the back, immediately starting a low-voiced conversation and leaving the front seat for her. Frowning a little in puzzlement at the unexpectedly polite gesture, she got in the car. She almost wished they’d decide to either be nice or be dicks, since this back-and-forth was messing with her head.
As the car bumped down the rutted driveway, evergreen branches slid along its sides. The trees blocked most of the light, making the narrow, curving lane seem claustrophobic. They couldn’t be too far out of town, but it felt like the middle of nowhere to Kit, and the idea of being trapped in the wilderness with three almost-strangers made her tense. Her fear wasn’t logical—she knew that—but her gut still twisted with unease.
“So…” Jules’s voice made Kit start, and she gave an inward sigh at her jumpiness. If she was going to survive her new job, she would need to be better than this. “How do you like Monroe?”
“I haven’t seen much of it yet,” Kit said, figuring that was more tactful than saying it seemed like a postapocalyptic deathscape populated by unwelcoming cops and weird mountain people, at least one of whom was an arson-loving murderer. “The pass has been closed, so I just managed to get through this morning. I only had time to drop the trailer holding all my things at my rental house before heading to the station…or what used to be the station.”
Jules winced as she turned onto the main road. “Poor thing. What a time to move here.”
Anything Kit could’ve said in response didn’t seem very tactful, so she settled on a noncommittal hum and a change of subject. “How many kids do you have?”
“Four. They’re my siblings, actually.” The nervous edge in Jules’s voice disappeared as she smiled with obvious fondness.
“Wow. Four? That’s a handful.” Kit had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of having one dog dependent on her, much less four children. She loved kids and had volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club in her old town, but that wasn’t the same as parenting. Plus, with Justice, she could crate him when she couldn’t keep an eye on him. For Jules to take in her four siblings was impressive, and Kit found herself liking her even more.
“Sometimes it gets a little crazy, but Sam—he’s the oldest—is a huge help. You’ll probably meet him soon, since he works at Nan’s.” At Kit’s baffled look, Jules clarified. “Nan owns the kennel the K9 unit contracts with.”
That overwhelmed feeling hit Kit again at the reminder that the girlfriend of an officer knew more about her new department than Kit did. She did her best to shake it off. “I haven’t been there yet. It’s been a busy first day for me.”
Turning onto the street with the burned house, Jules laughed again. “I bet.” She sobered, peering at the blackened shell. “Oh no. That’s awful. Our old barn burned down, and that was hard enough. I can’t imagine losing our house like that.” She did a U-turn in front of Hugh’s squad car and stopped.
“Thank you for the ride,” Kit said, unfastening her seat belt and climbing out. “It’s a relief not to repeat that hike through the woods.”
“No problem.” Jules rolled down her window to accept a kiss from Theo, and Kit circled to the back of the car to retrieve Justice. After he hopped out and she closed the back hatch, she surveyed the scene. Although it felt as if their trek through the woods and the search of Jules’s house had taken hours, the situation hadn’t changed much. Another fire rescue, a couple of cops, and a man in street clothes had joined Steve by the remains.
Hugh headed toward the small group, and Kit hurried toward her car, intending to put Justice away. A sharp whistle made her stop and look over her shoulder at Hugh.
“Hang tight,” he called. “The coroner has a flat. Can Theo use your SUV to pick him up? We need Theo’s squad car to keep blocking traffic.”
“Sure.” Kit dug out her keys and tossed them to Theo, who gave her a nod of thanks.
“Give me one minute, and then I’ll give you a ride to the station,” Hugh said. “The chief should be able to hunt down a vehicle for you to use.”
Kit waited as Hugh exchanged a few words with another cop she hadn’t met yet. All the first responders on scene except for her were men, and she felt another rock join the stack already weighing down her belly. She knew it was a small department that shrank dramatically over the winter, but she was beginning to fear that she’d be the lone woman officer. Shoving the thought out of her head, she reminded herself not to borrow trouble. She didn’t know for sure if that was true. If it was, she’d deal with it.
Right now, she needed to concentrate on making it through her first day.
Hugh jogged back to where she was waiting next to his car. “How’s he with other dogs?” he asked, waving toward where Justice stood, his tail whipping back and forth in excitement at Hugh’s approach.
“He loves everyone.” Glancing down at the dog, Kit wondered what that was like, to be so happy and accepting. Even as a little girl, she’d never been as easygoing as Justice was.
“Good.” Opening the back door, he leashed his dog before letting her jump out of the car. She approached the hound, her head and tail up with wary interest. “Justice, meet Lexi. She likes long walks, rawhide treats, and beheading stuffed animals.”
Justice, being Justice, bounded over, his entire body wriggling with excitement as he play-bowed in front of Lexi, his back half swinging from side to side from the enthusiasm of his tail wags.
Grinning, Kit said, “Lexi, this is Justice. He’s into sleeping, eating, and smelling things. Peanut-butter-flavored treats are his favorite.”
After a thorough mutual sniffing, Justice was obviously deeply smitten, while Lexi was tolerant of his affection, albeit in a long-suffering way.
“This is the way it always goes.” Kit sighed as Justice rolled onto his back, waving his ungainly paws in an attempt to get Lexi to play. “He loves so deeply, and then he gets clingy, starts texting too often, and drives them away.”
