“Sit down.” He waves to the chair in front of his desk.
I move around the chair to sit.
“I know you two went to Station Two, and I know why. Your former captain came to visit me, very pissed off that my guys would come questioning him.”
First of all, for my former captain to be thinking that I need to be handled like some kind of child having a temper tantrum annoys the hell out of me. Secondly, it leads me to believe even more that he’s hiding something.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Lifting my gaze, I see Captain Waverly sitting back in his chair, hands clasped over his abdomen as he watches me.
“I asked myself, why the hell would the captain of Station Two make it a point to come to me personally and order that I keep my guys in line? And then to discover that their grievous offense was to ask a couple of the squad members there about the circumstances of a fire that killed a little boy and nearly took the life of a firefighter … well,” he sits back farther in his seat, “that not only angered me, it made me curious as well.”
“So you’re saying?”
“I’m saying I’ve given Don permission to keep asking questions, investigating, and looking into what happened the night you pulled that family out of that fire.”
“You think the fire could be connected to what happened before?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what the hell is going on.” He pitches forward, placing his clasped hands on his desk and looking deep into my eyes. “What I do know is that I lost a hell of a firefighter when that beam fell on Corey. I know that I lie awake at night wondering if with every call I make, I’m sending my guys to their deaths. And I know I could never live with myself if that were the case. So …” he pauses to stand, as do I, “I gave Don the space he needs to work this privately with the full resources I can provide, until we have enough evidence to take this up with the brass. But for now, he’s to do so quietly. That goes for you as well. You are to stay away from Station Two and Captain Rogers. And we never had the second half of this conversation. Understood?”
“Loud and clear.” I give him an affirmative nod.
He waves his hand toward the door, dismissing me.
I exit, leaving the door open behind me, and head down to the main floor. I find Don by himself in the kitchen.
“Everything good?” he asks while looking over his shoulder from the refrigerator that he was peering into.
“Yeah. Let me ask you something,” I begin.
He stands, closing the door of the fridge and turning to me.
“How do we know this guy, or whoever’s behind those fires is still out there? There haven’t been any similar instances in months. Since Corey, no one in Rescue Four has been hurt or even targeted, as far as we know. Do you think this person is still active? Maybe they’ve moved to a different city or stopped altogether … or hell, maybe they’re dead.”
Folding his arms over his chest, Don begins shaking his head. “No, the fucker is still alive and active. I can feel it.”
“Feel it?”
“Yes. So much so. I know he’s planning something big. What? I can’t put my finger on but I know he’s out there.”
I don’t want to ask my next question but I need to. “Do you think my former captain is behind this?”
Don’s face forms into an angry scowl. “I’ve definitely considered the possibility.”
“Me too.” Ever since the day we visited my old squad and I caught Captain Rogers peering down at us from his window, after refusing to talk to us about that night, an eerie feeling crawls down my spine every time I think of him. And to know that he came and visited Captain Waverly to warn us to stay off this investigation, well, that spoke volumes.
“What’d you do in the Army?”
I had an inkling of where this line of questioning was headed. “Ranger. Forward observer. Was my job to be the eyes and ears of the team.”
He nods. “That’s what we need now. This investigation has to go underground and I’m going to need your eyes and ears.”
I nod. “We’ll get the son of a bitch.”
“We damn sure will.”
But before I can fully concentrate on helping Don there are a few things in my personal life I needed to clear up. Both of them center around the love of my life.
