“Say, Chase, did you happen to finish that report on the fire?” Henry asked.
“It’ll be done soon,” Chase answered. “Just have a few things to finalize before I sign off on it.”
“No rush. Was just curious to read it. See if you found any clues about the culprit, though I suspect whoever it was is long gone. Can’t imagine anyone who set a fire—even on accident—and then ran, would be stupid enough to hang around town.” Henry reached for his beer, but didn’t get the cup to his lips before he asked, “State patrol find any hitchhikers headed north?”
“Not that I’ve heard,” Ryder answered.
“Doubt they will,” Crissy muttered. “No one wants to paythatfine.”
Starting a fire and leaving the scene could cost the culprit up to twice the amount of fighting the fire in the state of Alaska. Millions of dollars in some cases where thousands of acres burned as a result. But panic could cause people to act irrationally and flee, hoping never to be caught rather than be a decent citizen.
“Good thing we got the fire out before it became a real issue,” Ryder added. “You folks have a good night.”
Outside, Chase didn’t have the chance to ask Ryder about the fire because his buddy beat him to the line of questioning on a different matter entirely.
“So, you’ve got a plan. With Laurel.”
“A poor one.” He didn’t know what he hoped to accomplish with Laurel coming over and going through boxes of her things. The baby boxes would be hard for both of them. He wondered if she even missed some of her old clothes. Maybe he hoped that buried in those boxes somewhere were good memories. Ones that would remind her why they fell in love in the first place.
It was a long shot at best, but currently the only one Chase had.
Ryder shoved his hands in his pockets as a chilly summer breeze rose off the water. “I can’t wait to hear this one.”
“Know anything about home renovations?”
“You’re kidding.”
“Going to knock out a closet.”
“And then what?”
Chase shrugged. “Haven’t gotten that far yet. Guess I could make a new master suite. Or a bigger closet.” The room in question wasn’t being used for anything other than storage. His dreams of filling the five-bedroom house with a bunch of kids seemed further away every day. Chase tried to move on in the earlier years after Laurel left, but no one had held a candle. He couldn’t imagine starting and growing a family with anyone else. She was it. The One. Never mind that her family didn’t care for him anymore. Or that Laurel was better at avoiding him than anything else.
The two stood on the sidewalk outside the fire hall in front of their respective trucks. Ryder was laughing at him, and Chase didn’t blame him. “Big romantic gestures were never her thing,” Chase added in defense.
“Just be careful not to giveherthe sledgehammer. I don’t want to arrest either one of you this week.” Ryder clapped him on the shoulder. “Kinley’s waiting.”
Chase got into his truck so he wasn’t left standing alone on the sidewalk. Just because downtownlookeddeserted didn’t mean it was. Plus, Zeus would no doubt be up from his nap. The pup had overexerted himself with a classroom of kindergarteners earlier that afternoon, but his batteries recharged quickly. He’d need to stretch his legs before they could cuddle up on the couch and figure out where they left off on their TV show.
He drove east, away from the bay, turning onto a residential street. Though Sunset Ridge never got completely dark this time of year, it was dusky enough for his headlights to automatically kick on. They lit up someone walking a block ahead.
It took him only half a second to recognize her silhouette.
Laurel.
She’d left Warren’s two hours ago. He expected her to go back to her parents’ house or maybe be with Kinley. Why was she walking alone on this side of town? Chills danced up his spine, reminding him there could be danger. More than the unknown tourists in town, there might be a possible arsonist.
Sure, it was a stretch. But he wasn’t going to gamble with Laurel’s life.
Slowing as he reached her, he rolled down the passenger window. “Need a ride?” he called, coming to a stop in the middle of Blueberry Lane.
“No, I’m good.”
“Where you headed?” She was walking in the opposite direction of her parents’ house, almost as far from it as she could get without leaving the city limits.
“Just out for a walk. Is that a crime?”
“It’s late. Might not be safe.”
