Zeus grumbled louder this time, staring up at Chase with large, bored eyes. He wanted to run laps or go fishing or meet new friends at the city park. Being deputy fire chief meant an extraordinary amount of administrative work and more hours behind a computer than he realized was possible. Though he was grateful he could bring Zeus into the station most days, he still felt guilty about the boredom the poor dog must suffer when Chase was hunched over a keyboard for hours.
Saving the budgetary spreadsheet he needed to present at the monthly meeting tomorrow, Chase pushed out of his chair. “You’re right. It’s about time to meet the chief,” he said to Zeus. In half a second, the dog went from sprawled in his bed to popped up on all fours and tail whipping excitedly.
Chase clipped the leash on Zeus’ collar, grabbed keys to the station’s pickup off his desk, and shouldered the bag with the high-resolution camera and clipboard he’d need to complete the investigation. The sooner he got out there, the sooner he could get back and make hiswifefall in love with him all over again.
He locked up the office and headed out through the bay.
Halfway to the front door, Chase heard something drop and slide on the concrete floor. Their main fire engine obstructed his view, so he was forced to go around it. Zeus trotted along at his side, perked up at what he must’ve considered an unexpected adventure.
Chase spotted Marc Evans, Laurel’s oldest brother, hugging a clipboard. Hoses, nozzles, and clamps lay neatly on the ground in front of him. Chase watched him for a beat, studying his expression as he inspected the items he was inventorying. He hadn’t been out at the fire last night, but the local vet had to be pickier than most volunteers. A sleepless night didn’t bode well for a morning surgery.
Before Chase could slip out unnoticed, Zeus whined.
Marc looked up, forcing Chase to wave.
“I’m heading out,” he called to Marc.
The two of them had a strained at best relationship since Laurel left Chase. The miscarriage was a secret she begged Chase to keep. She’d been distraught and embarrassed, desperate that no one knew the truth. Even with his own heart cracking in two, Chase never spoke the truth to another soul. With the way Marc scowled at him still, he suspected Laurel never told her family the real reason she left.
Marc, among others, formed their own opinions about why they split. None of those theories painted Chase in a favorable light.
“I’ll lock up,” Marc called back, focusing his attention on the items laid out before him. “Sorry I didn’t make it out last night.”
“Nothing to worry about. Plenty did.”
Marc nodded, stared at Zeus for a moment, but said no more.
When Laurel and Chase were still together, Marc used to talk to Chase like a friend. Tell him about the surgeries that wore on him the hardest. That was likely why Marc was here now, doing an inventory that wasn’t due for another week. It wasn’t even Marc’s turn on the rotation. Keeping busy at the fire station was his way of blowing off steam after delivering bad news to people about their pets.
“Everything good?” Chase dared to ask, knowing full well it was a crap idea to engage. Zeus tugging at the leash, urging him to the front door, should’ve cued him in on as much.
“I said I’ll lock up when I finish. If anything needs replaced, I’ll leave you a note.”
Chase only had the energy for so many battles today, so with a nod, he headed for the door.
Zeus barked the second they were outside, greeting police chief Ryder Grant with enthusiasm on the sidewalk. The dog sniffed Ryder’s boots, no doubt detecting his four-leggedgirlfriend, Rowdy. “You headed out to the site?” Ryder asked, scrubbing his hand on the back of Zeus’ neck.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll follow you out.”
Zeus hung his head out the window until they hit the city limits and Chase picked up too much speed. Traffic was heavier in the daytime as tourists poured in and out of the only road with access to the seaside town, but soon enough he turned off the highway and onto the dirt road.
Chief Bauer was already on site. Though the investigation was technically in Chase’s job description, the chief was walking around the ruins, making his own assessment. He avoided paperwork at all costs, happy to let Chase take care of it. Glenn was better at the media side of things anyway. Chase would happily type up the report if the chief handled the newspaper statement and any other curious reporters.
Zeus strained against his leash, yearning to run free the moment he was out of the truck. But Chase couldn’t risk the energetic pup disturbing the scene before he got a good look at everything. Zeus wasn’t a trained emergency dog by any stretch of the imagination, but more than once his super-sniffer had found clues Chase might’ve overlooked on his own.
It was why he brought him today.
“Morning, Chief,” Chase called out on approach, his eyes scanning the charred, barren site.
Chief Bauer stood at the center of the blackened earth. A few pieces of scorched wood scattered the rectangular perimeter where the house once stood, along with the black-stained bricks that formed a fireplace and chimney. Branch tips of nearby trees were burned black as well, but thankfully the owner had been driving down the road and caught sight of the fire to call it in before it took out the too-dry surrounding forest.
Only once before had Chase witnessed how quickly a forest fire under the same dry conditions got out of control, burning thousands of acres before it was put out. The same might’ve happened last night if the initial fire had gone unnoticed.
“I’ll let you both take things from here,” Glenn said to Chase and Ryder as they met at the edge of the rubble. “I don’t suspect you’ll find much. Just some squatter whose fire got out of control, and self-calm then he fled like we figured.”
Chase nodded, unwilling to say anything before Glenn drove off and he had a look around for himself now that the smoke had settled. His gut told him this was something more, but unless he could come up with proof, he wasn’t going to get anyone worked up.
