He leaned back, his eyes pointed at her, but not seeing her. “The last kid my parents took in was a twelve-year-old girl. She’d been in and out of the system. Her parents in and out of jail along with most of the rest of her family. We knew she’d been through some horrific things, though I never learned the details.
“I was nineteen at the time. Had just finished my first year of college, and I came home to this skinny girl who had an easy smile that didn’t reach her eyes. For the first time, I felt uncomfortable around one of the kids my parents took in. I shook it off because she was seven years younger than me, and a quarter my size. Being afraid of her was ridiculous. My parents went out to visit a sick parish member one day, and I was home alone with Trudy. I’d been working the night shift at the emergency dispatch center and sleeping my days away. But I woke up to smoke in the house. Not a lot, not enough for it to be a true fire. Just enough that the air had the tinge of sulfur. I followed the smell and found her in my parents’ bathroom, sitting on the vanity, setting tissues on fire one after the other and dropping them in water. She was so focused on the act of burning the tissues she didn’t notice me at first.”
Apparently unable to sit still, Trey stood, pacing back and forth in Charlotte’s small living room, hands alternating between gripping the back of his neck and shoved deep into his pockets.
“I should have said something my parents right then. Should have told them I found her playing with fire. But she begged me not to. Said our home had been the safest she felt since entering the foster care system. She promised to stop. But she didn’t. I kept finding evidence of small fires in the backyard. Scorched grass behind the shed. Piles of ash in the trashcans. Then I find a… Fuck.” Trey crouched down balancing on the balls of his feet with his face in his hands. His back curled higher as he took in a deep breath. Then, as he exhaled, his stricken face came up to look Charlotte in the eye for the first time since they got into the apartment. “I found a baby bird, or the remains of one. I confronted her about it, but she said it had already died when she found it. Wanted to know if burning it would smell the same as the chicken my mom made the night before for dinner. She said it like being curious about something like that was normal.”
Charlotte’s stomach turned over, threatening to spill the tea she had guzzled in an effort to waste time all over the floor.
“Trudy begged, begged, for me not to tell. To not get her sent back to a house where men looked at and touched her. I didn’t know what to do. So, I found a therapist who agreed to see her. I paid the bills from my dispatch center paychecks. Twice a week, every week, we told my parents we were going to volunteer or grab ice cream, but really, I took her to a therapist. And I thought it was working.
“Until one night, she crawled into bed with me. I was passed out after working all night and didn’t wake up until I felt her press against me. She’d become affectionate with me, hugging me and wanting to hold my hand when we crossed the street. I just thought she was starting to trust me, look up to me.” A harsh scoff ripped through his lips, and the self-loathing written all over his face nearly broke Charlotte in two.
“I thought she looked at me as a brother. But that night, she crawled into bed with me and tried to kiss me. She was twelve. That’s when I knew I had to go to my parents. I made her go back to her room, and I went to the church and told them everything. When we came back to the house, it was to find my room on fire. She’d thrown gasoline from the shed all over my bed. The fire crew got to it before the whole house went up.
“After that, Trudy was removed to a group home more equipped to deal with her issues. I know my parents still checked up on her, made sure she had everything she needed, that she was being treated well. Visited her. But I never saw her again.”
Trey stood again, crossing to the big bay window that face the street. “Until last year. She came to a church service one day out of the blue. Said she wanted to apologize. Make amends. My parents helped her get a job at a restaurant. She started volunteering at the church, made meals for the fire station. Everything seemed great. My parents welcomed her as parent of the family, like they had for all their charges. All their parishioners. Six months ago, she asked if we could go on a date. Said now that she’s an adult, too, it wasn’t inappropriate. I turned her down. But she kept asking until I told her I’d never be able to see her like that.”
“Six months ago. When the trash fires started.” Of course, Charlotte had known where the story was going the whole time, but for some reason, his single, sad nod was like a blow to the chest. Charlotte crossed her legs under her on the floor and collapsed back against the sofa. “Why didn’t you tell anyone now?”
“I didn’t put it together at first. Initially, the trash fires were blamed on a group of homeless guys in the area trying to stay warm in the colder than normal fall. But then, I noticed a pattern. At first, I thought I was just being paranoid. Trudy had been doing so well, helping my parents and the community.” Trey shook his head, his fist pounding against his leg almost absent mindedly. “It wasn’t until the fire after our first time sleeping together that I really put it together.”
“The house, where the two firefighters and cat woman were injured?”
Trey nodded. “Trudy was there. At one point, you approached her for an interview, but she just walked away without answering. But she stopped to look at me first. And I knew. The fires were my fault. I upset her, and this was her outlet. The morning you woke up and over heard me on the phone, that was Trudy. I was trying to get her to turn herself in. To get help. But she refused.
“Then she started talking about you. About how pretty you were. Started saying some cryptic stuff about how easily fire takes something beautiful and turns it to ash. She never out right threatened you, but I got the message. That is why I disappeared. I thought if I just left you alone, she would stop. But I think at that point, it had gotten a hold of her again. Or maybe she never stopped. I don’t know. That time apart from you killed me though. I thought we were so new, had only been talking for a few weeks, it should have been easy to give you up, especially if it meant knowing you were safe. But it wasn’t easy. I spent all my time thinking about where you were. If Trudy was still watching you. Worrying about you. Then I saw you at the press conference, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away. Bekah’s little speech was the last push I needed.”
With each piece of his story, the puzzle became clearer and clearer. The arsonist had been quiet during the week they were apart. Since they had picked back up, so had the frequency of the fires. “But the fire today was outside your zone. She'd only been setting fires in your jurisdiction.”
“Yeah, now the fires are more pointed at me. The one yesterday was at the building where her therapist used to have his office. Some of the houses she’s targeted were where other foster families she stayed with lived. With each one, she cares less and less about human life getting in the way. It’s why I’ve been so insistent on always being with you. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before she tries to hurt you.”
Anger swelled up inside Charlotte. “And the woman at the door, that was Trudy?”
Trey nodded.
“Why haven’t you gone to the authorities with all of this? You stood at that press conference and listened as they told everyone to be on the lookout for a white unemployed male. You could stop these fires, and yet you’re just sitting this information. You say you want to keep me safe, but you are really just protecting a woman with no regard for human life.”
“I didn’t have proof.” Trey whispered, shame lacing his words. “This is all just conjecture. She denies everything. She’d been smart, not using any unusual accelerants. Not leaving behind evidence. Other than the one fire, she never sticks around to watch the aftermath. I would have been laughed out of the chief’s office if I brought this to him. I tried to get her to turn herself in so many times. But she denies it every time. Says I’m harassing her, and she’s going to turn me in. But what you saw on that video, that was me telling her I was done trying to help her. I’m going to the chief today. I just wanted to make sure you were okay first.”
Words refused to come. Her mind reeled. Trey had known all this time, and he’d done nothing. How many lives had been risked so that he could try and help a woman out of a misplaced sense of obligation?
“I know I’ve disappointed you Charlotte. I swear, I thought I was doing the right thing.” Trey sat beside Charlotte on the floor, gathering her up into his arms.
As much as she wished it didn’t, his touch soothed her. Reassured her.
“I swear, I will make this right.” Trey was a good man. And sometimes good men made mistakes.
