He held the hose over his shoulder, pointing the water at the fire as Teddy held the body of the hose behind him. His crew was working with another station. They’d been out here for an hour, not only putting out the original fire but also all the spot fires. The damn wind wasn’t helping.
By the end, his crew was on the scene for another hour before the last of the flames were finally extinguished.
Thank God.
He pulled off his helmet and turned to Teddy. “You okay?”
Teddy nodded. “That was a big one.”
No shit. The biggest they’d seen in a while. The question was, what had started it?
They headed back to the road to see Wayne, the chief of Station 62, standing by one of his engines with his guys. They’d called Wayne’s station for backup when it was clear the blaze was bigger than expected.
When Wayne saw Becket and Teddy, he strode toward them. “Investigators are on their way, but I know the cause of the fire.”
By the tone of Wayne’s voice, Becket knew he wasn’t going to like the answer. “Tell me.”
“Arson. Just off Highway 58, someone doused trees and vegetation in gasoline, then set them alight.”
Becket’s muscles contracted. They hadn’t had an arsonist in town since he’d become chief. “I’ll let our sheriff know. Thanks for the backup.”
Wayne dipped his head.
Becket moved back toward his truck, his muscles tight, anger heating his blood.
“Shit,” Teddy cursed under his breath. “Someone set the mountain on fire.”
“I don’t know how people can be so sick in the head that they’d intentionally start a fire.” Fires were aggressive, and they didn’t show mercy. Give them oxygen, and they’d burn right through anything. They’d take lives. Homes. Everything in their path.
“Sick in the head is correct,” Teddy said quietly.
When they reached the engine, Becket climbed in and lifted his radio. “Everyone okay out there?”
He waited until he got confirmations from each of his crew members before calling his brother.
Jesse answered on the third ring. “Becket. How’d it go with the fire?”
“We took care of it, and my crew’s starting to clear out.”
“Good. The investigator there?”
“Not yet. But the chief from Station 62 believes it was arson. Gasoline was used to set the fire.”
Jesse cursed. “You’re kidding me?”
“I wish I was. Investigators will confirm.” He hoped the information was wrong, but Wayne had been a chief for twenty years—the guy knew fires.
“I’ll take some deputies down there and talk to the investigator,” Jesse said. “Are you okay?”
His back teeth ground together as he looked out the window. “We put our lives on the line putting out these fires. Finding out this one was intentionally set feels like a kick in the gut.”
Teddy grunted his agreement from the passenger seat.
“I know,” Jesse said firmly. “You did your part by putting it out, and if it’s confirmed this was arson, I’ll do my part in finding the perp. I don’t know what the hell’s going on in this town. Someone’s been breaking into houses and robbing people. Now someone’s setting fires.”
“Was there another break-in?”
“Last night. An elderly man’s house. Fortunately, he had dogs who woke up barking and scared the perp off, but they still got away with some stuff.”
