I walked ahead of him, entertained with how he was acting like an upset toddler. I almost laughed at his pouting, but I noticed Calder watching me from his spot beside who I assumed was the Chief, and held back instead. I stood at the back of the crowd of reporters, which was surprisingly quiet as they listened to the Chief speak.
“At this point, we have enough evidence to confirm arson,” he was saying, and now a few whispers did erupt around me. Several hands shot into the air, but the Chief held up his own and stared with a stern look until they lowered. “Please hold all questions until the end. Currently, no suspects have been arrested, though the police are considering some persons of interest.”
“Was the kiosk set on fire by the same person?” Someone yelled to my left, and this seemed to encourage the rest of the reporters to start throwing out their own questions.
“Does this mean you’re looking for a serial arsonist?”
“How are you going to stop any further fires?”
“Is the public in danger from a maniac on the streets?”
The Chief waited patiently, making it clear that he would not speak until the crowd calmed down again. At first, I wasn’t sure his tactic was going to work, but eventually, it seemed like they all realized none of the questions would be answered if they continued to pepper him with it.
“I’ll be clear on this,” the Chief finally said when it was quiet enough again. “While the police are following up on all leads, they have no reason to suspect a single arsonist at this time. Currently, the cases are not treated as connected. Further questions about the legal aspects of these fires should be addressed to the police themselves.”
I thought about that. I hadn’t even considered that the other fire had been arson, too. It had seemed more likely that it was some sort of electrical fault or accident. But the apartment building wasn’t that far away from the mall, either. It was definitely possible that both had been perpetrated by the same person. But what could their motive possibly be?
I couldn’t imagine who would have a reason to burn down both an apartment building and a random kiosk. Unless, maybe, there was someone who had connections to both? Maybe a scorned lover, or an insurance scam?
I had my own slew of questions now, but I figured that I could ask Calder about it later. At the same time, he’d probably only tell me what he was allowed to, basically the same things they’d say to the press. And that didn’t seem to be very much at all. It was possible that there was more evidence; that they just wanted to keep it under wraps. But it could also be that they had nothing, and they didn’t want to admit that.
“Now, I’d like to hand over to our lieutenant-in-training for his statement,” the Chief said, nodding toward Calder, who stepped forward with broad shoulders and a confident expression.
I immediately felt my heart skip a beat, even when I noticed Ash’s scowl in my peripheral vision. I forced myself to focus on Calder instead. This was his moment, and I could only imagine how important it was to him. He must’ve worked incredibly hard to get here, and this was one step closer to that big promotion.
Even though I hadn’t known him for very long, I felt a sense of pride watching him take his place at the mic. I imagined watching him do this for years to come, and I realized I liked that idea.
Until I thought of the fact that it would mean no Ash, and no Beck.
“We are investigating the source of the kiosk fire seriously,” Calder said, his deep voice booming over the speakers. “The apartment fire has been determined to have originated from a lit match used to ignite flammable liquid, specifically gasoline. Police are currently investigating leads related to evidence found at the scene. Today, the kiosk fire has been officially found to bearson as well. No connection has been found. The Department takes its role very seriously, and will do everything that it can to keep this town safe.”
Hands shot up again, some shoving mics forward, some jostling to get their question out first. Calder spoke over the shouted questions.
“We urge the public to come forward with information. If you know, or think that you might know, anything about either the apartment fire or the kiosk fire, please go to the nearest police station. We will offer updates as soon as any are available.”
He sounded so authoritative that his credibility certainly couldn’t be questioned. I watched as he listened to a few questions and offered his answers. They could not confirm the age nor the profile of the suspect. Victims had been interviewed. They could not discuss evidence, and those questions had to be directed to the police.
I was impressed with the fact that, despite all of the people clamoring to talk to him, Calder did not seem nervous in the slightest. It was as if he’d been doing press conferences like this his entire life.
I could feel my attraction to him growing with every passing second. At some point, I had to bite my lip to get myself to focus on something other than the heat building up inside of me. By this point, Ash had left, probably to sulk somewhere else in the station.
Eventually, the conference began to wind down. I watched as Calder and the Chief headed back inside the station, and the reporters gathered their equipment to leave. I walked toward the engine bay, wondering where I was supposed to wait. The best place was probably right in front of the fire engine, given that the guys had found me there before.
I stood right in front of the fire engine itself, looking closely at it for the first time. I spotted one or two places where the paint had been weathered or chipped, but not a single bit of rust. They probably spent a lot of time cleaning this thing, because it looked like it had almost never left the bay at all.
“Rhea,” Calder’s voice echoed in the large garage, and I looked up. He appeared from beside the fire engine, his expression a bit unreadable.
I was worried about whether he was upset with me for a moment. “Hey, uh, sorry about Ash —”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” he said, holding up a hand. “Everyone should get a fair shot, right? Is your car back at the mall?”
I nodded. “Ash said he’d take me to get it later.”
This time, Calder did raise an eyebrow as he took a step closer to me. “I think it’s my turn to take you places, don’t you?”
I blushed and looked away quickly, but Calder put my chin between his thumb and forefinger and moved my head so that I was facing him again. The movement sent a fun little shiver down my spine.
“Either way, we don’t have to go right now, do we?” he asked, leaning close. I wondered if he was going to kiss me there and then, but he kept his face a short distance away from mine.
