People gave way to Beck, Calder, and Ash, and I managed to squeeze in right behind him so that we were at the front of the gathered crowd. From here, I had the perfect view of the unfolding disaster in front of us.
“You’re wrong, you don’t know what you’re doing!” Jackie was screaming, her face red and her hair in disarray. The sheriff had her on the ground, working to get her arms behind her backand in cuffs. Beside him were two deputies and the fire chief, all standing guard in case she managed to do something crazy.
I noticed my parents standing just beyond the chaos, both staring at the situation with wide eyes. My mom was clutching my dad’s arm, frozen in place. I felt guilt crashing over me; I’d left them alone with her, and I had been right about my suspicions the whole time. I had hoped being at the festival wouldn’t put them in any danger if she was the culprit. It did seem like they weren’t hurt; but there had to be some reason that the police had chosen the festival to bring Jackie down.
It made me shiver, knowing that I had spent so much time with her, that I had been so close to the arsonist for so many weeks. She’d been in my house, at my job, so many places where she could’ve done anything to me.
“Stop resisting,” the sheriff commanded as he pulled Jackie to her feet. “You’ll get more charges if you don’t comply, and you know that.”
But Jackie was hysterical at this point and far beyond any rational reaction. She didn’t physically fight the sheriff as he began dragging her away, but she didn’t stop screaming, either.
“This is so stupid!” she yelled, her voice breaking halfway through the sentence. “I didn’t do anything wrong! Why are you doing this to me? You know, I have anxiety, you need to get these cuffs off! You don’t have any evidence!”
The sheriff didn’t say anything in return. He simply continued to march her away toward the parking lot, where the police vehicles were likely parked. Jackie continued to scream, curse, and even beg, but nobody responded to her. The entire crowd kept staring, though some had started whispering among themselves.
The fire chief walked over to where I was standing with Calder, Ash, and Beck with a frown on his face.
“What happened?” Calder asked, and the chief let out a sigh.
“They suspected her after the house fire,” he explained, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Shoeprint evidence. She’s been under surveillance since.”
“There had to be a smoking gun for such a public arrest, though,” Ash pointed out and the chief nodded somberly.
“They found her messing with the wiring on one of the rides today,” he answered. “Pretty much confirmed it. Ride’s been shut down for now as a crime scene. They’ll let us know when we can take a look, but I’ll handle that.”
“Thanks, Chief,” Calder said, reaching out to shake his hand. “We’ll keep an eye out for anything else.”
“I think it’s over now,” the chief answered, squaring his shoulders. “Why don’t you enjoy the festival for a while? After everything that’s happened, you deserve a break.”
Calder, Ash, and Beck looked at one another before returning their attention back to the chief, nodding, and saluting him. He nodded at them, too, before he walked away with what looked like a bit of a bounce in his step.
“You were right,” Calder said to me with an impressed smile. They all seemed happy that the perpetrator had been caught. I was relieved too, but I still felt the effect of the shock on my system. I was also worried about the impact this whole thing would have on my parents, and trying to process the reality of the danger that I had been in.
At the same time, the chief was right. A lot had happened, and maybe it would be a good thing just to let go and enjoy the family. The danger was gone now, and I was with Calder, Ash, and Beck; there was no place I’d be safer than by their side.
I glanced up, and noticed my parents now watching us from where they still stood frozen. Some of the rest of the crowd had chased after the sheriff and Jackie, whose voice could still be heard in the distance. Others were now dispersing to rejoin the festivities, whispering about the exciting events that had unfolded. But my parents hadn’t moved at all.
“I’m going to check on them,” I said to the guys. “Maybe… you can come with me.”
They shared a look before nodding at me, and we all walked toward where my parents stood. When we got closer, my mom finally let go of my dad’s arms and hurried in my direction, wrapping me up in a big hug.
“Oh, honey, you’re alright,” she said, letting me go and grabbing my face to look me over. “You were gone for a while. I was starting to get worried. And then all this crazy stuff happened…”
“I’m definitely going to need another beer after that,” Dad added with a grumble in his tone. “Crazy woman, honestly. Said she was going to grab a corndog. Next thing we know, she’s fighting the police.”
“I’m so sorry, Mom, Dad,” I said, squeezing Mom’s hand. “I had my suspicions before, but I didn’t think she’d actually try anything here, I didn’t think she’d hurt you…”
“She didn’t!” Mom insisted, shaking her head firmly. “She was nothing but pleasant with us. You shouldn’t blame yourself for her insanity, Honey. You didn’t do anything wrong, here, and we don’t blame you at all. I’m just glad that you’re alright, and that her attempt with your house failed.”
“That was thanks to them,” I answered, nodding toward the guys, who were all still standing quietly behind me. “They’ve been looking after me really well.”
I heard Beck suppress a chuckle at that statement, and shot him a warning look. He stayed quiet, and I returned my attention to my parents again. “Actually… There is something we all need to talk to you about. How about we get that beer together?”
“Now there’s a plan,” Dad said, leading the way back into the beer tent, which was filled with people talking about Jackie and their own speculations on the topic.
“Look, she’s just an evil psychopath, that’s all, she doesn’t need a good reason.”
“Maybe her husband was cheating on her with that new neighbor and she lost it.”
