“The guys should be here any minute. Let’s stand back out in the alley so they can see us.”
The single truck made its way down the alley, no longer dark with the presence of flashing red. His chief was the first out of the truck, nodding his greeting to Cole and shaking hands with Maeve.
“What the hell happened here?”
His chief was not one for being subtle.
“Sir, we almost caught the guys in the act. Looks like they set a fire in the middle of the kitchen and threw in some aerosolcans right before they took off running. Blew up and planted me right on my ass when I got to the door.”
The chief laughed out loud. Okay, so it was a little funny.
“So, I got the fire out with the extinguisher, it wasn’t burning much. Looks like they’d taken out a bunch of trash from the dumpster and set it on fire.”
“Well, that answers for the awful smell. Thanks Cole, as you know, Mr. Howard will most definitely be in touch again. I didn’t call him yet. I’ll start that headache in a little while.”
The chief went inside and took a quick look around, double checking that nothing else would catch on fire or blow up.
Maeve and Cole both thanked the chief and the engine left, leaving room for the county sheriff to pull in next.
“Sheriff Masters, nice to see you sir.” The older man had been a family friend for years. Cole introduced him to Maeve and gave a rundown on the situation.
“Sounds like we have a repeat arson on our hands. Did either of you get a good look at them?”
“They were wearing all black, including gloves and ski masks so I didn’t see anything or even where they ran to, it’s pretty dark out here with the power out.” Maeve had offered the only information she could.
“It doesn’t surprise me.” The sheriff wrote a few things down in his notebook and handed Maeve a card.
“If you think of anything else just give me a call. I’ll start doing some nosing around and see what I can come up with. Never know, may have left a fingerprint if one of them took off a glove. We’ll board up this door before we leave but I’d probably get someone here to fix it tomorrow morning.”
While the Sheriff’s department took over, Cole and Maeve walked down through the back alley out to the main sidewalk.
“How about I walk you home?” He knew she had to be exhausted after everything they’d been through. It wasn’t likeher to be so quiet which made it pretty obvious the whole thing was bothering her.
“Thanks, that’d be great. Will you stay for a while though; I don’t really want to be alone.”
Better words were never spoken. He’d stay as long as she wanted or needed him to, he wasn’t about to question a chance like this one. Besides, he was a little bit worried about who might be on the lookout for her. That and she always had food in her frig.
***
Maeve tried so hard not to open her eyes even though she had been awake since before daylight. Sleep evaded her most of the night. She’d used the bathroom a couple times and even got a drink more than once which wasn’t something she usually did. It was beyond her natural control to keep from checking on Cole, which was mainly for peace of mind, but he was out like a light. At some point he’d kicked the covers off. He looked so good but begrudgingly, she’d put the covers back over him.
If she kept her eyes closed, maybe she could fall back asleep? Who was she kidding? Once she was awake, therewasno going back to sleep. Donning her bathrobe, she peaked out her bedroom instantly catching the sweet aroma of her gourmet select beans and blueberry pancakes. He cooked too. Might have to keep him around awhile.
“Morning sunshine.”
He walked toward her, handing over a steaming mug of coffee. Her cheeks turned rosy with embarrassment at the small gesture of intimacy. No one ever made anything for her before.
“Is that maple bacon I smell?”
“It is. Only the best when I make breakfast.”
“Thank you, Cole. You didn’t have to do that. Did I have all that in my frig?” She couldn’t recall buying the bacon or anything to make the pancakes with. She normally grabbed a bar when she walked out the door or ate at the restaurant except on the weekends.
“No, I ran to the corner store. I’ve been up a while, knocked on your door and even peeked in but you were sleeping pretty sound.”
“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I feel like I didn’t sleep well at all.” Maeve pulled out a chair at her kitchen table and sank into it.
“A lot’s happened in the last forty-eight hours. I can see where you’d have a little bit on your mind.” He laid a plate in front of her with two pancakes and a generous amount of bacon, crisp but juicy in all the right places.
