Page 53 of Heat Advisory

I need help with these fires.

Me:

Four of them. All arson, but I feel like I’m missing something.

Gale:

Since when do you help solve cases?

Me:

I don’t, but for some odd reason I’m drawn to these, and I can’t let it go.

Gale:

Send me whatever data you have. I’ll look at it after I’ve had my coffee.

I smiled—she was in!

I emailed her everything I had—photos, videos, and the fire line charts, as well as data I wasn’t really required to look at but felt compelled to. Radar sweeps showing the wind direction and shift of the fires, as well as the GOES satellite thermal bands, all time-stamped and color-coded with the ignition points marked.

I hit send and hoped that she could see something I had missed so we could catch this guy and prevent any more fires and fatalities.

Then I waited for Jay to pick me up and hoped there wasn’t a disaster of a different kind this weekend at the wedding.

17

“Stop, drop, and roll—also my dating strategy.”

—It’s science

Jay

The highway spread out for miles in front of us. The desert landscape gave way to the pine-covered hills as we rolled toward home. The drive from Reno to Stratus Cove was exactly six hours, forty-one minutes, and seventeen seconds of me trying not to stare at Cora’s legs while she talked.

She had on a cute sundress that ended mid-thigh, giving me the perfect view of those long, gorgeous legs the whole drive.

Her window was cracked open, her hair whipping around like she was in a low-budget car commercial. I kept my eyes on the road—well, mostly—but every time I glanced over, she was either talking animatedly about her family or laughing at something.

We talked about her family because I’d always been terrible with names, and she had so many members of her family that it was easy to forget who was who.

“Gale is the oldest, and she still lives at home with Mom and Auntie on the farm.”

“Oh. Is she gonna take over the farm someday?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “She’s a forensic meteorologist but works remotely, so she has a full-time job. I think she just likes the comfort of living in a familiar place and doesn’t do well around new people.”

That made sense. I remember her oldest sister because even though she was a year older than me age-wise, she had been held back, so she was in my grade in high school.

“You’re next in age, but is Iris after you or Anna? I get them confused.”

“Yes, I’m next in line, followed by Iris, whom you saw at the event with us,” she replied. “Then Anna is next, and she lives in Atlanta with her husband. She’s a TV anchor, and her husband is a private investigator.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I think I remember Morgan telling me Anna was the only freshman to work on the school newspaper, so that makes sense she would end up being a journalist.”

I always found it fascinating to see where people ended up after high school. Maybe because my life hadn’t turned out to be anything like I had thought it would be, I was always interested to see how other people’s lives worked out.

“Finally, there’s Hazel, who is currently a marine biologist at an aquarium and lives in a coastal town not far from Mom and Auntie.”