Smoke Screen (9 page)

“I was off duty that day,” Raley said, drawing her from her disturbing thoughts. “But I lived near downtown and heard the sirens and was already on my way to the fire station when my phone rang.” He glanced at her. “I carried a cell in those days.” She gave him a weak smile; he continued. “The blaze had gone to two alarms. I was told to get there as soon as possible.”

She watched his expression change as he reflected on that day. “I’ll never forget it. You can’t imagine the heat.”

“Actually I can. I covered the sofa factory fire.”

Another disastrous fire in which nine firemen had died.

“Did you know any of the men who died in that blaze?” she asked.

“Three really well,” he replied sadly. “The others by face and name.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment, then he picked up his account of the other major fire in Charleston. “The police station fire burned just as hot. Heat like Hell must be like. Consuming and inescapable.”

“You went into the building?”

“No. By the time I got there—I think it took me six minutes—it was an inferno. The roof had already collapsed. Which caused the floors to cave in one by one. Everyone who could be evacuated already had been. I got into gear, but our captain wouldn’t let any more of us go in. For anyone left inside, it was hopeless.

“The best we could do at that point was try to confine the blaze to that building. The first alarm had come in at six oh two p.m. Twelve hours later, we were still putting out hot spots.” He looked across at her. “Were you living in Charleston then?”

“I came about a month later. The building was still a pile of charred rubble. An investigation into the cause was ongoing.”

“Yeah.
My
investigation.”

“You were investigating the fire?”

“You didn’t know that, did you?” His facial features hardened. Anger radiated off him in waves.

“No, I didn’t,” she admitted.

“All those stories you did about me, and you never mentioned that.”

“I didn’t know it.”

“But you should have, shouldn’t you? You were the reporter covering my story, you should have gathered all the facts. Instead you were busy sweeping up the dirt.”

“I’m sorry.”

He gave the humble interior of the cabin a scornful glance. “A little late for apologies.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, a bit huskily.

He maintained his hostile silence for several long moments, then muttered “Screw it,” and continued his account in a neutral tone of voice. “Pat Wickham, George McGowan, and Cobb Fordyce. Do those names mean anything to you?”

“Of course.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“Those three and Jay saved dozens of lives that day. They got people out of the building. Even before the first fire trucks arrived, they risked their lives to lead people out. As catastrophic as the fire was, only seven people died. If not for those four men, there would have been many more casualties.”

Frowning, he said, “The four of them did lead people out. They did save lives.”

“So you don’t dispute that?”

“Not at all. When I arrived, it was a chaotic scene. People suffering from burns and smoke inhalation but weeping with relief that they’d escaped. Firemen battling the blaze. Policemen trying to maintain some semblance of organization. EMTs dispensing oxygen and performing triage, dispatching the worst of the injured to the hospital. Those four refused to go, even though they were near collapse. On oxygen. Scorched. You’ve seen the pictures. Cameras don’t lie.”

The bitterness with which he’d said that caused Britt to withhold her observation for several seconds. Then she said quietly, “Your best friend Jay was hailed a hero.”

“Overnight.”

She had dipped her toe in, she might just as well take the plunge. “Saving people from a fire.”

He came up out of his chair. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking?”

“That I was jealous of Jay because he got famous for doing what I was supposed to do. That I resented his becoming a hero in my field of expertise.”

“Were you jealous? Did you resent it?”

“No!”

“Are you human?”

B
RITT HELD HER BREATH, WONDERING HOW
R
ALEY WOULD
react to the sensitive question.

He rolled his shoulders defensively and took a breath. “Okay, maybe I was a little pissed. Jay teased me about it. ‘I be the cop, you be the fireman, remember?’ He’d say it in that way of his, with that smile, and I knew he was ribbing, but, yeah, here I had gone through the training and done the studying, and then, in typical Jay Burgess fashion, he sails in and grabs the glory.
Lots
of glory.”

“Anybody would resent that, Raley.”

“On the other hand, I was proud of him and damn glad he’d saved all those lives. I was also grateful that he had survived.”

“That was the purpose of the party, wasn’t it? To celebrate his survival?”

“That’s what he said. He wanted to celebrate his rise from the ashes. I told him I couldn’t make it because of work, but Jay called me on the afternoon of the party. He said…”

“Don’t let me down, Raley. You gotta be there. How can I have a party without you?”

Raley sighed into the telephone. From second grade, when Jay had talked him into putting a cricket in their teacher’s desk drawer, he’d been wheedling Raley into doing things he didn’t want to do. When Jay set his mind to something, he was irrepressible, and he was determined to have Raley at his party.

“I’ve been working day and night, Jay.”

“So have I. That’s never stopped us from taking time off to party.”

“This is different. This investigation—”

“Will keep. For a few hours, anyway. Stop by long enough to have a beer. I’ve rented a frozen margarita machine, but for non-drinkers, I’ll have a keg.”

Raley laughed. “Jay, beer is an alcoholic beverage.”

“You’re kidding. It is?”

The two friends laughed, then Jay said, “It won’t be a party without you, buddy.”

Raley still hedged. His days were long. His nights were spent reviewing the information he gleaned during the days. Consequently, he was working around the clock.

He’d been appointed to assist the department’s senior arson investigator, a craggy middle-aged man named Teddy Brunner. Brunner was a veteran and probably knew more about fires than anyone else in the department. But it was Raley who put notices about seminars and conferences under the chief’s nose. When budget was the only thing preventing him from attending these conferences, he paid his own tuition, considering the out-of-pocket expense an investment in his future.

Although Brunner was the veteran, Raley had two college degrees to his credit, and advanced, scientific knowledge on firefighting. By pooling their resources, they made a good team. Raley didn’t flaunt his formal education because he respected the older fireman’s decades of experience.

Brunner was occasionally cantankerous and short with him. Raley realized he probably felt threatened by him and his better understanding of new technology, but he was also gradually winning Brunner’s respect. Raley tried hard to keep the working relationship on an even keel.

But any way you sliced it, being appointed Brunner’s apprentice on such an important investigation was an indication that he was being groomed to be the senior investigator’s successor whenever the older man chose to retire. It was an enormous opportunity. As important, it would signify a personal achievement, the culmination of years of study and hard work. Because such a critical career step was at stake, he didn’t want to risk any break in his concentration.

Jay could shatter a monk’s concentration. And he never took no for an answer. “Come on, Raley. Can I count on you to be there?”

Again Raley stalled by telling Jay that Hallie was out of town. “She’s on a business trip and won’t be back till tomorrow.”

“She doesn’t trust you to come stag? That’s an awfully short leash she’s got you on.”

Jay frequently gibed Raley about his upcoming marriage, reminding him of the pleasurable benefits to be had by staying romantically footloose. The teasing didn’t bother Raley. He looked forward to matrimony, monogamy, and spending the rest of his life with Hallie.

He also suspected that his friend was secretly jealous of his relationship with Hallie, the likes of which Jay had never shared with a woman, and that the taunting was a product of envy.

Jay often gazed moony-eyed at Hallie, saying, “I might consider marriage myself if I could have Hallie. You snared the last good woman, Raley, you lucky s.o.b.” Hallie laughed off his foolishness, as did Raley. Both knew that Jay wouldn’t trade bachelorhood for a relationship where fidelity was at least expected, if not required.

“She trusts me,” Raley said. “It’s just that it won’t be any fun to go to a party without her.”

“Bring Candy. She can be your date.”

Raley guffawed. Candy Orrin had grown up with them. She was several years younger, but over one summer, when she’d talked their coach into letting her be “ball boy” for their baseball team, she’d become their shadow.

She was a tomboy who could outrun, outhit, outshoot, outcuss, and when they were older, outdrink them. She was great fun and a good friend but hardly a substitute for Hallie, and he told Jay so.

Jay chuckled. “I hear you, man. Candy hasn’t got Hallie’s grace, charm, and beauty. By the way, have I told you I’m secretly in love with your woman?”

“About a hundred times.”

“I have? Well, just so you know. Where was I?”

“Candy hasn’t got—”

“Right. She’s as far from Hallie as, say, you are from me.”

“Ha-ha.”

“But you gotta admit that Candy’s good for laughs, she’s currently without a beau, and she says if she can’t scare up a date for my party she might skip it, too. Now, how can I celebrate my miraculous survival if my two best friends are no-shows?”

Raley had run out of excuses. The real reason he didn’t want to go was that for the last several days he’d been reviewing the autopsy reports of those who’d died in the fire. To Raley, the remains weren’t just so much charred tissue and bone fragments. Those unrecognizable human bodies had been people, and they’d suffered horrific deaths. His mind wouldn’t let him forget how terrifying their final minutes of life would have been. Thoughts of it kept him awake at night, and when he was able to sleep, he heard their screams in his nightmares. He wasn’t in a partying mood.

But to discuss that with Jay would be to remind him that, for all his heroism, he was unable to save those seven. He figured those souls haunted Jay, the same as they did him, but Jay’s way of coping was to throw a party.

Perhaps his friend’s way of dealing with despondency was the better one. Jay would say that no amount of regret or sorrow could bring back those seven. Bury the dead, life was for the living. And when you got right down to it, he was right.

“I could easily have died that day, you know,” he was saying now. “I suffer flashbacks to it, Raley. To the fire, to being inside that building. Can’t see a thing, choking on smoke, afraid the floor is about to fall out from under me. There were times when I thought,
This is it. My time’s up. I’m going to die.
If not for fate, I’d be history. This party could just as easily have been my wake instead of—”

“Oh, for godsake, bring on the fucking violins,” Raley groaned. “You’ll use any means of manipulation to get me there, won’t you?”

“I have no shame.”

“I believe it.”

Jay reminded him to call Candy and offer her a ride, then said, “Wait and see. You’ll have a good time in spite of your sorry-ass self.”

“One more thing,” Raley said, stopping him just before he hung up. “Cleveland Jones. I still haven’t received all the paperwork on him.”

“Oh, shit. I forgot again, didn’t I?”

“I don’t see how you could. This is the third time I’ve asked for his arrest report.”

“I know, I know, and I’m sorry. I’ll get it to you on Monday, first thing.”

“I’m holding you to that.” He hung up, disappointed that he wouldn’t have the arrest report over the weekend. He hated to keep harping on Jay about it, but that report was vital to his investigation.

Jay was distracted by his personal involvement and by the media, who continued to hound him for interviews. Not that he minded being in the spotlight, but being a celebrity was time-consuming.

With the exception of this last conversation, each time Raley phoned Jay, he seemed preoccupied and always in a rush to cut short the call. Any other time, Raley would feel like he was getting the brush-off, but Jay’s splintered attention was understandable. He, like every person in the CPD, was working overtime to recover from the disastrous fire. The entire department was in shambles, operating in a state of barely controlled chaos. Personnel were working out of temporary headquarters, trying to reorganize even as they went about their routine duties.

With the entire PD in this state of upheaval, Raley couldn’t really fault Jay for not responding immediately to his request to see the paperwork on Cleveland Jones, but he was becoming impatient to finish his investigation. Brunner had assigned him this aspect of it, and he wanted to come through, not just to satisfy but to impress the older man.

Mainly, he wanted the nightmares to stop.

Hallie had noticed his preoccupation more than anyone, and he knew it worried her. He could hear the relief in her voice when he called to tell her that Jay had persuaded him to attend his party. “Good,” she said.

“Not really, but he wouldn’t let me back out.”

“Why don’t you want to go?”

“Because you’re not here to go with me.”

“I’m flattered, but is that the only reason?”

He couldn’t hide much from her. “I hate to give up a night. I’m really into this investigation and don’t want to lose momentum.”

In a quieter voice, she asked, “How are you?”

“Missing you.”

“Besides that.”

“I’m fine.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am. But I’m okay.”

She didn’t dispute him, but he could imagine her doubtful frown. She had an endearing way of pursing her lips when she was mulling something over. She’d been wearing that frown the first time he saw her, two years ago on New Year’s Eve, at a party hosted by mutual friends. She was at the buffet table, considering the raw oysters lying on a mound of ice. He moved up beside her and said, “I don’t think they bite.” And she laughed, saying, “I don’t think I will, either.”

That thoughtful pout made her lips infinitely kissable. He especially liked kissing that pout away when she was wearing her glasses. She didn’t believe him when he told her he preferred her glasses to contacts. But it was the truth.

Switching subjects now, he asked, “How are your meetings going?”

She was a loan officer at the local branch of a banking chain. An advancement had brought her to Charleston only weeks before that New Year’s Eve when they met. Since then, she’d had VP added after her name. She’d been in Boston all week at the bank’s national headquarters.

“Long, but informative.”

“So the trip was worthwhile.”

“Um-huh.” Then, “Oh! I talked to my mother today. The church is available on Saturday the twelfth.”

“Great.” That was the April date they’d discussed for their wedding. Spring flowers in bloom. Not too hot or humid yet. “I’ll call my mom and tell her.”

“My mom already spoke to her.”

“Even better.”

They laughed, because he had ceded all wedding planning to the three women, telling Hallie to be sure he knew what time to show up with the ring. He felt that was all he needed to know.

“It’s good to hear you laugh,” she said. “And I think going to Jay’s party is an excellent idea. You need a break from the investigation.”

“I’ve been lousy company lately, haven’t I?”

“You’ve taken the job to heart.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for your commitment, Raley. The fire was a tragedy. I couldn’t love you if you hadn’t taken this investigation to heart.”

Her soft voice and the understanding behind it made him yearn to touch her. Boston might just as well have been in another galaxy. “Why aren’t you here so I can make love to you?”

“Tomorrow,” she said. “Don’t make plans for tomorrow night. I’m bringing back a new nightie from Victoria’s Secret. I intend to distract you from work, from everything.”

His imagination went into overdrive. “How about some hot phone sex right now?”

“I would,” she said, “but I’ve got a meeting in five minutes.”

“It won’t take me anywhere near five minutes.”

“It would the way I’d do it,” she purred, then laughed at his groan. “Besides, I don’t want to make you late for Jay’s party.”

“He promises it will be one of his orgiastic bacchanals.”

“I wouldn’t expect it to be anything else. Should I be worried? Or are you just trying to talk me into the hot phone sex?”

“No, you shouldn’t be worried. And yes, I’m trying to talk you into the phone sex. If you help me get my rocks off now, I’ll be too sated to stray.”

“How can I possibly resist such a romantic lead-in?”

He laughed. “No sale?”

“Sorry.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “But how am I going to explain this boner to Candy?”

“Candy? Did I miss something?”

“Jay rooked me into being her date tonight.”

“Who’s the designated driver?”

“I am. I’ll have one beer. Candy can find her own way home, or stay over at Jay’s, or whatever. I’m coming home early and spending the rest of tonight and tomorrow planning all the dirty things I’m going to do to you when you get home.”

“I can’t wait.” She gave him her flight number and time of arrival.

“See you in baggage claim. And in the meantime, I love you.”

Candy paused in the open doorway to scan Jay’s living room. “The usual suspects.”

Raley, looking over her shoulder, took in the riotous scene. “I don’t recognize half the people here.”

“That’s what I meant,” she shouted back at him. “It’s one of Jay’s typical free-for-alls.”

His apartment was jam-packed with people, all trying to talk above the loud music, creating a cacophony of laughter, chatter, and Bon Jovi. Having delivered Candy as promised, Raley was tempted to make an about-face and leave. But it was too late. Jay had spotted them. Holding aloft his margarita glass, he threaded his way through the crowd until he reached them. He kissed Candy on the cheek.