FREE NOVEL DRAMA Big Daddy Firemen: Chapter 20
Just down the street from the firehouse, at Sheriff Quinn Hardin’s office, Walker stood next to the lawman, holding the charred remains he’d brought along.
“What is that thing?” the sheriff asked with a bewildered gaze.
“A homemade incendiary device,” Walker pronounced grimly. “Found at the site of that forest fire early this morning when I went back to poke around.”
“And you knew about it but didn’t mention it at the meeting this morning?” Quinn didn’t sound upset. He was just working through the facts in his mind.
“That’s right,” Walker said with a nod. “You know how it is. I didn’t want to start a panic. And reveal all my cards.”
“In case whoever set it was in the meeting,” Quinn offered solemnly.
“I’m not saying I think that’s the case,” Walker said. “We have good people around these parts. More than likely it’s an outsider. But I can’t let my personal feelings cloud the investigation.”
“Sure, I get it.” Quinn nodded. “That’s Policing 101.”
“In this case, Firefighter 101,” Walker agreed with a wry smile.
“You need help with this?” the sheriff wondered.
Walker gave a curt nod. “It may come to that. Right now, we’re just trying to gather as many facts as possible. Cane is out talking to folks, trying to see if they’ve seen anything. They might have seen something they didn’t even realize was anything, if that makes sense. But it could be crucial to the investigation.” He chuckled. “But of course, as a cop, you know all that.”
“Sure,” Quinn agreed. “Sometimes things don’t seem important until they’re added to other facts and looked at as part of a larger picture.” He thought for a moment. “Is Austin on this, too?”
Walker let out a short burst of laughter. He had a pretty good idea what Austin was up to, but he didn’t need to go into all that with the sheriff. Instead, he explained, “The three of us thought it best if he took Daisy back to the firehouse and looked after her.”
Quinn’s body language changed. He shifted on his feet, swallowed hard, and looked Walker squarely in the eyes. “Because there might be a crazy arsonist on the loose?”
Walker offered a quick dip of his head. “Look, if we thought others were in danger, we’d spread the word. But we don’t have enough information yet. If there is an arsonist still in this area, it would make sense that they might target a firefighter or someone the firefighters love…”
He let the grim words hang in the air for a moment.
“That makes sense,” the sheriff said. “I can park my car in front of the fire station, if you’d like. I can call in some deputies from around the county, too, and increase patrols.”
“You’re a good man, sheriff. We’re much obliged.” They shook hands. Walker’s smile faded, though, as he said, “There is something I wanted to ask you about.”
“Uh-oh. This sounds serious.” Quinn grinned. “Well, all of this is serious. But this sounds even worse.”
Walker took a moment to form his words. A few seconds later, he said, “That trouble Alyssa was in a while back…”
“Sure. You helped us a lot during that time,” Quinn said.
“Glad to help and we’d do it again,” Walker told him. “But what I’m wondering is… could all this be related to that?”
Understanding flashed in the sheriff’s eyes. He leaned back against the desk that was behind him, resting a hip on it, and sucked in his bottom lip as he thought it over. “As in, is someone connected to all that, like Alyssa’s mom, out for revenge?”
Walker gave a little shrug. “Makes sense. Big Cedar is a peaceful place. But those assholes brought a lot of trouble to our door.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Quinn promised.
“Like I said, Sheriff, you’re a good man.” Walker slapped him on the back and then started walking toward the door.
“I’m glad Austin is willing to keep an eye on Daisy,” Quinn called out, a healthy dose of humor in his voice. “It’s probably a hard job, but, well, someone has to do it.”
Before opening the door, Walker cast a glance over his shoulder and grinned. “Oh, I’m sure it’s hard, all right. Very hard.”