Chapter 6

The last time Lucy had seen her sister cry had been five years ago when Kate, then sixteen, had realized that her boyfriend’s claim that he “needed time” had actually meant that he “needed to make out, frequently, with other girls.” Lucy had rubbed Kate’s back while she hiccupped through her tears and said she’d never date anyone else again. Lucy had smiled when Kate had calmed down enough to admit she might date but would never fall in love again. And Lucy had hugged her tight when Kate had asked her how something that was once so special could hurt so much. With her twenty-three-year-old wisdom, she knew that her sister would bounce back, date again, and most certainly love again.

Standing beside Kate now, her arm wrapped around her sister’s waist, she didn’t know what to do. She felt like she’d had more wisdom at twenty-three than now and had no words to offer for her sister’s sadness. She didn’t know if a smile or a tighter hug would dry the silent tears spilling down Kate’s cheeks. Lucy stood as Kate did, motionless, soundless, watching heavily geared firefighters put out the blaze that was destroying the freshly painted, worn down building. Lucy could feel the heat from where they stood behind the tape Alex’s deputies had put up. Charlotte had shown up not long after Lucy and stood on Kate’s other side, her arm overlapping Lucy’s. The angry, orange haze fought back hard as the firemen beat it down with water from varying angles. The smell of wood and smoke thickened the air, making it impossible to breathe in deeply. Alongside the two fire trucks, one from the neighboring county of Cook, were three Angel’s Lake cruisers. Lucy recognized Mick, who had been part of the police department since the dawn of time, talking to Alex.

“We’re doing it for them,” Kate uttered.

“What do you mean, sweetie?” Char asked.

Lucy looked over at her sisters. They had several of their mother’s features in common, but Lucy saw the differences between herself and the other two. More than she saw the similarities. Char had their dad’s strength and would say all of the right things. Lucy remained quiet.

Kate crumpled the Kleenex she was holding. “Why would the teens do this when the whole thing is being done for them?”

“We don’t know who did this, honey,” Char said.

“It’s got to be whoever has been putting graffiti all over the buildings and causing trouble around town. It doesn’t make sense for this not to be the same person or people, does it?”

Even Char had no answer for that. The flames were growing weary, giving up against the steady fight of the men in yellow. The voices in the crowd were almost as loud as the roar of the fire. .

“Kate, why don’t we go home? There’s nothing we can do here. Not right now,” Lucy suggested, her arm tightening as people inched closer to see the fading flames uselessly try to regain strength. Alex trudged toward them, a heavy jacket covering him despite the heat. His face was dirty—blackened like he’d played in the ashes, saddened like he had lost something as well. Lucy imagined they all looked similar as ash still floated around them silently.

Alex stopped directly in front of Kate and bent his knees so he could be eye to eye with her.

“Look at me,” he commanded, putting his hands on her shoulders. Lucy and Char continued to hang onto their sister.

“I will find who did this, Kate. I promise you,” he assured with such conviction that Lucy’s heart felt lighter. When he said it, she believed it. She looked at Kate to see if she also felt the truth in Alex’s words. More silent tears streamed, and Kate bit her lip, nodding in agreement. Alex leaned forward and kissed Kate’s cheek with genuine affection. Lucy’s heart squeezed with an uncomfortable tightness.

“Go home. I’ll come by later with an update. You don’t need to be here for any more of this,” he suggested, turning his gaze on Lucy. His eyes changed slightly, his gaze softening in a way she hoped only she would notice. “Take her home. Get cleaned up and have something to eat. I’ll come by, okay?”

The three sisters nodded and navigated their way through the curious onlookers. No one spoke directly to Kate, but Lucy heard the murmurs of “so sorry,” “such a shame,” and “poor girl.”

“What a fucking mess,” Sam assessed, hands on his jean-clad hips. The trucks and the crowd had gone. The sun was almost done for the day, and so was Alex. His head hurt, his body hurt, and his heart hurt. The rec center lay in blackened bits and pieces, ruined by someone with nothing better to do than tear apart his town.

“That’s an understatement. Fire chief said it was deliberate. Figures they used gasoline-soaked cloths to start it up. Doesn’t take long for something like this to rage out of control,” Alex sighed, running his hand through his smoke-matted hair.

“So they’re not only assholes but they’re idiots, too?”

“Pretty much. I need to know you can fix this. I told Kate that I’d come by with an update. I want to be able to tell her that you can put it back together.”

“Shit, Alex. There’s no fixing this. It’s a do-over.”

“But you can do it?”

“Sure, you know, with all my spare time these days, I’ll just draft up some plans and get started tomorrow,” Sam snapped without feeling.

He glared at Alex and walked forward to where the building looked like it had crumbled.

“Don’t be a dick,” Alex returned.

Sam scoffed and shook his head while Alex followed him around the decimated lot.

“You want to say that everything will be okay. You can sugar coat it for Kate, but this is going to take work. And money.”

“The city must have insurance. Once the fire inspector signs off on it as arson, they should be able to move forward with a claim,” Alex mulled. The sky was a fuzzy, unwelcome grey even though the fire had been put out for a while now.

“Who the hell would do this?”

“I don’t know. Not for sure anyway. But I will find out. And whoever it is will wish they’d chosen a different town to screw with.”

Sam grinned at his friend and gave him a hard clap on the back.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you. No more lounging in your office with a box of donuts.”

Alex shook his head and treated his friend to a one finger salute, but he also smiled for the first time all afternoon.