“I want to help.” She raised a foot. “See. I’ve even got boots this time.”
He smiled, but he still shook his head. “So much smoke and fire can’t be good for you.”
“I’m better about it now.”
“I can see that.” He cleared his throat. “About Texas Timber—”
“First thing, let’s save what we can of this tree farm. Then we talk.”
“Okay.” He kept an eye on the fire, wishing the apparatus would arrive. “Not much we can do right now but let it burn. No people or homes are in danger. As long as the wind doesn’t come up, the ranch is safe.”
She turned to face the fire. “It doesn’t seem right to just stand here and watch those little trees burn.”
“Yeah. Tell that to the arsonists.”
She jerked her head around to look at him.
“I found gasoline on the ground.”
“We’ve got to stop these fires.” She walked down the road, looking from ground to fire and back again. “Can you tell where the fire started?”
He followed her, checking the fire’s progress. “I’d say about in there.” He pointed to a blackened area. “No fence on this side of the road so they could walk into the trees to start the blaze.”
Misty kept on walking, glancing up and down. “Trey, look here!” She suddenly knelt on the road, pointing at the shoulder almost directly across from the burned area near his fence.
He jogged a few steps and knelt beside her. He saw a white tissue with a red smear that’d been pressed into the ground by a boot or animal or something.
“Could it be evidence?” Misty asked.
“Maybe. But anybody could’ve dropped that or tossed it out a car window anytime.”
“Still, it’s something. I’d like to pick it up, but I don’t want to cause problems with an investigation.”
“Let me handle it.” He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket, placed his foot near the tissue to indicate size, and took several pictures. He stepped back and shot a wider angle to show location. She took photos with her phone, too. He gently dislodged the tissue from the dirt and held it up by one edge with two fingers so she could get a better look.
“That’s lipstick!” She pointed at the crimson smear on the white tissue. “It looks fresh, not dried out by the sun.” She glanced up at his face. “Do you think our arsonist is a woman?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. This might not have anything to do with the fire.”
“True. But it’s something to check out.”
“You bet.” He carefully eased the tissue into a big pocket. “I’ll transfer it to a baggie.”
“You’ve got some in the truck?”
“Yep. All the volunteers carry them just in case.”
“Good idea.”
A gust of wind sent smoke wafting toward them. Trey put an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get back to the pickup.”
“Okay by me.” She coughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
He didn’t know if the tissue was evidence, but it was the first thing they’d found that might relate to the arsonists. And Misty had found it. He wasn’t even surprised by this fact. She’d been good luck from the first. But now he wanted her where she was safe. She didn’t need to be inhaling the smoke or fighting a fire. If she was a trained volunteer, he wouldn’t feel so protective. On the other hand, maybe he’d feel the same need to keep her safe.
When they reached his truck, he laid the empty fire extinguishers on the back floorboard. He rummaged in a tackle box where he kept supplies and found the right size baggie. He eased the tissue out of his pocket, gently enclosed the evidence in the plastic bag, then wrote the date, time, and place with an indelible marker on the outside. Last, he put the baggie in the tackle box and shut the lid.
Now he had to focus on fighting the fire. He took off his cowboy boots and tossed them in beside the cans. He quickly pulled on his yellow waterproof firefighting boots and set his yellow fire helmet on his head. He grabbed a face mask and thick leather gloves, then stuck them in the pocket of his yellow jacket.
About that time, he heard sirens out on Wildcat Road. Fire-rescue was here. Now they could get this blaze stopped in its tracks.
“Sounds like the cavalry!” Misty pumped a fist in the air.
“Might as well be blowing a big brass bugle.”
“And just in the nick of time.”
“Thanks again for sounding the alarm.”
“Any time.” She glanced up at him with a smile on her face.
She looked good in his too-big parka, but he’d never known her to look any other way. Talk about fires. She knew how to light one in him by a single glance. But he pushed that thought aside for another time and place.
With siren shrieking, the new bright red booster turned off Wildcat Road and rocketed toward them. Trey heard the piercing sirens of the big engine back on the main road and headed their way. He hoped that’d be enough rigs, but they could call in more if necessary.
He gave a thumbs-up as the booster came to an abrupt stop in front of him. He ran around to the driver’s side, jerked open the door, and grinned up at Sydney.
“What took you so long?”
Chapter 26