Annabel tuned him out as he continued talking about the historic earthquake in 1906 and the massive fires that had followed it. Earl knew more about such things than anyone else she had ever met, and he talked about them to anyone who would hold still. Annabel had learned to listen to him without really listening.
Say she had gone out tonight with her new neighbor Kyle Loftus, she thought. They could have ended up back at her place. Not in bed, of course. Some people might accuse her of being reckless because of her profession, but some things she took slowly and carefully, and sex was one of them. But she and Kyle could have been in her apartment, having coffee or some wine and talking, and then the call from Captain McPhee would have come, and Annabel would have rushed off to fight a forest fire at Mount Diablo . . .
What would Kyle have thought of that? she asked herself. Probably the same thing that most men would have thought under similar circumstances: that she had lost her mind.
Earl thundered into the old row house he was in' the process of restoring in his spare time and then hurried back out with all his gear. Annabel had left the Jeep's engine running while he was gone. As Earl struggled into his fire suit in the passenger seat, Annabel headed for the Bay Bridge.
There was traffic at any hour of the day or night, but it wasn't quite as heavy now, a little after midnight, as it might have been earlier. The lights on the Bay Bridge sparkled brightly in the darkness. Annabel's foot was heavy on the gas pedal as she sped through Oakland and Berkeley and then curved southeast toward Mount Diablo and the sprawling state park that surrounded it.
"Look," Earl said after a little while, and Annabel knew what he was talking about. Her experienced eyes had already spotted the distant reddish glow in the sky. She rolled down the window beside her and sniffed the air. Smoke. Faint, but there.
The telltale signs of the fire—the glow in the sky and the smell of smoke in the air—grew more distinct as Annabel and Earl approached the park. Annabel felt her heartbeat racing faster than normal. It was an unavoidable reaction. Before the night was over, there was every chance in the world that she would be putting her life in danger.
It had been a while since she had been to the park, but she hiked there two or three times a year and knew the layout fairly well. She headed for the north entrance. The park headquarters and ranger station were actually closer to the south entrance, but Annabel would have had to backtrack to get there if she came in from the south. She wished she knew exactly where the fire was located.
The portable radio that was attached to the Jeep's dashboard crackled into life. "This is Tango One-Niner," Captain McPhee's voice said. A slight roaring in the background came from the engine of the smoke-jumpers' plane. "Lowell, are you and Tabor there?"
Annabel gestured for Earl to take the radio. He picked it up, keyed the mike, and said, "This is Tabor, Cap'n. Lowell and I are approaching the north entrance of the park."
"Good. Proceed to the ranger station and act as liaison with the State of California firefighters."
Annabel said, "Ask him where the fire is."
Earl relayed the question, and the captain replied, "It's confined so far to Mitchell Canyon, but with the way the wind's blowing, it may threaten the summit."
"Any civilians in the way?" Earl asked. Both he and Annabel knew there was a museum and restaurant in the old stone building atop the summit of Mount Diablo.
"Not at this time of night, thank God. At least that's what I'm told."
Annabel felt a surge of relief. Fighting forest fires was difficult and dangerous enough without having to worry about rescuing any civilians who might be caught in the path of the flames.
"The state crew is already working on a firebreak between the canyon and the summit," Captain McPhee continued. "We're going in on the far side of the fire just in case the wind shifts. With any luck, we'll have it contained by morning."
"All right, Cap'n," Earl said. "Any further orders?"
"No. Good luck, you two."
"Thanks, Cap'n. Good luck to you, too. Out."
Earl hung the radio back on its hook. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad. Ought to be a piece of cake, in fact."
"We'll see," Annabel said. She didn't trust any fire to be easy. She had seen too many of them that had appeared to be under control break and run wild again.