He brought the radio to his mouth, ready to call in the fire, but then he hesitated as he stopped his Blazer abruptly, right next to the front porch. This close, the smoke was much less alarming than it had appeared at first glance. In fact, the haze coming from the house was rapidly dissipating, thinning to almost nothing. Theo decided to check things out before he brought Fire and Med and everyone else running to what might be a false alarm. Stepping out of his SUV, he hooked the radio to his belt, sending a quick glance toward Viggy. The squad car he used for work had a fan installed in the backseat window. Before they’d left the station, Theo had rolled the passenger window most of the way down to give the dog some air. Although it was a warm day, the house and surrounding trees shaded the vehicle. With the window lowered, Viggy wouldn’t overheat in the few minutes it would take for Theo to figure out what was going on at the squirrelly waitress’s house and quickly leave. Assured of Viggy’s safety, Theo turned away from his Blazer and climbed the front steps.
The porch was old, and each riser gave an alarming, high-pitched creak as it took his weight. It was eerily quiet, especially considering the wide-open door and the smoke. Theo had second thoughts about not calling in the fire. Both times at the diner, Jules had acted scared. What if whatever—or whomever—she was trying to escape had caught up with her? Jules could’ve been attacked or injured or taken—
Theo firmly cut off his escalating thoughts, shoving out any what-ifs and firmly blanking not only his mind, but his emotions. He’d gotten pretty good at that over the past few months. His cool shell was firmly reassembled as he stepped over the threshold, quickly checking right then left before entering the house.
What a pit. Theo couldn’t believe someone lived there. It’d been empty for at least five years—and looked it. The previous owners hadn’t done much in the way of maintenance, either, and the final result was a house that needed to have a date with a bulldozer.
“Police!” he called into the open, still smoky hallway. “Anyone here?”
There was no response, so he took a couple of steps inside. The remaining smoke tickled his throat and gave the old place an eerie cast. Theo held back a cough. He walked down the hallway, checking in each room he passed, but, except for a few items—a bright green bean bag in the living room, an old chest in the library, a cheap drinking glass with awkwardly cut flowers mashed into it on the windowsill in the dining room—the house was empty. Empty and smoky and wrong. With Jules’s SUV out front and the door open, she should be here. He automatically unsnapped the top of his holster, resting his hand on the butt of his gun. He felt his muscles tighten with each new empty room he saw.
The smoke was lightening, but a haze still lingered, dimming the light struggling to find its way through the windows. There was an almost-closed door on his left, and he pushed it open. The hinges protested with a squeal, but the door reluctantly swung open to reveal an empty, old-fashioned bathroom. He continued down the hall, his imagination going wild again with thoughts of what could’ve happened. Had Jules’s past caught up to her?
The thought of something happening to Jules made his stomach clench, and he moved more quickly. As Theo got closer to the final door on the right, the one he was fairly sure was the kitchen, he finally heard people. Multiple loud voices piled on top of each other, making it difficult for Theo to hear what anyone was saying. Pausing next to the entryway, keeping his body hidden from the people in the kitchen, he listened, trying to pick out individual words.
“…if he comes back!” a child’s voice wailed, rising above the babble of the others. Theo’s muscles tightened. Who was “he,” and why was the kid so upset at the thought of this man’s return?
“…long gone…” Theo barely made out a few words from Jules, but he was certain it was her speaking. The rest of what she had to say disappeared into the cacophony of sound, and the short phrases Theo was able to pick out only confused him more. Someone mentioned an ignition point, and the child shrieked something about making someone homeless, and another person stuttered in a deep, male voice about clean-up. Theo frowned, the term “clean-up” leading him to think about corpses. All of his earlier fears for Jules rushed back, and he couldn’t hesitate any longer.
Drawing his weapon, Theo surged into the kitchen.
A small crowd of people—young people—huddled around the ancient stove, ignoring the light stream of smoke that still drifted from it. No one was looking at Theo, and he immediately lowered his gun and held it casually behind his right hip. The sight of all the kids made him feel a little sheepish for overreacting.
“What’s going on?”
The entire group jumped as if he’d given them an electric shock, all of them turning to stare at him with expressions that ranged from fear to wariness. Upon closer observation, he confirmed that they were kids, ranging in age from ten or so to late teens—the oldest being none other than his squirrelly waitress. Her hair was caught in two braids, and a smear of black ran across her right cheek. Even smudgy, she was hot.
Not liking the prickle of emotion that she woke in him, he looked at the stove.
“Is the fire out?” he asked, when it appeared that no one was going to answer his initial question. When they still didn’t say anything—instead staring at him, stock still and wordless—Theo shifted his weight impatiently and reached toward his radio with the hand not holding his gun. “Do I need to call in the fire department?”