A Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade 03 - In Hot Water (13 page)

“I’m going to check this out. Someone could be hurt.”

“Don’t take too long. We have frozen food in the back.”

Stella got out with her flashlight and approached the car. The hood was all the way down in the deep ditch that the county maintained for runoff from snow and heavy rain that flooded the Little Pigeon River and its tributaries.

“Anyone out here?” she called, still not able to see into the car in the darkness.

No one answered. She inched closer into the ditch to get beside the car. Her foot slid on some wet grass, but she remained upright. She called out again. There was still no reply. It looked like a problem for the county sheriff. She was too far out of Sweet Pepper to expect town police to answer.

Stella glanced back toward the Cherokee. Eric was in the front seat. He glowed and shimmered softly in the dark with the streetlight above him. She took out her cell phone to call the sheriff.

Something hard hit the back of her head. The last thing she heard was Eric calling her name.

S
tella woke up suddenly. She was tied upright in a ladder-back chair. The floor was concrete under her booted feet. It was dark. There was some residual light, possibly from a streetlight outside the dirty windows around her.

If she had to guess, it appeared to be an old factory—possibly one of those on the main road between Sevierville and Sweet Pepper. She wasn’t sure how long those old buildings had been there. Windows and doors were broken in. She’d spoken to the highway patrol and other state agencies about tearing them down. They were nothing but firetraps.

“And good places to drop someone off,” she muttered to herself.

Her head hurt. What had happened? She didn’t call out for help, fearful that whoever had attacked her was still there. She wondered why Eric hadn’t exerted some of his “ghostly powers” on her behalf.

“You’re awake,” Eric said as in answer to her unspoken thoughts. “It’s been at least an hour since they transported you here.”

“Are we alone?”

“There are two men outside smoking.”

“Why didn’t you stop them? You could’ve done something to keep them from bringing me here. I can understand that you couldn’t stop me from getting hit in the head—that happened too quickly. I don’t understand why you just followed me here.”

“Don’t you want to know who’s responsible?”

“What?”
The fierceness behind her question made her head hurt. “Of course I want to know who’s responsible. It didn’t have to be up close and personal.”

“I thought this was the best strategy, what you’d want me to do. I could’ve scared them off once you were down. I thought you’d want things to unfold. I could see you weren’t seriously hurt.”

Stella wiggled her hands in the rope that held them behind her. “Okay. Fine. Let’s have a strategy meeting before something like this happens again. I need to teach you how to use the cell phone. Untie my hands.”

She could feel his strange, tingly touch on her wrists. It was like static electricity harnessed to a specific purpose. He could use it to move things and, hopefully, manipulate the ropes.

“We’re not alone.” He lowered his voice even though he knew she was the only one who could hear him.

Strange how habit could affect even a ghost.

Her hands were free, but she didn’t move. Footsteps from the two men Eric had told her about echoed across the empty building as they came near. One of them shined a flashlight in her eyes. She blinked and turned her head away.

“Chief Griffin,” a gruff voice addressed her. “Sorry we had to do it this way. We have a request.”

“More a demand,” the second voice said.

“Are you crazy dragging me here this way?” she demanded angrily. “How did you know where I’d be or that I’d stop to check out that car?”

“We followed you,” one of them snickered. “And once a do-gooder, always a do-gooder.”

“You’re involved in an investigation at Representative Falk’s house. There may be some things you find there that aren’t for public knowledge. Keep your mouth shut and we’ll make it worthwhile. Say anything and you’ll be sorry.”

“What kind of things?” She tried to see the faces behind the flashlight, but it was too bright. She thought she recognized one of their voices.

“You’ll know when you see them,” the distinctive voice of the second man responded.

“Are you talking about the white powder I found inside the sofa? I’m assuming it’s cocaine. Am I right?”

“If I were you I wouldn’t be in such a hurry to show off what you know,” the first man said. “Keep this to yourself, if you know what’s good for you.”

“Are you visiting with Gail Hubbard at the same time?” Stella asked. “I’m not the
only
one who knows about this. She’s already turned in what we found today. The lab has probably made a determination on what it is. That means lab techs are involved too. I don’t think you can keep everyone from talking. You two aren’t the best planners in the world are you?”

“You worry about yourself, Chief. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Stella knew their friendly talk was winding down. It was time to play the ace up her sleeve.

“I don’t think they plan to hurt you.” Eric’s voice was a whisper near her ear. “What do you want me to do?”

Being unfamiliar with what ghosts could and couldn’t do, she fell back on the tricks she’d seen him use since she’d become his housemate.

“Is there power we can play with?” she whispered to him.

“I’ll check.”

“Does she have a cell phone?” the first man asked the second.

“No. We left it in the ditch with the car.”

“Is she wired or something? She’s talking to someone.”

Lights began flickering on and off through the building. At first it was the old emergency lighting system. Orange lights came on along the walls and then went off. Before the men who held Stella captive could react, the large shop lights started blinking. A few lights came on and stayed on.

“What’s going on?” The first man’s face was unknown to Stella. He was short and thin, wearing a Smoky Mountains ball cap and a black hoodie that had seen better days. He looked around the empty building with fear on his narrow face.

The second man was Barney Falk Jr.’s driver. She remembered him from the investigation site that day. He pulled out a snub-nosed revolver and leveled it at her face. “I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s seen us now. We don’t have any choice.”

“Hold your head down!” Eric yelled at her.

Strong gusts of wind began buffeting the building from the
inside
. The lights above them rocked with it. Windowpanes blew out. Sparks flew from electric lines that hadn’t been used in years.

She closed her eyes and forced her head down.

A terrible keening began. It sounded as though it came from the concrete beneath them, like something was trying to crawl out of the ground. It was terrifying.

Stella knew it was Eric, but still felt dread as she fell to the dusty floor. It was a good call—the driver’s gun went off, ricocheting around the rusted metal walls.

The first man ran screaming out of the building. When he got in his truck he found that his vehicle wouldn’t start and that he was trapped inside it.

The second man, Falk’s driver, shot three more times before he followed his associate’s path out of the building. His vehicle wouldn’t start either, and the doors were locked tight once he was inside.

“Are you okay?” Eric showed himself.

Stella looked up at him. “That was awful. Good, but
awful
. If you’d done that when I first came to live in the cabin, I would’ve left that night and never come back.”

He laughed. “It was pretty scary, huh? I used it a few times when other people tried to move in with me. No one lasted through it.”

She got to her feet and tried to get most of the dust off of her. “Why didn’t you do it to me?”

“I was just playing with you when I did those first tricks. You were there to save my fire brigade. I didn’t want you to leave. It’s not complicated.”

“Did they get away?” She nodded toward the door.

“No. They’re waiting in their cars. I accessed 911 from one of their phones. Someone should be here soon.”

“I didn’t know you could access 911. You could’ve done that instead of letting them bring me here at all,” she complained.

“I didn’t think about it. I thought you’d want answers.”

“I’m grateful for your help anyway. It took you a while to get going, but it was worth it. Next time, don’t be so helpful. I never want to wake up in a place like this again.”

“Good to know. I guess that takes care of leaving my badge at the cabin, right?”

“We’ll talk later.” She stretched her neck and felt the bump on the back of her head.

“You should have that looked at. Safety code requires all injuries to be reported and identified by medical personnel.”

“Lucky I’m not working.”

Sirens and flashing lights let them know help had arrived. Eric released the two men from their vehicles only after Stella had made it clear to the Tennessee Highway Patrol that they had assaulted and kidnapped her.

“You got lucky, Chief Griffin,” one of the officers told her. “They could’ve dragged you out here and we would’ve found your bones in a few years.”

“Not on my watch,” Eric said.

An officer gave Stella a ride back to the Cherokee. He helped her fish around in the dark ditch until she found her cell phone.

“You should follow me to the county jail if you want to press charges,” he said with a tip of his flat-brimmed hat.

“I will. Thanks for your help.”

Once Eric and Stella were on the road heading back toward Sevierville, Eric asked what had made her think the white powder in Falk’s house was cocaine.

“It looked like it to me. I’ve seen it in fires before. All firefighters in Chicago are trained to notice possible drug connections.”

“I’ve never seen any drug besides marijuana. How did cocaine come to be in Barney Falk’s house?”

She shrugged. “I’m beginning to think there’s a connection between Falk’s grandson, Chip, and what happened at the house. Even though he claims to be innocent of going to pick up that stash we found them with on the trail, it seems a little coincidental to me.”

“So you think he planted it there and then burned the house?”

“No. I think he was probably helping his grandfather distribute it.”

Eric didn’t believe it. “There’s no way Barney Falk was a cocaine dealer. I
knew
him. He liked his power, but he wouldn’t have done something like that.”

“You’ve been dead a long time. I know you’ve watched TV, but that’s not the same as living in the real world. People like Falk sell cocaine to keep up a standard of living they’ve become accustomed to. You heard his son talking about the estate in Nashville. Where would the money come from to maintain something like that
and
an expensive house out here?”

Stella reached the county courthouse and sat down with an assistant district attorney to tell him what had happened. She agreed to press charges against Barney Falk’s driver and his unknown accomplice. She told him that the men had threatened her unless she agreed to look the other way during the investigation of the Falk fire.

She also told them about the cocaine, even though she was breaching protocol by telling him anything about the arson investigation before it was over. She believed it was too important to wait.

She also told the ADA that she recognized the driver as someone working for Barney Falk Jr. The young man, who appeared as though someone had woken him up and dragged him here to take her statement, wasn’t happy with her ID.

“Are you sure about this, Chief Griffin? The Falk family is well-known in these parts. I realize you’re new to this area of the world. You might want to reconsider until you’ve done a lineup.”

“I don’t need to do a lineup. I just saw him this morning. He drove the candidate to Sweet Pepper where I was working. It’s the same man.”

The ADA was visibly shaken as he rifled through his paperwork.

“Is there a problem with pressing charges against these men?”

“No, ma’am.” He had her sign some documents and said she was free to go. “You’ll receive a call from the DA’s office when—or
if
—we need to talk to you again. Thank you for your help.”

Stella shook his hand and got ready to leave. She saw the driver she’d identified across the empty office. He frowned at her and turned his head.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be happy with your assessment of the situation,” Eric said as they were leaving.

“I don’t care. I know who that man is. The police will have to figure it out.”

Stella felt fortunate that no fire emergencies had come up while she’d been trying to get home from the grocery store. It had been a long trip. All of the frozen items Eric had thrown into the cart were defrosted. They put as many things as they could into the refrigerator. There was no ice cream, thank goodness.

Once the groceries were put away, Stella said goodnight and left Eric looking through all the food treasures they’d brought home. She smiled as he exclaimed over artichoke dip and Oreos.

*   *   *

The story broke early the next morning.

Several TV news outlets had picked it up. Stella watched the news anchors talk about the peculiar incident as she ate Pop-Tarts and drank a Coke for breakfast. Eric let Hero out for his morning run inside the fifty-foot perimeter he maintained around the cabin.

The phone had already started ringing. Everyone wanted to make sure that she was unhurt. The Smittys called about an interview. Mayor Wando called to be sure that he’d understood her accusation against the driver. He couldn’t believe that Barney Falk’s son would be involved in anything of that sort.

“You’re famous.” Eric watched TV with her. “You might be fire chief of the year.”

“If that’s a Sweet Pepper title, I think it might be possible.”

She was still in her pajamas when John and Walt reached the cabin at the same time. Walt knocked, and Eric opened the door for him.

“That’s a lot of hoopla for one night.” Walt took off his hat and put on a pot of coffee. “How do you manage to get into these situations, Stella?”

“Make some of that for me too.” John came in behind him, taking off his jacket. “This is a PR nightmare for you, Chief.”

“I don’t see why.” She wished Eric would ask her before he opened the door every time someone came up. Her pajamas weren’t provocative, but they did have yellow bunnies on them. They were a gift from her mother, who was worried about her being cold during the winter.

“Barney Falk is denying that the man you claimed was his driver has ever worked for him.” John grabbed the Oreos from the top of the refrigerator. “The man was released on bail last night.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, and it doesn’t make it untrue,” Stella said. “Gail was there. She saw him too.”

“Guess they didn’t talk to her yet,” Walt said. “I heard this morning that candidate Falk is demanding an apology from you for implicating him in this mess. He’ll be in Sweet Pepper today, no doubt. No one likes to have their name linked with drug trafficking.”