Burn Out (14 page)

“
The first search turned up
a missing item that was identified as Samantha’s. The item was
found about a half mile from here. Again, because of the criminal
nature of this crime, we can not specify what was found. We will be
initiating a second canvas of the area where the item was found and
will be searching an additional twenty miles around this
area.

“
Our detectives and
searchers are continuing to follow-up on many leads, including the
activities of Samantha prior to her disappearance. We would like to
encourage anyone to call in any tips you may have. It is oftentimes
the smallest detail - something that may seem inconsequential to
you -that is the piece of the puzzle we need to crack a case wide
open. If you saw or heard something unusual or know anything about
Samantha, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, give our
investigators a call or send us an email.

“
We want to remind all
citizens that a reward of $25,000 has been established for
information leading us to Samantha. Anyone with information
regarding Samantha Collins whereabouts is urged to call our tip
line or to dial 911.

“
Thank you. I will now turn
over the podium to Rachel Scott with Florida Omni
Search.”

Rachel pushed down the nerves in her
stomach as she stepped up. This part was always the hardest. She
hated press conferences, but viewed them as a necessary
evil.

“
As of this afternoon, our
search-and-rescue crews will have searched every location of
interest. It includes an extremely wide area of land around the
warehouse and everywhere between. This was possibly the largest
search operation of its kind in this county. In addition, we have
used the best equipment available for searching this
terrain.

“
It is very important to us
that family and friends of Samantha -- as well as the public --
know our commitment and resources are unwavering. We will not give
up until Samantha is found. Thank you.” 

Rachel stepped aside as Nora walked
up. She was dressed in a flowery sundress with her blonde hair
hanging loosely around her face. She looked like she had aged
considerably since Rachel had first met her. The pain of losing a
husband and a son and now a daughter had taken its toll on her. She
looked older than her fifty-five years, but Rachel could still see
a hint of the former beauty queen’s looks. Samantha’s two girls,
Bella and Gracie, were standing beside Nora while she pleaded for
the safe return of her daughter.

“
If anyone out there knows
anything about where Samantha is, I am asking you, as her mother,
to please call the tip line. Her daughters miss her and need her. I
miss her so much. Please call. Even if you think it’s nothing, we
need your help finding her. And Samantha, if you can hear me, there
is nothing we can’t handle together. Please come home.” Nora wiped
the tears away from her eyes.

“
We are so grateful for the
support and work of the police department, as well as the hundreds
of searchers, volunteers and firefighters. Thank you to everyone
for your support in trying to find Samantha.”

The media shouted out to Nora and
Rachel, despite the Chief’s request for no questions. One of the
officers ushered them safely to a private area which was set up for
the conference. Someone had thoughtfully put out some water and
snacks for everyone.

Stacy made her way through the throngs
of the media and found Rachel. She pulled her aside and whispered
in her ear. “I heard that one of the investigators found something
interesting at the site the other day.”

Rachel’s stomach dropped.
“What?”

“
Pieces of training
mannequin dressed in firefighting gear.”

Rachel’s tried to look indifferent,
but Stacy didn’t buy it.

“
You knew?” Stacy’s voice
filled with hurt.

“
It was supposed to be
confidential. I was asked not to disclose it yet.”

“
Then why am I here helping
you? I thought we were friends. That you
trusted
me.”

“
I do trust you. You know
that, Stacy. I gave my word. It has nothing to do with us being
friends.”

“
I think it does. You have
given me stuff off the record. This is no different.”

“
Yes, it is. You aren’t
listening. I gave my word I wouldn’t say anything. I would have
told you as soon as I could.”

“
It would’ve been too late.
Obviously. Someone has already beaten me to the punch.”

“
I’m sorry, but I will not
go back on my word.”

Stacy checked her watch. “I have to
go. My plane leaves in one hour.”

“
Ok. Please don’t be upset
with me.”

“
I’ll see you when I get
back.” Stacy turned around and made her way through the dwindling
media crowd. Rachel let out a long sigh. She knew there was a risk
in being friends with a reporter, but she thought Stacy understood
there were some things she couldn’t discuss when there was an
ongoing investigation. Rachel walked back to her truck where Mike
was waiting for her. She tried to put it out of her
head.

“
Is everything okay?” he
asked. “You look upset.”

“
No, I’m fine. It’ll work
itself out.”

“
Are you ready to go drive
by some of these rental properties?”

“
Yes. I want to see for
myself if Flores is hiding something.”

Santa Rosa Beach, Saturday
11:34pm

Rachel was vaguely aware she had
the dream again. She is watching her little girl Mallory playing in
the front yard. One minute she is playing with her dolls and the
next minute she vanishes in front of her eyes. She runs around the
yard yelling her name over and over. However, this dream is a
little different than the one she usually has. Her throat starts to
burn every time she screams Mallory’s name. Her lungs feel like
they are on fire. The coughing and choking sensations wake her
up.

She struggled to open her eyes. The
room was filled with smoke. She was so stunned by this, she thought
she was still dreaming. Then she noticed a flickering of bright
orange all around her room and realized it was not a dream. Panic
seeped through her body and for a moment she was entranced by the
fire.

I have to do something to
get out of here
. She looked around, but
could see no way out. The room was quickly engulfed in flames and
the smoke was making it hard for her to breath. It felt like a
knife was slicing through her lungs.

Rachel kicked off the covers and
thought about her dwindling options. It would be impossible to go
through the bedroom door. The doorway was blocked by a wall of
flames. She glanced at the window where the fire was starting to
eat away at the curtains. Her bedroom was on the second floor and
faced the beach. It would be a long drop down, but hopefully the
sand would cushion her fall. Choking on the smothering smoke,
Rachel started wrapping her hands around the sheets to protect them
from the glass. At most, she thought she may get some burns and a
broken bone by jumping. The only other option was to stay and be
burned alive.

Just as she started to brace
herself, glass shattered and rained down on her face. At first, she
thought the intensity of the heat blew out the window. Then a dark
figure entered through the window and reached out for
her.

She instinctively backed away.
“Rachel. It’s Mack.” A hand reached out to hers. Relief flooded
through her body. She quickly grabbed Mack’s hand and he guided her
to a ladder leaning against the house. As they were climbing down,
a blast of fire came out from the downstairs and propelled the
ladder away from the house. They hit the sand hard about twenty
feet away. Rachel was stunned for a few seconds.

“
Are you okay?” he asked
her.

She nodded yes while gulping fresh
air.

“
Easy. Take it slow,” Mack said,
rubbing her back.

“
What…happened?” Rachel asked
confused. She could hear sirens in the distance.

“
I’m not sure. Something downstairs
must have exploded. Stay here while I go get the paramedics. I’ll
be right back.”

An ambulance and a fire truck
pulled up the gravel drive just as Mack walked around front. He
took the paramedics around to the back where Rachel was still lying
on the beach. Mack stayed with her as they loaded her up on a
gurney and strapped an oxygen mask across her face.

Mack rubbed her arm. “You are going
to be okay. I’m going to ride in the truck with you to the
hospital.” She smiled weakly at him and then everything went
black.

***

At the hospital, she awoke to
whispered voices.

“
Hello?” she croaked out. Her mouth
was parched and her throat felt like it was on fire. She looked
around and saw an IV taped to her left arm and her right hand was
covered in bandages.

Mack’s face suddenly appeared in
front of her.

“
Hey. Looks who’s awake.” He smiled
at her.

“
What happened?”

“
There was a fire at the beach
house.”

The pain medication was making her
thoughts fuzzy. She was struggling to remember the fire. “I saw you
in the window.”

Mack nodded his head. “That’s
right. I was driving by and saw the flames from the road. I tried
the front door, but the fire was too intense. So, I found a ladder
in the storage area underneath the house and climbed up to the
second story. I got lucky and found you. You got a mouthful of
smoke, but the doctor says you will be okay.” He pushed the button
for the nurse and alerted her that Rachel was awake.

“
Water?” Rachel pointed to a carafe
on the nightstand next to her bed.

“
Ice chips.” Mack took a spoonful
and fed it to her.

“
Thanks.”

“
Everyone is worried about you.
Mike is down at the cafeteria getting some coffee,” Mack said as
the doctor walked in. “I’ll go get him for you while the doctor
talks to you.”

“
Thank you,” Rachel said
gratefully.

Dr. Schmitz told her she was a
lucky girl. No lung damage that they could tell. She had second
degree burns on her right hand, lacerations on her face and hands,
and a sprained ankle. He said she would stay overnight and if
everything went well, she could leave in the morning. The nurse
came in to give her a mild sedative and something for the
pain.

Mike walked into the room as the
doctor left. He kissed her on the forehead. “I was worried about
you.”

“
Thanks for being here. The doctor
said I’m fine and will be out of here tomorrow.”

“
Do you want me to stay with you
tonight?” Mike pointed to the sofa couch in the room.

“
No, I’m okay.”

“
I hope you don’t mind. I called
Stacy. She is headed back up here tomorrow morning.”

“
Thanks.” Rachel ate a few more ice
chips. She thought her voice was coming back stronger. “Any idea on
how the fire started?” she asked as Mack walked back into the
room.

Mack cleared his throat. “No. I
talked to Jeff Stanton and he was heading out to the scene. I’m
sure we will know something soon.”

“
This was the work of the arsonist,
wasn’t it?” Rachel asked.

Mack and Mike exchanged
glances.

“
We don’t know that yet, but it is
a strong possibility,” Mack said.

“
Apparently you have gotten the
attention of someone who doesn’t like you poking around in Sam’s
disappearance,” Mike said. “I would feel comfortable if you stayed
with me for a while.”

“
I guess that’s not a bad idea.”
Rachel felt her eyelids getting heavy.

“
The nurse must have given you some
strong drugs for you to be so agreeable so quickly.” Mike
laughed.

“
Ok. I’m going to get out of here.
Let you get some rest.” Mack said his goodbyes and left the
room.

Mike grabbed a blanket and pillow
and settled down on the couch by Rachel’s bed. He was going to stay
whether Rachel liked it or not. Within a couple of minutes, he was
asleep.

Santa Rosa Beach, Monday
7:30am

When she awoke the next morning,
the first thing she saw was Mike stretched out on the uncomfortable
couch.

She vaguely remembered the fire,
but couldn’t understand what Mike was doing on the couch. She
cleared her throat.

Mike shot straight up. “Hey. You’re
awake. How do you feel?”

“
Ready to get out of here. What are
you doing?”

“
I wanted to stay and make sure you
were okay.”

The nurse walked in and said she
was going to check her vital signs. She told Rachel the doctor
would be in soon and would probably release her this
morning.