Caught in the Flames (48 page)

“Here, here. I’ve got you.” He hands over a steaming mug and I shut my eyes to inhale the splendor that is my first cup of the day. “It’s almost seven. I need to get going soon. I want to run home to shower and change before meeting up with Cam. You hungry?” He motions to the refrigerator and I’m sure if I say yes he’ll stay to make me something.

I shake my head, “Coffee’s good.” I sip from my mug. “How late did you stay up last night?”

“Hmm . . .” He runs his hand through his hair and then picks up his keys, cell, and ball cap from the counter. “Maybe two? I hope I didn’t wake you. I was trying to be quiet.”

“Two!” My eyes widen and I yawn just thinking about it. “Boy, you’re crazy. You didn’t have to stay.”

“Actually, I kinda did.” He grins and nods to the kitchen window.

“Oh shit!” That’s a lot of snow. I walk closer to check out the winter wonderland. It’s beautiful, the way the snow covers everything in freshly packed flakes. It builds the excitement I have to head home to see Dad next week. Of course, this is nothing in comparison to a Minnesota winter and I’m glad for that.

“Yeah, plows just came through. I’m guessing we got a good eighteen inches.” He slaps his hat onto his head and then bends the bill between his hands. “But look at this place!” he exclaims. Only when I turn to examine the mess we made do I have a mini heart attack. Rolls of old carpet are stacked in one corner and there are three large containers full of what was my kitchen floor. Dust settles everywhere.

“Don’t worry, Callie. Just remember how bad the yard looked. It has to get worse before it can get better.”

“I hope you’re right.” Thank God we aren’t touching the basement. At least there I still have a clean hideaway.

“Trust me,” he says lightly but my eyes snap to meet his.

I nod once. “I do.”

His lips pull up at the edges. “Good. Now, I’ve got to get this shit over with. I’ll be back.”

“Don’t you ever sleep?” I laugh and he joins in as he walks to the front door.

“Years of firefighting. I only need a little. Bye, Callie!” He waves over his shoulder.

“Bye! Good luck today,” I shout back. When the lock clicks I glance around. I have no fucking clue how to renovate or remodel a house. But there is one thing I’m exceptional with and that’s organization. After I finish my drink and wash the cup in the sink I make the brave trek down the hall to Kiki’s room.

If this place is supposed to be mine, I can’t stay in the basement forever.

I need to go through her things.

I wish it were the weekend so I could ask Alicia or Jill to help. No,
I
need to do this. No one else will go through her belongings with more care than I will. And knowing the kind of woman Kiki was, I feel confident she’d want me to donate as much as possible. I’ll keep a few things, but her letter, and this house, those are her real gifts to me.

Stepping into her room, I do a quick inventory and make a plan of attack. Logistical madness pulses in my veins at the prospect of this new project. I run back downstairs to grab a few things so I can take on this new day with a cleaning vengeance.

With the music playing full blast an hour into my work I’m feeling as though I’ve got my groove back. I shake my hips and sing along to a top forty station. Using the master bedroom as my sorting grounds since the rest of the main floor is a torn up mess, I’ve set up zones for each category: keep, donate, trash.

I started in the closet and since most of that contains clothes, shoes, bags, and the like, I’m proud of how much I accomplished in such a short time. Me, being the sort of person I am, can’t help but organize the clothes by size into separate trash bags and mark them accordingly. I finished going through all her clothes and I’m struggling with the marker in hand. Ink must be out.

I stand and toss it into the bag marked for trash and do a little shimmy to the music on my way down the hall. A scratch, sort of bump sound pulls my attention to the front window and when I move closer to investigate Silas pokes his head out from the curtains with an annoyed meow.

He trots close and rubs against my leg so I take pity on him and pick him up. “Hey, buddy. You not getting enough attention today? I’m sorry.” I scratch between his ears and then down his neck. His purrs thrum against my chest. “That’s right, you just needed a little lovin’, didn’t you?”

There’s that sound again and I stop petting Silas so he’ll quiet down with the purring. I tilt my head and listen, but all that fills the room is the music playing from the bedroom.
Strange.
I blow out a breath and shake my head before setting Silas down. I need a new marker and then it’s back to work.

Jogging down the stairs I retrieve five of my beloved markers, all in different shades in case I decide to color code as well. Hell, who am I kidding, of course I will. When my foot hits the first step there’s that strange noise again, only this time it’s followed with a whoosh and screech.

“Help! Get me out! Help!” The woman’s screams are muted, as if they’re behind a wall, but really close considering the volume and clarity.
What the hell?
“Help! Someone fucking help!”

It almost sounds as if it’s coming from outside the basement, but how could that be?

Thump. Thump. Thump
.

I jump back, almost scream, and study the basement windows. There are only two down here, and they’re quite large even though most days they don’t let in much light because the opening between the wall and earth isn’t very deep. The thumping sounds again, followed by cursing, and maybe cries. I see the window furthest from me shake with each thump as I step closer. The window is covered about halfway with snow and then a pair of legs. Human legs attached to a woman who is wedged into the space.

“Help!” she cries again, and this time the sound registers with familiarity. No! It can’t be! I race up the stairs and into Kiki’s bedroom where I throw open the curtains to the perfect view. I can’t contain my giggle.

Tiff is stuck. Firmly planted in the snow in the space between the house and yard. The snow comes all the way up to her armpits and she’s struggling to claw her way out. Only she’s very, very stuck. Her hair and face, which are always so put together, unveil her frazzled rage. She’s positively pissed off. I laugh louder and her gaze snaps up to where I stand in the window.

“Don’t just stand there! Get me out of here, you fucking bitch!”

I’m almost tempted to leave her and see how long it takes to get herself out, but then I’d have to listen to her cries and insults. With a sweet smile in place I call back. “Don’t worry! I’ll help you. Wait right there!” I jog over to retrieve my phone from where it’s still docked in the speaker and playing music.

I dial in the three numbers I used to fear. Only this time I’m a little giddy to press the send button. My ringer sounds before I get the chance. It’s Ash.

I abandon the emergency call and pick up. “So you are never going to believe what I found outside my window—”

“That fucking prick!” Ash growls through the line. “You will not believe what just happened!”

“So . . . your thing first. What happened?” I glance over to make sure Tiff’s exactly where I left her. She sure is. Her head hangs limply and her blonde locks cover her face. I’m worried for two short seconds until she throws her head back and screams.

“What was that? You okay, Callie?”

“I’m fine, it’s just a bitch stuck in a window. So, you were saying . . .”

“Ugh! Just pisses me off. Cam wasn’t even there. I rolled in on time and went in the station and no one had any clue I was coming. The captain on duty said I must’ve had my facts wrong ’cause there was no way in hell Cameron McClain would call a meeting at his station. Fucking pricks. All of them.”

“Wait? But what about his text?”

“I have no clue. Unless he was just fucking with me, but that’s a dick move.”

Tiff screams again. I cringe and carefully inch toward the window so I can observe her without returning the favor. “So, I have something that’s sure to put a smile on your face.” I’m already holding in my own laughter.

“Thank God. Tell me.”

“You know those windows, the ones in the basement where there’s like a big gap between the wall and the ground.”

His soft chuckle accompanies his reply. “The egress windows, yeah, what about them?”

“Well, Tiffany McClain is stuck in one of the chutes as we speak.” Tiff must have killer radar because she looks up at that exact moment and meets my grin with twisted, angry curse words. I just wave and smile.

Ash begins to laugh. “No way. You’re fucking with me.”

“Yes, way. She’s full on stuck. I have no clue what she was doing here but she can’t get out. I’m guessing she didn’t know they were there because of the snow.”

“Holy shit. That’s crazy!” He laughs and then ends, “Damn it.”

“What?”

“Nothing, I probably won’t get back before Rescue pulls her out. You gotta snap a few pics for me.”

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t? But I should probably let you go. I haven’t called emergency yet and she’s looking a little purple.”

“Callie!” Ash laughs.

“I know, I know. I was going to but then you called and I’m getting way too much enjoyment from watching her squirm.” I turn and walk away from the window.

“Take pictures. Lots. Now go call the station.”

“Bye, Ashley.” I tease and end the call to make the other. I talk with the dispatcher and she assures me that Station Ten is on its way, along with police. I almost argue against sending the cops but then it dawns on me that there’s a reason for Tiffany’s appearance in my yard today, and it’s most certainly not neighborly. Slipping on a pair of boots and my thick coat I step outside to meet the truck as it pulls up to the curb. When Chase gets out first my heart doesn’t even stutter. I’ve come a long way.

“What seems to be the trouble, Callie?” Chase raises his brow and purses his lips.

“Your sister is stuck in my backyard.”

“What?” He almost laughs as if I’m joking. His reaction makes it all the more entertaining and I have to fight back my own smile.

“Come on, let me show you.”

Chase and the rest of the guys follow me around to the back. There are several footprints that’ve messed the fresh snow along the perimeter of my house. A chill works its way up my spine and I clench my jaw so my teeth don’t chatter. When we round the building Tiff’s sobs greet us.

“Tiffany?” Chase’s brow furrows and he goes to her, careful not to fall and catch a leg himself.

“Chase!” Tiff sobs between her teeth’s chatter. Her lips outline with a shade of purplish-blue and I feel a little bad that I made her suffer longer than I should have until she opens her mouth. “That bitch watched me fall in here!” She waves a finger in my direction and a glower covers her face.

“Tiffany, what happened? Why are you here?”

“She needed to pay! I warned her. She can’t fucking take what belongs to me. No one messes with me. She doesn’t deserve this place. She never deserved you!” She’s gone full psycho and I’m thankful when the two patrolmen come around the corner just in time to witness her meltdown.

“We’ll get you out. Don’t move, okay?” Chase turns to leave but not before her nails grip his leg and dig into his pants.

“No. Don’t leave me. I’m scared, Chase. I never thought I was your sister. You have to believe me. I never dreamed that could be a possibility!”

Chase is visibly uncomfortable and tries to move out of her reach, but at the same time reprimanding her. “Not here, okay? We’ll talk about that later.”

“Later! Later? When, Chase? When’s later? We were good together, baby. Don’t you see that? Before Callie came around and fucked everything up.” She turns her glare on me. “You! I should’ve burned you alive the first time! I would’ve today! And I won’t let you get away with what you’ve done to my family. If I hadn’t fallen I would’ve laughed and watched while this place burned down, you conniving whore!”

“That’s enough,” Chase shouts, but it’s too late. Three other firemen and two police officers have just witnessed Tiff’s confession.

“You boys get ’er out of there before we have to dig ’er out ourselves,” one of the officers says in a deep southern drawl. The next minutes blur in a flurry of action as the department pulls a screaming Tiff from the ground, more cops are called to the scene, and Tiff is arrested and placed in the back of a car while we’re all interviewed. By the time Ash pulls his car to the curb, I realize I’m never going to live it down.

I forgot to take the damn pictures!

Oh, well, her arrest for my attempted murder should give me a pass for forgetting such details. Ash gets out of his car and steps toward me just as the crew is released from talking with detectives. Chase passes Ash on the driveway and they bump shoulders.

“What the fuck, man?” Chase says with a glare.

“Watch where you’re going, Matthews. And tell your brother the next time he wants to fuck with me, do it to my face and not over text messaging like the pansy ass he is.” Ash cuts back.

“What are you talking about?” Chase shakes his head.

“Cam. Texted me yesterday and told me to meet him at Eighty-two. Fucking waste of my day.”