Scorched Secrets, page 18
part #1 of Finnegan First Responders Series
She had no interest in sports but sensed the Finnegan gatherings were more about spending family time together than the games themselves. An entire day of togetherness was something she hadn’t experienced since her mother had died. “Sounds really nice.”
“You’re welcome to join us anytime,” he offered. “We’d love to have you.”
“Maybe when this is over.” She was secretly thrilled by his offer but tried not to read too much into it. Colin was being his usual nice and friendly self. She had no doubt Aiden would have made the same offer, even though there was absolutely no chemistry between them.
No, the constant sense of awareness she felt was just with Colin. She turned her attention to finishing the dishes. If Colin and Aiden could make this plan of theirs work, today could very well be their last time together.
By tomorrow morning, they’d go their separate ways.
Colin tore his gaze from Faye, forcing himself to concentrate on the mission ahead. He’d have to look around outside, too, when Aiden was finished. They all needed to be familiar with the barriers that may crop up as they executed this plan.
And that all depended on Rhy and his guys lending a hand. Two men, one who wasn’t a cop, couldn’t keep a close enough eye on the place. He was especially concerned with the houses on either side of them. They didn’t seem too close, but he knew how easily the dancing dragon could spin out of control. Tarin would be in enough trouble by loaning them the safe house. If they caused damage to the homes around them, his brother could lose his job.
He’d racked his brain last night, trying to come up with another place that might work. He’d considered using his personal condo, but the shared wall with another residence and the lack of bullet-resistant glass made that a less optimal option.
It troubled him to put Tarin’s job on the line, so he decided to call his brother Brady. In his role within the FBI, there may be another safe house option. When the call went to voice mail, he belatedly realized Brady, Grace, and their son, Caleb, may be in church too.
What they needed was a family meeting. He shot his brother Rhy a text, knowing his phone would be off in church but that he’d check his messages as soon as the service was finished.
Family meeting at SH. Call when able.
To his surprise, his brother texted back. Good idea. Will call soon.
Aiden knocked at the door. Colin peered through the peephole, then unlocked the door to let Aiden inside. As he shot the dead bolts home, two of them, he asked, “What did you think?”
“It’ll work. It’s not perfect, but the closest houses are far enough away that the occupants shouldn’t be in danger.”
“Rhy and the others will be here soon. I called a family meeting.” He raked his hand over his hair. “Brady may have another option for us too.”
“Good idea. But we can’t wait too long.” Aiden’s gaze was serious. “This guy hasn’t slowed down since this mess started. We need to set the trap ASAP.”
“I know.” He felt the same sense of urgency. If they didn’t go on offense, they’d be forced back into defensive mode.
By noon, a large part of the family was gathered in the safe house. Quinn and Sami, along with Alanna and Elly were missing, each on duty in their respective jobs today. The Finnegans had left their respective spouses at home too.
“I like the idea of using Faye’s phone as a lure,” Rhy said. “Not sure we should use this place for that, though.”
“I know,” Colin admitted, glancing at Tarin. “We don’t want to cause you trouble.”
“Believe it or not, I was able to finagle approval from my boss.” Tarin shrugged. “I promised to pay for any repairs or damage, so if we could keep that to a minimum, it would be great.”
“We can help with that,” Kyleigh spoke up. She was a sheriff’s deputy and recently married ADA Bax Scala. “Money isn’t as important as keeping Faye safe.”
“We’ll handle the financial side of things,” Rhy said firmly. Colin knew his oldest sibling didn’t like taking advantage of Kyleigh’s wealthy husband. Bax earned a modest salary in his job working for the state of Wisconsin as an ADA, but he had also inherited money from his grandparents’ estate. Savvy investing had doubled the amount over the years. “And if that’s the only barrier, then we should execute our plan here.”
“I agree,” Brady said. “We could find another safe house, but I can’t guarantee bullet-resistant windows.” He looked around in admiration. “Looks like the feds need to up their game. This place is great.”
“Keep in mind that bullet-resistant windows won’t prevent the arsonist from starting a fire outside,” Colin warned. “He could easily douse the exterior with gasoline or some other accelerant and light it up. The exterior is mostly brick, but there’s wood window frames and some siding.”
“I hear you,” Rhy said. “And that’s kind of the point of this idea, isn’t it? To draw this guy out into the open, forcing his hand so we can arrest him.”
“Shouldn’t Mitch Callahan be involved?” Faye asked. She’d been unusually quiet during the discussion, maybe daunted by the number of Finnegans in the room.
“Normally, yes.” He glanced at his brothers and Kyleigh. “He has a family, and I was thinking it would be better if we leave him out of this part. You too, Rhy. With Devon expecting, it would be best if you would let the rest of us handle this.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening. And Callahan won’t like being excluded either,” Rhy pointed out. “But I understand your perspective. As the arson investigator, he’s the one we call once we have a suspected arson event, so we can hold off for now. I’ve called Joe Kingsley and a few of my tactical guys. They’re ready and willing to help. I’m confident in my team’s ability to protect us.”
“I take it they’re volunteering for this mission?” Colin asked.
“They are.” Rhy grinned. “We’re calling it a training session.”
“What time do we bait the trap?” Brady asked.
“I was originally thinking we should wait until later tonight.” Colin grimaced. “But it would be easier for all of us if we set the trap earlier than later.”
“I agree,” Aiden said. “This guy has struck during the daytime before. No reason to think he wouldn’t do so again now.”
“Staying well hidden during the daytime won’t be easy.” Kyleigh frowned. “And even if we set the trap later this afternoon, there’s no guarantee what time this guy will show up.”
“That would be true no matter what time we set the trap.” Colin glanced at each of his siblings. “You guys are the experts, what do you think?”
“We set the trap at four p.m.,” Rhy said. “That gives us time to get my guys into position. Colin, we need you and Faye to be settled nearby too. Preferably with one of us guarding you.”
“I’m armed and can take care of myself.” Colin glanced at Faye, who nodded.
“I can watch Colin’s back,” Aiden offered.
“Works for me.” Rhy rose to his feet. “I’m going to notify my guys. They’ll need time to get geared up and settled in place.”
They hammered out the rest of the details over the next hour. By three thirty, they were ready to go. Faye took out her phone, powered it up, and used it to call her father.
“Hey, Dad, just want you to know I’m still doing well.” Her gaze clung to Colin’s as she spoke. He shook his head, indicating she shouldn’t go into detail about the fire at the lake house rental yet. They needed to set the phone down in the kitchen, then get out of the safe house.
“I have to go, but I’ll be in touch later, okay?” She was clearly trying to wrap up the call. “I promise everything is fine. Bye.” She lowered the phone and ended the call. “I feel terrible not letting him know about the lake house incident.”
“I know, but that would take a long explanation we don’t have time for now.” He took the phone from her fingers and set it on the kitchen table. “It will be easier news once we have the guy responsible behind bars.”
“You’re right.” Her smile was weary. “To be honest, I can’t wait for that to happen. For the danger to be over once and for all.”
“I’m with you on that.” He took one last glance around the safe house, then headed for the door. “Let’s go. Aiden found a spot down the road between three evergreen trees that we can use for cover.”
She nodded and followed him outside. Large puffy clouds had rolled in off Lake Michigan, providing some relief from the hot August sun. He didn’t bother locking the door since there were several tactical team members and Finnegans stationed in various locations nearby keeping an eye out for anything remotely suspicious. By the time anyone resembling the arsonist approached the door, they’d be on top of him.
Rhy’s team had earpiece radio devices that allowed them to communicate. Joe Kingsley, Rhy’s team leader, had brought extras for the rest of them. Colin wasn’t accustomed to hearing voices in his ear, but he did his best to listen to the chatter between the rest of the team while keeping alert for danger.
They walked down the street to the evergreen tree location. As they’d made plans, there had been a debate about evicting the neighbors. In the end, they’d agreed that with so many of them keeping watch, there shouldn’t be any danger to the nearby properties. Kyleigh and Brady, would be set up closest to those properties, had agreed to evacuate those homes if something did go awry. He trusted his siblings to do that without a problem.
One thing about fire, it took a while to gain momentum. Even with an accelerant, the flames didn’t spread instantaneously. Fire covered the area where the accelerant had been used, but the rest of the property would take time to burn.
Time enough to rescue anyone who might be in the houses nearby.
He and Faye stood near Aiden, nestled in the pine trees. Her gaze encompassed both of them. “How long do you think this will take?” Faye asked.
“No idea.” Colin glanced through some of the thinner branches to see the road. “I have to assume it will take some time for this guy to realize your phone is on, then more time to locate and track it here. I’ve put everyone on alert about the sedan, but we should make sure to look at every vehicle approaching the property as a potential suspect.” Colin wouldn’t put anything past this guy, including stealing a car to throw them off track.
“You may as well sit down,” Aiden advised. “We will likely be here for a while.”
“I’m too nervous.” Faye clasped her hands together. “I pray this guy shows up soon.”
Colin knew it was very likely the arsonist wouldn’t show up until dark, but he didn’t say that. In his earpiece he could hear the guys warning each other to stay alert, emphasizing that waiting was the hardest part.
After ten minutes of standing, Faye dropped to the ground. She put her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them. “Maybe we should have waited until dark,” she muttered.
“Maybe.” He dropped down beside her. “I have faith that he’ll show soon, though.”
The chatter through the earpiece went silent as everyone settled in.
After fifteen minutes, Rhy’s voice came through the earpiece. “Van approaching from the north, heading south.”
“I see it,” Joe Kingsley said. “Looks like two people in front.”
Colin had given Aiden the binocs, which he used to zoom in on the van. “A young guy and a woman. Doubtful they’re our target.”
“Agreed. They’re driving past,” Brady said. “Final destination seems to be a house farther down the street.”
“Roger that,” Rhy confirmed.
They waited another hour without seeing anything out of the ordinary. Colin was beginning to doubt the wisdom of his plan. Granted, Rhy and the others had agreed, so he couldn’t have been that far off base. This was their wheelhouse more so than his.
Still, the minutes dragged by with excruciating slowness.
“Another vehicle approaching from the south,” Joe Kingsley said. “It’s a dark-gray sedan.”
Colin jumped to his feet. “Can I see?” he asked Aiden.
“Sure.” His brother handed over the binocs. He found the sedan but couldn’t get a good look at the driver. The angle of the sun caused a shadow. “I can’t make out the driver’s features,” he muttered.
“The sedan is passing me,” Kyleigh said a few minutes later. “The driver didn’t slow down at all as he passed by.”
“So maybe not our guy,” Aiden said.
Colin knew there would likely be several false alarms before the arsonist showed. His stomach rumbled with hunger, but he ignored it.
“I see a kid walking down the street from the south,” Joe said. “Wearing a baggy hoodie and a backpack over his shoulders. I don’t see anything in either hand.”
He thought about the kid on the boat and was about to take the binoculars when Faye took them. “I’d like to see.”
He bit back a protest as she used the glasses to focus on the kid. She sucked in a harsh breath and shoved the binocs into his stomach. “It’s Annie. We need to get her out of here!”
“Hold on—” But it was too late. Faye darted from the shelter of the trees, running straight toward her half sister.
Colin rushed after her, his stomach tied in knots. They were far from Brookland where Annie lived with Claire and Dorian Kimble.
What was she doing here?
Chapter Fifteen
“Annie!” Faye shouted to get her sister’s attention. For a moment, she thought the teenager would ignore her, but then she stopped and waited for Faye to catch up. A strange smile creased her features.
“Fancy meeting you here, sis.” Annie’s tone reeked of sarcasm. She lifted her hand and flicked a lighter. On, then off. On and off.
A chill snaked down Faye’s spine as realization sank deep into her bones. No, it couldn’t be.
“Faye, stay back!” Colin’s urgent tone came from behind her. “Don’t go any closer. She might be armed.”
“He’s right.” Annie’s lips thinned in a grim smile. She opened her hoodie revealing a can of some sort tucked against her. Instantly, she had the can in one hand with the lighter in the other. “I am armed. This wasn’t what I’d hoped to use, I have more in my backpack. But it will do in a pinch. It’s time to end this once and for all.”
“It was you?” Faye could barely comprehend what was happening. “You’ve been the one starting these fires? Why? What did I ever do to you?”
“You’ve been the golden girl for years,” Annie hissed in a low, angry voice. “Dad has always loved you better than me. And you know what? He should love me more! I’m his real flesh-and-blood daughter, while you’re just a stray kid he brought home and adopted from some lame family killed in a fire.”
Faye gaped at her. “What are you talking about?”
“DNA,” Annie spat. “Yours and mine. No genetic match. Not one little bit of shared DNA, which explains why you’re so smart and I’m so dumb!” Annie was shouting now, her face contorted in a mask of rage.
Faye had no clue what Annie was talking about, although now that she thought about it, she didn’t really resemble either of her parents. The DNA news was a shock, but that wasn’t the pressing issue.
Talking her sister off the ledge was.
“You don’t want to do this, Annie.” Faye held her hands up, palms facing forward. As if that might stop the teenager from zapping her with accelerant and fire. “I never knew I wasn’t my dad’s biological daughter. You’re incredibly smart to have figured that out.”
“Don’t patronize me!” Annie flicked the lighter on and off again. “I hate you!”
“I can understand how much you must resent me. But this isn’t going to change anything, Annie. It will only hurt you. Please, don’t do this. Hand the canister, lighter, and backpack to me, okay?” Faye continued talking to her in a calm voice, hoping and praying the Finnegans and the members of Rhy’s tactical team could grab Annie without hurting her.
Or getting burned themselves.
“Stop it!” Annie’s wide eyes looked wild. “I don’t want to hear you talking!” She lifted the hand with the container and aimed it toward Faye as the other hand flicked the lighter.
“No!” Faye shouted. Colin ran forward, slapping Annie’s hand holding the lighter upward. The lighter tumbled through the air, landing somewhere out of sight.
Colin slammed Annie against the ground, squashing the backpack beneath her. Instantly, the scent of lighter fluid enveloped them. Annie wrestled under Colin’s weight, squirming as she tried to escape.
No, not escape. Faye watched as Annie pulled something out of the pocket of her jeans.
“She has another lighter!” She rushed forward to pull Colin off her sister just as Annie flicked the lighter on. The fluid must have leaked onto Annie’s clothes, and Colin’s too, because the flame raced along their damp clothing.
“No! Help!” Faye grabbed Colin, yanking hard to get him away from Annie. The rest of the Finnegans arrived, each of them tearing off their clothing, using the items to smother the flames.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” Annie chanted as she fought off their attempts to rescue her. Colin stumbled upright, tore his paint-thinner-dampened shirt off, and tossed it aside.
“Are you hurt?” Faye raked her gaze over him.
“I’m okay. I wasn’t as soaked as your sister.”
The rest of the team was doing their best to put out the fire that engulfed Annie. Joe Kingsley raked the backpack off her and threw it into the center of the road a few yards away. “We need to get out of here,” he shouted.
The group of Finnegans grabbed her sister and ran away from the backpack. Faye, Colin, and Rhy followed. There was a loud whooshing sound as the entire backpack ignited in a ball of fire.
“Annie, are you okay?” Reassured Colin had escaped the worst of the blaze, Faye turned her attention to Annie. Her sister had stopped screaming and chanting, likely overwhelmed now by the pain of the burn. “We need a first-aid kit.”
