Secret Agent Under Fire Page 6

  “Oh.” She felt her face redden but Keith’s calm expression, the lack of judgment in his eyes, helped her feel safe despite her jumbled simile. Was there anything in her that wasn’t shaken up by Keith’s presence?

  She broke eye contact and gave him her address. Oddly, she didn’t mind telling him. She got nothing but healthy, albeit wary, vibes from Keith Paruso. Plus maybe some more intense feelings that could lead to an intimacy she wasn’t ready for, might never be ready for. She’d examine those later.

  “That’s the old Pearson farm, right?”

  “I’ve no idea who owned it before but, yes, it’s a couple-of-centuries-old farmhouse, originally.” And when she’d scoured the photos and description at the real-estate office it had looked absolutely delicious. Stone walls, dark roof, the rectangular building sat on the highest point of a hill that overlooked Silver Valley. It was in the middle of farm fields all around but the tree line for the Appalachian Trail was visible from the driveway’s entrance. The trail had called to her since she’d arrived in Silver Valley. Abi loved hiking and camping.

  “You’re not worried about living in a farmhouse with the current case?” Keith’s brow furrowed and Abi tried to ignore the warm fuzzies that blossomed in her center.

  “No. Don’t forget, I’ve been trained by the FBI. And it would be stupid for the arsonists to target me—they’d get caught.”

  “I like how you think, Abi. I’d like to meet you there. In about ten minutes. That is, if you don’t mind?”

  “I don’t mind.”

  His face infused with relief. “I’ve always wanted to get a look inside that house. It was in the same family for so long and they didn’t have kids in our generation, so I’ve never seen it.”

  “Glad to oblige. We can finish our discussion there.” She reached for the check and his hand beat her to it. One instant later and their hands would have collided. Keith’s hands felt like he looked. Strong, masculine, sexy. She wished he’d grabbed her hand instead of the check.

  “I’ve got this, Abi. You can buy the next one.” His tone was so certain, so sure that there would be a “next” time that she had to resist her natural instinct to buck against his strong will. No one, no man she barely knew, told her what to do or what her future would be. She opened her mouth to tell Keith something to that effect, but he was already at the cash register, his wide grin splitting his handsome face as he spoke with the diner manager.

  Keith Paruso was not a man who was easily directed.

  Chapter 5

  “You’ll be able to rent for six to twelve months before you have to make a decision to purchase or not.” Diane Murphy, Silver Valley’s “premier” real-estate agent, according to the billboard boasting her headshot on Silver Valley Pike, clacked around the empty dining room, her spike heels incongruous with the historical, albeit modernized, home.

  Abi stood in front of the wall of windows that had been retrofitted with the farmhouse’s most recent upgrade. There were alpaca and sheep grazing in the field just outside the perimeter fence. She knew the animals because whenever she had time off from her Trail Hiker contracts she’d joined some of her college friends and picked back up a hobby she’d once loved: knitting.

  Knitting. That could certainly qualify as one of her passions, but not something she wanted to make a living at. Silver Valley already had a local yarn shop. She needed the thrill of physically exerting herself past her limits, like she did when she hiked a rocky trail or climbed an elevation past what she ever thought she could do. Could she make a new career out of her love of the outdoors? A tiny thrill rode up her spine as she envisioned the possibility of shedding the career she’d sought as a grief-stricken adolescent. Arson investigation had been her life but she needed more. Wanted more.

  “Isn’t the view wonderful? And look at the goats.” Diane’s words were so enthusiastic Abi didn’t have the heart to correct her animal identification skills.

  “Is all of this land with the house? How much of the land am I responsible for maintaining?” She didn’t own a trowel much less a lawn mower.

  “Mmm, let me see...” Diane used her lacquered fingernail as a line marker, running through pages of spreadsheets. “Great news! All of the land, save for what’s inside the picket fence and the big red barn, is rented out. The farmers work it for you! Isn’t that wonderful?” Her eyelash extensions and heavy makeup were distracting. Abi had seen lighter foundation during a stage production.

  “What’s good about it is that you won’t have to worry about a brush fire, not if the farmers are watering and working the land.” Keith had remained quiet throughout the tour, shadowing them from room to room.

  “Here, in south central Pennsylvania? Does it ever get that dry?”

  “This isn’t DC. You’ve had a lot of rain down there this past year, thanks to El Niño, and we had our share of it, too. But it’s not enough to keep the dry spells away. We get long periods of high heat and no precipitation. Add in the winds that come with cold fronts and the jet stream, and it’s the ideal mix for forest fires. If farmland goes untended, it becomes the perfect fuel for brush fires.”

  Abi didn’t like looking stupid, especially about anything to do with fires. But her ignorance was real. “I’m from Philly. I just never thought of Pennsylvania as a high-risk area for fires. Other than a home fire.”

  “It’s another reason the Silver Valley Fire Department is stretched so thin as we head into the summer months.”

  Their gazes met and his bright eyes reflected the knowledge they shared: add in a few arsonists working for a crazed cult and people were going to get killed before the summer was out. The math was pure and simple. There weren’t enough SVFD fighters to handle the heavy load.

  “Um, guys? I know you’re in the fire business and all, Keith, but, really, when’s the last time Silver Valley had a grass fire? Truly, Abi, it’s not something you should worry about. All of the farmers are local and they’ll all be willing to talk to you, I’m sure. Especially if you decide to purchase.”

  “And I’ll deal with you for the entire time I lease?”

  “Yes, I’ll be your rental agent. I’m the property manager until we sell. The family’s decided to split the proceeds after the place sells, and none of the children or grandchildren are interested in the place. It’s kind of sad, since it was in the same family for almost a hundred years.”

  “The Pearsons.” Keith ran a hand along the solid cherry-wood balustrade that graced the main staircase. “I heard that this place used to be a tavern before they converted it to a farmhouse.”

  More scratching of nail against paper as Diane did more searching. “Here!” She flicked at the page. “Look, it’s a copy of the paper from last month. They found the remains of a meeting place, or club, that was used by some of the founders.”

  “Founders?” Abi frowned as she took the paper from Diane. “Oh, my goodness, you mean the Founding Fathers, as in the men who wrote the Bill of Rights!” Abi wanted to put a down payment on the mortgage on the spot. Where else would she ever afford to own a piece of American history?

  “I’ll leave you with that, and if you even think you’d like to rent this place, Abi, you should jump on it. It won’t last long.” Diane smiled and stood still in her perfectly tailored Chanel-style suit, living the kind of life Abi couldn’t fathom. One without constant danger, fighting nearly demonic forces that seemed to possess the crazy criminals she pursued.

  “About that barn...is it empty? A good storage area?”

  “It’s in perfect condition. You could keep your car in there, and anything else you need to. I wouldn’t keep things that the temperature affects, but plastic bins would probably be great.”

  A storage area for her kayak, paddleboard, skis, tent, backpack. She looked out the front window and noted the rise of the mountains, the bare parts of the round
ed mountaintops that indicated ski resorts. If she wanted to make a living in adventure travel, Silver Valley was the perfect spot. Somewhere deep inside her the knot she’d carried since her high school best friend’s death started to unfurl.

  “I’m in. Where do I sign?”

  * * *

  A half hour later Diane was gone and Abi sat on the front porch stoop with Keith. “I can’t believe I’m getting all of this for the same price as a tiny walk-up condo in Alexandria.”

  “You’re renting.” He said it like a verdict. His tone said everything his words didn’t. You’re not permanent here. You’re just passing through. You’re not a real resident of Silver Valley.

  “For now.” She wasn’t about to tell Keith Paruso, a man she hardly knew, all of her plans. Not that she had anything concrete.

  “Why settle down here? It’ll feel slow after the pace you’re used to. And doesn’t your family want you closer to Philadelphia?”

  What was his freaking problem?

  “Let’s get one thing straight, Keith. We need to come together on some level to work together and close this case as quickly as we can. I don’t want to see your firefighters put in any more danger than they need to be. And I’m going to do everything in my power to get these losers. I can’t do it if you’re in my way.”

  “Who said I’m in your way?”

  “For starters, you’re assuming you know who I am, where I’m from, like when you just said it’s quieter here than I’m used to. How do you know what I’m used to? For all you know I spend my off time hiking the Appalachian Trail.” Which she did, actually.

  “Doubtful. You wouldn’t have the experience you do if you hadn’t put your whole self into your career. And even though I would have thought our paths would cross before this most recent arson, I’m pretty certain you haven’t had much free time since SVPD hired you. Hiking the least challenging parts of the AT takes at least half a day, by the time you drive out there and back.” Keith’s words rang true. Not the hiking part, but the accurate assessment that she’d put her whole life into her career. To the detriment of her personal life.

  “That brings me to my other point, Keith. Our personal lives are off-limits. We’re work colleagues. It’s none of your business what I do with my personal time.”

  “It’s my business to know you, Abi. You’re the one who’s going to keep my firefighters from getting hurt. From being sent into a booby trap. And you think I’m going to take your word for it that you know what the hell you’re doing?”

  “I don’t report to you, Keith. If you want professional references, start with Rio or Chief Todd.”

  The tension between them belied the serenity that practically oozed off the encompassing fields. A bird twittered nearby, as if unsure by the sudden change of energy. Abi could feel Keith’s body heat from the nearness of his thigh as they sat next to one another on the stoop. Yet he seemed unperturbed by their words.

  Keith sat quietly, staring at the hills of farmland that stretched as far as they could see from the porch. His profile was relaxed but the grim lines around his mouth betrayed the air of nonchalance.

  “I don’t want to spar with you, Abi. We got off on the wrong foot because we were after the same thing the other morning, and the bad guy got away. We’re both professionals, so we were understandably upset. My desire is for us to be on the same page, at least close enough so that the next time one of the creeps runs past us, we catch him.”

  “I agree.” From some unknown pool of sadness, a lump arose in her throat. Keith wasn’t her father, but he was a firefighter like her father had been. One of the good guys. She trusted her professional instinct on this. “I’m sorry that I got so wound up. It’s been an adjustment, taking work here and now deciding to move here.”

  “But you’re only renting. What will you do when this case is over? There isn’t enough arson work in Silver Valley for the PD to keep you employed.”

  “I have other options.” She couldn’t share more with him, certainly nothing about Trail Hikers. Hell, she didn’t know what she was going to do after they wrapped up this case. As for her thoughts on starting her own business, they were too fresh to share with anyone, especially the very man she needed to guard from sharing too much with.

  * * *

  It had been just over a week since Abi and Keith parted ways at the farmhouse. He’d said he was going to the fire station and she went to the police station. Abi spent the rest of that day, and all the days in between, poring over Trail Hiker files on the True Believer—aka New Thought—Cult. They were rebranding themselves as the New Thought community but it was the same modus operandi Leonard Wise had used in upstate New York for the True Believers.

  Abi would have preferred the quiet and isolation of the Trail Hikers headquarters and its access to more classified files on Wise, but she continued to work at SVPD to maintain her cover as a police contractor.

  “Find anything?” Rio slid into the chair across from her in the small conference room where she’d set up shop. His steaming cup of tea reminded her that she hadn’t gotten up from her seat since arriving at the station around noontime.

  “Nada.” She stretched. “I’m looking for any clue as to why the cult, namely Leonard Wise, would want to plague Silver Valley with arson. Torching abandoned buildings can be dramatic, but they don’t concern a community until it starts being occupied homes. Even then, it’s hard to figure out the arsonist’s motive.”

  “Except you said you believe there’s more than one fire starter.”

  “I do. Claudia agrees, as do I, that our analysts are onto something. If you look at this map, it’s clear.” She moved her iPad and pointed to a large paper map that was stretched across the table. “The places that have been torched started out on the periphery of town, not far from the trailer park where they’re all living. Then they went through town, but still unoccupied structures. Look here—they went out of town to the base of the Appalachians, near the abandoned quarry, and now are coming back up the main pike. If the rate of fires set continues at the same pace, the arsonists will have torched a total of eighteen buildings by next month.”

  “What does the path of the targets tell us?” Rio stared at the map as if willing an answer to come forth.

  “Not much. Until you increase the scale, or zoom out the map. Here.” She handed him her iPad where she had the graphic displayed. “Do you see what I do?”

  Rio frowned but his downturned mouth curved up as his brow rose and he laughed. “Holy crap, it’s in the shape of an arrow.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But it’s only pointing to a farm field.”

  “Not any farm field.” She expanded the map. “It leads up to the playground of Silver Valley Elementary School.”

  “No way.”

  “Of course, it’s summertime. Summer break. If anyone tries to set the building on fire, we can be fairly certain no one will be in harm’s way. I called the building superintendent and there is only one janitor that goes through the building on a weekly basis. No kids, no adult workshops or what have you. Nothing to worry about, casualty-wise. But the building itself could be at risk.”

  “Why would they target an elementary school during the summer, then? They’re not going to get a lot of press without any kids in there. And not when school’s out of session.”

  “That’s the million-dollar question, Detective Ortega. My hunch is that it would be a test run for when school starts.”

  * * *

  Keith walked into his station and found a fire hall full of tired, overworked fighters who needed a vacation. He called the team that was on duty together at the large eating table in the commercial-size kitchen.

  “Hey, everyone. I’m proud of the work we’re doing.” Grumbles immediately arose from the men and women who were still peeved about the arsonist getting
away from them at the abandoned farmhouse ten days ago. Keith held up his hands, palms out. “Hey, knock it off. No, we didn’t get the creep, but that’s not our job. Our job is what, folks?”

  “Fire suppression.”

  “Public education.”

  “EMT services.”

  Of course the newly fledged officers spoke up first. The long-timers raised eyebrows, took a sip of their coffee, shrugged.

  Keith laughed. “All of the above, right? It’s whatever we need to do. But nowhere in our job description is ‘apprehension of the criminal.’ We’ve held some up, of course, until the police arrived, but that’s the exception. I’m asking everyone to take extra care on-scene and make sure, above all else, that you don’t mess up the damned evidence.”

  His phone chimed and he saw the text from the most recent contact he’d entered. Abigail Redland. She’d be pissed off if she knew he’d used her full first name for her contact information.

  “Hi, Abi.” He kept his eye on his team. While they all acted as if they weren’t listening to their boss’s conversation, he knew better.

  “I’ve figured something out. Do you have time to come to police headquarters?”

  “How soon?”

  “Now.”

  “Give me ten.” He disconnected the call and tried to shake the feeling that he’d been with Abi in person. Her voice in his ear, as short as the conversation had been, was nothing less than sexy and familiar.

  “New love interest, Chief?” Barrow, the most senior firefighter, teased him. Keith had quite a reputation for his active dating life. Something he hadn’t given as much thought to since his career had been shot out from under him last year. When he’d been faced with losing what really mattered to him—putting out fires and saving lives. Firefighting had been his identity and he’d been paralyzed with the fear of never being able to do it again. It had squashed his libido flatter than the station’s cement floor. Being reinstated and having his job back had started to breathe life back into him. His zest for not only living but thriving was back. And now with Abi Redland in town...