Old Flame (Burning Hearts Book 1) Read online

  “I’ll explain it later,” she said. “Crazy busy day, sir.”

  “Well, get to it!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Her first item of business for the day was to clear out her to-do list at work so she could spend the rest of the day working on finding evidence. It was vital that she find something more solid, or the police would never take her seriously. She couldn’t even prove definitively that it was Lacey on that tape. It was just too grainy.

  It was a light day, so she finished her work well before lunch and she took a moment to call Officer Bond. He said he hadn’t had a chance to review the tape, but he promised to call her as soon as he had more information.

  Not deterred, she asked Fuller if she could go to lunch early. Since she was already finished with the day’s assignments, he allowed it.

  She drove straight to the art shop to return the tapes and talk to Pink. She was leaning on the counter reading again, and she straightened up at the sight of Sarah carrying the box of tapes.

  “Thank god!” Pink gasped. “The owner is coming down after lunch, and I really needed those back!”

  “Well, I need another favor,” Sarah said, putting the box on the counter. “The cops don’t think the tape is enough evidence, even though I’m sure it’s her I found on the tape. I can’t prove it’s her, and you can’t tell what she’s buying. I need receipts.”

  “Oh, gosh,” Pink groaned. “My boss will be here anytime.”

  “You said after lunch,” Sarah argued. “Just give me a little while. I know the date and time. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Please don’t get me fired,” Pink whined. “I really can’t lose another job. That’ll be three in two months.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll hurry,” Sarah promised.

  “Fine, follow me,” Pink said, picking up the box of tapes and heading into the back.

  Pink tossed the box of tapes onto a shelf with several other boxes and then sat down at the computer, entering a password. She pulled up a program that listed daily sales.

  “Here you go,” she said. “Get what you need and go before my boss gets here. You can use the printer. Just be sure to close the program and log out when you’re done. Do you know how to do that?”

  “Sure do,” Sarah said. “Thanks.”

  Pink grunted and left the office, and Sarah quickly located receipts for the day and time she spotted Lacey on the tape. Sure enough, she found a receipt that contained eleven bottles of Sullivan’s acetone, along with several other painting supplies. It was paid for with a debit card.

  Sarah printed five copies of this receipt and then quickly closed the program and logged off the computer. She waved the receipts toward Pink with a smile as she left the store, and the girl grinned back and winked.

  “Good luck!” Pink called after her, twirling those pink tresses.

  “Thanks!” Sarah called back.

  Receipts in hand, Sarah entered Officer Bond’s office. He asked her to have a seat, but before she did so, she slapped the receipt down onto his desk.

  “Voila!” she said proudly. “A receipt showing a purchase of eleven bottles of Sullivan’s acetone at the exact date and time of the surveillance video! And it was paid for with a debit card, so it shouldn’t be hard to trace if you get a warrant to subpoena her bank records.”

  “Finally, we’re onto something!” Bond shouted, pounding his desk with a fist. “I think I can work with this! Let me get this into the hands of the right people and I’ll see what I can get in motion.”

  “Thank you!” Sarah gushed. “What else can I do to help?”

  “I think we can handle it from this point,” Bond said. “I’m pretty sure this is enough to get a warrant. Then our guys can take it from there.”

  “Again, I know this isn’t your department, so I appreciate you taking the time to help me,” Sarah said. “Please keep me informed.”

  “I sure will, and thank you for getting all this for us,” he told her. “Sometimes people like you can get into places that would never let us in without a warrant.”

  He winked at her, and she beamed. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too late to protect Luke from their evil plot. On her way out of the police department, she called him.

  “What now?” he asked.

  “Please don’t be upset with me. I just called to see how you’re doing,” she said gently.

  His voice softened slightly and he said, “I’m doing much better. The doctor has cleared me to go back to work next week. My first shift is Monday morning.”

  “So soon?” she gasped. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’ve been ready,” he said. “Fighting fire is the only thing that makes me feel alive!”

  “It’s just… it’s so soon.”

  “Well, the doc gave me the all clear, so I guess it’s safe enough.”

  “How are… other things?” she asked.

  “Fine,” he said. “We’ve moved the wedding up to next month.”

  Sarah felt a lump swell in her throat and she swallowed it away. She was silent for several moments, and then she said, “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. Look, I’ve gotta go. I’m meeting Lacey to sign up for the wedding registry in a few minutes. Thanks for calling.”

  “Ok, talk to you later. Bye.”

  He hung up and she stared intently at her phone, hoping somehow the conversation would rewind. Sadly, it didn’t. She only hoped the police would work quickly enough to save him.

  The rest of the day crawled by. She felt helpless to do anything, and it was agonizing. At the end of the day, as she was packing her satchel, her phone chirped. Officer Bond!

  “Bond?”

  “Yeah, I have some news. They got a warrant. Thought you’d want to know.”

  “Thank god!” Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. “What are their next steps?”

  “They’re going to search Lacey’s apartment, as well as her lover’s. They’re also going to be reviewing surveillance video from various cameras near the bowling alley the day of the fire and up to a few days before. In fact, they’re already searching her apartment as we speak. Oh, and they subpoenaed both of their bank records Plus, they do believe she was connected to two other fires in the past couple of months.”

  “Oh, god, I hope they find something,” she said. “Luke goes back to work Monday. Which means they only have this weekend to do something, and then he’s probably right in harm’s way.”

  “Don’t worry, our guys are good,” Bond soothed her. “Really. They work clean and fast. I bet you’ll hear something tomorrow.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “Anytime,” he said, and he hung up.

  Donna peeked her head into Sarah’s office and asked, “Hey, you want to go out to dinner? A few of us are going to Barney’s for steaks.”

  “I’m not really hungry,” Sarah said.

  “Then just come for the company,” Donna urged her. “Maybe it’ll keep your mind off things.”

  “Doubtful,” Sarah said. “But I have news. I should email Fuller before I go. They got warrants to search Lacey’s and her lover’s apartments, and they are going to review surveillance video from around the bowling alley.”

  “That’s great news!” Donna gasped. “Think they’ll find anything?”

  “I hope so, because Luke goes back to work Monday.”

  “Monday, damn,” Donna muttered. “Well, email Fuller and let’s go. The others are waiting.”

  Sarah quickly fired off an email and logged out of her computer. Then she collected her things and followed Donna to the parking lot.

  “Meet you at Barney’s?” Donna called from her car.

  “Sure thing,” Sarah said.

  She followed Donna to the restaurant and they were seated at one of the large circular booths in the back corner of the restaurant. This was Sarah’s first time going out with the group from work, but she quickly gathered they were known for being
a bit rowdy.

  “They have to put us back here to keep us quiet,” joked Sharon, the oldest of the group. “Last time we saw three separate tables get up and walk about because they thought we were too loud.”

  “It doesn’t keep us quiet,” teased Nancy, the second oldest. She tossed her flame red hair and laughed boisterously. “If anything, it makes us louder!”

  Sarah flushed as several heads turned their way. She’d never been one to enjoy being the center of attention, especially if it was negative. She stared down at her lap and sank down in the booth.

  “Oh, no,” Donna muttered. “Isn’t that Luke? And her?”

  Sarah lifted her head in time to see Luke place his hand gently on the small of Lacey’s back, guiding her into a booth. He then slid in across from her and took her hand in his.

  “Oh, god,” Sarah whispered. “Why here? Why now?”

  “If he only knew,” Donna sighed sadly.

  Suddenly, Sarah’s phone chirped. Officer Bond. She picked it up and pressed a finger to her other ear, but she couldn’t hear a thing over the laughter of the ladies at the table.

  “Just a minute, let me go somewhere quiet,” she shouted into the phone. She made her way into the ladies room and said, “I’m sorry, it was so loud out there.”

  “I’ve got great news!” he said. “The just finished searching Lacey’s apartment and they found two cans of Sullivan’s acetone in an art supply case in her closet, along with nine empty cans in a trash bag in the dumpster behind the building! Not only that, but the found blueprints to the bowling alley as well as two other buildings that have also recently burned under similar circumstances! And the debit card number on the receipts you brought in matches Lacey’s. They have an arrest warrant and they’re looking for her now.”

  “Well, isn’t that interesting,” Sarah said, “because I happen to know exactly where she is right now.”

  “How do you know that?” he asked.

  “Because she’s eating with Luke at the same restaurant I am,” Sarah said. “Barney’s on the square. They just got here.”

  “I’ll send a squad down after her right now,” he said. “They’re going to search the guy’s house now. Hopefully they’ll find enough to arrest him, too.”

  “Thanks, Bond.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “Now we know where she is.”

  Sarah hung up the phone and made a beeline back to her table. She clutched Donna’s sleeve eagerly and whispered to her ear, “Watch this.”

  “What?” Donna asked.

  “Just watch. In a few minutes, something wild is going to happen!” Sarah winked and Donna shrugged.

  The waitress sauntered over to their table and took their drink order. Everyone ordered alcohol except for Sarah, who ordered a sweet iced tea. As soon as the drinks were brought, she began chewing nervously on her straw.

  Minutes later, as the waitress was taking their dinner order, she noticed a uniformed officer enter the restaurant flanked by three others. He showed the hostess a photograph, and she pointed in Lacey’s direction.

  “Lacey Evans?” asked the officer.

  “Yes?” she asked, eyeing the group of officers nervously.

  “Stand up and place your hands behind your back,” the officer demanded.

  “What? What for?” she squeaked.

  The officer grabbed her arm and hoisted her forcefully to her feet. He twisted one arm behind her, snapping cuffs on her wrist, and then he collected her other wrist and secured it in the cuffs.

  “What the hell is going on?” Luke shouted. “Lacey, what is this?”

  “Ms. Evans, you’re under arrest for arson and the attempted murder of Luke Hargrove. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.”

  “What? Lacey! What are they talking about? Lacey?” he called, but she ignored him with her head dropped forward.

  The officer continued to read Lacey her Miranda rights as he pushed her out the door and into the parking lot. Luke stood by the table looking lost. She wanted desperately to approach him, but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her.

  “Not right now,” Donna whispered. “Let him have his grief.”

  Sarah nodded, but her heart was breaking for him. Despite her own personal satisfaction in knowing Luke was safe, she knew this was tearing him apart piece by piece. She could read it on his face. It seeped from his very pores, and she could almost feel it.

  After a moment, he collapsed into the booth, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly ajar. His face was eerily devoid of emotion other than confusion. The waitress started to speak to him, but quickly passed by him, unsure what to say. She instead came to Sarah’s table.

  “I wonder what that was all about,” the waitress said, glancing toward Luke.

  “His fiancée just got arrested for trying to kill him,” Donna blurted out, and Sarah elbowed her. Donna shrugged at Sarah and said, “What? It’ll be all over the news tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, but it isn’t yet,” Sarah said. Then she looked at the waitress and pleaded, “Please don’t say anything to him about it. I know him, and he’ll need some space.”

  “Alright,” the waitress agreed. “Poor guy. His own fiancée tried to kill him? What a buzz kill. And they looked so happy, too.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Sarah said quietly.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Insomnia.

  It was something Sarah hadn’t experienced since college, but now it hovered over her like a thick black cloud. She stared at the ceiling with visions of Luke’s horrified face watching as Lacey was handcuffed and carted away.

  Her phone chirped, and she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was 2:37 AM. She glanced at the name on the screen, and it was Luke.

  “Hello?” she asked.

  “Hey, it’s Luke,” he said. “Did I wake you?”

  “No, I can’t sleep anyway,” she told him. “What’s up?”

  “I just needed someone to talk to, and you’re the only one I have now,” he said. “Do you have a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “This is really hard for me,” he said. “But when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong. And… well… I was wrong.”

  “About what?” she asked, feigning stupidity.

  “You were right about Lacey,” he said. “I just got back from the police station. They arrested her for attempted murder. Apparently, she set the fire at the bowling alley hoping to get me killed. Why did I ever make her the beneficiary of my life insurance policy?”

  “Oh, my god,” she said quietly. “Are you alright?”

  “Not really,” he said. “I actually called to apologize for accusing you of lying. I should have known you’d never do that. I know you better than that.”

  “Well, in fairness it has been twenty years since we’ve seen each other,” she said, letting him off the hook for his behavior. “You couldn’t have known whether or not I’m still the same Sarah you knew back then.”

  “Yes I could,” he argued. “I can read it in your eyes.”

  “I feel the same way,” she told him. “You’re still the same Luke. Only, improved.”

  “I wish,” he said.

  “You are,” said Sarah. “You’re more responsible, you’re more mature. You kept the best of everything you were then, and added some new wonderfulness.”

  “I wish I felt the same way about myself,” he said. “But I’ve never had much self esteem. Kind of hard to when your parents called you worthless from the day you were born.”

  “What? They did that? But I met them back then and they seemed so nice.”

  “Oh, sure, they seem nice to everyone who doesn’t know them. But at home, they’re monsters. I don’t even want to get it into it.”

  “I’m sorry. I never knew.”

  “I guess that’s why you and I didn’t work. Facing all that at home just made me want to get out and see what was out the
re. I was so busy looking for something that I totally missed what was right in front of me.”

  Sarah flushed, her heart pulsing.

  “I’ve always hoped… I mean… I just wished…”

  “For another chance?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she said. “All these years, I wondered where we went wrong, and if we’d ever have another opportunity.”

  “To be honest, so have I,” he said. “And now it’s too late.”

  “Don’t say that,” Sarah said. “It’s never too late.”

  “It is for me,” he said. “After what Lacey’s done… I don’t think I can ever take that kind of risk again.”

  “Don’t let her actions ruin your whole life, Luke,” Sarah pleaded. “Maybe someday you’ll be ready. Until then, I can wait.”

  “No, don’t wait for me. It’s never going to happen. I’m too broken.”

  “I’ll wait for you even if I die an old maid,” she told him.

  “You’re sweet, but you can’t throw your life away on a broken down shell like me. You deserve to live.”

  “So do you,” she said.

  “I can’t,” he said. “Not after this. This was the final blow. I’m dead.”

  “Don’t you dare talk that way! You have so much life left to live!”

  “What’s the point? Everyone I’ve ever known has hurt me or left me.”

  Her face burned with shame, realized she was one person who left him. It was twenty years earlier, but it still felt like only yesterday. The pain was still raw for her, and she wondered if he felt the same.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough back then,” she said. “I wish I’d known what all you were going through. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to give up.”

  “I was embarrassed. I didn’t want anyone to know. I wish I had told you, but I just couldn’t find the words.”

  “Well, we can’t go back. But we can at least move forward. Please consider giving us another chance. I know we can be happy.”

  “I can’t, Sarah. I just can’t risk it. Look, it’s late. I should go. Thanks for being here.”

  Sarah started to say something else, but he’d already hung up. She sighed and flopped her arm out to the side, letting the phone drop to the floor. She only prayed Granny wouldn’t come in and ask her what was going on.