Page 49 of Built of Flames
She wanted this opportunity for him. He was excited about creating and running a volunteer fire department. He couldn’t quite see how he’d fit in with Midnight Security, but she trusted the team to value his skill set.
Mitch was a good firefighter for so many reasons. He was smart, dedicated, and he paid attention to details. Physically, he was brave and strong. Fearless about heading in when rescuing people. As part of his duties, he was a paramedic as well. He had so much to offer.
So much to love.
Mitch was going to give his notice at the fire hall soon, but he wanted to talk to the Chief first. He’d already spoken with Christo.
Christo would support him and his new dream. In fact, he’d offered to help in any way he could. She was going to see her brother more often, and that made her very happy.
Bella turned back to her spreadsheet. Mitch had been the first to realize a serial arsonist was at work, and he wanted to solve that case before he left the department.
She wanted to help him make it happen. She’d done two video consultations with other departments earlier in the morning, but she had the rest of the day to devote to Kelsor.
She worked from memory, plugging in what she knew. Family members. Injuries. Other jobs.
When Mitch entered the cabin, Sam and Tess were with him. Mitch kissed her lightly, then sat beside her. “Are you finished with your other work, or are we interrupting?”
“I’m good. I’ve made a new spreadsheet.”
Tess smiled while the men groaned. She knew they appreciated the spreadsheets and how they organized the data, but both were men of action and preferred to be doing rather than analyzing. Although, they both had strengths in that department as well.
Sam leaned toward the screen and frowned. “Do you have a projector so we can all see what you have?”
“One of my brand new improvements, thanks to Aisling.”
The screen was in the ceiling and was perpendicular to the whiteboard, so she could use both at the same time. It didn’t take long for them to organize, then shift their chairs to get the best view.
Sam smiled. “This is a great setup. We need to do something like this over at the Midnight Security cabin for the group sessions. Okay, show us what you have so far.”
Bella went through the columns of the spreadsheet and her reasoning behind them. Tess suggested a couple of new columns to add. The number of times people had applied for jobs and promotions. “Would it be possible to find a list of people who’ve applied and never been hired? Or volunteers who never made the cut for the schooling?”
Mitch nodded. “I can probably get some of that information from the station. The Chief will know a lot of that.”
“Have you told him your suspicions?” Sam asked.
Bella nodded. “We have. And we mentioned it to the squad on duty the other day. I’m sure the entire team knows by now.”
Mitch nodded. “Which means we’ve potentially alerted our arsonist.”
Bella sighed. “I know. That might send him into hiding.”
Sam shrugged. “Or it might appeal to his ego. Hiding in plain sight. Believing no one suspects him. If it’s stroking his ego, he might start strutting, and that’s when mistakes get made.”
Mitch scrolled through the list of names. “How did you organize the people? It’s not alphabetical or by seniority.”
Bella’s skin flushed. “I was going to make them alphabetical, eventually.”
“But?”
She sighed. “But I was being pissy, so I put the people I don’t like at the top, the ones I like at the bottom, and the ones I don’t know in the middle.”
Laughing, Mitch continued his scroll. “You really don’t like Kent, do you?”
She shook her head and Mitch froze, then frowned at her. “Did he ever hurt you? Threaten you?”
“No. He asked me out way back in high school.”
“You went out with him? He’s five years older than you, which in high school is a big deal.” Mitch’s voice was tight.