Page 7 of Built of Flames

Ignition

Two years later

Bella smiled as she read the email from the Pennsylvania fire chief. He was thrilled that she’d saved him and his department so much money. He was even more thrilled that they’d solved the case and put an arsonist behind bars.

Initially, she’d studied the case notes and the photographs, but walking through the scene with a couple of firefighters had been the key. With the three of them able to brainstorm and with Bella able to direct them where to look and what to look for, they’d figured out how the arsonist had gained entry and what he’d been trying to hide when he’d lit the fire. And they’d done all of that without Bella having to leave her home here in Vermont.

Home.

Not even a two-hour drive from where she’d grown up in New Hampshire, but an entire world away at the same time. She’d lived in five cities in three states over the past couple of years, but none of them had felt like home. She had doubted she’d ever find that feeling again.

But Midnight Lake changed that. It was exactly where she wanted to be, where she wanted to settle. The property was spectacular and the people were even better.

Tansy and Joe Cheveyo were building something special here. Joe and his buddies were creating a protection services company that was new, but already bringing in clients from several states.

Tansy was building a sort of scientific think tank on various parts of the property. The woman was interested in absolutely everything that made the world better. A conference in California had brought Bella into Tansy’s orbit. They’d bonded over methods of fire prevention in older buildings and had spent hours when they should have been sleeping creating a lighter-weight material to use in firefigther clothing.

Probably the most serendipitous meeting of Bella’s life. When she’d wanted to focus on bringing affordable remote arson investigator skills to small towns, the patent for the material had allowed her to take the risk of starting her own business. Then Tansy had offered her a space here at Midnight Lake, with her own cabin for her business.

She’d been in Vermont for a few weeks now, and she loved it all. In another hour, she would have her first in-person consultation in her office, adding another layer to her business.

Life was very good.

The sigh escaped her before she had a chance to squash it. The ache in her soul was becoming more pronounced and she was tired of being a wimp. Time to face the truth, time to face the past.

She’d been hiding from her family for two years and she missed them. Especially her brother and his friend Mitch, but she even missed her dad.

When everything had gone sideways that day, she’d taken the coward’s way out. She’d run and never turned back. Leaving her cell phone behind had been an accident, but it had helped her slip into a new life completely separate from her old one, except for the occasional email with her mentor.

Bella had so many regrets from that day. She wasn’t sure anyone would feel differently now than they had when they’d watched her walk away without a word or a gesture of support, but she had to find out. Had to take the risk.

Her trip into Kelsor with Aisling a few weeks back had been the trigger that had ramped up her desire to reconnect. But her courage had failed and she hadn’t called.

If they hated her, if they still blamed her, she didn’t know how she would cope. Not knowing for sure meant that maybe they loved her, maybe they missed her. A call might prove none of that was true.

Loneliness had followed her from place to place as she’d filled in on maternity and medical leaves around New England. Now she was settling and it was time to face things.

A shudder ran through her at the memory of the fury on the chief’s face the last time she’d seen him. She hadn’t been at fault, but he’d assumed the worst of her.

But her brother couldn’t hate her, so tomorrow, she’d call Christo. She’d said it to herself many times before, but this time, she’d follow through.

Today, she needed to clear her head for this new case. Phail’s deputy, Marcus Ramirez, had a friend who suspected he had a serial arsonist working in his town.

Marcus had asked if she’d be willing to chat with him for a bit to see if it was worth pursuing, or if he was making too big a deal out of some coincidences. Marcus hadn’t had any details, but the idea intrigued Bella. Firefighters were good at spotting similarities in fires and ignition sources. They almost always recognized unintentional patterns left behind.

What had this man so unsure that he didn’t want to share his suspicions with his team? Sounded like an interesting case, the kind she liked to puzzle out.

She still had a half-hour before Marcus arrived and the room was clean and prepped.

With a smile, Bella decided the best way to prepare for a new mystery was to spend time with an old one. She grabbed her well-worn copy of Murder On The Orient Express and headed out to sit on the deck in the sun. Nothing like murder, mayhem, and Hercule Poirot’s little grey cells to while away the next thirty minutes.

Mitch Robinson hopped out of the deputy’s cruiser as they parked behind a sawmill that looked to be well over a hundred years old. “I hope they have a dozen fire extinguishers in there. That place would be gone in minutes.”

His buddy laughed. “Tansy, the lady who owns this property, is the smartest person I’ve ever met. By far. And she surrounds herself with the best. I’m sure she’s got it covered.”

Mitch noticed the electric charging stations in front of the other cars. “You said this place is completely off the grid?”

Marcus nodded and headed toward a trail in the bush. “Sure is. Tansy installed the solar panels herself. Got a little help with the turbines. Come on, it’s a couple of miles in.”