local, then he would have known that there was always one cop and one dispatcher on site. No one could have had any inkling that at the particular time of the fire, Finn and Mike Fitzgerald had been there as well. Shifts were obvious to ascertain in a town this size. Technically, it could have been any and all cops the bug was fixing on, but Finn concentrated on other avenues first.
So that left Finn focusing on Drew and Kathy and any cases that touched or linked them. It was a very thin folder of information as a result. Statistically, any case touched each of them, but there were a couple that stood out. Drew had been called to some kids playing with fireworks. Another case where both he and Drew had become involved in the execution of a care order to take the Simmonds’ kids into care, two boys, eight and ten, Finn as lead, Drew assisting. The Simmonds family was yet another in the rich tapestry of a small town. Mother and father both with their own drugs problems, two kids caught in the middle. Drew was the one who had restrained the dad, held him tight and threatened to arrest him when he’d resisted. Maybe the guy was holding a grudge.
“Does Kathy ever talk to you about her nephew?” Finn asked Sue.
“That idiot boy Brad or Chad or something? The one with the fireworks? Kathy was mortified when he was brought in. What that kid needs is a smack upside the head and a look at what damage he could have done letting off that kind of thing in a school hall.”
“I may just pay him a visit later today.” Sunday meant no school and hopefully he would catch their firework-playing idiot at home with his family.
“You’re thinking it’s linked?”
“God knows, but we need to be taking this arson seriously. I also want to check in on the Simmonds. That’s the only two out of normal cases that have hit our desks over the last month or so. Tracking back later than that makes me think why now, why did the arsonist choose now to fire the station? So I guessed I’d start with the most recent stuff.”
Once the decision was made as to what he was planning to fit in around seeing Max later today, he could concentrate a little more on Max himself. Just thinking about the erotic experience in the kitchen was enough to get him hard and ready. Checking his watch, he could see it was nearing six a.m.. Shift ended and handover done, including what he had researched and had proposed, he left the mayor’s office and started home. He knew he had said he would sleep at Max’s, but he needed a shower because it wasn’t exactly fair to drag his grungy ass over there this early in their relationship.
Relationship? Was that where his thoughts were? He didn’t even really know Max. Apart from the whole big, strapping, hero complex he had going on. Shower first, then he would grab coffee and breakfast at the diner and take it on over. Hell, he could be there by eight. He headed home, showered then dressed in civilian clothes.
He climbed back into his truck and began to make his way down the mountain to the town. The sun hung low in a cloudless sky and the trees were just beginning to turn for fall. Driving on the empty roads was easy. The truck had felt odd on the way up the mountain and his resolve to get a mechanic to check it out became even more imperative as the pedals became spongier on the way down. Each press of the brakes felt more ineffective and he had to downshift at every bend. Damn mountain was hell on brakes and tyres and there was no real run-off that he could manoeuvre into. Piece of shit truck . He pulled up at a three-way stop and waited for a clear view. For a split second he hesitated—stopping there to check the brakes would be stupid and he couldn’t justify blocking the blind bends that ended at this point. When the coast was clear he carefully, and very slowly, moved out and began the last leg of the journey, the steepest part that ended just outside the flats of town.
He was only halfway down the mountain when
So that left Finn focusing on Drew and Kathy and any cases that touched or linked them. It was a very thin folder of information as a result. Statistically, any case touched each of them, but there were a couple that stood out. Drew had been called to some kids playing with fireworks. Another case where both he and Drew had become involved in the execution of a care order to take the Simmonds’ kids into care, two boys, eight and ten, Finn as lead, Drew assisting. The Simmonds family was yet another in the rich tapestry of a small town. Mother and father both with their own drugs problems, two kids caught in the middle. Drew was the one who had restrained the dad, held him tight and threatened to arrest him when he’d resisted. Maybe the guy was holding a grudge.
“Does Kathy ever talk to you about her nephew?” Finn asked Sue.
“That idiot boy Brad or Chad or something? The one with the fireworks? Kathy was mortified when he was brought in. What that kid needs is a smack upside the head and a look at what damage he could have done letting off that kind of thing in a school hall.”
“I may just pay him a visit later today.” Sunday meant no school and hopefully he would catch their firework-playing idiot at home with his family.
“You’re thinking it’s linked?”
“God knows, but we need to be taking this arson seriously. I also want to check in on the Simmonds. That’s the only two out of normal cases that have hit our desks over the last month or so. Tracking back later than that makes me think why now, why did the arsonist choose now to fire the station? So I guessed I’d start with the most recent stuff.”
Once the decision was made as to what he was planning to fit in around seeing Max later today, he could concentrate a little more on Max himself. Just thinking about the erotic experience in the kitchen was enough to get him hard and ready. Checking his watch, he could see it was nearing six a.m.. Shift ended and handover done, including what he had researched and had proposed, he left the mayor’s office and started home. He knew he had said he would sleep at Max’s, but he needed a shower because it wasn’t exactly fair to drag his grungy ass over there this early in their relationship.
Relationship? Was that where his thoughts were? He didn’t even really know Max. Apart from the whole big, strapping, hero complex he had going on. Shower first, then he would grab coffee and breakfast at the diner and take it on over. Hell, he could be there by eight. He headed home, showered then dressed in civilian clothes.
He climbed back into his truck and began to make his way down the mountain to the town. The sun hung low in a cloudless sky and the trees were just beginning to turn for fall. Driving on the empty roads was easy. The truck had felt odd on the way up the mountain and his resolve to get a mechanic to check it out became even more imperative as the pedals became spongier on the way down. Each press of the brakes felt more ineffective and he had to downshift at every bend. Damn mountain was hell on brakes and tyres and there was no real run-off that he could manoeuvre into. Piece of shit truck . He pulled up at a three-way stop and waited for a clear view. For a split second he hesitated—stopping there to check the brakes would be stupid and he couldn’t justify blocking the blind bends that ended at this point. When the coast was clear he carefully, and very slowly, moved out and began the last leg of the journey, the steepest part that ended just outside the flats of town.
He was only halfway down the mountain when
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