Smoke and Fire (Surrender to Them 1)

“Hmm.” The investigator pulled a bag from his pocket and walked back over. “I think you might have just solved the mystery.”

“I’m surprised it didn’t burn up.” I watched as the investigator pulled out tweezers from a thin black case and bagged the potential evidence.

“Yeah, lucky for us. I’m guessing it’s another case of someone falling asleep while they’re smoking.” He grunted and rolled up the bag. “I swear, you would think people would have better sense.”

“Everything okay out here?” Kayla’s words interrupted our discussion as she walked out of her bedroom.

“I guess so.” I turned with a disappointed stare on my face. “You said that you didn’t know how the fire started?”

“Well—I mean…” The guilt quickly spread across her face.

“Did you fall asleep smoking a cigarette?” Chase took a step in her direction and tilted his head.

“Oh god…” She swallowed hard and her eyes got wide.

“How could you be that fucking irresponsible?” My jaw tensed and I felt my anger starting to rise. “On top of that, you lied to me and said you had no idea how it started in the first place.”

“I didn’t want anyone to find out how it really started.” A grimace formed on her face as she looked at the three of us. “I was afraid I would get in trouble.”

“Legally, there isn’t much for us to do—it wasn’t deliberate.” Investigator Davidson put his tweezers in his case and snapped it shut. “I’ll have to tell the owner how it started, but it’s up to them how they handle it. I wouldn’t bet on getting your security deposit back, though.”

“They’ll probably kick me out.” She sighed and her head dropped in shame. “I guess I will be looking for a new apartment. I was hoping they would let me stay in one of the vacant ones until mine was repaired.”

“Probably so.” Chase nodded and stared at her with a scowl on his face.

I was angry at Kayla for what she had done and the fact she lied about it, but I still felt sorry for her. The fire obviously wasn’t intentional. It was just a terrible mistake. She was alive and nobody was hurt, so the situation wasn’t as dire as it could have been. I was pretty sure she was right about the owner of the apartment building kicking her out. Most of the better apartment buildings in Chicago had banned smoking entirely, partially to avoid the very thing that happened in Kayla’s apartment. Still, she was a young woman in a difficult situation, and I didn’t want to be cruel, so I quelled my anger. I wasn’t really happy about the lie, but I understood why she didn’t want to tell me the truth.

“I can’t officially clear the scene until Monday morning, so I have to ask that you leave if you’re gotten everything you need.” The investigator looked around the room at the three of us.

“Yeah, I should be all set.” Kayla nodded and started walking towards the front door.

“Thanks again for helping us out on a Sunday. I know it isn’t how you’d prefer to spend your weekend.” I gave Investigator Davidson a nod as I started towards the door.

“No problem. I was supposed to have brunch with the in-laws, so you helped me out, too.” He chuckled and smiled.

I took Kayla’s bag once we reached the staircase and carried it as we walked down to the lobby. I could tell that she was remorseful, but that didn’t completely erase what she did, nor did it make her lie an easy pill to swallow. The entire situation was unfortunate. I didn’t know much about her living situation, but it wouldn’t be easy to just get another apartment unless she had some money in her bank account. She mentioned working at a call center when we were drinking the night before, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t very lucrative. I pulled Chase to the side, and we agreed that we would ask her to stay at least another night. She definitely wasn’t going to find an apartment in one day and there was no reason for her to waste money on a hotel room when she was going to have some unexpected expenses coming her way soon.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” Kayla sighed and shook her head when we walked outside the apartment building. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first person to set their apartment on fire and lie about how it started.” I shrugged and shook my head.

“At least I’m not your problem anymore. I’ll get an Uber and find somewhere to stay.” She slid her finger across the front of her phone.

“Nah, you can stay with us another night.” Chase motioned towards her with his hand as he started walking towards his Corvette. “Let’s go.”

“What? No, you’ve done enough—both of you. I’ll figure it out from here.” She shook her head back and forth.

“We insist, really.” I picked up her bag. “You need to save your money.”

“Just—please don’t set our apartment on fire.” Chase looked over his shoulder and chuckled.

“I don’t think I’m ready to joke about that quite yet.” She exhaled sharply, but began to walk towards Chase’s car.

“Well, he might be joking, but I’m not.” I pulled open the door when she got to the car. “Don’t you even think about lighting up at our place.”

“I won’t, I swear. I don’t even smoke.” She climbed into the car and fastened her seatbelt. “I did it in high school with my friends, but I quit a long time ago.”

On the ride back to our apartment, Kayla told us more about her friend Anna, and how she managed to set her apartment on fire in the first place. Based on everything she had told us the night before about leaving her small town and starting over in Chicago, I thought she would have been a lot more responsible. Alcohol did lower inhibitions though, and addictions were quick to spring up on people when they thought they were long forgotten, so I was sympathetic. I certainly had a few wild nights I regretted the next day, even if they didn’t have results that were quite as disastrous. We got back to our apartment and I carried Kayla’s bag upstairs. Chase went straight to the kitchen and