Feel the Fire (Hotshots 3) - Page 64
Tonight, he mouthed at Luis right before they entered the building. Hesitating, Luis held his gaze for a second, then gave a subtle nod.
Good. At least Tucker had that to look forward to. The meeting ended up being a long debriefing of the fire management efforts, and his mind started to wander, but then he perked up as the talk turned to the arson investigation.
“Rivera, you seem convinced that this fire was connected to our arsonist. You want to explain your theory?” Fred leaned back in his chair in the conference room.
“Happy to.” Luis in professional mode never failed to inspire Tucker. “First, the hiking trails link the fires. They’re all backcountry trails, designed for experienced hikers, so this is a fit individual, but they’re cautious too. Ignition is less than half a mile from a trail in most of the cases. And the fires are slow starters without outside fuels as far as we can tell—no gasoline or other accelerants like that.”
“I’m still not convinced that this fire is connected to the others,” Adams interrupted, tone more curious than accusatory.
“Yes, most have stayed contained with early response, which leads me to think that this weekend’s fire was something of a fluke. The code red conditions took the arsonist’s signature small fire and led to a larger-scale event, but I still think it’s connected.”
“So it’s an experienced hiker, good at traditional fire starting, not some kids with a gas can?” Garrick asked. “That describes half the county, though, in terms of fitness levels and abilities.”
“Well, yes, but the investigation has other ways of narrowing in on suspects. Since arsonists often have a connection to the fire community, I’ve been working with both the air base and the rural fire stations, looking at disgruntled former employees and candidates. I’ve also been working with the law enforcement authorities on building a profile of the arsonist based on the specific fire characteristics. I’m pretty confident our forensic evidence will help lead to a conviction.”
Tucker had known Luis was working on all this but was still impressed nonetheless. It was one thing to get to spend time alone with Luis, reconnect with him on a personal level, and another to admire the professional he’d become.
“Will you have to come back to testify if there’s a trial?” Christine looked up from the notes she’d been taking.
“Yes, that’s likely.” Luis gave a quick nod, never even glancing in Tucker’s direction.
Come back. Tucker hadn’t thought that far ahead with the arson investigation. If Luis had to come back, maybe this didn’t have to end like Tucker feared. And if he came back once, perhaps there was a chance...
Tucker knew better than to let himself get bolstered by such thoughts, yet there he was, spinning fantasies for the fall out of nothing more than the possibility of a professional obligation. It spoke how desperate his brain was for any evidence that this thing between them wasn’t headed for a mighty crash.
He tried to get his head back to worrying about the arson investigation for the remainder of the meeting. Luis was headed out to the field to meet with mop-up crews and others from the investigation. For once Tucker wasn’t asked to take him, and he couldn’t exactly volunteer, not with a stack of his own work to handle.
Finally, the meeting broke up, and hoping to catch Luis before he left, Tucker hustled to the conference room door. However, Garrick stopped him before he could complete his getaway.
“Hey, Tucker. Was hoping to catch you. If we don’t get another callout this weekend, Rain and I were thinking of having some folks over, firing up the grill. You busy Saturday?”
“The boys have SATs in the morning,” he hedged. Assuming Luis was still in town, that along with the boys was his priority, but he couldn’t exactly confess that to Garrick.
“This would be late afternoon, early evening.” Garrick was undeterred, wide, easy smile firmly in place. “Linc and Jacob, my dad, couple of people Rain works with. Small but fun. Figured we’d ask the new guy too.”
“The new guy?” Tucker’s pulse sped up. What had Garrick discovered? He’d thought they’d done a good job keeping things purely professional at the office, but maybe not.
“Yeah, I noticed you guys have been spending a fair bit of time together.”
Tucker blinked. Garrick’s tone was conversational, but he still felt called out and had no clue how to respond. “Uh...”
“He’s been working most closely with you, right?” Garrick pressed, and okay, maybe he did simply mean his observation on a professional level.
“Yeah, guess so,” he said carefully.
“If you come, it’ll give him someone to talk to. But I know firsthand from smoke-jumping assignments out of the area how boring a weekend in a new place can be when there’s no emergency. He might jump at the chance to socialize, eat some home cooking.”
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