Page 77 of In Safe Hands

“I don’t think so.”

“Did you call Dispatch?”

“No. The sheriff—” Daisy cut herself off. It would take too long to explain, and the orange-and-red flickering was getting brighter. “I’ll explain later. Can you call it in?”

“I’m on it.” When Rory’s voice came again, it was muted, like her head was turned away from the phone. Daisy figured she was giving the information to Dispatch over her radio. “Daisy?”

“Yes?”

“Libby’s sending out the call. I’m at the shop, so I’m going to grab my gear and head out, but Ian and the other guys should beat me there. We’ll get there soon, okay?”

“Okay.” Daisy wasn’t sure why she was shaking. It wasn’t like she was the one who’d be fighting the fire. “Thanks, Rory.”

“Thank you, Daisy, for spotting it.”

It was terrible, watching the flames get brighter as she sat there and did nothing. She couldn’t take it any longer, so she focused her gaze on her phone. Chris would want to know, she decided, so she tapped his number. Like Rory, he answered quickly and sounded wide awake.

“Daisy. What’s going on?”

“Hey, Chris. Sorry to wake you, but the house with the blood is on fire.” She lowered her forehead to her palm. She’d been halfway coherent when she’d talked to Rory, so why had she gone into babbleland as soon as Chris picked up the phone?

“What? Did you call Dispatch?” he asked.

“No, because of the whole sheriff thing, but I got ahold of Rory, and she called it in.” She heard the faint wail of sirens. “I hear them coming.”

“Good. That was smart.” His last words were muffled, and the phone crackled.

“Chris? Are you still there?”

“I’m here.” The line sounded clear again. “I’m getting dressed. I’ll call you when I’m in the squad, okay?”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and she was back to being useless as the house burned. She looked away from the flames, trying to see if the fire had spread, but the other windows still looked dark. A shadow shifted on the far side of the house, grabbing her attention. She stared at the trees, trying to catch any other movement, but everything was still.

Deciding that it must have been her imagination, she returned her gaze to the glowing window. The sirens were getting louder, and the first engine turned into view, its flashing overhead lights blinding. To her relief, they cut the sirens as they pulled up in front of number 304.

The truck had barely stopped before three firefighters jumped out of the cab. Daisy recognized Ian, but the other two men were unfamiliar. They all seemed to know their individual tasks and moved with quick efficiency.

Lights turned on in the Storvicks’ house. A second engine arrived, as well as a smaller truck. Daisy’s cell phone rang in her lap, making her jump and hit her nose against the window. The screen showed it was Chris calling.

“Ow. Hi.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No.” Her voice sounded a little nasally as she rubbed the throb out of her nose. “Just bumped the glass. I’m fine. Fire’s here.”

“Good. I’m less than a minute out.” His words were clipped like they got when he was in cop mode. “Did you see anyone in the house before the fire started?”

“No, but I thought I saw something moving by the far side of the house right after I called you. It could’ve been anything.”

“I’ll check it out.” His squad flew around the corner and stopped abruptly in front of her house. Daisy hurried downstairs, but he was already knocking by the time she reached the door. After she pushed the unlock button, she opened the inner door, focusing on Chris’s large form rather than the gaping hole letting in the flashing lights from outside.

As he’d done before, he moved her bodily out of the way before closing the interior door. “It still blows my mind when you do that, Dais.” His crisp cop-voice had softened. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

His eyes did their own check, quickly sweeping her from head to feet. “Good. Show me where you saw the movement.”