Page 14 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

“ D id you find anything?” I ask Dom the moment he returns to the station. It’s been a few hours since we got back after checking the area for hotspots, and I was beginning to wonder if he and Holland got lost. I’m not sure whether the fact they were out there for so long is a good or bad sign.

He lets out a sigh and shakes his head. “That one was definitely a zombie.”

Good sign it is. My shoulders drop in relief. “Fucking knew it.”

“I’m not finished.”

My brows pull together as Dom continues talking.

“ That one was definitely a zombie, but after today, I’m even more convinced that she might be onto something about this arson theory.

She’s already been to the other scenes, but she doesn’t really know what to look for.

So I’m going to explore them with her over the next few days, see what we can find. ”

I open my mouth and close it again while Dom stares at me, waiting for a response. But I’m not sure what to say. Of all the things he could’ve told me, that was the last thing I expected .

I settle on asking, “You really think she’s right?”

“I don’t know if she’s right, but I don’t know that she’s wrong either. I hate the idea of this town having an arsonist as much as you, but with the extent of the fires we’ve fought this year, I don’t think pretending it’s not a possibility is doing us any good.”

I grind my teeth together. This whole thing is turning into an absolute disaster.

“She say if she has any suspects?”

Dom shakes his head. “Nah, and I didn’t ask. Kind of hard to suspect anyone without evidence.”

Which is exactly the point I’ve been trying to make.

“You really should hear her out,” he adds quickly.

I shake my head, scoffing. “I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her.” Albeit I could probably throw her pretty far, but that’s beside the point. “Don’t tell me you do.”

Dom shrugs. “Hard to say.”

I wipe a hand over my jaw. “You said it yourself, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I feel like she’s just running from something and using Ember Grove as her hiding spot.”

“I agree she’s hiding something, but I’m honestly not sure it matters.

Her arson theory is the closest we’ve gotten to answers about why this has been the season from hell for us.

I know what I said, but she’s trying, and she does have good intentions from what I can see.

Regardless of the reason she came here initially, she’s helping us now.

So I’m going to help her too. It’s probably better if someone works with her anyway. Can keep a closer eye on her that way.”

He’s not wrong. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

He levels me with a look. “I do think you should hear her out, but you don’t have to get involved. I’ll keep you posted on anything we find.”

I jerk my head, grateful that he’s not forcing me to listen to what she has to say—not yet anyway. I don’t love the idea of him working with her, but I can’t stop him. I’ll just have to hope the investigation turns up empty.

With that, Dom taps his knuckles on my door frame and turns in the direction of the kitchen.

I drop the pen I’m holding onto my desk then lean back in my chair, running my hands through my hair. I have no fucking clue what to make of this mess.

After a beat, I navigate to Google and type her name in the search bar.

I don’t know why I haven’t thought to look her up before now. Maybe because it feels invasive, but what she’s doing in this town is invasive too. So without thinking twice about it, I click search.

I prepare myself to be shocked, expecting to find something that tells me what it is she’s running from. Instead, I find nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

My brows pull together. According to this, Holland Rhodes doesn’t exist. I figured at the very least I’d find a Facebook account or something, but it’s almost as if Holland Rhodes was completely wiped from the internet.

There’s no way to erase everything from the web, at least not without doing something illegal, and if that’s the case, there’s definitely more to the story.

Confused, I try adding the words “Toronto” and “journalist” after her name.

Still nothing.

Holland Rhodes is a ghost.

I take a screenshot of the search results on the page and print it. A few hours later when shift is over, rather than heading home like I normally would, I head in the direction of The Scarlet.

Dom may be willing to hear her out, but I’m not. I’ve had enough of the secrets. I’ve had enough of her . And once he finds out she’s been lying all along, I’m sure he’ll change his tune too.

Of course, when I arrive, her car isn’t here. So I park, planning on waiting for her to return.

I should’ve trusted my gut from the beginning. This whole time, I’ve been telling myself that she’s running from something, and now I know it’s true.

Did she think that she could hide out here under the guise of trying to help us when we don’t need it, thinking no one would figure out she’s not who she says she is?

Or maybe she’s some type of con artist and this whole thing is an act of fraud for her.

I don’t know what she’d be getting out of it, but if I wasn’t sure she was using this town to bury something before, I am now.

That’s when a thought hits me.

Maybe she is the one setting the fires.

My brows pull together, and I squash the suggestion as quickly as I thought it. If that were the case, she wouldn’t have mentioned the possibility of arson. No one here had any suspicions until she arrived, and if she was behind them, she wouldn’t have started drawing more attention to them.

She also didn’t show up until two months after the fires started, for fuck’s sake. There’s no way she’s responsible for them. But she’s definitely hiding something, and I refuse to let her take our town down with her.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, her car pulls into the small lot. She parks in the spot closest to the door, and before her vehicle even stops moving, I’m out of mine.

I walk up to her car, furious and determined, slamming the printed paper against her window. Her face flashes briefly with what looks to be fear, but she quickly masks it with anger.

I move back as she swings her car door open, her expression hard. Her eyes drop from my face back to the page, unamused.

“You Googled me?”

I ignore the question. “Care to explain why Holland Rhodes doesn’t exist?”

She rips the paper from my hands, crumpling it up. “Nope,” she says, popping the p . She storms past me in the direction of the inn, but I’m hot on her heels.

I run ahead, stopping her in her place. “What’s your fucking angle?”

Her brows pull together. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not an idiot. You may wear your mask well, but I can see through the facade.” I take a step closer, lowering my voice. “I don’t know what you’re running from, what you’re trying to prove, but just give it a fucking rest. This town was fine until you came along. Don’t take us down with you. ”

She shakes her head. “I…” She pauses, clearing her throat. “I’m not running from anything. Running would imply someone is chasing me, and no one back home cares enough to do that.”

There’s sadness in her tone, which has me pulling my brows together.

“Who are you?”

She rolls her lips together but doesn’t say anything.

I take another step closer. “I’m not going to ask again. Who. Are. You?”

She meets my gaze, holding strong. The fire in her eyes is clear, and despite my persistence, she doesn’t back down.

I scoff. “Fine, don’t tell me. But just know that lying to everyone about who you are doesn’t exactly build faith in you.”

She shrugs. “Honestly Colson, I don’t really care.

I have faith in myself, and if the town knew who I really am, I’m not sure that would help much either.

I know the truth about myself, and regardless of whether you trust me or not won’t change anything.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. ”

She shifts to move around me, but I block her path again.

I’ll admit, something about the fear in her tone has me second-guessing my initial opinion of her. It’s clear something happened—something she obviously doesn’t want anyone to know. Part of me even feels bad for her, but I still can’t find it in me to believe she has good intentions here.

And now I have the power to get rid of her.

“Hell no. You’re done here. I’m not going to tell you again. You’re wasting your time. No one in this town is going to be on your side once they find out you’re nothing but a liar.”

She rears back. “Are you threatening me?”

I take a step closer to her. “No, Rhodes.” I sneer. “I’m warning you. Get. Out. Of. This. Town.”

The fire in her eyes flashes brighter. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. I have just as much right to be here as anyone else.”

“Actually, you don’t. And once everyone here learns that you’re nothing but a liar, you’ll learn just how far we’re willing to go to protect each other. ”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”

“Colson, please,” she says softly. The sound of her begging is almost enough to make me forget how much I don’t like her.

But not quite.

“Pack your shit, Rhodes. If I see you again, I’m telling the town that you’re not who you’ve convinced us you are.” I start walking past her in the direction of my truck. With my door on the handle, I add, “And it’s Lieutenant Caldwell.”