Page 43 of Ink and Ashes

Holland

B rian Finnegan’s funeral was devastatingly beautiful.

I’ve always heard about the service provided to firefighters who die in the line-of-duty, but it was even more heartbreaking than I expected it would be.

Chief Whitlock did a tribute to him while Colson laid Finn’s helmet atop the casket, and all together, the town called Finnegan home for the last time.

As the service finishes up, Ollie is given the honour of ringing the bell three times, tears streaming down his face while he does. Finnegan’s widow lets out a sob from somewhere within the crowd, and Beau and Colson move to escort her out, the rest of the crowd silent while the service concludes.

I take that as an opportunity to scan the faces of everyone in the crowd, searching for anything unusual.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the arsonist is here for this.

But given that we know it’s a firefighter and all of them are here, lined up in their dress uniform to say goodbye to their fallen brother, that isn’t particularly helpful.

I watch them all for any sign of guilt, but no one’s expression raises an alarm for me.

They all look like the rest of the crowd—distraught, heartbroken, and confused.

I’ve gotten to know the team over the past few weeks, and despite my suspicions toward a few of them, I find myself questioning everything I know.

Some of them are assholes and others are loners, but none of them seem like the type to set fires—especially not fires that kill one of their closest friends.

I’d thought by now things would be getting easier. We have evidence, we know someone is doing this, but the question of who only seems to be getting harder to answer. There has to be something I’m missing but fuck if I don’t know how I’m going to figure it out.

The service ends, and everyone makes their way into the station for the reception. Marydale’s Diner catered food for everyone, and there are tables and chairs set up all throughout the bay for people to mingle and reminisce about all the good times they had with Finn.

Colson and Beau are still gone with Finn’s wife and children, so I grab some food, then make my way over to where Cass, Ollie, Dom, and a few of the others on the crew are sitting.

“Hey,” I say as I approach.

Cass tosses a sad smile my way as I take the seat next to her. “Hey.”

No one says much of anything while we eat, all of them trying to cope with the loss of Finn. Now isn’t the time or place to discuss the case, so I keep my mouth shut too, studying all the faces in the room.

The place is packed. I don’t think there’s anyone who isn’t here, and that thought makes my heart crack. I wonder if Finn knew just how loved he was.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when I feel a hand on my shoulder. But when I look up, it isn’t Colson like I expected it would be. It’s Chief Whitlock.

I immediately stand from my chair. “Hi, sir.”

“Hi, Miss Rhodes. Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?”

My brows pull together as I look over my shoulder at Dom and Cass. Their expressions mimic mine, as if they’ re wondering what their fire chief could want with me. But when Dom jerks his head, I take that as my cue to go with him.

“Sure,” I say, then the two of us move off to the side, out of earshot from the rest of the room.

Whitlock’s jaw is tight, his voice kept low as he speaks. “I haven’t had a chance to talk with Caldwell given the events of the past week, but you’re here now, so I figured I’d just ask you.” He pauses momentarily. “Have you found anything new in the investigation?”

I roll my lips together. “What all has Colson told you?”

Whitlock rattles off what he knows about the investigation, and I’m not surprised that Colson has filled him in on just about everything.

The timeline, the candle wick tabs, our suspects so far.

At least everyone who isn’t a firefighter, which suggests that Colson hasn’t shared that theory with him.

And I’m sure as hell not going to tell anyone without letting Colson know first.

“Are you any closer to finding this son of a bitch?” Whitlock asks when he finishes, his voice rough.

“Everything so far has led to a dead end, but I’m working on it, sir.” I pause. “Do you happen to know anything about the Welland Ranch?”

Whitlock’s brows pull together as he rubs his hand over the back of his neck, shaking his head. “I wasn’t around for it, but I know it left a lot of scars.” He pauses. “You think these fires have something to do with that?”

I study him momentarily as he shifts his body weight, a wave of anxiety flowing off him. I can only imagine how much pressure he’s been under over all this.

“I’m not sure. It seems too coincidental for this to happen thirty years after that, but I also haven’t been able to find any connections between the ranch and anyone in town, and the entire Welland family is dead. I’m just trying to cover all my bases.”

Whitlock’s throat works as he swallows. “I’m counting on you and Caldwell to figure this out, Miss Rhodes.

” His eyes begin to water, but he holds the tears back.

“If you need assistance, let me know. The whole team will jump to help, all you have to do is say the word. Either way, we need you to get to the bottom of it. One of our own has been killed because of this guy, and I’ll be damned if anyone else gets hurt. ”

His voice cracks on the last word, and so does my heart. It hurts me to think about any of the men at this station being behind such a horrific situation, and I can only imagine what they’ll have to say once we tell them the truth.

Whitlock jerks his head, then takes off in the direction of his office. I stand there frozen as I watch him walk away. He passes Colson who’s returning from the lobby, and they chat for a minute before Colson continues making his way to me.

“You talked to Whitlock?” he asks as he approaches.

I nod. “I didn’t tell him anything new. Just that we’re still looking. He offered his help, but I figured I’d let you be the one to decide if you want to involve him or any of the others on the team.”

Colson’s shoulders fall. “Not yet.”

“Okay.” The two of us make our way back to the table.

“Is everything alright with Julie?” Cass asks, referring to Finn’s widow.

He shakes his head. “Beau said he was gonna take her and the girls home.”

Cass’s face falls. “I hate this so much.”

Dom clenches his teeth. “Don’t we all.”

I swallow, turning my attention to Colson. He’s still cleaned up nicely in his dress uniform, but I can tell his head is a mess. I place a hand over his, and after a moment, he shifts so he’s holding it properly.

None of this is okay, and regardless of what we do, the arsonist is always three steps ahead. Just when we think we’re closing in, he switches directions. I’m starting to wonder if we’re in way over our heads, and I have no fucking clue how we’re going to catch this guy.

Over an hour passes before people begin to clear out. Mary and Emmett stop by our table to say goodbye, and so do a bunch of other townspeople I have yet to meet.

Beau returns, and Dom excuses himself to go talk to him at the same time a woman approaches the table. She looks somewhere around my age, and Cass rolls her eyes when she sees her.

“Hi, Colson,” the woman says, taking the spot Dom just vacated. Her eyes flash to his hand holding mine, a slight grimace filling her face that she quickly masks.

Colson huffs when he notices the woman. “Marcy,” he says, his hand tightening around mine. I get the sense there’s a history between them, and I bite back the jealous feeling that gives me.

Marcy starts talking again, but I’m pulled from the moment by the sound of my phone ringing. I remove my hand from Colson’s to pull it out of my purse, apologizing to the table as I do. When I see Mary’s name flash across the screen, I stand from my chair and walk out to the lobby to answer.

“Hi, Mary. Everything okay?” I ask at the same time Colson walks through the doors.

I glance past to see Marcy staring after him with a frown, and I feel butterflies knowing he left her there alone to come be with me. His brows pull tight when he sees me, so I mouth Mary’s name, and he relaxes a touch.

“Holland?” Mary says over the line, her voice panicked. “You should come back here. There was a break-in.”

As soon as I hung up with Mary, I told Colson what happened, and he insisted on coming with me back to the inn. I told him he should stay with his crew, but he refused. The reception is dwindling down now anyway, and I could tell he was desperate to leave, so it didn’t take much for me to agree.

We say our goodbyes to the crew, then make our way out to Colson’s truck. As he always does now, he opens my door for me, then makes his way to the driver’s seat. Nerves flow off both of us on the drive to the inn, neither of us saying a word.

We make it back in record time, and I’m out of Colson’s truck before he even has it in park.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as I rush through the front door of The Scarlet, Colson hot on my heels.

Mary and Emmett stand there, a look of betrayal on their faces.

“What happened?” I ask hesitantly. I glance around the lobby, seeing if anything else seems out of the ordinary, but nothing does.

Mary just clicks her tongue while Emmett shakes his head, glaring at me. I glance up at Colson, whose brows are pulled tight in confusion.

I shoot the Montgomerys another confused look before I make my way toward the room I’ve been staying in.

The door is swung wide open to display the room covered from top to bottom in newspaper articles.

A sharp intake of breath escapes me as my eyes scan the room, and I realize why they were looking at me that way.

Investigative Journalist or Manipulative Fraud?

The Truth About Hollis Rothwell’s Ethical Violations

From Exposé to Exposed: Hollis Rothwell’s Shocking Downfall

Trusted Journalist Caught in a Web of Lies and Corruption

The Hollis Rothwell Scandal: How Ambition Led to Betrayal

Once a Star Journalist, Now a Disgrace

A dozen more articles just like those stare back at me as I take in the state of my room. In addition to the articles littering the walls, all the files I’ve put together over the course of my investigation are strewn throughout the room carelessly.

“No,” I say out loud, shaking my head. “No, no, no.” My heart drops into my stomach as my eyes scan the headlines, each one detailing the case I was framed for back home that led to me being fired and blacklisted.

I should’ve known better than to think it wouldn’t follow me here.

“Whoa,” Colson says from behind me as he takes a look at the room. For a moment, I’d forgotten he was here.

“Who’s Hollis Rothwell?” Mary asks.

I turn back to face them, tears welling in my eyes. “I am.”

They frown, confirming that they read the articles.

“But this isn’t what it looks like, I swear,” I tell them, panic clear in my voice. “I was framed. That’s why I’m here. I’ve been trying to redeem myself and prove that this”—I rip one of the articles off the wall, holding it up—“isn’t true.”

They both just stare at me, as if trying to decide whether to believe me or not.

“She’s telling the truth,” Colson says to Mary and Emmett. “Dom and I have known about this for a while now. All of these articles are fabricated.”

They glance between each other, and Mary’s shoulders fall.

“So you’ve been using an alias this whole time?” she asks, and my heart breaks a little.

I jerk my head.

Emmett hums. “Rothwell as in Ontario’s premier?”

“The one and only,” I say, sadness dripping in my tone.

Emmett blows out a breath, and I swear I see tears in Mary’s eyes.

“There’s a reason I didn’t tell anyone. This is it.” My voice cracks on the last word. “Do you know who did this?”

Mary shakes her head. “We were at the service like everyone else, and the place was locked up. When we came back, the door to your room was ajar. We knew you were still down at the station, and no one else was here, so Emmett checked it out and found this. We checked the footage from the front door, but there was no sign of anyone.”

Colson makes his way over to the bedroom window. It’s in the locked position, but when he lifts it slightly, it opens with ease.

I inhale sharply and Mary does the same.

“Fucking hell,” Emmett mutters, while Colson’s jaw clenches tight.

How did I not realize before now that the lock was broken? A shiver runs up my spine, and I can’t help but wonder if this is the first time someone has broken in. They must’ve climbed in through the window, put up the articles, and then left the same way .

But how? Practically the whole town was at the station for the service, and so were all the firefighters. We know it’s one of them, but I don’t know how they could’ve been in two places at once. Which means someone either snuck away at some point, or they’re working with a partner.

Fuck . I think I’m going to be sick.

Colson must sense my incoming panic, because in the next moment, his arms are around me.

He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. “ Now will you come home with me?” he asks, emphasizing that I’m obviously not safe here, no matter how much I’d like to think I am.

He’s worried about you, Holland. Give the guy an inch.

With one last glance around the room, I blow out a breath and nod.

“Okay.”