Page 19 of Wildfire (Owl Creek #1)

The shower can't wash away the war inside me.

There isn't any path forward that doesn't end in me having regrets, so I wash up and decide to steal up.

Close my heart off to Renée. She's only here a few more days and there's a lot to do to help out around town to set up for the festival.

I can drown myself in that and in trying to find the person responsible for those fires, and then she'll be gone.

This isn't her fault. I keep reminding myself of that as I towel off and get dressed to return to the kitchen. She told me as soon as she met me that she was leaving, but damn if her fiery spirit didn't worm itself into my being.

When I return, Zoe is sitting alone on the couch, staring out the big window facing the water.

"Where's Renée?"

"She wanted a shower too. I'm guessing something happened out on the lake?"

I grunt and pull some food out of the fridge. "Hamburgers?"

"Sounds perfect. Should I…?"

"Why don't you see what's keeping her?" I want to be alone with my thoughts for a few more moments.

"You know, we can go into town and grab some take-out if you don't feel like cooking."

"Thanks, Zoe. That sounds perfect." I shove the food back in the fridge and pull out my wallet. "Can you grab some burgers from Sam's Grill?"

"Don't worry about it. On us."

She puts her glass in the sink and races out of the house. I guess I'm not doing a very good job of stealing away my feelings. I just scared an innocent bystander away.

I turn on some music and lay back on the couch.

I stare at the ceiling and listen to the wailing sounds of some of my favorite nineties grunge bands my parents introduced me to.

These guys were just as confused about love as I am, but they had loud guitars to wail on to deal with their pain.

What do I have? There is nothing I can do to get her out of my mind until she is gone, so I pull out my whittling tools.

I am going to take out my frustration on wood.

About an hour later, I heard a knock on the door. I answer and see Renée standing on my stoop with a greasy-looking sack and a tall drink, condensation collecting on the sides.

Her eyes are wide like she is afraid of what I will do.

"Special delivery. I hope you like chocolate shakes."

"My favorite."

I can't close myself off to her. I can't feel anything toward her except longing. And that isn't her responsibility. It is mine. "Did you already eat?"

"Yeah. We were so hungry we ate in the car on the drive back."

"It's only seven minutes away."

"Like I said."

I shake my head and lean against the door frame. "Listen, Renée, we don't have to talk about it. We don't have to do anything. I've got a lot to do this week, and you're leaving soon. Let's just keep enjoying each other's company. Deal?"

Her eyes drop down to the ground, and she studies her feet momentarily. Then she leans forward and plants a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks, Chief."

I watch her walk back to the apartment and close herself inside.

Well, fuck.

I eat my food, whack off, and go to bed.

The following day, Renée and Zoe come by for coffee and say they are going into town before Renée heads to work. Mom had to meet with some of the planning committee members to finalize the details of the opening night, so they are getting a late start.

I spend the day reading more emails from the community. Two were interesting, one was bizarre, but most were dead ends.

One of the two that might lead to something is from the busboy at Sam's Grill.

He said that he saw someone lingering in the alley when he was taking the trash out back.

When they noticed he was standing there, they ran off.

It was night, so he didn't get any details, but they dropped a lighter when they ran.

He snapped a photo of it, and there is some detailing of a sticker wrapped partially around the lighter.

The visible part has markings that look like a match of the logo from the last two fires. That makes two lighters left behind.

I decided to follow up with him today. I go to the restaurant, and we have a chat.

The person he saw was of average height and build.

Nothing stands out. Then he led me to the lighter out back, which was still there.

I call the Sheriff, who tells me to leave it until an officer can come and pick it up for evidence and take a statement.

But in a county like ours, I doubt there are any resources to process the "evidence," so I use a pair of tongs from the restaurant to pick it up and look at it before the officer arrives.

Just as I suspected, the other side of it had the same damn logo stuck to it.

This thing is driving me crazy. Where have I seen that logo before? Is it just my imagination playing with me?

I stop by city hall in the late afternoon to try to catch Serena, but she is busy with festival support, so I send her a text and a picture of the logo to see if she recognizes it. Then I return to the station to finish my shift and keep my mind off Renée.

The hardest task of them all.