Chapter 1
"No, Mike, you are not going bye-bye!" Rick firmly told the golden retriever. Sitting stubbornly in front of his truck, Mike thumped his tail and looked pleadingly at his master.
"Darling, he thinks it's a weekend, he really enjoyed going fishing with you and the guys last week." Laurie giggled, coming to her husband's rescue. Scooping up the whimpering puppy, she leaned over and kissed Rick. "Mmm, sure you don't want to put him down and do that again?" he teased, returning her kiss. "Only if it means you'll be here that much sooner, Rick." she replied, putting her head against his shoulder. "Sweetheart, this arson investigation is simply routine. Captain Ron just wants to cover all the bases, that's all. A.J. and I aren't in any danger, so please don't worry!" Rick added, stroking her hair. "Besides, the firebug is targeting firemen, somebody's got to stop him!"
"Don't mind me, you know how I don't like anything involving fire. I'll come to the office about 11 am and finish the filing, that way we can have lunch together!" she grinned.
Watching him climb into his truck, she exchanged one last kiss then backed up so he could make his turn. Watching him rumble out of the yard, she looked down at Mike.
"Ok, buddy, you and I have some chores to do before I have go to town!" she told the dog.
Despite his reassurances, Rick was glad when A.J. and he finished Captain Ron's files and found no one link to the three "suspicious" fires that almost killed six firemen, as well as a policeman. "I hate to say it, but I'm stumped, little brother. We'd better call the Captain and, hey, wait a minute." Rick stopped, staring at the pictures of one of the arson attacks.
"What is it, Rick?" A.J. got up from his desk and looked at the photo in question, a crowd of witnesses watching firemen leaving the scene. Rick shook his head, "If I didn't know better, nah, it couldn't be her!" "Who!" his brother started to get exasperated.
"I'll know soon enough. Listen, I'm going down to the basement, aren't you supposed to meet Linda at the pediatrician?" he replied, distractedly pulling on his coat. "Oh, yeah, thanks, Rick, I come right back as soon as Ricky's appointment's done!" A.J. grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "See you later, say hi to Laurie for me!" he called from the stairs.
"Right!" his brother returned, then glancing at the clock, figured he had at least half an hour before his wife met him for lunch. Realizing she might be able to i.d. the suspect in the picture too, he carefully put the photos in a folder and placed it on his desk.
Going out the door, he just remembered to set the answering machine and left a note on the glass saying that the office was closed until 2:00 pm.
Going down the stairs, he missed seeing a figure in the shadows of the second flight. As he opened the basement door, the unseen watcher crept down the steps and waiting until the coast was clear, followed him inside.
As Laurie drove into the downtown business district, she smiled in anticipation of seeing her husband. With their anniversary coming up, she had been teasing him with all sorts of silly ideas for gifts. As she pulled up to a red light, she abruptly had a flash of pain, then saw for an instant a picture of Rick under boxes, flames creeping ever closer to him.
"No!" she shouted aloud, then hearing honking, realized the light had turned green. Gunning the engine, she peeled through the intersection and raced to the office complex.
Pulling into the parking lot, Laurie saw that A.J.'s car was gone, then gasped as smoke started to billow from the first floor of the building. Barely waiting for the motor to stop, she jumped out and ran into the lobby, where alarms were going off and a herd of office personnel and clients came running out of the stairwells.
"Mrs. Simon, you've got to get out of here, the building's on fire!" the old security guard tried to stop her. ""Sam, Rick's still in here, I've got to find him!" she insisted, then ran up the stairs through the smoke. Seeing the note on the office door, nonetheless she pulled out her key and entered the room, just in case Rick came back in.
Seeing no sign of him, she started to leave only to see a folder on his desk, marked "Arson Investigations-PPD". Knowing it was important, she took it and locked the office. Leaving the closed sign up, she went around to the other suites and made sure they were empty. As she started down the stairs, she saw the smoke had become much heavier, and retreating to the second floor, backtracked to the fire escape. Suddenly she heard a pounding sound, and opening the door, saw two lawyers from the firm that shared the second suite collapsed on the stairs. "We got trapped in here, thank God you came!", the older of the two gasped. Helping them up, Laurie pushed them ahead of her and made sure they got out safely.
As the outside fire door closed behind them, she realized too late it was her only way back inside. Hoping against hope that she would see Rick outside, she weaved her way through the growing crowds. Not seeing him, she headed to his truck, then putting the arson folder inside the cab for safekeeping, headed back to the office building, only to see yellow tape and barricades. Pushing through the people ringing the perimeter, she started toward the front door of the lobby, only to hear her name being called. Ignoring the familiar voice, she had almost reached the smoke filled entrance when the Phoenix police captain blocked the way.
"No, Mike, you are not going bye-bye!" Rick firmly told the golden retriever. Sitting stubbornly in front of his truck, Mike thumped his tail and looked pleadingly at his master.
"Darling, he thinks it's a weekend, he really enjoyed going fishing with you and the guys last week." Laurie giggled, coming to her husband's rescue. Scooping up the whimpering puppy, she leaned over and kissed Rick. "Mmm, sure you don't want to put him down and do that again?" he teased, returning her kiss. "Only if it means you'll be here that much sooner, Rick." she replied, putting her head against his shoulder. "Sweetheart, this arson investigation is simply routine. Captain Ron just wants to cover all the bases, that's all. A.J. and I aren't in any danger, so please don't worry!" Rick added, stroking her hair. "Besides, the firebug is targeting firemen, somebody's got to stop him!"
"Don't mind me, you know how I don't like anything involving fire. I'll come to the office about 11 am and finish the filing, that way we can have lunch together!" she grinned.
Watching him climb into his truck, she exchanged one last kiss then backed up so he could make his turn. Watching him rumble out of the yard, she looked down at Mike.
"Ok, buddy, you and I have some chores to do before I have go to town!" she told the dog.
Despite his reassurances, Rick was glad when A.J. and he finished Captain Ron's files and found no one link to the three "suspicious" fires that almost killed six firemen, as well as a policeman. "I hate to say it, but I'm stumped, little brother. We'd better call the Captain and, hey, wait a minute." Rick stopped, staring at the pictures of one of the arson attacks.
"What is it, Rick?" A.J. got up from his desk and looked at the photo in question, a crowd of witnesses watching firemen leaving the scene. Rick shook his head, "If I didn't know better, nah, it couldn't be her!" "Who!" his brother started to get exasperated.
"I'll know soon enough. Listen, I'm going down to the basement, aren't you supposed to meet Linda at the pediatrician?" he replied, distractedly pulling on his coat. "Oh, yeah, thanks, Rick, I come right back as soon as Ricky's appointment's done!" A.J. grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "See you later, say hi to Laurie for me!" he called from the stairs.
"Right!" his brother returned, then glancing at the clock, figured he had at least half an hour before his wife met him for lunch. Realizing she might be able to i.d. the suspect in the picture too, he carefully put the photos in a folder and placed it on his desk.
Going out the door, he just remembered to set the answering machine and left a note on the glass saying that the office was closed until 2:00 pm.
Going down the stairs, he missed seeing a figure in the shadows of the second flight. As he opened the basement door, the unseen watcher crept down the steps and waiting until the coast was clear, followed him inside.
As Laurie drove into the downtown business district, she smiled in anticipation of seeing her husband. With their anniversary coming up, she had been teasing him with all sorts of silly ideas for gifts. As she pulled up to a red light, she abruptly had a flash of pain, then saw for an instant a picture of Rick under boxes, flames creeping ever closer to him.
"No!" she shouted aloud, then hearing honking, realized the light had turned green. Gunning the engine, she peeled through the intersection and raced to the office complex.
Pulling into the parking lot, Laurie saw that A.J.'s car was gone, then gasped as smoke started to billow from the first floor of the building. Barely waiting for the motor to stop, she jumped out and ran into the lobby, where alarms were going off and a herd of office personnel and clients came running out of the stairwells.
"Mrs. Simon, you've got to get out of here, the building's on fire!" the old security guard tried to stop her. ""Sam, Rick's still in here, I've got to find him!" she insisted, then ran up the stairs through the smoke. Seeing the note on the office door, nonetheless she pulled out her key and entered the room, just in case Rick came back in.
Seeing no sign of him, she started to leave only to see a folder on his desk, marked "Arson Investigations-PPD". Knowing it was important, she took it and locked the office. Leaving the closed sign up, she went around to the other suites and made sure they were empty. As she started down the stairs, she saw the smoke had become much heavier, and retreating to the second floor, backtracked to the fire escape. Suddenly she heard a pounding sound, and opening the door, saw two lawyers from the firm that shared the second suite collapsed on the stairs. "We got trapped in here, thank God you came!", the older of the two gasped. Helping them up, Laurie pushed them ahead of her and made sure they got out safely.
As the outside fire door closed behind them, she realized too late it was her only way back inside. Hoping against hope that she would see Rick outside, she weaved her way through the growing crowds. Not seeing him, she headed to his truck, then putting the arson folder inside the cab for safekeeping, headed back to the office building, only to see yellow tape and barricades. Pushing through the people ringing the perimeter, she started toward the front door of the lobby, only to hear her name being called. Ignoring the familiar voice, she had almost reached the smoke filled entrance when the Phoenix police captain blocked the way.
