Chapter 16: The Arranged Marriage
Pierre and Stephanie parked on the street outside of his mom's house. They looked at each other and came into Janice's house. "Momma," Pierre said as they crossed the threshold. Pierre and Stephanie removed their shoes and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey Pierre, I heard about your house, any idea who did it?" Janice asked.
"Not yet, Momma," Pierre said, and then he saw Chief Franklin sitting in the kitchen.
"Chief," Pierre said. "This is my wife, Stephanie. Little one, the chief of firehouse 15."
"Nice to meet you," Stephanie said.
"Okay, Momma, is there any chance we can stay here until we can get a new house?" Pierre asked.
"You two are more than welcome to live here," Janice replied.
"Tank, a word?" Franklin asked. He wanted to discuss his theory away from Stephanie and Janice. It wouldn't bode well for them to know who they had under investigation.
"Yeah, chief," Pierre said, following him outside.
"We are not positive, but we think someone from Rangeman had torched your house. We are still looking into it. Be careful, Pierre, and 15 has got your back. We will see you at 6 am for your first shift. Just to let you know, this is one of the slower stations nowadays," Franklin said as he left.
Pierre noticed the dark SUV still watching the house. "What the hell is going on?" Pierre asked. Pierre walked back into his mom's house and saw the spread of food on the table.
"Time to eat," Stephanie said out loud. "We didn't eat much at Valerie's home, and your mom heard my stomach grumble," Stephanie whispered when he sat beside her.
"Yeah, let's eat," Pierre said. He gently rubbed her thigh, silently thanking her for helping his mom set the table. Stephanie couldn't stop yawning throughout dinner. After they ate, it was time for bed.
Everyone was sleeping when they heard an explosion outside. "Stay here in the house," Pierre said. He got up and got his jeans on. He slipped his boots on and walked outside, to see his SUV blown up. "Right, first my house, and now my SUV. What the hell is going on?" Tank asked himself.
Stephanie and Janice watched outside when the station 15 truck pull up to the curb, followed by Morelli's unmarked police vehicle. "Hey, man, what is going on?" Morelli asked him.
"I have no idea. I left Rangeman and am going back to be a fighter. I have the training and worked at station 15 a few years ago. I decided to work as a firefighter. I believe Ranger is causing trouble for Stephanie and me, but I can't prove anything. The man over there, in the SUV, has been following us. I don't know what's going on, but if I can't trust Rangeman, then I can't work for them," Tank said, surprising Morelli for talking so much.
Morelli looked at the house he assumed belonged to Pierre's mom and released a deep breath. "If Ranger is causing this problem for Sherman, then this whole city is going to be at war," Morelli said to himself.