had much of a choice,” I say, looking down at my hands.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Jake,” Noah says. “I don’t know what you got yourself into.”
“Neither do I. All I know is I gotta figure it out fast because she won’t wait around forever. If I’m not careful, she’ll call a taxi and drive all the way back home.”
“That would be a hell of a taxi fare,” Noah replies.
“Yeah, it would but... well…” I say, trailing off.
“Yeah, no, I get that. I had the same issue with Charlie not too long ago,” he laughs, shaking his head. “Strong men find strong women. Well,” he sighs, “not much you can do, but move quickly.”
“I agree. So where do we start? Can’t use the internet or phone or anything that’s tied to us in any way. Not a once, and I have no idea who’s watching who. I assume that the fire was caused because of her phone call to Holly?”
“Yeah, I connected those dots after you called me at the shop,” Noah says.
“Sorry about that. I am too high. Say, were there any casualties?“
“No, no one died.”
“Thank God for that,” I say, closing my eyes and resting my head back against the seat. “I was worried.”
“Yeah, I figured you would be,” Noah says, “but it’s all right dude. Everyone made it out sad so did you.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Two fires in a matter of weeks for you, huh?”
“Yep,” I say. “I just see myself in the hot seat. I never want to be in another fire again.”
“I sure hope not,” he says, pulling out his phone and smiling as a picture of Charlie flashes across the screen. He clicks ‘dismiss,’ then turns back to face me. “I’ll call her back in a minute.”
“I know. You seem really happy.”
“I am,” he says with a slow grin. “She’s a hell of a woman, and I’m lucky to have her in my life.”
I’m not in agreement.
“You doing okay?” he asks me.
“Yeah, I’m doing alright.”
“Okay, well here’s what I have for you so far―” he says, handing me a burner phone. “Purchased with cash. There’s no trace on it. Here’s the number,” he says passing it to me, “for my burner phone. I’ve got people out and about,” he continues, turning the phones on, “trying to figure out who is after her.”
“Hey, have you checked into Michael?” I ask.
“He’s a possibility,” Noah nods. “Dirty bastard had a finger in every pot, didn’t he?” he says, shaking his head. “And what a cliche― a man who can’t let go of his ex-wife. I’ll never understand that.” He pulls a stick of gum from his pocket and pops it in his mouth.
“Trying to quit smoking?” I ask.
“What gave it away?”
“Gum over cigarettes.”
“Yeah, Charlie keeps going on and on about how I have to outlive her, or whatnot,” he says, sliding the gum back into his pocket, “so she asked me to quit smoking.”
“And you’re going to?” I ask. “That’s a surprise?”
“Well I’m certainly gonna try,” Noah says, shaking his head.
“Must be quite a girl.”
“Yeah, she’s worth it.”
“I have to agree with you there. You’re a lucky bastard.”
“Jake?”
“Yes?”
“If we can’t get the person to come out and show themselves, we may never be able to find out what this is,” Noah murmurs. “The mayor has deep pockets and strong connections, assuming he even is the murderer.”
“Ex-Mayor,” I correct.
“Whatever,” Noah says with an eye roll. “Whoever it is, we’re gonna need them to reveal themselves. These silent sneaky attacks― setting your entire building on fire, hoping she would be in there― for one it’s fucking sloppy,” he says. “And for another, it’s too distant,” he says with a frown.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Think about it. I got a knife; I stab you up close and personal. Boom. Done. In your face. You know who I am, right away.” He shakes his head. “Fires are trickier because you got to figure out where they start and who set them in the first place. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but we might nee―”
“No,” I say, cutting him off. “Absolutely not. We’re not going to use her as bait.”
“Well then I don’t know what else to do,” Noah admits, shrugging. “I said I’d keep an eye on things, let you know if I hear anything.”
“And when she decides that’s bullshit and she’s over it?”
“Well, you know what to do,” he says with a sigh.
I close my eyes and lower my head