on one side, Sean’s on the other. Alice Perry was rocking their small baby boy, keeping away from the smoke a breeze was blowing toward them. Thomas gave Sean a hug. “Your daddy’s here. Go.” Sean shouted and ran full tilt toward him. Sean was fully dressed, and how could that be? Astro was barking his head off, and now Gladys joined in. The black Labrador Boris from down the street filled out a trio. Savich felt his throat close as he scooped Sean up in his arms and hugged him close. All the while Sean was talking nonstop. “Mama carried me, Papa, and she was fast. She wrapped me up like a hot dog so I wouldn’t get smoke up my nose, and Astro was barking and jumping. And Mama leaped down the stairs, and we ran outside.” Sean stopped, studied his father’s face, and patted his cheek. “It will be okay, Papa.” Had Sean seen the empty fear? “Marty said I could sleep with her new little brother tonight if I wanted to. She said he’d wake me up every ten minutes because he was hungry. Mama, you’re crying. What’s wrong?”
She gulped but managed to smile. “Happy tears, Sean. We’re all safe and together.” She hadn’t thought of where they’d sleep tonight, or for that matter, for the foreseeable future. Not in their own house, that was for sure. It didn’t matter. They were together; they were safe.
Savich continued to hold Sherlock and Sean against him until Luke Mason trotted over to them. It took Savich a moment to recognize him, as his face was black, his clothes filthy. Why wasn’t he in his fire gear? Luke raised his voice. “Folks, all your houses are safe. The firefighters got here fast enough.” He turned to Savich and Sherlock. “As I told Sherlock, the kitchen’s destroyed, but nothing else structural is burned, only smoke and water damage that couldn’t be avoided. Savich, I’m glad you’re here.” He beamed at the three of them. “Your family’s all right, and that’s the most important thing. It’s good Sherlock got out so fast, didn’t try to fight it. A house is only a house, after all—well, in this case, a kitchen is only a kitchen. Tell you what, let’s get a little away from your neighbors.”
Luke walked them toward one of the ladder trucks. “Good, no one else can hear us here. I’m sure you’re wondering, so let me spit it out. The fire inspector will make the final decision, but I can tell you now this was no accident. Sherlock was right. We found a can of gasoline behind the kitchen, and one of the guys found one of the kitchen windows smashed. Someone started this fire. And whoever it was also left the gasoline can there on purpose. They wanted you to know.”
“Not an accident,” Savich said slowly. He felt a cold rage, nearly shook with it. Sherlock and Sean could have died. Whoever had set the fire had brought a war to his home. He would make sure he finished it. He looked at Sherlock’s face. Of course, she’d already known. He looked at Griffin. He nodded.
33
Sean pushed against his father’s arms and shouted, “Grandma!”
Savich set him down, and his son ran to his grandmother, Senator Robert Monroe smiling really big at her side.
Minna Savich scooped Sean up and squeezed him so tight he yipped. She looked into her son’s eyes and saw huge relief, mirroring her own. She looked him over, then Sherlock, and closed her eyes a moment, squeezing Sean again. “I never prayed so hard in my life.”
Senator Robert Monroe looked toward the smoke still pluming upward, then back at Savich and Sherlock, and slowly nodded. He patted Sean’s small shoulder. Sean looked up. “I’m glad you brought Grandma over, Uncle Bob.”
Savich started to say something, but Minna said over Sean’s head, “You have Bob to thank for our getting here so fast. One of his friends at Metro called him on his ham radio to alert him about a 911 call to your home, Dillon. He picked me up, and here we are.”
Savich felt surprise at the brief stab of resentment he felt at seeing his mom with Senator Monroe, though they’d been together for several years now. He remembered he’d once disliked the senator on principle—he wasn’t Savich’s dad—but he’d proved he could stick and he loved Sean. Savich shook the senator’s hand. “Thank you for helping, sir, and for bringing my mom.”