Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
At the end of the day, I was only here for work, and I needed to put that at the forefront of my mind. Today, I had to talk to the others some more so that I could hopefully get more insight into what was going on and what to look for when arson incidents did happen. They were the experts, after all, while I also had some expertise of my own.
I had to take their knowledge, the local people’s experiences, and my writing ability, mix them all together, and craft the best story that my boss had ever read before. And damn it, I was going to do that.
When I parked next to the fire station, I took a deep breath, straightened myself out, and headed inside, hoping for a productive day. I had to get these guys to like me and open up to me because that would allow me more access to places and situations that I needed to write the best story.
And I was immediately off to a bad start because the first person that I saw was Cohen as he stood next to the fire truck in a gray tank top and dark blue khaki pants. As good as his body looked, I didn’t particularly like the unimpressed expression on his face.
“Morning,” I said with a dazzle of fake cheeriness. Someone had to be the bigger person, right? Or at least pretend to be.
“Morning,” Cohen replied, his eyes lingering on me longer than I expected.
Interesting.
The side of my mouth curled up a little as I passed him and headed out of the apparatus bay, listening closely for any other sound of life in the station. I heard what sounded like cabinets shutting to the right and followed the noise until I walked into a small kitchen where Tobin was scrubbing the countertop.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t know there was a kitchen in here,” I said with a surprised look on my face.
Tobin paused and glanced over his shoulder at me.
“Everything you could ever need is in here,” he replied before tossing the old, used sponge in the trash can. He washed his hands before turning back to me, resting his back against the edge of the counter. His gaze shifted to me, having a sort of intensity that stole my breath for a second. “Have a good time last night?”
My face burned when I thought about the kiss, but I doubted he was talking about that. He probably didn’t even know about it.
“I did. Did you?” I asked as I tilted my head at him. He was so mysterious. What all was he hiding beneath his shell?
The corner of his mouth turned up as he nodded.
“It’s nice getting out every once in a while,” he replied. “Especially lately.”
My face softened as I heard the clear exhaustion in his voice.
“You guys really have your work cut out for you lately,” I noted.
Tobin rubbed the back of his neck as he gave it a loose roll to relax the muscles.
“That’s an understatement. And my job isn’t done when the fire is put out. I could be out there on the scene for a while afterward,” he said.
“What does being an arson investigator consist of?” I asked as I stepped closer to him, feeling genuinely curious. I could use any sort of investigating tips that he was willing to share with me.
“I mainly search the scene of a fire and gather evidence to determine the cause of it,” Tobin explained, his hands resting on the counter on either side of him. When I came closer, he gripped the edge slightly. “I use the evidence to figure out if the fire was accidental or deliberate.”
“What kind of evidence have you been finding lately to know that these fires are deliberate and not accidental?” I questioned him. “How can you tell which ones are the work of an arsonist and someone who accidentally left the stove on?”
Tobin smirked a little.
“Curious one, aren’t you?” he replied.
I smiled and shrugged.
“I’m curious about you, yes,” I said. I wanted him to unravel a little for me.
Tobin briefly pressed his teeth into the corner of his bottom lip like he was trying to stifle a smile. He failed.
“Well, deliberate fires have evidence of accelerants on the scene,” he told me.
“Like gasoline?” I asked as my eyes widened.
Tobin nodded.
“Kind of weird to find around a house fire. I’ll find all sorts of weird things in house and car fires. Fuses. Lighter fluid. Matches. I can tell when something odd is going on and when someone just left the stove on or forgot a candle was burning,” he explained to me.
I noted every single thing that he said in my head, knowing that I needed to keep a look out for things like that. I had to find all sorts of evidence if I wanted any chance of figuring out who was behind all of this. Within the ashes, there was the truth.