Fire Escape - Book Three: Troubled Heroes Series (An Action Thriller) (19 page)

             
Captain Rooker was out on the sidewalk, smoking on a cigar as some of the men washed the truck down. "What are you doing here, McGinnis? I thought you were off today."

             
"I am. Just wanted to see if Walsh was around."

             
"He's off too. Eva called me yesterday. She was worried about you. Is everything okay?"

             
"Okay is such a vague word, isn't it Captain? Are any of us truly okay?"

             
His superior arched his eyebrow and took a long drag off of the cigar. "Getting all philosophical on me? Not your style, McGinnis. Stick to search and rescue."

             
"When does Walsh work again?"

             
"I surmise the same day you come back. Why are you suddenly so interested in his schedule?"

             
Michael took a few steps back, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket. "No reason. I'll see you tomorrow." It was Eva calling. "Hey babe."

             
"You need to get home right now."

             
Walking in that direction, Michael felt a wave of heat rush over him. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

             
"Detective Reynolds and Detective Vasquez are here. They haven't told me much, just that they need you here." There was panic in her voice. Picking his pace up, he tried to keep calm.

             
"They might just need to follow up on the other day." He said it more to convince himself. "I'll be there shortly." He walked fast, his imagination kicking into overdrive. He imagined making a run for it. He could find his way up to Canada. At least he wouldn't be a headache to Eva anymore. Scoffing to himself, he couldn't believe he had conjured up such a thought. Running would make him look guiltier than anything. The best thing he could do at this point in time would be to cooperate and have faith in the system. It was just hard to do when everything was working against him.

             
Pausing at his apartment door, he took a second to compose himself. He had no idea what to expect on the other side, but it was time to face whatever it would be. Grabbing the door knob, he swung it open, revealing the two detectives standing by the table. Eva was in the chair, her face red and tear soaked. This wasn't good.

             
"Come on inside, Mr. McGinnis," Detective Reynolds said, motioning him toward her.

             
"What's going on?" He looked over at Detective Vasquez who was on guard.

             
Detective Reynolds stepped forward, her brow creased. "Michael McGinnis, you are under arrest. We need to take you down to the station for further questioning in regard to the warehouse fires set recently."

             
Michael backed up a few steps and looked over at Eva. She couldn't even make eye contact with him and more tears flowed from her eyes. "You're arresting me?"

             
Detective Vasquez stepped forward, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt. He twirled them on his finger, an arrogant smile parting his lips. "I highly advise you not to resist, Mr. McGinnis. Things are already looking pretty ugly for you."

             
Holding his hands up, he told himself to cooperate. It was the only line of defense he had. Blowing up would add on to the apparent investigation they had going against him. "I'm not resisting, Detective." His voice shook and he glanced over at Eva again. Making eye contact with her for the first time, he tried to assure her that things would be okay. There was so much sorrow on her face. How could he convince her of that when he wasn't even sure of it himself? How in the hell had it come to this?

             
"Face the wall, Mr. McGinnis." Detective Vasquez pushed him against it, frisking him. "You have the right to remain silent..." as the cop spouted off his Miranda rights, Michael looked back to the love of his life. Things seemed to be moving in slow motion. Staring him down, Eva nodded her head as if she understood. Michael's vision blurred and he ducked his head. Viper must've planted some solid evidence on him for the police to be able to make an arrest. The hole he was in was getting deeper and deeper.

             
The cold metal of the handcuffs closed around his wrists. Detective Vasquez pulled him from the wall and lead him to the door.

             
"Can I at least kiss my fiancé bye?"

             
With some hesitation, Detective Reynolds allowed it. Pushing him toward her, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, taking in his last seconds with her for who knew how long. He wanted to wipe her tears away, to pull her in for a tight hug and never let her go. What was going through her mind? He needed to know she was still supporting him.

             
"I love you, babe. Everything is going to be okay."

             
She nodded and cupped his cheek. "I'll do what I can to get you the help you need."

             
"Let's move it, McGinnis." Detective Vasquez grabbed his arm, tearing him from her. "It's time to get down to business."

             
Looking over his shoulder, Michael stared at her, keeping his eyes trained on hers until they slammed the door, closing off any contact he would have with her. People in the lobby of the apartment building watched as they guided him toward the police cruiser. Just like before, it was all slow motion. It was like a bad dream that he couldn't wake up from. Any minute he had to jolt awake.

             
No, this was real. Being shoved into the back of the cop car was the reminder. Next stop would be the police station where he'd be torn apart like the filthy pieces of scum who had actually committed a crime.

             
Leaning his head against the window, he stared out onto the street, watching people pass by. Life went on for those around him, but as far as Michael was concerned, his life had come to a screeching halt. He was in trouble, and things were quickly getting worse.

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as the door shut behind Mikey and the detectives, Eva burst out in tears, panic setting in. She tried so hard to stay composed while they were there, but the look on his face as they took him away was obvious. He knew she was freaking out. Her fiancé had been arrested. For arson. What in the hell was going on?

Running her hands over her hair, she tried to pull it together. She couldn't let it get the best of her. Mikey was depending on her. She was going to be his fighter on the outside. She felt nauseous. What kind of hell was he going to go through down at the station? She had seen h
er fair share of cop shows. Hopefully they didn't really act that way with the people they brought in for questioning.

Sighing heavily
, she grabbed her phone and did a search for lawyers. Her family had their own lawyer they had used for minimal things in the past, but there was no way he could handle a case of this caliber. So many times she had heard getting a lawyer was like an admission of guilt. The only way she saw it was Mikey needed one - a damn good one that would wipe away any doubt that the jury might have against him if this did get as far as court.

Standing up, she scanned through the listings. Over a thousand had popped up and she felt overwhelmed. She needed to talk to someone. Who? How much did his mother know? It didn't matter. This would be the main headline in the newspaper the next morning with the facts blown completely out of proportion. Grabbing her jacket, she hurried out the door and hailed the first cab she came across. His mother had to know. Maybe she had a good suggestion for a lawyer. Her boys had been in legal
trouble before. She'd know where to start.

The taxi edged to the curb right in front of her house. From what Eva could tell, she wasn't outside, but the living room light was on. She vaguely remembered Mikey mentioning that she worked part time and usually worked an early shift. Handing the driver some money, she slowly walked up the sidewalk, her nerves on high alert.

Balling her fists, she hesitated before she knocked, but forced herself. She was here. There was no reason to turn back. Ms. McGinnis opened the door, a look of confusion quickly replaced by a genuine smile that Eva found comforting.

"Eva, my darling, what brings you by?"

It broke her heart to have to kill her good mood. How was she going to take it? She seemed to be great at handling crisis, but this was something neither had ever dealt with before.

"I uhh, I've got something to tell you."

She pulled her inside. "Do you want some coffee or anything?"

Eva held her hand up and declined the offer. "No ma'am. I think it's best to just get down to it."

Ms. McGinnis sat back in her chair, her smile slowly fading. "Is everything okay? Did you miscarry?"

"No, no, I'm still very much pregnant." She ran her hand over her stomach, feeling her clothes getting tighter by the second. "It's about Mikey, Ms. McGinnis. He uhh..." she stammered on her words, trying to find the right ones to say. Licking her lips, she swallowed the bile in the back of her throat. "He was arrested and taken in this morning."

The house fell silent. The second hand ticked on the clock above the fireplace, but it felt like a minute passed in between each one. Ms. McGinnis looked away, her hand shaking as she sipped on her coffee. The porcelain clanked as she edged the mug back onto the table.

"Why was my son arrested?" She was so poignant.

"For some reason, the detectives have reason to believe that he's responsible for starting all of the warehouse fires that have been all over the news."

Ms. McGinnis nodded. "
Yeah, I've been keeping track of it. Why do they think it's Michael?"

Eva looked to the shelves beside her, her eyes stopping on a picture of Mikey and Casey
from years before. They were both so young. It had been a long time that she had seen him smile as big as he was in the picture.

"I wish I knew, Ms. McGinnis. That's what we need to find out. I'm not even sure where to begin. I know he needs a lawyer, but there's so many out there.
How do we know who is good and who isn't?"

Sitting forward in her chair, Michael's mom grabbed an address book and thumbed through it. "Frederick Clifton. Damn good criminal lawyer. I hate the reasons I know about him, but he's gotten Casey out of some hot water. Mikey too, back when he was a teenager. He's been in business for that long."

Eva put the information in her phone. "That's a good start."

"There is no way in hell my Mikey did this. He's a firefighter. Isn't their number one goal to put out fires, not start them?"

"Sadly, Ms. McGinnis, being a firefighter is the first strike Mikey has against him. They are the biggest pyromaniacs out there. But I agree. He is no arsonist, and we're gonna make damn sure he doesn't get put away for something he didn't do."

***

Michael tried to hide his fear as the detectives led him into the stationhouse. The entrance had people from different walks of life in it. A lady with several kids, an old man, a biker dude, and a young child who was all alone. The cop at the front desk looked flustered and un-amused at the organized chaos. Detective Vasquez gave Michael a light shove through the door that led back to a room full of desks and other cops. The hand cuffs dug into his skin and he was thankful when they took him to a back room that only had a table and three chairs. He felt relief as they released him from the constraints, only to be disappointed when they cuffed his right hand to the cuff on the surface of the table.

Neither detective spoke. They both stood over him, staring down like he was some caged animal in a zoo. He wanted to scream out, to yell the first thing that came to mind, but instead he looked back
at them, feeling the sweat gather on his brow. What in the hell were they doing? Did they think this game would make him break and he'd admit to everything they were accusing him of? Is that how it worked and so many innocent people got locked away for crimes they were never capable of committing?

Licking
his lips, his tongue felt dry against them. He coughed to clear his throat and shifted his weight in the chair.

"Can I get some water?" His voice cracked.

"In a minute, McGinnis." Detective Vasquez sat across from him. "You realize you're in some deep shit, right?"

Shrugging, Michael peeled at initials
that was carved into the table. "I don't know. Neither of you has told me what the hell is going on, so I don't know what the hell to think."

Detective Reynolds leaned over the table, a smirk on her face. "Why do we need to waste our time telling you? You know exactly what you did and how it all went down. Save us all some time and confess. I'd like to go home to my family rather than stand here and play games with you."

"Then start by telling me how you got the warrant to arrest me. Let's just kick it all off by giving me some damn information." Michael tried to keep his voice steady. Getting worked up was exactly what the detectives wanted him to do. The best victory, even if it was short term, was to play them just like they were trying to do with him.