The Chase (25 page)

“Excuse me,” he said, rising. “That sounds like a trouble alert from the alarm system.”

A series of red and yellow lights flickered across the alarm display next to the back door. Doug flipped open the panel and studied the zone chart.

He frowned. “That’s the fire alarm indicator for the barn. I’d better go down and make sure everything’s all right.”

Anne rose from the table and looked out the window. “Doug, I see smoke rising through the trees!”

Jake jumped up from the table so quickly, he knocked his chair over, and Kendall followed him towards the door. The phone rang just as Doug yanked the door open, and they could hear the whooping of the fire alarm resounding from the barn.

“That’s probably the alarm company,” Doug shouted. “Tell them to send the fire department.”

Samantha ran over to Doug. “Daddy, I’m scared.”

Doug pried her hands off his leg and handed her to Anne. “It’s okay, Sam. The fire’s just in the barn. You’re safe here in the house with Mommy. And all the horses are out in the pasture for the night, so you don’t have to worry about them.”

“
But, Daddy, Rascal’s in the barn.”

“Damn it!” Doug shouted, dashing out the door.

“Doug, wait,” Anne yelled, but he ignored her.

Jake started after him and Anne grabbed him by his arm. “Don’t let Doug go in the barn, Jake.
Please, promise me.”

He nodded grimly at her. “I promise.”

K
endall kept pace with Doug while Jake sprinted on ahead. She glanced sideways at Doug, who was wheezing and holding his side as he ran.

“Doug, please slow down. You’re going to end up back in the hospital if you don’t watch out. Jake’s probably there by now; he’ll get Rascal out of the barn.”

“If anything happens to that puppy, Samantha will be devastated.”

“I know, but she’ll be even more devastated if something happens to you.”

They ran down the hill in silence until they rounded the final bend in the drive and the barn came into view.

“Jesus Christ,” Doug gasped.

The center ridge of the roof was engulfed in flames, and smoke poured out of the front hayloft door.

“Oh God, it looks like a hayloft fire. How much hay is up there?”

“It’s almost full. They just delivered a load of hay last week.”

Kendall knew there probably wasn’t much time left before the entire hayloft would be ablaze. “I don’t see Jake,” she said, shouting to be heard above the alarm siren.

Doug picked up speed. “I don’t, either.”

“Wait.” Kendall grabbed Doug’s arm and pointed towards the back of the barn. “There he is.”

They ran the remainder of the way down the hill and reached the courtyard in front of the barn as Jake did.

“I just checked the back of the barn. The fire’s much worse back there,” Jake shouted. “A portion of the hayloft has collapsed into the aisle. The only way to get to the puppy is to enter the barn from the front.”

Kendall squinted against the blowing smoke and ashes and tried to see into the barn. The aisle was so full of smoke, it was impossible to tell how far the fire had spread.

“What about going directly into the stall?” Kendall asked. “Can you get in through the window?”

Doug shook his head, breathing heavily. “No, the grille is fastened to the inside of the stall. I don’t think we could knock it loose from the outside.”

Jake unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. “I’m going in. I remember Rascal’s in a stall on the left. How far down is it?” He dipped his shirt in the nearby water trough and put it back on.

Doug eyed the barn. “I can’t ask you to do that, Jake. It’s too risky.”

“You didn’t ask me; I volunteered,” Jake said, pulling a bandanna out of his back pocket and wetting it in the trough. “We can’t just stand here and watch your daughter’s puppy fry, Mr. Cummings. And, no offense, sir, but you’re in no condition to go in there.” Jake held the bandanna to his nose, poised to move.

Kendall watched Doug anxiously, wondering what he’d say. Doug’s eyes flicked from Jake to the barn and back, as if weighing the risk.

“We’re running out of time, sir,” Jake shouted.

Doug gave a curt nod and put his hand on Jake’s back. “It’s in the middle, the fourth stall on the left. The other stall doors will all be open, so you’ll know you’ve reached the right stall when you find the closed door.”

Jake nodded and ducked his head as he dashed towards the smoke-filled aisle.

Kendall grabbed Doug’s arm. “Please, God, let him make it back out alive.”

Doug put his arm around her and they huddled in silence, watching and waiting. Kendall imagined Jake’s movements, picturing where he might be each moment. He’d had plenty of time to reach the stall, assuming the fire hadn’t spread that far. She figured he should have the puppy by now, and be on his way back out.

Kendall gasped as a burst of flames shot through the hayloft door, and the front portion of the roof collapsed into the hayloft. “
Where is Jake?
He’s running out of time.”

“Watch out!” Doug pulled Kendall backwards as the hayloft crashed into the barn aisle, showering them with sparks.

Kendall turned her face away from the blast of heat. The collapse of the roof must have taken out the alarm system, because the deafening siren stopped, and the crackling of the fire was sickeningly audible.

“Come on.” Doug grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the blaze.

Kendall stumbled after Doug. “Where are we going? We can’t leave Jake behind.”

Doug tore around the corner of the barn and stopped beside a stall window. “Jake, are you in there?”

Jake’s face appeared in the opening. “Yeah, I’m here.”

Kendall collapsed against the side of the barn. “Oh, thank God.”

“I’m trapped in the stall,” Jake said, coughing behind his bandanna. “The entire aisle is in flames.”

He reached one hand through the bars and held out the puppy. “Here, take Rascal.”

Doug took the puppy and dropped him into Kendall’s hands. “Let me see if I can find anything you can use to pry the grille off. I’ll be right back.”

Kendall clutched Rascal to her chest and peered through the bars. Sweat streamed down Jake’s face and he was grimy with soot, but other than that, he appeared to be unharmed. “Are you all right?”

Jake nodded, but Kendall saw fear in his eyes. She reached her hand through the grille. “Here, hold my hand.”

Kendall felt his hand cover hers, and she squeezed tightly. “Doug will be right back. He’ll find something to get you out of there.”

A burning timber landed a few feet from Jake, and he swore under his breath and tried to pull his hand away. “I think you’d better go, Kendall.”

“No.” She gripped his hand tighter. “I’m not leaving you here all alone.”

Jake was seized by a coughing fit, and when he was able to catch his breath, he wiped his face and neck with his bandanna. “It’s hotter than hell in here.”

Kendall sensed a movement behind her and she turned and saw Doug lugging a metal rod, which looked to be a good six feet long. “Doug’s back, Jake. He found something.” She released his hand and stepped to the side.

Doug heaved the rod up to the edge of the window and slid it towards Jake. “I found a digging iron. Careful, it’s heavy.”

Kendall heard a thump inside the stall and Jake’s face disappeared from the opening.

“Damn it!”

“Are you all right?” Doug asked.

“A burning rafter almost landed on top of me.” Jake’s voice was muffled and farther away.

“Can you get back to the window?”

“Yeah, hold on. I’m using the digging iron to move the rafter.” He didn’t speak for a long moment. “There, got it. All right, I’m trying to get the iron under the edge of the grille.”

Kendall heard a loud grunt, followed by the sound of tearing wood. “It’s loose on the bottom, but I can’t get the iron under the lip at the top.”

Doug gripped the grille with both hands. “I’ll push, and you pull. On three, ready? One. Two. Three.”

Doug groaned as he pushed against the grille. “We almost got it, Jake. Let’s go again. Ready?” His breath came in short bursts. Kendall could see sweat bead on his forehead.

“One. Two.” Doug threw his weight against the bars. “Three.”

The grille disappeared into the stall. Doug sank to his knees as Jake’s head and shoulders appeared through the opening. Jake slid headfirst out the window and dropped to the ground beside Doug.

Kendall started towards them but jumped back as a piece of burning roof fell at her feet. “Watch out,” she shouted as more flaming debris tumbled down.

Jake scrambled to his feet and helped Doug up. “We’ve got to get away from here before the whole barn comes down.” He held his arm out to Kendall. “Come on.”

The three of them half ran, half stumbled to the drive in front of the barn just as a car sped towards them and skidded to a stop on the gravel.

“Now they get here,” Doug muttered, shaking his head.

A security guard jumped out of the car. “Mr. Cummings, are you all right, sir?”

Doug eyed him grimly. “Yeah, but we sure could have used your help ten minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I was patrolling the grounds and was up front by the road. I wasn’t aware there was a problem until I returned to the house a few moments ago.”

“Listen.” Kendall cocked her head in the direction of the road. “The fire truck is almost here.”

Doug stood huffing, hands on his hips, gazing at the burning shell of the barn. “There isn’t anything left to salvage. With all that hay in there, the barn went up like a tinderbox.”

Kendall shuddered as she pictured Jake inside the inferno, just moments before, and she buried her face against Rascal’s soft coat.

She felt a hand on her back and heard Jake’s voice, husky from the smoke. “Are you all right?”

Kendall raised her eyes to his, and Jake gently pushed a stray lock of hair back from her face. “You okay?”

She nodded.

Doug turned to face them. “Let’s go up to the house. There’s nothing we can do to help here.”

“I’ll drive you up, Mr. Cummings, and then I’ll come back down to talk to the fire department,” the security guard said, opening the rear door.

Jake and Doug waited for Kendall to climb into the car first, and when they were all settled in the backseat, she held Rascal out to Doug. “Here you go.”

Doug pushed her hand towards Jake. “You risked your life to save Rascal, Jake. You should give Sam the puppy.”

Jake shook his head. “No way. You would have done the same thing I did if you’d been able to. Samantha’s your little girl, and I’m sure she’s going to be looking for the puppy in your arms when we walk through that door.”

Doug regarded Jake thoughtfully for a moment, then reached for the puppy. “I owe you twice now, Jake.”

A
nne walked Kendall and Jake to the door while Doug finished giving his statement to the sheriff’s deputy. Jake had made an effort to wash off his face and Doug had lent him a clean shirt to wear, but his jeans were covered with soot—a haunting reminder of the close call he’d had.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take some dinner home with you?” Anne asked.

Kendall shook her head. “I can’t even stand the thought of food right now.”

Anne looked questioningly at Jake. “How about you?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much of an appetite, either, ma’am.”

Anne gave Kendall a hug. “I hate the thought of you going home alone after what you’ve been through. The offer still stands for you to stay here tonight.”

“Thanks, but I really want to take a long shower and curl up in my own bed. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll follow Kendall to make sure she gets home okay,” Jake said.

Kendall paused with her hand on the doorknob. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I want to.”

Kendall didn’t say anything, and Anne smiled at Jake and mouthed, “Thank you.”

She closed the door behind them and returned to the kitchen. Doug was still sitting at the table with Patrick Talbot, but the deputy was on his feet, putting his notepad away.

“As I said before, it’s too dark tonight to conduct an investigation, but we’ll have the arson team out first thing in the morning. In the meantime, you good people try to get some rest.”