What Burns Within (28 page)

“Look, this fire department has had enough to deal with. The arsons, two of those missing kids turning up at fire scenes, and now one of our own has to bury his wife because she was raped and murdered.”

Daly blinked. “Mr. Sandhu is on your squad?”

“Rav was transferred temporarily to fill in for someone on sick leave.” There was silence for a moment, and then the remaining tension in Paul’s shoulders dissipated. “Look, I know you’re under pressure. I won’t file a formal complaint, as long as everyone here agrees to let it go.”

Daly glanced at Adrian, who stared back at him for a moment and then nodded. “You kick her ass,” he told Daly, pointing at him. “She might be willing to take risks, but I wasn’t prepared to let her die for it, not when I’m backing her up.”

“Noted. Don’t worry. I’ll deal with her later.”

“You’d better.” Adrian walked away, giving Daly a chance to thank Paul for his leniency.

“It doesn’t excuse what she did, but it sounds like—”

A voice cut through from behind them. “Boss! We’ve got another fire. A biggie.”

“Suspected arson?”

“Not this time. Hotel fire. Occupants inside.”

“Let’s move.” Paul Quinlan turned and started giving orders, Daly and Ashlyn’s recklessness apparently forgotten.

Daly watched as, within seconds, the truck was pulling away, sirens blaring.

Tain had driven Ashlyn from the hospital to the station. She’d had a chance to shower and change before driving to the address Alison Daly had given her for the dinner party.

It didn’t take long to get to the house, which was in the south part of Port Moody, on a relatively quiet street with lots of trees. As she sat in her car, listening to nothing but the sound of wind rustling leaves and the far-off calls of kids in a nearby park, she realized she’d been on autopi lot, avoiding all the thoughts she kept suppressing.

She got out of the car and started limping to the sidewalk when she saw the Rodeo pull up. Even then, it didn’t fully register, and when she realized whose vehicle it was she felt her cheeks burn.

He smiled as he got out of his vehicle. Craig looked exactly as she remembered him. Mentally she was kicking herself. She should have known right away who Steve and Alison would want her to have dinner with. Maybe she’d just been in denial.

All she knew was she was glad she had her hand on her car because her knees almost gave out.

“It’s been a while,” he said.

She nodded and limped forward.

Craig looked down at her leg. “What happened?”

She shrugged and offered a sheepish smile. “All in the line of duty.”

The front door opened. “No crutches?” Daly asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “Try not to sound so disappointed.”

“I might not complain about an excuse to keep you at a desk for a few days right now. You should still keep off that leg, give it a chance to heal.”

Ashlyn blew out a deep breath. “I will. I’ll rest it all night while I sleep.”

Daly led them into the living room. “Ashlyn, you might think you’re getting away with this now, but I will speak to you about this.”

“You just can’t accept the fact that I might get hurt on the job. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if it had been Tain or Craig.”

“Craig and Tain obey orders.”

“What planet are you on? You must be living in a parallel universe.” Her cheeks were burning now, and she forced herself to stare at Daly so that she didn’t have to see the look on Craig’s face.

“Stop trying to deflect responsibility by bringing up my past transgressions, Ashlyn. What did she do, Dad?”

She glared at him. “Craig—”

“I thought we agreed there would be no talk about work,” Alison said as she walked into the room. “This is a house warming party for Craig, not an inquisition.”

“This is your house?”

“Whose house did you think it was?” he asked.

She hadn’t thought it was possible for her face to get any hotter, but she’d been wrong. “But there’s furniture.”

“Courtesy of my parents.”

“Oh, is that why there isn’t plastic on it?”

“I took it off when I got here,” Alison said.

“I didn’t even know you were working in the lower mainland until now, Ashlyn,” Craig said. “Someone neglected to mention that.”

“I should have called. First it was the arson investigation, and then I got partnered with Tain on these child abductions.”

“Where are things at with the arson cases?” Daly asked her. “With everything else going on, I keep forgetting.”

“I’ve gone over everything that Robinson had for the fires June fourteenth, July eighth and July twenty-fifth,” Ashlyn said. She noticed Craig’s eyes pinch together, the twist of his jaw that had always betrayed the fact that he was thinking about work when they were partnered. “To be honest, we’ve got as much from the two fires this past weekend as we do from the earlier ones, which isn’t much.”

Alison called from the kitchen, reminding them that there was to be no talk about work and asking for help. Ashlyn got up, hobbling out of the living room, leaving the conversation about the cases to continue without her.

Daly relayed the status of the investigations, right up to Ashlyn’s trip to the hospital.

“Do you have a working theory on your case?” Craig asked.

“Well, right now, best we can figure is that the arsons and the abductions are connected somehow. Julie and Isabella were both found at arson scenes connected to the cases Ashlyn is working on. What is it?” Daly asked. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Craig’s face.

Craig opened his mouth to answer.

“Okay, dinner is ready. And I’ve already warned you about talking about work twice. We’re going to have a pleasant evening socializing without any mention of crime,” Alison said. Her eyes met Daly’s first, then Craig’s. “Understood?”

After dinner the conversation eventually returned to work.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention Tain,” Alison said to Steve.

“That’s surprising,” Ashlyn said. “Tain has quite a reputation.”

Craig said, “Actually, Dad never talks about work at home, unless I’m there.”

“What? Total separation of the job and marriage?”

“You think I want to go home and talk about you guys?” Daly said. “That’s precious time I’d never get back, and I can think of plenty of better things to waste it on if I’m just looking to fill hours. It’s called having a life.”

“Maybe you should teach that class at the Depot, Steve,” Ashlyn said, lifting her glass. “How to Be a Police Officer and Still Be a Person 101.”

“You two would have failed,” Daly said.

They took their dessert to the living room.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Alison said. “This gives Ashlyn a chance to elevate her leg.”

Craig shook his head. “You know me, I’m not fussy. Strawberry-rhubarb crumble. You made all my favorites.”

“That was the idea,” Alison said. “So, what do you think of your present?”

“It’s funny, I was just thinking about patio furniture the other day.”

“Ah.” Daly stood up. “Then you haven’t seen what else is out there. Come on, I’ll show you the barbecue. Just your basic starter, but I suspect you’ll get a lot of use out of it.”

“You mean I’m supposed to cook?” Craig followed Daly outside. “Are you going to give her a reprimand?”

Daly sighed. “Don’t start.”

“Come on. You and I both know there’ve been times you’ve crossed the line when you thought it was necessary.”

“She almost got herself killed today, Craig. You have to be prepared to carry a lot in this job, but I’m not prepared to shoulder unnecessary risks.” Daly sank into one of the patio chairs, and Craig followed suit, noticing that the evening was unusually dark, despite the fact that it was early.

“I thought it was unfair to put Ashlyn with a partner she’d have to keep an eye on, but Hawkins insisted.” Daly rubbed the side of his face. “Turns out Tain is the reliable one.”

Craig looked past Daly, in through the patio doors to where Ashlyn sat on the smaller sofa, chatting casually with Daly’s wife. “You’re being a bit harsh, don’t you think? Would we even be having this conversation if it had been Tain?”

“No, because you’d think he deserved what he got. Just because you and Ashlyn worked together before…” Daly leaned back, looking up at the sky, his thought left unfinished.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was here?”

“You were having enough problems with Lori. Did you want me to throw it in your face? ‘Oh, by the way, Craig, the one person you actually have gotten along with over the years is here, in the lower mainland, but she’s working with Tain.’ I didn’t think it was the right time to mention it.”

Daly stood and started walking back to the house. He glanced over his shoulder as he opened the patio door.

Craig got up and followed him inside without another word. Alison was in the living room by herself. He left his parents and found Ashlyn in the kitchen.

“I told Alison she didn’t have to do that.”

“She didn’t. After all, she cooked.”

Craig took the tea towel off the stove and intercepted the dish Ashlyn was about to set in the drainer.

“They can air dry, you know.”

“And they could’ve been washed mechanically if I’d phoned the repairman.” He watched her silently, her hair hang-ing just past her shoulders now, a few inches longer than it had been when he first met her, her eagle eyes surveying his yard in the meticulous way he’d seen her survey crime scene after crime scene. “What’s it like, working with Tain again?”

The corners of her eyes crinkled, and she shrugged. “Not as bad as I thought it would be.” She glanced up at him and smiled. “Really. He almost took my head off at a crime scene before he knew it was me.”

“Ah, so he has retained his unique charm.”

“Older and a slight bit wiser, but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Which makes you, what? Just a bit older?”

Her eyes pinched together as she glanced at him. “Steve told you.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“You mean he didn’t send you in here to lecture me?”

“Ashlyn, do you really think I need him to ask me to? If I thought it would do any good, I’d tear a strip off you myself.”

“So you think I’m hopeless?” The murmur of voices from the other room sounded like they were getting closer.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

He didn’t avert his gaze when she looked up at him again, a shadow passing behind her eyes so quickly that he almost thought he’d imagined it, but when his parents walked in and she turned toward them it was a forced smile that emerged. One that didn’t reach her eyes.