“Pull his financial information,” Paris instructed. “I want to know everything we can about this guy.” He looked over at Clint. “Baker, do we have any updates on firefighters Bracken and Granger?”
“As of last night, Bracken is fighting an infection. The doctors are treating him with antibiotics, which will hopefully be enough to re-stabilize his condition. Granger’s insurance company is supposed to send someone today to replace the window in her car. She’s on shift until eight tomorrow morning, but I’ll be touching base with her this evening. If she runs into any trouble, she knows to contact me or the precinct.”
“Is there anything else?” When no one replied, Paris put his hands on the table and stood. “Then let’s find King and hopefully get some answers.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Everyone at the station greeted Leslie with hugs and smiles. They asked if she was doing okay and wanted to know if she’d heard from Danny or Becca yet that morning. It was good to be back. At the same time, being there without Danny didn’t feel right, especially since she hadn’t heard from Becca since the text the night before. Even though everyone went about business as usual, the general energy of the station felt muted.
Leslie spent her morning cleaning her gear and checking every inch of it after the warehouse fire. It was more of a formality because Bryce had been kind enough to come back that night and wash out any trace of Danny’s blood. She was thankful because she didn’t think she could’ve made it through that and kept her composure. Still, even though she knew Bryce would’ve cleaned her gear, she went over it again anyway for something to focus on.
After that, she and Bryce went over the ladder truck from front to back, inside and out. Even though it wasn’t unusual to work with him, she had a feeling he, or other co-workers, were sticking close to keep an eye on her. In fact,with the exception of a trip to the bathroom, she hadn’t been more than five or six feet from someone since she’d arrived.
“I know what you’re doing, Bryce. You and the others. I appreciate it, but I’m okay.”
“I don’t doubt that. But there’s someone out there who has it out for you, and maybe firefighters at this station in general. We talked about it before you came back, and the chief agreed. No one is going to be on their own until this case gets wrapped up. Since your partner isn’t here right now, the rest of us will just have to stand in for him.” His blue eyes held compassion while his deep voice relayed his conviction. “We’re all praying for Danny. He’s a fighter.”
“He sure is.”
“And so are you, Granger.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she fought to keep them at bay. She gave him a nod of thanks and reached for a change of subject. She sniffed once and wiped at her right eye where one tear had managed its escape.
“How’s Megan doing? Does she enjoy being home with Alexander?”
Their little boy was fixing to be a year old in a couple of weeks. Megan worked for the hospital as a nurse, but once Alexander was born, she decided to leave her job to be a stay-at-home mom.
“She loves it. I like it, too. It’s nice because, when I’m off work, we can do things together as a family. There’s no trying to keep our schedules straight. I think she’ll probably go back to work once Alexander’s in school, but we’ve got a few years to figure that out.”
“That’s great. I can’t believe he’s going to be one already. It seems like he was just born, and you were bringing him in to meet us yesterday.” After testing the fans,Leslie stored them back on the truck and started to inventory the search and rescue equipment.
“Tell me about it. He took his first step yesterday.” Bryce grinned, the pride evident in the way his eyes twinkled.
“Oh, my goodness! That’s amazing. Okay, now there’s no stopping him, and nothing is safe.” She laughed. “Are they coming by for lunch today?”
“No, not today. Megan’s mom wanted to take them shopping and find Alexander some clothes for his birthday.”
Leslie couldn’t wait to see Clint when he showed up for dinner tonight. She was glad he was coming and didn’t regret inviting him, but she was already preparing herself for the teasing that was bound to happen.
She lowered her voice a little. “Hey, Clint Baker is coming by to eat with us tonight.”
Bryce had just finished putting the last of the ventilation equipment back on board. He turned, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. “Is he coming in an official capacity or…”
“Yes?” It was good for a police presence to show up at the station off and on. But she really invited him because not seeing him for a full twenty-four hours sounded like torture.
Apparently, that was all the answer Bryce needed. He chuckled. “And you’d like me to run interference?”
Their friend and fellow firefighter, Chet Holden, never missed an opportunity to tease them. Especially if it had to do with something in their personal life.
His latest victim was Curtis Whitman, who recently joined their ranks as a fire medic. Every time Curtis’s fiancée, Rory, stopped by, Chet always had to rib the poor couple. He was a great guy, and normally they all took it instride, but Leslie didn’t want him to make Clint feel uncomfortable.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Bryce invited Megan to join them for her first meal at the station. Now she was just another member of their large family.
“I’ll do my best. But you know what it’s like around here…”
“Yep.” And she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
It was maddening the way Christopher King kept his hands clasped on top of the table in front of him and answered each question Detective Paris threw at him without missing a beat. Every answer was immediate, to the point, with nothing added that wasn’t requested. The guy had missed his calling as an undercover agent for the CIA.
