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Finally, Ember broke the silence. “I need a towel.” I looked at her chest. There was still a bit of cum on her breasts. It shimmered iridescent in the moonlight coming through the front window. I leaned over and licked a drop from her nipple. She giggled, “Don’t start something neither of you can finish.” She gripped our now flaccid cocks to emphasize her point.
“By the time we get you cleaned up, we will be ready again,” Logan assured her. I lifted her in my arms and he led the way as I carried her to the shower.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Logan
I was headed out to Miller Industries when the medical unit passed me going the other way. They were coming from the direction of where County General was located. Colby flipped the siren on and off in greeting, and Aiden waved from the passenger seat. I saw he was smiling, so I assumed their run had been a successful one.
Most members of the department, myself included, had some form of EMT training. When a call came in for medical attention, Aiden was usually the first to jump on the bus. No one seemed to mind. Most of the department was familiar with what had happened to his father. To Aiden, every call he went out on was a chance to save a life.
When I got to Miller’s, I asked to speak with Bud Harris, the general manager. There had been another false alarm the previous night. This meant a citation and a fine for the company. I felt bad about it. Bud was a nice guy, and I knew he would probably catch hell from the owners.
But these repeated false alarms were more than a nuisance. They were a safety concern. We are a small department, and when a truck is busy responding to a false alarm, it is not available if an actual emergency should arise. Even when firefighters think the call is a false alarm, they still have to get to the scene as quickly as possible, which means the crew and public are put at unnecessary risk.
To my surprise Bud was smiling when he came into the lobby, “Good to see you Logan.” He shook my hand. “I suppose you're here to hit us with a hefty fine.” He was taking it much better than I expected.
“When I got the call last night, I figured you would be here today. I called Teddy Miller and gave him a heads up and he finally agreed to replace the entire alarm system.” He took the citation from me and shook his head. “If he had listened when I first told him what you said about our system being outdated, it would have saved us all a lot of aggravation.”
“And Mr. Miller some money,” I couldn’t resist pointing out.
“Serves him right.” He patted me on the back. “You’re a good kid, Logan, but I honestly hope this is the last time we see each other.”
It was nearly lunchtime when I left the plant. Since I was near the Riverdell Diner, I stopped in for a bite to eat. To my relief, Denise was not working that day. Not that I put any credence in Aiden's claim that she may have been the one responsible for the note. He and Ember did not actually believe Denise was obsessed with me, any more than I did. They had merely been trying to make a point.
Al was behind the counter when I sat down and gave me a nod of recognition. “What can I get you? Today’s special is liver and onions.” I told him I would have a turkey club and fries. He passed the order to the cook, who glanced at me through the window before turning back to his work.
It was Aiden who had found the pale blue envelope in our mailbox. The absence of any markings on the outside meant it had not been delivered by the postman. Somebody else had put it in the box. Inside had been a lined sheet of paper ripped from a notebook. In an almost childlike scrawl, the sender had written YOU BELONG WITH ME. None of us recognized the handwriting, but I was sure it had come from Reggie Chapman and had been intended for Ember.
“Not this again, please. I've told you a dozen times Reggie has no interest in me and that isn’t even his handwriting.”
“He could be trying to disguise it. Maybe he wrote with his left hand,” Aiden suggested.
“Don't you start too,” she huffed. “For all we know, it’s from one of your crazy ex-boyfriends. This is your house, after all.”
“I don’t have any crazy exes. That’s Logan’s territory.” Aiden looked at me and smirked. “It could be Denise from the diner. They dated in high school, you know. Maybe she never got over him and wants him back.”
“For all we know, it may have not even been intended for one of us,” Ember said. “Maybe some love sick kid got the wrong house.”
“I know you guys think I'm obsessed with Reggie, but I'm convinced he had something to do with this.” I told them and put the note and envelope into a plastic baggie.
The next day, I took it to the police station. Shaughnessy looked at the note and told me without proof of who had put it in the mailbox, there was nothing the police could do. I asked if he could have it dusted for prints. He chuckled, “I can ask, but there is nothing threatening about the message that would make it a priority for forensics.”
“Isn’t there anything you can do?” I asked. “This guy’s bad news and I’m worried he’s going to hurt someone.”
“Not without evidence, I am afraid. If you come up with something else, let me know. In the meantime, think about having security cameras installed.” That had been three weeks ago, and although nothing else had happened, I had a nagging suspicion Ember was in danger.
When my food came, I took out the file from the State Police and re-read it while I ate. I found nothing I did not already know. The plastic gas can I found at 548 Baxter had been badly melted in the blaze and technicians could not recover a usable fingerprint. The can itself was the most popular brand in the United States and widely available at gas stations, auto parts, and department stores. Traces of 87 octane unleaded gasoline were found inside of the container. Again, the most commonly sold gas at every gas station in the greater Pittsburgh area. The only thing remarkable was that the can survived at all.
I put the file away and finished my sandwich. When I went to the register to pay my bill, I noticed the cook staring at me again. I remembered Ember telling us what an odd duck he was and didn't think anymore of it. I had quarterly inspections to do.
The rest of the day went so smoothly, I was tempted to skip Kay’s Kustom Kakes. But I had been putting off my follow up call for too long and decided to get it over with before I clocked out. Much to my relief, when the cougar who owned the shop came out of the back room, she seemed to have lost interest in me and was all business. Before I could even ask, she handed me a binder with a copy of the store’s Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan.
“Excellent work,” I told her, just as the door connecting the showroom to the kitchen opened. A very young and good-looking young man stuck his head out. He was not wearing the shirt.
“Kay, are you coming back?” He saw me and said, “To help with the buttercream, I mean.”
“I'll be right there, John Carlo.” She looked at me and I noticed her makeup was smudged and her hair was not in its usual bun. “If that is all Inspector White, I have to get back to work.”
