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MAGGIE KENNEDY-O’KEEFE
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
When I arrive at the hospital in Willow Creek I’m surprised to see that Shaun is already here to meet the ambulance.
“I called a friend in the fire department,” Shaun says as they wheel me into an examination room. “He told me that you were on your way here.”
Shaun holds my hand as the ER doctor squeezes a curlicue of gel on my belly and skates the transducer across it. I hold my breath as we wait for the sound waves to be collected and transmit on the screen. Finally, the pixels arrange themselves into a recognizable shape and the first thing I see is the open and closing fist of a beating heart, the thump filling my ears like a psalm. Tears slide from my eyes, rinsing the soot from my face and onto the pillow in ashy streaks.
“She looks perfect,” the doctor says with a smile. My breath releases in a stream and Shaun lowers his head to my chest in relief. “Strong heartbeat,” the doctor says, “amniotic fluid looks good and she’s just the right size for thirty-two weeks.”
“Thank you,” I say to the doctor. “Thank you so much.” My voice is thick with emotion.
“We’ll get those burns of yours tended to and then you can hit the road,” the doctor says. “And stay away from burning buildings.”
Thirty minutes later Shaun and I are walking hand in hand to his truck. As he helps me into the passenger side seat, I see Nola hurrying across the parking lot. A smile plays on her lips and her step is light. She looks happy. She must have gotten good news about her mother. We both got good news today.
“I don’t like that you have to deal with her,” Shaun says, staring at Nola as she climbs into her own car.
I can barely deal with the fact that the barn nearly collapsed on me during the fire; there’s no way I’m going to bring up the files right now. Instead I close my eyes and by the time we hit the Willow Creek city limits I’m dozing. Twenty minutes later, I’m awakened as Shaun steers the truck down our bumpy lane. Deep ruts in the grass from the fire trucks crisscross the property. The air still smells like a barbecue and vapor rises from the blackened remains of the barn in smoky fingers. “At least it didn’t reach the orchard,” I say glumly.
“Yeah,” Shaun agrees. “Are you okay with staying at the house tonight?” he asks.
“Because of the fire?” I ask. “I’m okay. Are you?”
“Could be arson,” he says as he pulls up to the front door. “You said so yourself.”
“I’m a cop, Shaun,” I say tiredly. “And we don’t know that it’s arson. Not yet anyway.” I don’t tell him that I have the same inkling. Though I don’t have the details regarding accelerants and burn patterns of our fire, I do know that the other arsons have involved old structures in rural, out-of-the-way spots. “I’ll call the fire marshal tomorrow when I go to work,” I say. “Hopefully he’ll be able to give us some more info.”
“You’re going into work tomorrow?” Shaun asks in surprise. “Don’t you think you should take it easy for a few days?”
“The doctor said I’m fine. The baby’s fine,” I say, shaking my head. Shaun steps from the truck and comes around and opens my door. I see the concern on his face. “How about we see how I feel in the morning,” I tell him, leaning in for a kiss. “I promise that if I’m any bit tired I will stay home in bed.”
“Fair enough,” Shaun acquiesces and holds out his hand to help me down.
We go inside and the cats are there to greet us, as is an answering machine filled with messages. A few are friends checking in on us because of the fire but there are dozens accusing me of adultery and all sorts of awful things.
“What’s going on?” Shaun asks after we listen to the final message. “You have something you need to tell me?” he says with a small laugh.
“I have no idea what’s happening,” I say, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to stanch the tears that are beginning to form. “You know I would never cheat on you,” I tell Shaun.
“I know that,” he says gently. “But first the fire and now these phone calls. It can’t be a coincidence. Do you think it has to do with Eve’s case?”
“Maybe,” I admit.
“Walk away,” Shaun says as he hands me a glass of ice water for my sore throat. “You don’t have to do this. Give the case to someone else. No one could blame you for taking a step back.”
“I can’t do that.” I shake my head. “It’s probably just some guy I pissed off when I busted him. It will blow over,” I say but the tremble in my voice gives me away. The fire, the bird on my windshield, the phone calls. Bad things happen in threes.
“Really, Maggie?” Shaun yanks open the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of beer. “You could have been killed in that fire. Our baby could have been killed. And you’re blaming this on some guy.” Shaun twists the cap from the bottle and tosses it to the kitchen counter and we stare at each other from behind our drinks.
I sigh, set my glass down and go to Shaun and he wraps his arms around me. “I couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to you and the baby,” he murmurs into my hair.
“When I saw those flames, when the barn ceiling started coming down, I was really scared,” I admit.
“Then please step aside. At least for now,” Shaun begs.
At this moment, I want so badly to do just this, but I can’t. Being a cop isn’t just a job, it’s who I am. I take a deep breath and lean back so I can look Shaun in the eyes. “Let’s see what the arson investigator finds out and go from there. As for the phone calls, they’re just calls. They’re harmless.”
“I hope you’re right,” Shaun says, shaking his head and walking away.
“Me too,” I whisper as I move through the house to double-check that the windows and doors are locked.
