That Old Flame of Mine (5 page)

John was in his police uniform. She decided that he looked good in it. He wasn’t a big man, but he was strong and capable. He took off his hat and set it on the table. His brown hair was short enough that the hat hadn’t messed it up.

He drew his gun and switched on the kitchen light by the door. “That sounds like breaking and entering to me, Stella. Not a prank. Has it happened before?”

“I’ve had a few weird things happen, but I didn’t want to be a baby about it.” She followed behind him as he searched through the other two rooms. “Sometimes people like to play tricks on the new guy.”

All the lights in the cabin were on, including the one on the deck. No one else was in the house.

“You have an alarm system, right? Is this person going in and out? They must have the alarm code. I’ll check into it.”

“Thanks.” She was surprised and flattered by the attention. “Someone broke into my apartment back home last year and took all my electronics. I didn’t get this much of a reaction from the police.”

He smiled and put away his gun. “No one’s lived here for a long time. Except for knowing the alarm code, it could be teenagers. They like to hang out in back areas like this. Maybe you should change your code. I’ll see if there have been any other disturbances up here.”

“I really appreciate it. It kind of spooked me seeing him sitting there.”

“Well, don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me if you have a problem.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, the department.
The police.
That’s what we’re here for.”

Stella smiled. She didn’t know that much about John, but what she knew, she liked. “Would you like some coffee? I feel like it’s the least I can do since you were ready to shoot someone for me.”

“Sure. That would be great.”

She threw some coffee into the coffeemaker and added water. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Both, actually.” He walked into the small kitchen area. “This is really nice in here. I wasn’t sure what it was like.”

“You mean you thought they’d set me up in a rundown shack like the firehouse?” The whole town had helped clean up and restore the old building.

The lights in the cabin blinked on and off a few times. Eventually, they stopped and stayed on steadily again.

“I think you have a short somewhere,” John said. “Sometimes snakes get into the wiring if a house sits empty too long.”

“Snakes?” She looked around and shuddered at the thought. “I don’t think I like that idea.”

He laughed. “You mean Chief Stella Griffin is afraid of something? I don’t believe it.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a big difference between wildlife and fires.” She moved a little closer to him. She definitely needed a gun.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have someone come out tomorrow and look around. It’s probably nothing. This place may not look it, but it’s been empty as long as I can remember. I’m amazed it’s in such great shape. The firehouse was built the same year as the cabin. Eric Gamlyn built them both, mostly by himself, from what my daddy told me.”

“Eric Gamlyn. Tagger mentioned him tonight.”

“The old fire chief. My dad was a member of the original Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade back about forty years ago when Gamlyn was chief.”

“So I’m living in the old fire chief’s cabin?”

John told her a little about his father and his memories of the old fire brigade until the two-cup coffeepot was ready.

“Yep.” John stirred milk and sugar into the coffee that Stella had poured for him.

“What happened to him? What happened to Eric Gamlyn?”

“He was killed in a fire right before the county took over fire services for Sweet Pepper. Dad said Chief Gamlyn fought hard not to let that happen. When he died, the whole fire brigade fell apart. The county stepped in after that. Service to this end of the county was always spotty. We’ve needed a new fire brigade for years.”

The lights in the cabin went wild, flashing on and off for a few minutes before finally going off completely.

“You really have a problem up here. It could be that your alarm isn’t working right because your electric system is messed up. Maybe you should pack a bag and stay in town for the night until someone can look at your wiring.”

The lights immediately came back on—along with some bluegrass music on the stereo.

“It’s okay.” Stella studied the floor for movement. “I’m not really afraid of snakes.”

“I hate to overrule you, Chief, but as a member of the fire brigade, I have to remind you that there could be an unsafe short in the wiring system, which could cause a fire hazard.”

“You’re right,” she admitted, proud of her student. “Where will I stay on such short notice?”

“At Flo’s bed-and-breakfast.”

“I hope Flo will be all right with me showing up this late. She doesn’t really know me yet.” Stella could barely recall meeting Flo when she first got there.

“Flo’s used to it. Besides, everyone in Sweet Pepper knows you, Stella. I’m sure you could tell that by all the attention you’ve gotten.”

Stella went into the bedroom and grabbed one of her saddlebags. She stuffed a T-shirt, clean jeans, and underwear into it. It occurred to her that John hadn’t told her why he was there.

“By the way, John, what made you come up here so late? Not that I’m complaining, since you may be saving me from snakes and other intruders,” she said when she got back into the living room where he was waiting.

“Oh yeah. Sorry.” He took the saddlebag from her. “I almost forgot. It looks like you were right about Tory. The coroner said she’d been dead awhile before you found her. It looks like she didn’t die because of the fire.”

Chapter 5

S
tella let John convince her to leave the Harley since she wasn’t sure where Flo’s bed-and-breakfast was located. He told her he’d either come back or send someone for her in the morning. She walked out of the cabin with him and it made the forlorn sighing sound that she was getting used to. Probably just the wind blowing through the eaves, she guessed. She didn’t believe in ghosts.

She locked the door behind her after setting the alarm. Once the electricity issue was repaired, an alarm code change was next on her list.

Stella got in the police car with John. All the lights in the cabin were off. As John started the engine, the porch light came on again. Just the idea that a group of snakes was responsible for the craziness made her queasy.

Of course, that didn’t explain the intruder who’d vanished.

“So what do we know about Tory. Are they going to do a complete autopsy?” she asked.

“The coroner said he’ll have it done as soon as he can. That will give us some idea what happened. And the police department will investigate.”

“What about an arson investigator?” Stella asked. “Is there one around here?”

“Well, there is one. Mac Williams. He won’t be showing up anytime soon. He never made it out to investigate a suspicious house fire we had here in May.”

“That’s four months ago. Are you serious?”

“That’s why you’re here, remember? The county pretty much abandoned us. You might have to investigate this yourself.”

“I’m not qualified to investigate arson,” she protested.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help. I’m sure Don will lend a hand too.”

“Maybe. He doesn’t seem too happy that I’m here.”

“People don’t like new things—or new people. Nobody likes change. Don is a decent man. He’ll come ar ound.”

They drove through the quiet, dark streets of Sweet Pepper. The only lights were the quaint streetlights and the traffic light. No one seemed to be out but them.

John pulled the squad car into a wide driveway where a large, slightly crooked sign announced their destination, Flo’s bed-and-breakfast. “Here we are.”

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Would you like me to come in with you? I could at least walk you to the door.”

Stella smiled. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I’d hate to think that there are bad guys out there that need to be caught and I’m taking up all your time.”

“I already locked up Boyd Jeffries tonight.” He chuckled. “He gets a little rowdy sometimes after he’s had a few. He was dancing at Beau’s bar with a lampshade on his head. The rest of the night should be easy.”

They got out of the car, Stella wincing a little at the acrid odor of smoke still lingering from the fire. Back home, there were so many bad smells that people tended not to notice a little smoke. Here, where the stars looked close enough to touch, the air was cleaner and fresher. She could make out the smell of someone lighting up a cigarette even as she was going down the road on her bike.

Flo met them at the front door to the three-story house very similar to Tory’s. The only difference Stella could see were the bright colors of the trim against the white framework of the house. There was a wide veranda with dozens of rocking chairs like the ones on the deck at the cabin.

“Well, my stars! What a surprise to see you here tonight, John. And you too, Chief Griffin. Are you here
together
—or will you need two rooms?”

Flo—if she had a last name, Stella had never heard it—was an adorably chubby middle-aged woman with teased-high blond hair. She always seemed to wear pink and had inquisitive blueberry-colored eyes. She was also one of the town’s biggest gossips.

Stella could only imagine the news of her and John being here together hitting the diner and the coffee shop the next morning.

John’s face reddened a little as he glanced at Stella. “We’re definitely
not
here together. Except that I brought the chief. She needs a place for the night until I can get someone to check out the electric up at that old cabin.”

“Not a problem in this world, honey.” Flo winked at him. “She can certainly stay here, and welcome. You know they’re not going to find anything wrong up there. That old place is haunted. I was surprised they even put you up there, Chief Griffin. What were they thinking?”

“Please call me Stella. I’ve already heard the cabin is haunted. I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“Flo,” John cautioned. “Don’t tell her those old stories. There’s nothing wrong that an electrician can’t fix.” His radio went off. It seemed that there was more to do tonight than arrest Boyd Jeffries. “I have to go, Stella. I’ll make sure someone comes back for you in the morning.”

He nodded to them both, then was gone.

Flo giggled as he left, and pulled Stella into the old house. “He’s sweet on you. And he’s a good man. You could do a lot worse. Now, let’s have some coffee and talk about Eric Gamlyn.”

“You mean the old fire chief?” Stella asked as she and Flo sat down at a round table in the kitchen. There were coffee, juice, tea, and snacks at a sideboard. The cookies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls smelled like they’d just come out of the oven.

“Have a cookie.” Flo put one on Stella’s plate. “They’re my own recipe—last year’s Sweet Pepper Festival winner. Chocolate and hot peppers. You won’t be able to eat just one. Sure you want soda this late? I don’t mind it, but it bothers some people.”

Stella tasted the cookie politely. She was surprised to find it was really good. Dark chocolate—with a bite to it.

“Eric Gamlyn was a popular man around here in the 1970s.” Flo poured herself a cup of coffee and took a cinnamon roll from the glass platter. “He was a big man—strong—Viking blood, his daddy always claimed. He worked as a lumberjack for years somewhere up north. Maybe Canada. He settled down back here after his daddy passed. He made furniture. His daddy left him a cute little house on Main Street. But Eric was a builder. He sold that place and bought that property out there where the firehouse is. He built the cabin and the firehouse almost singlehandedly. Then he started the fire brigade.”

Stella wondered if Eric’s name should really be Paul Bunyan. As Flo rattled on about him, his exploits kept getting bigger and bigger.

“And that’s why they killed him.” Flo put down her coffee cup and shook her head. “What a waste.”

“I think I missed something,” Stella admitted. “I thought he was killed fighting a fire.”

“That’s what they
wanted
us to think. Oh sure, he was in a burning building when it collapsed on him, but that wouldn’t have killed Eric. It was because the county wanted to take over the service, and there were those who were going to make some money on it. His ghost has rattled around in that old cabin ever since.”

Stella took another cookie. Who knew peppers and chocolate could taste so good together? She really needed to find some weights to work with at the firehouse if she was going to keep eating this way. “And that’s why you think the cabin is haunted?”

“Cross my heart and hope that lightning strikes me dead.” Flo sincerely crossed her heart with her fingers. Her dark blue eyes stared into Stella’s. “Everyone knows it. Why do you think someone hasn’t rented it or bought it after all these years? Why do you think it still looks like he just built it yesterday? I guess the council hoped you’d be a good luck charm for that. Eric left that land to the town. They haven’t been able to unload it.”

Stella digested the ghost story as she finished nibbling on her third cookie. She wasn’t sure if Flo knew what she was talking about with her tales of the cabin being haunted—but that would certainly explain all the weird things going on up there—if she believed in that kind of thing.

It might also explain
why
they were going on. Maybe someone wanted to buy the property now. Scare the city girl and there was money to be made.

Stella changed the subject. “You’re right about these cookies. I think I need to go to bed before I eat all of them.”

“Have you figured out why Tory was in that house when it caught fire?” Flo asked. “I guess what I mean is, why didn’t she get out? It doesn’t make any sense, her being found in a closet. She was one of the smartest, calmest people I’ve ever known. I don’t believe she panicked. If I were you, I’d check into that son of hers. He’s wanted her money and that house for years. Where was
he
when she was killed?”

Stella had no answers for her. Flo kept talking as they climbed the staircase to a quaint room in one of the old turrets in front. “I hope you’ll be comfortable here tonight. You’re welcome back anytime. They can check out that cabin from now till doomsday. Unless they take an exorcist up there, things are always going to be strange.”

Tired and glad that she was finally alone, Stella put on her nightclothes and stared out at Main Street without turning on the light. The room was much smaller than the one she slept in at the cabin, but the lights weren’t turning on and off, and she didn’t have that odd feeling that someone was watching her.

It was crazy. Her father and his big, Irish family had told stories about ghosts and other creatures since she’d been a child. She didn’t believe those stories either. It was easier to believe there were snakes in the wiring—although she might prefer a ghost or two. She really didn’t like snakes.

She finally lay back on the elaborate four-poster and stared at the ceiling. She went over and over the fire in her mind. Stella sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to figuring out what had caused it. She’d helped with several investigations but had never done one alone. She hoped she was up for the challenge.

She closed her eyes and was soon dreaming about Eric Gamlyn. He was riding in the same seat she’d taken beside Ricky in the fire engine that day. He was barking out orders to his volunteers. They were fighting a fire in town. He ran into a burning building just seconds before the whole thing collapsed.

Stella woke up abruptly. She’d been crying. It was morning. Sunlight was streaming through the tower windows. The smell of coffee filled the bed-and-breakfast. She could hear the sounds of a TV, a hair dryer, and maybe an electric toothbrush coming from somewhere.

She washed her face, shaking her head at her red eyes. Too many ghost stories right before bed, not to mention hot pepper and chocolate. She didn’t believe in ghosts. The man in her dreams, with his long blond hair and broad shoulders, only looked like the real Eric because she’d seen that picture of him.

Stella thought about the shadowy intruder who’d disappeared so quickly after John had arrived. She hadn’t been able to see his face, but she could tell he was a tall, large man—like Eric Gamlyn.

“Stop it right there.” She stared at herself in the tiny bathroom mirror. “Don’t get carried away with this. Think about the snakes slithering around in the wiring instead. It’s creepy, but at least that makes sense.”

Her cell phone rang. It was her mother calling from Chicago. “How are things going? Is your team shaping up?”

Stella told her about the fire. “They don’t have an arson investigator, Mom. They want me to do it.”

She could hear her father’s comments in the background as he listened to their conversation. “You’ve got plenty of training, Stella. Don’t worry about it. Another few weeks and you’ll be home. I’m sure they’re happy with all you’ve done for them.”

“Your father’s right,” Barbara Griffin told her daughter. “Anything else going on?”

“Just the usual. Oh yeah. Except for the ghost in my cabin.”

“Ghost? What makes you think there’s a ghost?”

“Not me. Local folklore. It’s the ghost of the old fire chief. He doesn’t want anyone living in his house.” Stella laughed to take the edge off her words.

“I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for it. We both know the only ghosts are the ones from our past that we can’t leave behind.”

“If you’re saying that because you’re worried about me and Doug, don’t be. I haven’t even thought about him in weeks.”

There was silence for an extra minute on the phone. Stella was about to ask if her mother was still there. Barbara’s voice came back with an odd inflection to it. “Anyone else interesting you’ve met?”

“Lots of characters,” she said. “I’m sure I could write a book.”

Stella thought she heard her mother whisper “
Thank God
,” but she wasn’t sure.

“We have to talk,” Barbara said. “I know I should’ve said it before, but it never seemed to be the right time. I wish I could get away and be down there with you. Even though I promised not to try and sway you—”

Stella’s radio started blurting out calls for help from the firehouse. She always had it with her, as did all the volunteers. “I have to go, Mom. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”