Burn

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWOTAYLOR

DAY ONE

Taylor sighed. Her boss, Mr. Hansen, was bellowing at her from his office. She got up, grabbed her pen and notepad and walked across the hallway to his office.

“Taylor! There’s another damn fire! This is getting out of control! I’m sending you to Nevermore to check this out. I think those damn people are not looking hard enough to find the arsonist!”

Taylor’s jaw dropped. Go to Nevermore? The Nevermore? Oh, no, she didn’t want to do that. She had heard rumors about that place, and if any of those were true, she wanted to stay far, far away from there. “Uh. Sir, I’m not sure I’m the right person for that. I don’t know anything about arson.”

Mr. Hansen frowned at her. “You’re my PA, and you are going. I want you to look around and see what they are doing to stop this damn arsonist! This is costing me a fortune! Three fires in less than a month. Millions in timber up in flames! You will get your butt up there and report back to me every damn thing they do. Do you understand me?”

Taylor sighed. “Yes, Sir.” Walking back into her office, she sat down behind her desk and tapped her pen on the desktop. Dammit! He was going to make her go. She knew that tone of voice, he wasn’t going to let her wiggle out of this. And it wasn’t like she could afford to argue with him. She lived paycheck to paycheck, she couldn’t afford to lose her job. Tossing her pen down, she picked up the phone and called the corporate travel agent.

DAY TWO

24 Hours Later…

Taylor walked out of the airport terminal dragging her luggage behind her. She found her rental car, double checked her GPS and started to drive towards the town of Nevermore. As she got closer to her destination, she couldn’t deny how beautiful this area was. The mountains were still snowcapped even though it was summer, and the surrounding forests were stunning shades of greens and browns.

A sign to her right announced, ‘Nevermore, 5 miles ahead’. She gripped the steering wheel harder and chewed the inside of her cheek. Mr. Hansen had given her some parting advice. “Look, I know you know they are a bunch of freaks up there, so, if someone hits on you just tell them to go to hell.”

Yeah, that was easy for him to say. He stood at least 6’1. She was a mere 5’3 and wasn’t nearly as assertive as he was. She sighed as the GPS instructed her to take the next right. A few more miles and she would be there. She understood why Mr. Hansen was so angry about the fires. But, she had told the truth. She knew nothing about arson, barely knew anything about the forestry industry. She was his PA, she ran errands, filed paperwork, kept his life in order. This was not the job for her.

She followed the GPS instructions through the middle of town to the hotel she was booked into. And it wasn’t like she had a choice. It was the only hotel in town. Nevermore was a middle-sized mountain town. It was home to a few thousand people. Most people were employed by either the Logging industry, or the Tourism industry.

She parked outside the office and walked in. It was actually a lot nicer than she had been expecting. It was two stories and looked like it had around forty rooms. The lobby was older, but well taken care of and clean. An older man behind the counter smiled at her. “Hello, and I’m guessing you must be Miss Taylor Vaughn?”

She returned his smile but was a little startled. “Yes, I ‘am. But, how did you know?”

“Ah well, it’s still the early season. You’re the only person booked in this early. We won’t have other guests arriving for at least another two weeks or so. You’re going to have this place all to yourself.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Well, if you’ll just sign in, I’ll get you all settled in your room.”

Taylor signed, then followed him outside to a set of stairs that led to the second floor. As he got to the door he turned. “Oh, by the way; My name is Harry. If you need anything, you just holler.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open. She was pleasantly surprised. The room was large, far larger than most. It had a king size bed, a dresser with a large screen TV atop it, and a small kitchenette off to the side. Harry pointed to a closed door. “Bathroom is through there. Have a great stay.” He handed her the room key and left.

She walked to the kitchenette, filled and turned on the coffee maker, then unloaded her bags from the car. Just as she finished unpacking, the coffee maker beeped that it was ready. She filled up a cup and winced at the powdered milk substitute. She would need to go shopping — And see the Chief. After finishing her coffee, she swept her long blonde hair into a ponytail and walked down to her car.

She drove through town to the fire station and parked in the visitor parking area. As she walked through the large roll up doors, she heard grunting and heavy breathing coming from the back of the station. Oh! She knew these people were freaky, but in the fire station?!

Suddenly, a door opened, and a huge man stepped out. He was bare-chested, wearing only shorts and sneakers. She peeked into the room he had just come from and saw several men working out. Thank god it wasn’t what she thought it was! He walked over and asked. “Can I help you?”

Taylor went to open her mouth, but her voice seemed to have stopped working. He was gorgeous. Pitch black hair, emerald green eyes. A body that was carved to muscular perfection. She tried to speak again. “Uh...I…”

He took a step forward and towered over her. “Words, little one. Use them.”

She cleared her throat… And looked up. Good lord, he was tall! He was at least 6’4, her head barely reached the middle of his chest. “I… I’m here to speak to Chief Renway.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “OK then. Follow me. Oh, by the way, my name’s Marcus.”

She followed him to an office, and as he pushed through the door he yelled. “Chief! Visitor!”

There was an older man sitting behind a desk. He looked to be in his late 50s, with greying hair, but a muscular build. He shook his head. “Jesus, Marcus, no need to yell. I’m old. Not dead.” He then turned his gaze to her. “Hello, I assume you’re Hansen’s PA.”

She nodded her head. “Yes, I ‘am. I was told to come and see you when I arrived in town.”

Chief Renway stood up and extended his hand. “Well, welcome to Nevermore. You can call me, Joe. Please, have a seat.”

She shook his hand, then sat in the chair in front of his desk. He sat back down, then rested his elbows on the desktop and steepled his fingers in front of his chin. “I see you have already met Marcus. That’s good because he will be taking care of you.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

“Marcus is our Captain. He is also lead on the fire department side of this arson investigation. Ryan, the Sheriff, is the other side.”

Marcus leaned against the side of Joe’s desk. “Now, wait a minute, Chief. What do you mean I have to take care of her? And what does she have to do with the arsons?”

“This is Taylor, and she is Hansen’s PA. As you well know, he hires a lot of people in this town. And he has simply asked that we keep him appraised of our investigation — Through Taylor.”

Marcus snorted. “Oh, bullshit. You mean he doesn’t think we are working hard enough. So, he sent her up here to snoop on us! For f**k's sake, Chief, we nearly died in the last fire!”

Joe frowned up at him. “Marcus, take a breath. I’m sure Hansen knows damn well we are risking our lives up here. And doing our best to find out who is responsible. Right, Taylor?”

Taylor cleared her throat. “Uh, yes, of course. He’s just worried. He has lost a lot of money with all these fires.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, god forbid moneybags couldn’t buy another yacht! Chief, this is insulting!”

Joe glared at Marcus. “Step out. I’ll speak to you later. And you are doing this, so get used to it.”

Marcus stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him. She let out the breath she was holding, that man was terrifying.

“I’m sorry about that, Taylor. They have had a rough few weeks up here. They’re all exhausted. And some of the men have been hurt in these fires. I’m sure you understand.”

She nodded. “I do. It’s just… Mr. Hansen is upset, and he wanted me to come up here and see what was happening. I’m not here to snoop. In fact, I told him it was a bad idea. I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about this stuff. Arson, firefighting, I’m kinda lost to be honest.”

Joe leaned back in his chair. “Well, that’s OK. No matter what you just saw there, Marcus is a good man. He won’t let anything happen to you. And he will keep you updated on our investigation. I assume you need to speak to the Sheriff as well? If you like, I can walk you down there. It’s just a few places down from us.”

Taylor smiled. “Yes, please. I would appreciate it.”