Pinewood Corner Kitchen Chapter 16
Gabriella managed to find one other site that night as she sat out in the living room, but that was it. It was nearly midnight and it was only her and James here now. Bradley had finally left after James forced him out. And now Amelia was on her way in and James was going home because Gabriella was going to force him out.
“I heard it was a fucking day here today,” Amelia said.
Gabriella jumped. “I didn’t even hear you come in,” she said with a laugh. “Yeah, it was bad.”
“Are you working right now?”
Gabriella shrugged, as though that wasn’t completely obvious. As she did so, Fang slipped into the room, apparently on her own nighttime patrol. “Let me toss James out,” Amelia said. “You should stop too.”
It didn’t take a lot of effort to get James to leave, but it took more than Gabriella would prefer. He’d said some bitter things about not giving more than the bare minimum when he came back to work, but apparently that didn’t apply anymore once he became captain again. Which she could see. He was in charge of their safety and he took that role very seriously.
After all, the reason he went along with the rush job on the Orson Center wellness fair was because the Foundation had implied layoffs were coming if they weren’t working up to some unclear standard. And it wasn’t likely that James would be the one laid off.
But it took a few gentle threats from Amelia before he left, telling them to call if they needed anything. As the door closed behind him, Amelia checked the quiet printer, then sat down on the couch by Gabriella.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Gabriella said, pulling Fang into her lap. “They broke my car window, so I have to have the glass guys come out at some point when I’m not on magic house arrest.”
“How’d you know not to get in the car?”
“Bradley told me to wait.”
“How did he know?”
Gabriella just gave her a look. Amelia laughed.
“Have you talked to Madelyn?” Gabriella asked.
“Oh yeah,” Amelia said. “And Graham came over earlier. She’s okay. I think they’re going to be alright. It’s been a stressful time and that was the last straw, I think. I guess she’s been feeling insecure, which I know isn’t new? But it’s like, Madelyn’s already hurt, Graham’s angry, and it’s a fucking mess of a combination.”
She reached over and scratched Fang’s head. “It was awkward at the house earlier when he got there. She came home and started crying, then, like, a few hours later he showed up asking her to talk. And it’s Graham, and I know he probably just put his foot in it, so I’m not going to say anything nasty or chase him out like I would have with any of her other boyfriends.”
“He was mortified,” Gabriella said.
“And Madelyn told me about the James thing too.”
“Yeah, that was bad.”
“Speaking of insecure,” Amelia said. “I’m not sure he could have made that implication to two worse people on the team.”
“Are you pissed?”
“No,” Amelia said. “It’s not my place. I’ve said worse without meaning to in less stressful situations.”
Gabriella couldn’t argue with that, and she agreed. Fang climbed off her lap, but instead of running away, she settled in on the couch beside them as Gabriella picked up her laptop again. After she spent a few more minutes fruitlessly searching for one of the missing two options, Amelia said, “Hey, I’m going to get on a call with Riley if you don’t mind. She’s working in Newport County tonight.”
Gabriella hadn’t talked to Amelia’s girlfriend since that horrible night where Riley had gotten angry at Amelia for talking to Rosa – a nearby team captain and the object of Amelia’s previous unrequited affection – during James’s medical leave. That call had ended with Amelia sobbing in Gabriella’s arms, so she didn’t count herself among Riley’s biggest fans. But they’d made up afterwards and Amelia apparently adored her. So that was one of the many things around here that weren’t Gabriella’s business.
“Yeah, no problem.”
She went to make some tea as Amelia called Riley, the two of them chatting over speakerphone while Amelia checked the printer and updates from other, non-Newport, branches.
“Want any tea?” Gabriella called in to Amelia.
“Please!”
“Oh, who’s there?” Riley asked.
“Gabriella,” Amelia replied. “She’s not on, but she’s apparently being targeted by psychics who run a cooking blog, so James isn’t letting her leave headquarters.”
“That’s…” Riley started, before clearly remembering which one Gabriella was and why she knew her.
“It’s not one of my better nights,” Gabriella said, keeping her voice upbeat. “And it’s not a blog, thank you.”
She cleared her throat. “It’s an upscale, yet approachable, online destination for home cooking,” she recited pompously. “Please remember that.”
“Oh, I was talking to Elizabeth earlier,” Riley said to Amelia. “We were thinking about trying out Protocol in Boston if you want to join.”
“Oh, yeah, that’d be great,” Amelia said. “When are you going?”
“We both have tomorrow off,” Riley said. “You?”
“Yeah, I’m out at three.”
Amelia looked at Gabriella questioningly. She was pretty sure they were talking about going out dancing. Was that an invitation look? It didn’t matter because Gabriella was trapped anyway. But she smiled at Amelia and shook her head.
Amelia laughed. “Right,” she said. “Another time.”
“Are you going to ask James again?” Riley asked.
Gabriella wasn’t sure James had ever gone to a club in his life. She looked curiously at Amelia. “I don’t know,” Amelia said, squinting toward the schedule hanging on the wall. “I think he’s working the overnight, but I’ll mention it.”
They stayed on the line together for the next hour that Gabriella was up, then Riley called a friendly goodnight to her when she finally did cave and head back to the pink bedroom. Maybe things were fine there now. That’d be nice. She wasn’t looking for romance right now, but if the others could find happiness, Gabriella would be happy for them.
***
Gabriella’s phone rang, waking her out of filmy dreams of pine needles. She opened her eyes and grabbed it. Her landlord’s name was visible on the screen, as was the time, two AM.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Hi, this is Greg Richards. Is this Gabriella?”
“Yes,” she said, sitting up and turning on the light. “Yeah, sorry. Um, can I help you?”
“I assume you’re not at home, are you alright?”
Why the hell was her landlord asking that? “I’m overnight at work,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“There was a small fire in your kitchen tonight. Someone saw the smoke coming out the window and called it in, so firefighters broke the door down and put it out before it could spread anywhere else in your studio.”
“What?” she exclaimed, out of bed and hurrying down the hall before she’d even thought her plan through. “What happened?”
“Could you have possibly left a candle burning? Or maybe something plugged in, like a hair straightener?”
“No, of course not,” she said as Amelia looked up from her work on the couch. “Was this right now?”
“I’m at the building now,” he said. “The fire’s out. I understand that you’re at work, but if you can leave, we can go in and assess the damage.”
Her stomach sank, but she was putting on her shoes anyway. “Where are you going?” Amelia asked.
“There was a fire in my apartment,” Gabriella said, almost surprised by the shake in her voice.
“I’m coming with you.”
Gabriella was about to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but she was already getting up. And if she was honest, she wanted Amelia to come. “I’m leaving work now,” she told Mr. Richards. “It’ll take me about twenty minutes to get there.”
“Alright, young lady. I’ll be here.”
She hung up. “It was in my kitchen, they got it before it spread anywhere else. But I unplugged everything before I left yesterday, I always do.”
“Let me call James,” Amelia said. “I don’t want to wake him up, but this is one of those situations where I actually have to.”
As they walked out, she called. “Hey, James,” she said. “Sorry to wake you up, but I need to leave headquarters empty. Everything’s fine, but there was a small fire at Gabriella’s house, so I’m going with her so she’s not alone.”
“Was it the Chapmans?” James asked, sounding suspiciously wide awake.
“I don’t know yet,” Gabriella said. “Amelia’s coming with me.”
“You guys go,” James said. “I’m on my way now.”
As they stood at the top of the front steps, Amelia hesitated. “What?” Gabriella asked.
“I don’t know if James has a key. I think I gave him a new one, but I can’t remember for sure.”
Oh shit. Gabriella was almost certain he did, but she wasn’t positive either. Not after he’d been compelled to give his key to Adele three months earlier. And it was rare that this building was empty, so it was slightly possible.
“There he is,” Gabriella said, pointing down the road to where James was hurrying down the sidewalk.
James must have a key, there’d be times he had to unlock the door during the day, it wasn’t like they always had it unlocked. But she was relieved when he got there and she saw a key already in his hand.
“We’re fine,” she said, immediately deciding never to bring up that concern ever again. “I’ll come straight back here.”
“Alright, we’ll talk after.”
They were quiet on the ride over to Gabriella’s house. When they got there, her landlord was sitting on the building’s stoop. There was nobody else from the building there, but she could see lights on behind a few windows, so they must have been told it was safe to go back in. There was one car with blinking lights on top still parked in the front and she could see a firefighter waiting with the landlord.
“I’m here,” she said uselessly as she got out of Amelia’s car and hurried over. “What happened?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” the firefighter said.
In the streetlight, Gabriella could see that the men both had strange looks on their faces. Not anger, which was a relief. No, this was confusion.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Do you own a slow cooker?” the firefighter asked.
“Yeah,” Gabriella replied “It’s up on my counter. Why?”
“The fire originated in the slow cooker.”
“I unplugged it,” she said immediately, turning to Mr. Richards. “I swear, I unplug it every time.”
He held up a hand to stop her. “The cord was tucked underneath the insert,” the firefighter said. “It was unplugged and there was nothing flammable in it.”
“So what does that mean?” Amelia asked.
“It means we have no idea what started that fire.”
Gabriella had a pretty good idea what started that fire and she had to hope that the protective pin she was wearing would have any impact whatsoever while she was out here, away from the security of their headquarters. “Can I see it?” she asked.
They all followed the firefighter up to Gabriella’s front door, which had been broken down. As they walked in, her bed and living area looked completely normal, despite the smell of smoke. But as she turned into the tiny kitchenette, her heart nearly stopped.
The countertop was warped and melted and the cabinets above it were scarred with soot. Everything on the counter had been melted or burned, including the library books she’d set down there the other day and several storage containers. In the center of it was a twisted wreck she only somewhat recognized as her cute little slow cooker.
“Maybe it was a failure of the device,” the firefighter said, his voice heavy with skepticism. “But we’ll have to investigate more. Do you have a place you can stay until we’re done with that?”
“How long will it take?” Gabriella asked.
“Hopefully only a couple days.”
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s fine. I can stay…”
“We’ll work it out,” Amelia finished.
Gabriella knew that likely meant more time at headquarters. But it was an answer that satisfied both of the men and was honestly the safest option.
With Amelia’s help, she gathered up more things she’d need, clothes and toiletries to go with what she had at headquarters. The firefighter and Mr. Richards said they’d be in touch, and then she were back in Amelia’s car.
“Are you alright?” Amelia asked as they made their way down the dark, silent street.
“That was the Chapmans,” Gabriella said. “They realized they didn’t get me and they found out where I live.”
“They did.”
“Fuck.”
She rested her head against the back of the seat. “Can I be really ungrateful for a second?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I’m so fucking sick of getting locked down at headquarters because something horrible might get me at home.” She took a breath. “Again.”
“Hopefully Bradley can talk to the fire department,” Amelia said. “If it’s a Foundation investigation, they can usually take a step back pretty quickly. But I don’t blame you at all.”
***
Gabriella didn’t sleep anymore that night. And of course James stayed at headquarters, even after Amelia and Gabriella insisted he should go home and get some sleep. Eventually, the compromise was that he’d go into the back bedroom and sleep, and if he came anywhere near the living room, Amelia would kick his ass. Gabriella went into the pink bedroom with slightly fewer threats, but laid awake until six, when she surrendered and came back out.
Amelia was brewing one last batch of coffee. “Did you get any sleep?” she asked.
Gabriella shrugged. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Maybe. I’m probably going to have to be on the phone with insurance all morning, so I’m dreading that.”
“Bradley’s in at seven, talk to him first,” Amelia said. “He’s got contacts at the fire department, so they can help with whatever bullshit you need for renters insurance.”
“Is James still sleeping?” Gabriella asked.
“No,” he said from behind her.
He looked like he hadn’t slept any better than she had. “Morning,” he greeted. “She’s right, he can handle it the same way we handle things like that in client houses. But we’re all on the same page that this was the Chapmans, right?”
“Definitely,” Gabriella said. “Especially because it was my crockpot.”
“What do you mean?” Amelia asked.
“I mean, not only did they want to either threaten or hurt me, I’m not sure which, but they were so offended by the crockpot that they used that. They burned my fucking crockpot to both insult and threaten me.”
“How much do those cost?” James asked.
“Depends,” Gabriella replied. “Why?”
“I can-”
“You’re not replacing my crockpot,” Gabriella interrupted before he could finish. “Thank you, for real. But I have renters insurance.”
The front door opened and she turned, expecting to see Bradley coming up the stairs. But instead it was Jolene and she was with a stranger. For a second, Gabriella felt a ridiculous bit of nerves, but then shrugged them off as she remembered what James had said about the new doctor.
“Good morning!” Jolene called cheerfully up the stairs.
She walked up, followed by the newcomer. “Hey, good morning,” James said.
Jolene looked around at them. “What happened?” she asked.
“Evil psychics tried to attack me at my house, but I was here so they just set my crockpot on fire instead.”
“That sounds like a fairly normal night for you, Gabriella,” Jolene said with a warm smile.
“Coffee?” Amelia offered.
“I’m all set,” Jolene said, holding up her thermos.
“I don’t drink coffee,” said the other woman.
“This is Dr. Hillard,” Jolene said. “She’s going to be replacing me as your team physician.”
Dr. Hillard was younger than Jolene, and almost as tall as James. Her light brown hair was cut in a cute bob and she very clearly didn’t want to be there. “It’s nice to meet you,” James said, holding out a gloved hand to shake. “I’m James McManus, the team captain.”
Dr. Hillard looked at his hand. “What’s with the gloves?” she asked. “It’s eighty degrees outside.”
James’s professional smile faltered. They shook hands awkwardly as Gabriella glared at the doctor. “Dr. Hillard works out of St. Hildegard’s for the most part,” Jolene said quickly. “She’ll be handling things like physicals, non-emergency injuries, or primary care. So if anything happens, she’ll be the one working with you. I’ll still be here, but not in an official capacity.”
Dr. Hillard didn’t seem to notice Gabriella. But now James looked embarrassed and Gabriella wondered if it would be bad form to kick their new team doctor down the stairs.
“I’ll be setting up meetings with everyone on the team,” Dr. Hillard said. “We’ll go over your health records and establish care. This isn’t a physical, I know Dr. Oliver just did those. So we won’t be addressing health concerns then, this is simply an opportunity to meet.”
She looked as though she was being forced into this opportunity. “That sounds great,” James said with a tight smile. “Let me know what time works for you and I’ll make sure the schedule fits.”
“Good.”
God, it was like talking to a slightly less evil Chapman. “We’ll be here for a little while,” Jolene said, with an apologetic look toward James. “If you have time later on, I’d like to talk to you for a minute.”
“Yeah, no problem,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Hillard,” Gabriella said, her voice maybe a little too sweet.
“Nice to meet you,” the doctor said dully, then followed Jolene down the stairs.
“Wow,” Amelia said once they were gone.
“I don’t like her,” Gabriella said quietly.
“Guys,” James sighed.
“She was weird about shaking your hand.”
“It’s the gloves,” James said. “It’s something a crazy person does.”
“Hey,” Amelia said sharply. “Stop it. That was just rude of her.”
“Whatever,” James said. “No one says we have to be best friends. That’s the whole reason why it can’t be Jolene.”
Gabriella wouldn’t mind being best friends with Jolene, if she was being completely honest. “Fine,” she said. “I can be polite.”
“I know,” he said. “But could you maybe do it without the scary amount of passive aggression behind it? You sounded a little like Bradley just then. I’m not scheduling you two on cases together anymore, he’s a bad influence.”
