What. The. Fuck.

I dialed Mike’s number but just couldn’t bring myself to press the dial button and I started crying. I wasn’t prepared to talk to him again. Not yet. Assuming he’d even want to talk to me. I couldn’t do it. I sighed and put my phone down next to me on the kitchen table. Dragging Mike into this could get him in serious trouble, even if I was ready to talk to him again. He disclosed details of an open investigation to me when we were dating, details he isn’t even supposed to know about let alone tell a civilian who is actually involved in the case.

I didn’t know what to do. I went over all of my options and picked up the phone again.

“Hey. I, uh, really need to talk to you. Do you think you could come over?”

Adam said he’d come over immediately with his private investigator’s files so we could go through them. At first he was confused but I explained what was going on and he promised he’d be over within a half an hour.

Sure enough, Adam was at my place in 20 minutes.

“Okay, so, you said that there have been at least three other fires in addition to my apartment complex that you think are connected, right?” I said sitting down on the living room floor.

We spread out the files all over the floor and were pouring over all of them.

“Yeah. So, these four are the ones that are definitely connected; the same accelerant mixture was used. I don’t have any information about Eddie’s theatre fire, though. But all of THESE,: Adam motioned to several other manila folders, “Are all fires my PI suspected of being done by the same person, there’s no evidence connecting them, though.”

I looked over the three other fires that used the same accelerant and felt a cold sweat come over me.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked.

“I…all of these places are connected to me.” I looked up at him.

“What?”

“This one…I…I worked here in college.” I pointed to one folder that happened at a local deli I worked at in college. It didn’t destroy the shop and the police charged the owners with insurance fraud because they assumed they tried to burn their shop down and collect the insurance money for it after it became clear that an accelerant was used.

“And here…I LIVED in this house. The fire took place a year after I moved out, though.” I pushed the open folder towards him. I went to college in a different state which is probably why no one made the connection to these until Adam’s PI looked into them.

“And this one…this happened after my apartment complex burned down, but I went here. It burned down just a few days after I went there.”

The folder contained pictures of the veterinary clinic that called me because they thought they had Murphy there when it turned out to be a different cat with his microchip in it.

I sat back and let out a deep breath.

“What is happening?” I asked quietly, “How is this my life?”

“Faith, you have to let the police know about this. YOU are the connection here. Faith?”

I was distracted by another folder.

“This looks so familiar.” I said. I took a second to think about where I’d seen the building in the picture before and was suddenly struck by the memory.

“This was Kevin’s apartment building. I’d only been there one time.” The building hadn’t completely burned down, it had caught fire about a month after Sean and Kevin got into a fight in that bar a few years ago. But, as far as I knew, Kevin had moved out well before then to live with his fiancée. The report said that three people, one was a child, died in it.

I looked up at Adam with sad eyes.

“This is all because of me.” I said.

“Faith, listen, you need to tell the police about this immediately.” He grabbed my shoulders, “I’ll go with you, okay? I’ll have my PI turn over everything they’ve collected. This isn’t your fault. I don’t know what’s going on but we’re going to figure it out, okay?”

I nodded and he pulled me into a hug. We collected the four folders and left for the police station.

“I need to talk to detective Geordi.” I told the officer at the front desk. They nodded and told me to wait.

I couldn’t focus and kept fidgeting.

“It’s going to be okay, Faith.” Adam said sitting next to me.

“Ma’am. Detective Geordi isn’t going to be able to meet you today. He said he’d call you.”

I looked up at the officer and felt devastated. I wanted answers NOW.

“Um. O-okay.” I said, “Can you, at least, make sure he gets these?” I asked.

She nodded and took the folders. I couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t meet with me, after basically harassing me, he wouldn’t even come and talk to me? ME? His number one suspect?

Adam shuffled me out of the precinct and we went to a bar to talk.

“I cannot believe this is happening. All of those people who died? My neighbors? It’s my fault they’re dead.”

“No it’s not, Faith. It’s whoever is doing this. Do you have any idea who it could be?”

I was silent for a moment.

“No.” I blurted out, “I have absolutely NO idea. This is so surreal.” I leaned back in the booth and looked at my beer.

“Do you want to stay with me and Amber tonight?” He asked.

“No. I think I’ll be okay.” I said.

I wanted to get my mind off of everything so I changed the subject.

“How are you guys doing since she moved in?” I asked.

“We’re okay. It’s going well. I think she might be The One, Faith.”

“That’s so awesome.” I said, “I really like her. Hanging out with her so much fun.”

Adam’s faced changed slightly with that comment.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s nothing.” He said.

“No, really, what?”

“I just…it’s weird for me that you guys hang out so much….sometimes.” He finished lamely.

“Oh.” I said deflating, “Do…do you want me to stop hanging out with her?”

“No! Sort of? No! No?” Adam looked tortured, “Maybe just hang out a little less, until I’m used to it or something?”

“I can do that.” I said. It felt good to be in control of something again and be able to fix Adam’s discomfort with it all, “But, you know, it’s not like you and I even have a history, Adam. We’ve never even kissed or gone on a date. It shouldn’t make you so uncomfortable, but since it does, I’ll just make sure Amber and I move slower with the friendship thing, okay?”

“Thanks, Faith. Are you sure you don’t want to sleep at my place tonight?”

“Yeah. I am.” I said with determination, “I want to be home if Detective Geordi stops by.”

Adam walked me home and I waited by the phone all night but Detective Geordi never called me.