hand such a good man that disaster. I remember feeling very bad for Pastor Pritchard.
When I got back to my car, the vodka I bought earlier in the night was still in my passenger seat. Spending the night drinking with Lisa didn’t sound quite as fun as it had before. Then again, if I went home I’d just obsess over the fire and Pastor Pritchard. My next stop was Lisa’s place.
Comfort
There is something to be said about the comfort of familiar things. For me, that comfort was in the booths of the Side Car Diner. That comfort was in the food and the staff. There, I felt all of my nerves eased. There, I could think with a clear mind.
I had a significant amount of thinking to do. There were people after me. Their identities were unknown, as were their reasons for wanting me dead. There was an arsonist on the loose in Stone Harbor. Although I didn’t have any evidence that the church was burned on purpose, I had a gut feeling. And lastly, there was the issue of my parents, which was never far from my thoughts.
“Long night?” Carol, the waitress, was standing next to my table. She refilled my coffee.
“Something like that. Thank you.”
“What can I get you?”
“I think this morning calls for waffles.”
Carol smiled. “Waffles it is.”
I stared out the windows as I waited. It was a lovely summer morning. Through the glass and over the noise of the restaurant, I could hear the birds chirping. The warmth of the sun leaked onto my booth.
Carol came back with a plate full of warm waffles. I covered them in butter and syrup. Each soft and sweet bite made my worries melt away.
I had a busy day ahead of me. Pastor Pritchard’s barbeque had been cancelled, for obvious reasons, but Richard decided to have one at his house. Sam wanted me take a look at the site of what used to be the church. It seemed best to do the work first, and then I’d stop by the Greyson’s.
Independence Day
The Fourth of July in Stone Harbor was a big deal. It may have been a small town but everyone in it still made a big effort. The end result was very festive. Decorations could be found all over the place. People put up banners and streamers, turning everything red, white and blue.
At night, there were multiple private fireworks displays. They were illegal but lit anyway. Partiers could be found all over the town, drunk and sometimes disorderly. Independence Day was not my favorite holiday, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Before attending the barbeque at Richard’s house, I had to stop by the burnt remains of the church. I had promised Sam I’d take a look. Even though he didn’t formally hire me to look into the cause of the fire, I agreed in principle.
When I pulled up to the church, my heart sank. I used to go there as a kid. I used to take bible study classes in its basement. It was an institution in Stone Harbor. And it had been reduced to its smoldering foundations.
Even though I had been there the night before, seeing the site in the harsh light of day was a whole different story. The flames had been extinguished and all that was left was charred wood and ash. It smelled like a fireplace.
I got out of my car and started walking the grounds. There are some specific clues you could look for in order to determine if a fire was the result of arson or accident. My forensics teacher spent a whole week on arson at George Mason College. Luckily, I remembered most of it.
Every fire had three common elements. Fire needs oxygen, heat and a fuel source. Oxygen was the easiest element to obtain since it was in the air around us. A fuel had to be a flammable or combustible substance. Most arsonists used fuels that were easy to obtain such as gasoline, high proof alcohol or propane. And lastly, your igniter had to be up to the task of reaching the ignition temperature of the fuel.
I walked around the remains of the church. What I wanted to figure out first was where the fire started, so I dug out