Flashover. Dana Mentink

might possibly regret.

      Ivy felt plenty old the next morning as she eased her arm into the sling after her shower. The sky was a steel gray, indicating a summer storm was on the way. It would be good for the guys, if it brought enough rain to dampen the parched vegetation on the surrounding hillsides.

      The phone rang. She figured it was Tim. He made it a point to call every so often on Sundays and invite her to church. She told him in as patient a way as she could that she was not interested. He could go worship God until he ran out of breath. For her part, Ivy was still busy hating Him. Then again, it could be Antonio, she mused.

      As she picked up the phone she straightened Sadie’s picture, marveling again at how lovely her sister had been, a dark-haired beauty with an easy smile. “Hello?”

      A loud breathy voice filled up the phone line. “Hello, Ivy. It’s Madge.”

      Ivy sighed in relief and exchanged pleasant small talk with Moe’s mother. “I’m glad you called. I had a question for you. What can you tell me about Cyril?”

      “Moe’s friend?” Madge paused. “He ran the recycle shack for a while, that’s how Moe met him. He worked at the local bookstore, too, I think. But he quit early on. From what I gather he’s not above skirting the law a bit, but he’s always been sweet to my Moe and that’s what matters to me.”

      “What do you mean, skirting the law?”

      “Oh, I’ve just heard things. I don’t want to gossip.”

      “I understand, but his house burned down, Madge. It would be good if we could locate him.”

      “My goodness, burned down? He’s had a bad string of luck, poor guy. And after getting fired and all.”

      “Fired? From where? Why?”

      “No, now I’ve said too much. I called to ask you to check on Moe for the next few days. I’ve got to go visit my sister. She’s had surgery you see, for her appendix. I filled Moe’s refrigerator and made sure his stock of soap operas is okay. He will call me every night to check in, but I would feel better knowing you’ll look out for him.”

      “Of course I will.”

      “Good. Do you still have my cell number?”

      “Yes. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

      Her relieved sigh was loud. “Thank goodness for you, Ivy. You’re a blessing from God. I’ll be back in a few days. Bye now.”

      A blessing from God? Yeah, right.

      Ivy spent the next few hours searching the Internet for any information about Cyril. It didn’t help that his last name was an unknown. “There are way too many Cyrils in the world,” she finally grumped at one thirty as she left her apartment, empty soda can in hand. The hallway was warm and stuffy compared to her air-conditioned unit. She could smell the tang of garlic and ginger from Mrs. Wang’s pork dumplings. Her mouth watered at the thought of the succulent pillows and she remembered she hadn’t eaten.

      She tapped lightly on door 6H. “Moe? It’s Ivy. Are you home?”

      There was no sound, but that was not unusual. Sometimes it took the man a few minutes to decide to open the door. She knocked again. “Hey, Moe. Your mom asked me to check on you. I wanted to talk before your shows. I know you watch them at two o’clock. I promise I’ll make it quick.”

      The door opened and Moe peered at her, blinking behind his thick glasses. “Ivy? Is that you?”

      “Yes, Moe. Are you doing okay?”

      He nodded.

      “Can I come in?”

      “Okay.” He moved to the side so she could get by. His apartment was tidy, Spartan almost, with a couch and padded chair the only furniture in the front room, along with a TV. The tiny kitchen opened up onto the space, and she could see he’d already removed the plastic from his microwave-popcorn package and laid the bundle neatly on the counter, ready for popping. His bottle of water sat next to it, carefully wrapped in a paper towel.

      “Here’s another can for you.”

      He nodded and added it to a bag near the door. “Thank you.”

      “How have you been, Moe?”

      “Okay.” He sat on the sofa, hands folded in his lap.

      “Good. Your mom said if you need anything to let me know. Do you remember where my apartment is?”

      “Apartment A, floor six, northwest corner of Ash and Finley streets.”

      “Ah, yeah. Wow. That’s it all right.” The last time she’d talked to him he’d rattled off a string of bus schedule information. “I wanted to know about your friend Cyril.”

      Moe stiffened and began to rock slightly back and forth.

      Ivy watched his brown eyes as he stared at a spot on the far wall. “Moe, why were you at his house the night of the fire?”

      Moe shook his head but did not answer.

      Ivy sat down next to him. “I know that he’s been missing, Moe. Was he into some trouble? Did he tell you anything about a problem he was having?”

      The man began to rock more violently.

      “It’s kind of important.”

      “Apartment A, floor six, northwest corner of Ash and Finley streets.” He stared into space and repeated the phrase three more times.

      Though she felt a surge of frustration, Ivy put a hand gently on his arm, which trembled slightly under her touch. “Okay, Moe. We don’t need to talk anymore right now. Why don’t you pop your popcorn and watch your show? I’ll come back later.”

      She waited until he had prepared his snack and settled himself into the chair with the remote. He did not turn his head as she said goodbye.

      Back in her own apartment there was a message from her mother inviting her to come over. Ivy shuddered. She could not face the idea of sitting at the kitchen table hearing her mother try to encourage her to change careers or find a nice man to settle down with. She had probably already been busy scanning the church directory to look for any eligible men she could find to coerce into taking Ivy on a date.

      “I’m a firefighter, Mom,” she’d said many times, more frequently since the Antonio debacle. “That’s who I am and all I want to be.”

      She tried to flex her shoulder until the pain stopped her. What was she now? What if she couldn’t go back to her beloved calling? The thought froze her insides.

      Well, I’m not just going to sit here until I get my job back. She grabbed her keys and headed for the elevator, determined to solve the mystery about Cyril before it got Moe’s friend into deeper trouble.

      In the car, she turned on her radio pager, listening hungrily to the chatter. The guys were en route to a fire at an office building. Probably nothing major, but listening to the captain radio their ETA made her feel like crying. She could almost feel the quiver in their stomachs as they climbed onto the rig, the rush that came with the chance to knock down a fire. She fought back tears as she turned the key.

      Tim saw Ivy standing on the sidewalk near the burned house, body tense and rigid. It filled him with a desperate desire to lift away her fear, some way, any way. When she didn’t hear him speak, he put a hand on her shoulder.

      Whirling, she lost her balance and he caught her.

      “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. What brings you here? What’s wrong?”

      She leaned her head against his chest for a moment. Then she straightened. “Nothing. I’m fine. I was just…I don’t know.”

      “Remembering?”

      “Oh, never mind. How did you find me?”

      “I