Chapter 6 - Long Day

Logan took Kenzie to a place called the Red Rendezvous. There were a few people there, but not too many even though this was supposedly the best place to hang out in Twinbrook.

Kenzie followed Logan to a table near a foosball table. A waitress approached and handed them each menus before shuffling away.

"So, what'll it be?" Logan asked as he scanned his menu.

"I'll pay for my own, thanks."

"You're the guest, and you're here to help. The least you can do is let me buy you lunch."

"I'm also the professional, not the intern. I'm the one that'll be getting paid for this."

Logan folded his menu up and looked Kenzie in the eyes. "Tell me the truth, Kenzie. Why do you hate me so much?"

 Kenzie laid her menu down and returned the glare. "I don't necessarily hate you, but I don't particularly like you. It's not you, it's what you do. You're a bounty hunter."

Logan let out a low whistle. This was obviously the last thing he expected to hear.

"How is what I'm doing any different than what you're doing?" he asked at last. "You catch criminals and bring them to justice and get paid for it. So do I."

"You aren't employed by the police department, and they don't necessarily favor you. It's people like you that take jobs away from them and me."

"Ouch."

Logan feigned horror as the waitress returned to take their orders. Kenzie ordered a turkey and cheese sandwich while Logan ordered a bacon cheeseburger. Kenzie would have done that, if she weren't so worried about the calories she'd ingest in doing so.

What was up with society, anyway? It seemed that all that was accepted were women no larger than a size 6 or 8. Anyone else was considered fat and grotesque. Especially among men. She very rarely saw a man walking down the street holding hands with an above-average woman. It's a good thing she had her job, or she'd probably spiral into a depression at this rate.

Kenzie turned her head and saw some people dancing. Logan followed her gaze and asked, "Want to dance?"

Kenzie turned her head back so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. "No thanks."

"Do you ever have any fun?"

Kenzie frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, since you got here, all you've been doing is working on this case. And yeah, I know, that's your job, and the whole reason you came here, but come on. You have to have some interests besides your job."

"I have plenty of interests. I read, I have friends..."

"How often do you see them?"

Kenzie bit her lip. "I can't help that. Jillian lives in Sunset Valley, but my parents live just down the street from me..."

"But that's all you've got. The only human contact you ever really have are when you're talking to suspects."

"Are you trying to tell me how to do my job and live my life?"

"Of course not." Logan looked taken aback. "I'm just saying, you only get one shot at life, you know? Why waste it? Why not enjoy it?"

Kenzie tried not to cringe. Someone else had once said something like that to her. Someone she hadn't seen a while and who ironically ended up saving her, and she him, but in a different way.

But, she didn't want to think about., or dwell on, that at the moment.

Just then, their lunches arrived. Kenzie eagerly bit into her sandwich. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she felt the turkey in her mouth. Or until she saw Logan digging into his bacon cheeseburger.

Why did bacon have to be so good, yet so fattening?

The two didn't talk much while eating. But Kenzie did think quite a bit. She hated to admit it, but Logan was right. Just like Jillian had been right. She needed to have more fun in her life. If it weren't for her job, who would she have to talk to? Just her parents and Jillian, who lived in Sunset Valley. She would occasionally see the Swansens around Riverview, and she'd always talk to them, but still. She never really hung out with people. Even in high school, she ran around with Jillian and that was it (with the exception of her boyfriend back then, though that wasn't a lot).

Before she could contemplate this any longer, however, her sandwich was gone and Logan's burger was as well.

"Dessert?" Logan asked.

"No thanks, I'm good now."

"Oh come on, there's always room for dessert!"

"Well, I'd like to talk to some more people first. The longer we wait, the more likely the arsonist will strike again."

"See, this is what I'm talking about. You don't even indulge for dessert, because you're so focused on this case."

"I don't want to see anyone else lose their house. Fine, we'll have dessert later."

"Fair enough."

Before Kenzie could stop him, Logan grabbed the ticket and ran to the counter. He paid for both their meals, despite her clearly stating that she would pay for her own earlier.

And she told him so when he returned to the table with a smug grin on his face.

"I told you I'd pay for my own."

"I heard what you said. But what kind of a man makes the woman pay for her own meal, especially if she's a guest in his town, trying to catch a criminal?"

Kenzie shook her head and sighed. Just as she'd predicted, this was going to be a very long day.

********************

It was going on 1:30 now, too early to interrogate Mark, who would undoubtedly still be in school. Kenzie hoped she'd be able to catch Sierra instead.

Logan drove her to Sierra's house. There was a garage with a closed door, so Kenzie wasn't able to tell if someone was home or not. She could tell, however, that Sierra's house was only two down from the Friedlanders'. So she walked up the porch, Logan at her heels, and rang the doorbell. She saw movement within, and a moment later, she was staring face-to-face with a pyromaniac.

"Can I help you?" the young woman asked curiously.

"Sierra Marvin?"

The young woman nodded.

"Hello. I'm detective Kenzie Howell, and I'd like to ask you a few questions. Oh," she added before she forgot (again), "and this is Logan Hawkins."

"Questions about what?" Sierra asked.

"The string of arsons happening in Twinbrook."

Sierra frowned, but moved aside to let Kenzie and Logan in. Kenzie was surprised to see that the house looked...well, homey. She'd expected a pyromaniac's house to be filled with all kinds of flame decor, at least on a rug pattern or with pictures on the wall. But all she saw that had any connection to fire was a fireplace and a stove. Of course, Sierra's undershirt had a flame design on it. And her hair was a startling shade of red. She also had a flame tattoo on her arm with a heart over it. But other than that, Kenzie would have thought she was talking to a normal person.

"The police already talked to me," Sierra said as she turned around to face her guests. "I had nothing to do with those fires."

Logan sat down in one of the two chairs (quite rudely, Kenzie thought, since the hostess hadn't asked him to do so). "No one's accusing you of anything. We're just trying to find out what happened."

"The law doesn't differentiate between arsonist and pyromaniac," Sierra replied. "The lines are very blurry. The thing with me is, I like fire. It's exciting to me. But I don't burn down houses to make a point, or to make money. I've been in therapy. The only time I'm around fire is when I cook or light my fireplace. The most I do is rip open my junk mail and throw it into the fireplace."

"How long have you been in therapy?" Kenzie inquired.

"Seven months. Ask my counselor. I haven't gone near fire in almost two weeks. I've been ordering take-out instead of cooking, and I haven't even touched the fireplace."

"Ms. Marvin, you live two houses down from the Friedlander house. You have to have an alibi for the night it burned down."

"It's pure coincidence that I live two houses down. It's sad what happened, but I had nothing to do with it."

"I'll still need an alibi."

"I was at the gym. I've been working out to ease my drawing to fire. Ask anyone."

Just then, Sierra's phone rang.

"Excuse me," she said as she went to answer it. Her voice was muffled from the other side of the room. Kenzie looked at Logan.

"We have an alibi to check out," she said.

"All we have to do is call the gym and confirm whether or not Sierra was there at the time the Friedlanders' house caught on fire. If she was, then she didn't do it."

"Did you ever think there may be more than one arsonist? Think about it. There's no pattern to these fires; they basically just happened at random. Maybe Sierra didn't set the Friedlanders' house on fire, but what about the other family?"

Before Logan could respond, Sierra hung up and came back into the living room.

"Sorry, but that was my boss. I have to go in and work the night shift."

"Where do you work?" Kenzie asked.

"Why does that matter?"

"Just in case we need to get into contact with you again."

"I work at the Bistro Rogue. But I highly doubt you'll be able to get in there just to talk to me. Everyone needs a reservation. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to get ready."

"Thank you for your time and cooperation."

"Don't mention it."

Sierra walked Kenzie and Logan to the door. Kenzie heard the lock click into place as soon as the door shut behind them.

"Now what?" Logan asked. "I'm the chauffer, tell me where you want to go."

Kenzie looked at her watch. "School should be out now. Let's go see the Duncans."

"Aren't you getting burnt out? Oops, pardon the pun."

Kenzie stared at Logan. "No, I'm not. Unlike a lot of people, I happen to like my job. If you're getting bored and burnt out, then why don't you drop me off at the hotel and I'll do the rest on my own?"

"I didn't say I was getting burnt out. I was just looking out for you."

"You don't need to do that. I can take care of myself, like I said earlier."

"I've never run into someone so stubborn."

"The feeling's mutual."

Kenzie then spun on her heel and headed back toward the truck. She wasn't lying; she did like her job. She'd just like it a lot more if she could do it her way, which was without a partner.

Still, she said nothing as Logan drove her to the Duncan residence.

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