088:
Someone brought oxygen masks. Both babies were screaming. Tracy lifted first one tiny baby and sat on the back of the ambulance to nurse her. She could see the house now, water flying over the top of it in white streams. The flames began to succumb to the froth. How long?
How long did it take to die from smoke inhalation?
How long did it take for a house to burn down?
How long would the person responsible burn in hell?
When she'd nursed both babies and laid them on the cot, wrapped solidly in blankets and asleep, she lifted Danny into her arms and faced the house once more. Danny didn't speak or cry anymore. He just stared vacantly. She walked a few steps away from the back of the ambulance so she could see clearly. The grass beneath her right foot was cool---- she looked down and realized she'd managed to misplace her shoe.
Somebody brought her a sat phone.
"Tracy! Tracy! Is that you? Oh my God! You're safe!" It was Bridget's voice.
"Bridget." She said her name as if from a cave, from deep inside the cave.
"I'm watching the house burn on the news. It's your house, burning to the ground, isn't it? They are telling me it's your house."
"Yes. It's our house." Her voice was barely audible.
"I'm coming there." An audible click and Tracy let the phone slip from her fingers. She picked it up again and dialed a number.
"Richard." Her voice trembled.
"Honey.... What's wrong?"
"They burned my house down."
"Excuse me? What did you say?"
"Richard!" She screamed, covering her face with her free hand. The whole agony of it raced through her and consumed her. "Raine! Raine! Richard!"
The phone slid from her fingers again and when she picked it up it was dead. She felt her eyes blurring with tears and then she huddled over Danny's body and sobbed.
Bridget found her there, she knelt and covered her body with her own and tried to raise her. "Tracy, come on."
"No, Bridge, I can't leave."
"Okay, we'll wait here."
"Bridge, Raine is still in there." She looked up at the house. "Steven." Fresh sobs broke from her throat and she choked on another sob.
Bridget had never seen anything so pitiful, she'd never seen eyes so haunted, so red, so tear-filled, so full of despair.
A few minutes later, Julian was pulling them both back toward the ambulance. Tracy dug in her heels. "No, Jules, let me be. I'm not leaving!"
"Tracy, come on, let's get back to the babies."
"No, the babies are fine. God, Jules, Raine is still in there, Steven, and Monday!"
Julian was shaking his head over hers at Bridget, Bridget turned stricken eyes on him. He mouthed the words, "They're dead."
Bridget shook her head. "No!"
"Come on." But he couldn't persuade either girl to leave the grass now, or to let Danny go. So Julian sat beside them holding them both, rocking back and forth until Tracy got up and went over to a fireman coming away from the back of the house.
"Where is my husband, Raine! He went in after the nanny and the baby!" Her voice was fairly calm.
"We found their bodies ma'am. They were together near the collapsed stairway. The man had the baby, if that's any consolation to you. Your husband died holding your son."
Tracy turned, a hand to her mouth, she started to whirl back toward the house, but the fireman grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry, Miss, really sorry we couldn't save them."
Julian was standing close, his eyes were full of what she was feeling. She turned back to the house once more, her mind refusing to believe what she'd heard. Smoke was still billowing, but no more flames were shooting out. The house looked like a semblance of itself.
She whirled around. "No!" She said slowly as if everything in her world was still on fire. She took a wavering step.
Julian's eyes blurred, turning opaque in the ash filled sludge. He heard his name called and whipped around just as Richard's presence parted the smoke.
Richard caught Tracy as she collapsed , he barely made it to her, lifted her up and re-steadied himself. Ashes clouded his eyes and stung in wet rivers of bile in his throat. He held her awkwardly searching the soot stained cheeks and grimy flared nostrils.
Julian reached them, shouldering the limp body. "She must have called you."
Richard's bleak eyes sought Jules' for one split second. "How can this family stand even one more thing? This is insane!" He hefted Tracy against his chest as Julian tried to take her out of his arms. "Find a place I can lay her down."
Julian jerked his head in the direction of the ambulance and Richard grimly nodded.
Her hair dragged on the ground and he felt it against his bare legs. He hadn't even changed out of his sleep shorts, but had driven a hundred miles an hour down PCH through every red light there was.
He'd got there in time to see the house billowing smoke and Tracy on the lawn approaching a fireman. He'd started running as her hand came up to her mouth and reached her just in time.
"Where is Raine?" He asked Julian.
"With Steven." Bridget sobbed. "With Steven."
Richard looked around at them all, he took in Danny following them, saw Bridget's hysterical eyes and Julian's remorseful ones as he laid Tracy's inert form on the grass near the ambulance, which he now realized held Tracy's twin daughters.
He held her to him, shook her a bit, and then called her name, diffusing the build. Somebody handed him a cold pack, which he laid against her neck, Tracy's eyes fluttered open.
She sat up slowly with help. "What happened?"
"You passed out." Richard said calmly.
Tracy looked toward the house. "My eyes are blurry." She said, she had a hand to her head and then she felt the dizziness start again. "My baby! Steven! Where is Steven? Where is Raine?"
She turned toward the house again, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed as Richard caught her. She was building every second, on overload, unable to get ahold of it.
"Somebody get over here." He yelled. "Do you have something for her? She keeps passing out."
A paramedic ran over to them. They put her on a stretcher and started treating her for shock.
"I think we should get them all to the hospital away from here anyway. Every time she sees that house she's going to pass out." Richard yelled. The paramedics were already on that.
He turned as professionals took over, wiping blackened hands across his eyes as he stared at what was left of the collapsed house. Bridget came slowly to his side after making sure the three children were inside with their mother.
"God! This isn't possible! It can't be happening."
Bridget's arm slipped around his back. "We just can't take anymore, Richard."
He gently disentangled himself from her, hating the sympathy, the need for condolences. He felt more choking bile rise in his throat and turned away.
"We need to follow the ambulance." Jules coughed through tear streaked cheeks.
"How's she going to survive this, Jules? I don't think she can survive this."
"Let's cross one bridge at a time, mate."
Richard followed the ambulance. Julian and Bridget behind him.
His eyes clouded with tears, his body shook with the effort not to outright sob as hysterically as Tracy was. There was no outlet for the sort of grief and pain he was feeling, and even though it wasn't his family-- it was personal.
He had the sat phone in the car and he dialed Michael Adam Gage, the only person he knew who handled Tracy right.
"Yeah?" The voice was crisp, blunt, Michael.
"Hey, this is Richard Mann."
"Hello, Richard Mann, what can I do for you?"
"There's been a fire, have you seen the news? Tracy and Raine's house burned to the ground. Three fatalities. I'm-- I'm following the ambulance and feeling like an idiot, but I can't think what to do, what to say, who to call."
"A fire, you say?" The voice had taken on crisp clear definition. "On the news? Holy shit. Ho—ly—shit!"
Richard wanted to close his eyes, but they were glued to the back lights of the ambulance, not wailing sirens, thank God. He kicked himself for not insisting he ride with them. How could anyone diffuse her multiple builds now?
He waited, choked up, not even understanding. His mind refusing to work properly, his adrenaline overpowering his senses. He thought about pulling over and knew he couldn't. So he focused on the damn lights.
Michael's breathing became ragged as he obviously listened to or watched the news from wherever he was-- probably at home. He likely had his office phone transferred to his residence when he wasn't there. It was still early. Relatively early. He looked at his digital clock. It was after nine.
All that devastation in such a short amount of time. How could one person bear it?
He wiped at his eyes, relived that moment when he'd seen the house engulfed in flames.... Horror. Worse horror than any other horror. Worse than the cigarette down her dress, worse than the car explosion-- the knowing-- the knowing that somebody-- somebody was in there, and somebody wasn't going to live.
It hadn't sunk in.
"Richard, are you still there?" Michael's voice was calmer than it had been.
"I'm here."
"They're taking who to the hospital?"
"Tracy, Danny, Megan and Melia."
"The three fatalities? Raine? Steven, and Monday?"
"Yes." His breathing was shallow, panting really, he wiped his eyes again.
"The news hasn't yet reported on exactly who was killed. Nor do they know what caused the fire. Do you think it was our stalker?"
"I don't know."
"Man, how could this many things happen to and around one person? You say she's in the ambulance? Is she burned?"
"No." Richard felt himself swerving, his grip on the wheel was clammy. He straightened.
"What hospital?"
"Hoag? I don't actually know."
"Probably Mission." He heard Michael sigh. "Okay, I'll get Ray and Shanna in the air, and Lorraine-- who else? Kirk and Coral. Sam."
"Who is Sam?"
"Sam and Ty? Her brothers."
"Oh." He hadn't realized she had brothers.
"Can she stay at Austin's or do I need to make arrangements?"
"Austin's."
"And she's going to need everything? I'll get Janene on that, and the church."
"Michael, should I--- should I postpone my mission? I mean, I enter the MTC in two weeks."
"Absolutely not, Richard. These things are part of life. You're on the Lord's errand. I can take care of Tracy."
"I don't know."
"You're in shock. Think-- who is Raine's closest relative?"
"I have no idea. There's a General whose daughter he used to date, or something. Colby. Out of Hill. I think." He wiped his eyes again, this time angrily. "I don't know."
"Okay, man, hold it together. Tracy has a good support system, it will be okay."
"It's like she said. Nothing will be okay."
*****