Fire of Your Soul Teaser

           The scent of death. 

           The scent of destruction. 

           “You said there was a fatality?” Edward choked out. 

Memories of that horrific night flashed in Edward’s memory; the night where he lost Angela and she plummeted to her death. The heat from the flames licking his turn-out gear to the heavy pants of his breathing while he searched for survivors pierced his memories. His thoughts were cyclical until he got to the point where he lost his grip of Angela’s hand. Her screams as she fell would forever be seared into his brain. 

           “Edward, look at me,” Charlie said calmly, stepping into Edward’s line of sight. “Deep breaths, son.” 

           “I’m okay, Chief,” Edward muttered, shaking his head and clearing it of the nightmarish memories. 

           “Are you sure, Edward? You look like you saw a ghost,” Charlie asked. 

           He blinked slowly. In a way, I did, Chief. Taking another deep breath, he tried to give Charlie a reassuring smile. “Just a flashback,” Edward said. 

Charlie nodded, completely understanding why Edward’s mind went back to that night. The first thoughts he had were of his daughters, Bella because she lived so close to this location, and Angela because she died in a similar fire. His second thought was of the poor soul who died in the fire. “Same for me, son. I get it.”

“Has the medical examiner picked up the body?” Edward asked, shaking his head, trying to clear it. 

           Charlie looked to the white coroner’s van. “They just loaded up the victim and they’ll perform an autopsy. The body was so burnt that it was unrecognizable. We couldn’t tell if they were male or female. Do you know the employees? I know that you and Bella frequent this coffee shop.”

           “I know faces, but not names,” Edward shrugged. “Except for Eric. He’s the owner of this place. Bella knew one of his family members as a patient or something. He stepped in when we dealt with an overly flirtatious barista.”

           Charlie nodded, his face pale and his mind reeling at the implications of this fire. He took a few deep breaths, clenching his hands into tight fists. 

            “Are you okay, Chief? You look spooked,” Edward asked. 

           “I was working in the office when I heard the call over dispatch,” Charlie explained. “The address was so familiar and I panicked that it was Bella’s condo. But, obviously it’s not.”