Page 5 of Scorched

While Alex, Katie, and Walters worked to bring the victim outside, Declan kept busy doing his best to distract himself from the ache in his chest. He raided the med kit again, this time for acetaminophen.

Another vehicle pulled up on the scene as he downed the pills. Declan watched the sheriff, Sebastian Archer, emerge from his truck. Seb spotted him and jogged over.

“Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to go to Colorado Springs earlier. Any news yet?”

Declan shook his head. “No. They’ll probably be out soon. It’s been close to thirty minutes since Walters took forensics in there.”

“Have you talked to the neighbors at all?”

“They said the house is vacant, so we don’t know who the victim is.”

“Damn. Okay. I’ll go talk to them again and see if any of them remember seeing anyone hanging around lately.” He took in Declan’s pinched expression. “You okay? I heard about the flash over on the scanner.”

“I’m fine.”

Seb arched a brow. “Sure. How do you really feel?”

“Like I got blown up,” he replied honestly. “I’ll be okay.”

“You sure? Walters can handle things. Or we can call Crichton.” He mentioned the other lieutenant, Matt Crichton.

“I’m fine,” he growled, his voice hard. There was no way he was going to leave and give the higher-ups another reason to doubt him. He was still recovering from being labeled a murder suspect a few months ago.

Seb held up his hands. “Okay. Do you know what caused the blaze yet?” he asked, changing the subject.

Declan shook his head. “No. We haven’t been able to go in and assess the structure yet for an ignition point. It was probably electrical, though. The house was under renovation.”

“Is that why it burned so hot?”

“Yeah. If there were construction materials inside, it would help fuel it.”

Commotion from the side of the house drew their attention. Walters emerged, helping Dr. Randall carry a body bag. Seb and Declan walked forward, and Seb opened the back of the forensics van, climbing inside to help them stow the body.

“What can you tell me?” Seb asked as he stepped down.

Alex frowned and propped his hands on his hips. “Not much yet. It’s a male. I need to get him back to the lab before I can give you anything else.”

“Okay. I’ll locate the owners and find out who might have had access to the house.”

“And I’m going to walk through it to see if I can determine the ignition source,” Declan added.

“Sounds good,” Seb said. “Everyone keep me informed.”

The group split up, and Declan wandered back to the firetruck to get his gear.

“Lou, what are you doing?”

Declan glanced back at Gehring after shrugging into his jacket, wincing with the movement. “My job.”

“You really should stay out here and let Sergeant Walters handle things.”

“Probably, but this is still my scene, and I have the most training on ignition points.” Declan might be young for a lieutenant at thirty-six, but he had almost two decades of experience. He joined the Marines right out of high school, and they’d put him in a firefighting unit. The work fascinated him, and he’d taken every course the military would let him until he had high-level certifications in both hazardous materials and arson. No one was better qualified to determine the source of the fire than he.

“How about you come with me? You can be my hands.” Declan picked up his helmet and gloves.

The young firefighter’s face lit up. “Sure.”

The two of them picked their way over the soggy grass to the back of the house.

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