Page 34 of Spark
“She wanted me to take her directly to the scene, and by ‘wanted’, I mean, I pretty much had to restrain her to keep her from tearing out the door.Probably, you should consider this a compromise.”
“Okay, what?”Ryan asked, shooting a stern look at Chloe.“Why the hell would you want to come to the scene of an active fire?Also, don’tevercome to the scene of an active fire.That’s dangerous as hell.Seriously, Chlo?—”
“Oh, my God.”Chloe took a deep breath, clearly grasping for patience.“We can talk about all the ways that I am a grown woman and not in need of being babied or bubble-wrapped later.Right now, I would very much like to know if anything was destroyed in the lab fire.Please.”
All of Tyler’s carefully crafted restraint, wrecked by one tiny syllable.“Yes.I mean, it’s hard to know the extent of the damage or what might be salvageable,” he added when the panic in her eyes flared, as bright blue and hot as a pilot light.“But we were the primary response team, so we saw the scene firsthand.Between the fire and everything we had to do to contain it, there’s no way at least some of the lab’s contents weren’t destroyed.”
“No, no.No, no, no.”Chloe paled, darting a look at Addison.“It can’t be gone.Itcan’t.”
“We don’t know anything for sure,” Addison said, but Ryan, whose strong suit had never been patience, broke in.
“Uh,wedon’t know anything, period.”He jerked a thumb at himself, then Tyler.“So, can someone fill us in, here?”
Addison took point on the question.“The building that caught fire houses the Remington Police Department’s forensic analysis lab.It’s where biological samples that have been collected at crime scenes are processed so we can determine DNA profiles.Think of it as the city’s version of CODIS.We can link persons of interest to certain cases, rule them out in others.Needless to say, it’s a pretty important place.”
“Okay,” Tyler said slowly, trying to slot the information into order.It explained the cleanrooms and the high-tech equipment.Even the chemicals.But… “I’m still not following why you’d stay here all this time for a damage report on the place.”
“Really,” Ryan echoed.“I’m not knocking how important DNA analysis labs are—I know the science helps put a lot of bad people where they belong.But why is this one, in particular such a big deal to you?”
Emotion flickered across Chloe’s face.“Because the lab doesn’t just prep and test the DNA samples.It’s also where the crime scene kits holding forensic evidence are securely stored while offenders await trial.Including the one that will convict Leo Navarro of murder.”
The pieces snapped together in one, gut-twisting instant.Oh,fuck.“Wait.Is Leo Navarro?—”
“Yes,” Chloe said, and her expression became something that sent a chill up his spine that sank into his bones.
“He’s the man who stabbed someone to death in front of Esme.”
11
Chloe had felt every single emotion possible in the past ten hours.The fluttery belly flip at the sight of Tyler in front of the fire house.The bolt of raw adrenaline when the all-call had sounded.The chest full of absolute dread when Addison had made the connection to the fire and the forensics lab, then the fear overdose when Tyler had confirmed that the fire had done extensive damage, much of it likely irreversible.All of it had balled up right in her belly, refusing to budge.What if the DNA had been ruined?What if Leo Navarro got away with murder?What if—and this one sent a shiver over her skin—he found out about Esme and tried to hurt her to keep it that way?What if, what if, what ifwhatifwhatifWHATIF…
“Stop,”she whispered to the thoughts.Scraping for a deep breath, Chloe concentrated on the sunlight just barely beginning to peek past her curtains in an effort to calm her jangly mind.Facts.She needed facts to combat her building anxiety.
Okay, one: before she’d left the fire house last night, Ryan and Tyler had confirmed that there was no way of knowing the extent of the damage at the forensics lab until the RFD had done a thorough investigation of the scene.Two, related: Addison had double-confirmed that the investigation had begun (good) but would take time (not so good).Logically, Chloe knew there were a lot of steps involved in assessing how much damage the fire had causedandhow much of that damage was irreparable.She also knew the case was a big enough deal that the fire department had called both the Arson Investigation Unit and the RPD in to assist.What shedidn’tknow was the fate of Leo Navarro’s DNA kit.But since Esme’s fate might depend on it?
She was damn sure going to find out.
Throwing the covers from her legs, Chloe got out of bed even though it was only questionably light outside.As much as the possibility that the DNA kit had been destroyed terrified her, it wasn’t a certainty yet.Even if it had—be tough.Be strong.Do not become feelings soup.Do not become feelings soup.Do NOT—the Intelligence Unit, the A.D.A., and Child and Family Services would be on Esme’s side, just like Chloe.
She needed to breathe.To focus.To think and plan and handle this so she could act in Esme’s best interest, no matter what the investigation uncovered.
Which meant she needed answers, and she wasn’t going to find them in her apartment.
Padding down the hall to her kitchen, she put on a pot of coffee, took her daily anti-anxiety medication, and filled Gary’s bowl with dry food, even though the grumpy old cat was nowhere to be found, then made a beeline for the shower.She’d always had a pretty efficient routine—between living in group homes and having four siblings, time and privacy in the bathroom had always come at a premium.She skipped the jeans or shorts she’d normally choose for her day off, opting for a sleeveless white top and a pair of wide-legged navy-blue trousers that were comfortable enough to withstand the heat, but nice enough to get her taken seriously if she ended up in anyone’s office in search of intel.Her hair got pulled together in a twist beside one ear, her feet nestled in a pair of cute but comfortable pointy-toed flats, and she grabbed two jumbo muffins out of her freezer and two travel mugs full of coffee before turning toward the door.
“I’m going out for a while.There’s food in your bowl,” Chloe called to the cat, who was still skulking about—under the comfy chair in the living room, if she had to guess.Gary the Grump preferred to have the place to himself, anyway, but when she added, “Bye, Gar,” he poked his head out to give her an unblinking, one-eyed stare that was the cat equivalent of a pre-teen “whatever”.
“Good enough, buddy,” she said.She exited her apartment, her vigilance so reflexive, it might as well have been blinking or breathing.
Scan your surroundings.Make eye contact with anyone near you.No earbuds, cell phones, or other distractions.Know your surroundings.See danger coming.Always have an exit path.
Chloe let the routine soothe her as she made her way to her car, her control blanketing back into place.Her trip took less than ten minutes since rush hour was still sleeping, all snug in its bed like normal, not-stressed-out people, and she headed to her destination armed with determination and baked goods.
“C’nIhelpyou?”came the sleep-laced voice over the intercom, and guilt punched her determination in the nose.
Shit.Ofcourse,Addison wasn’t up yet.“Hi.It’s me.Chloe,” she added.
“Chloe?What are you doing here so early?Are you okay?”Addison asked, suddenly hyper-alert.
