Page 15 of From the Flames
“So you’re saying that you believe that the new contractor… what? Altered the plans they were using and did their best to cover it up? What about the inspectors?” Chase asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe they gave them the plans they were using. But this building is different.” Kevin made a turn anddrove Chase to the scene of the fire. “Don’t go inside, but take a look.” He waited while Chase hurried over to the barrier and peered through one of the window openings.
“There’s nothing there at all. Just a large open space.”
“Yeah. Now let’s go over there,” he said, leading Chase to the other building. As one of the residents was leaving, he explained why they were there and went into the vestibule. “Look there. That is block, and so is that, and according to the plans we saw, those walls bisect the entire building and go all the way up. So a fire isn’t going to skip from one side to the other. The floors here are also solid wood, so the fire is going to have to burn through the ceilings and insulation, and then the floor above before going upward. That takes time. And the other building burned way too fast. So I’d say that corners were severely cut, not only in the walls, but in the fire-suppression systems, and, I’m willing to bet, anything else they possibly could.”
“But how did they get that past the inspectors? Do you think they paid them off?”
“God, no. I think they overwhelmed the inspectors with misdirection. They’d fix one problem and create two more. The inspectors would catch some of them, but by the time the building was finished, it was a piece of shit put together with shell games and faked tests. The construction team got paid, moved on, and the owners took possession of a ticking time bomb that went off five days ago.” He shook his head. “Now that we suspect what happened, we need to gather as much evidence as we possibly can and speak to the inspector who worked on this project, if they’re still with the borough, which I’m betting is unlikely.”
“True.” They returned to the truck, and Kevin drove them back to the station just in time to join the team on a fire call. Paperwork was going to have to wait.
Chapter 7
THE KIDSwere up, dressed, and ready by the time Kevin arrived on Saturday morning. “Where are the dogs?” Grant asked as soon as Kevin came through the door.
“How about I bring them for a visit next time, okay?” He smiled, and Grant seemed happy.
“You got the furniture?”
Willy smiled. “I was able to pay a few of my students to help me out. They needed the extra money, and I got the use of their muscles for a few hours.” The sofa was in great shape, and with the navy slipcover, it worked with the other things he’d found, including a rug and a couple of side tables and lamps. He had also found a bed and had a new mattress delivered, so at least he had the very basic things. The one item he was still looking for was a kitchen table and chairs, but he hoped he could find those soon.
“Get toys?” April asked.
“Let’s go see what we can find.” Kevin lifted her into his arms. “Maybe we can find something you like.”
“I want a stuffed lion and a whale and a sheep.”
“Then let’s see what we can find.” They all piled into Willy’s car. “I checked out a few ads, and there are three sales on the south side of town. We could go there before heading to the north side. I made a list of addresses.” Kevin gave him the first one, and Willy drove over and parked just up the block.
As soon as he got her out, April ran down the sidewalk like she was going to get there as fast as she could to see if there was anything she wanted. Grant went after her with Kevin close behind. By the time he arrived, April stood next to a dollhousewith huge eyes. It had a ton of furniture and a few dolls. Grant stood off to the side because it seemed there were only girl toys.
“Maybe the next one will have something for you,” Kevin soothed as Grant crossed his arms over his chest. There were times when Grant reminded him so much of himself.
“How much is the dollhouse?” Willy asked as April vibrated with excitement.
The lady came down from the porch. “I’m asking forty dollars for it. It has all the furniture, and if you plug it in, the lights work.” She forced a smile.
“Will you take thirty?” Willy asked, and she thought about it. They arrived at thirty-five, and Willy bought it. Kevin maneuvered it into the center of the back seat between the car seats, and they raced home, where Kevin got the dollhouse inside before they returned to the next sale. It was a total bust, but the third one held gold. Grant found three trucks, April got a stuffed hippo, and Willy found some books to read to the kids. It was a great stop.
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” April said as she hugged the hippo in her car seat, once everything had been loaded and they were on their way.
“Me too,” Grant chimed in.
“I fed both of them, I swear,” Willy told Kevin softly as he navigated to the next address Kevin gave him. Once they arrived, he opened the glove box and pulled out a bag of Cheerios, which he handed to April. “Can you share some with Grant?” She gave him her unhappy face, but as soon as his back was turned, she offered some to her brother.
“I don’t see much here,” Kevin said. “Let me check it out, and if there’s nothing, we can head on.” He got out, and Willy made sure the kids were okay. They munched on the cereal and seemed happy enough. Turning his attention to Kevin, he watched as he looked things over. As he returned to thecar, he answered his phone and hung up again after a brief conversation, then jumped back in.
“What’s up? Do you need me to take you to the station?”
“No. It’s okay,” he said just above a whisper, after glancing back at the kids, who were engrossed in their treat. “That was Chase. He told me that they were called back to your old building. Someone set what was left of it on fire. This time it was arson. He said the entire place smelled of petroleum when they arrived, with thick black smoke rising up. What was left went up fast and collapsed.” He banged his hand against the dashboard. “I had hoped to be able to get in there to see what we could find about how the place had been built and maybe some clues to the fire-suppression systems, but that’s gone, along with everything else. According to Chase, there is nothing left of the structure at all. We’ll be sifting through ash and debris to find anything.” He sighed loudly.
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something more I could do to help.”
Kevin grew quiet as Willy made his way to the next sale. This looked more promising, so he got the kids out, and they looked around while Kevin made more phone calls.
“Daddy!” A happy cry went up as April hurried across the yard to a plastic grocery cart filled with plastic food and other items. She immediately began wheeling it around the yard.
