Page 19 of Tell Me the Truth

I walk over to Captain Price. “Excuse me Captain. Is there any information that you can provide me?”

His voice is gruff, and he has a bit of a Southern accent. “My men are still combing through, but it seems like it’s just the fifth floor. Those fire hazard protocols you placed on the floor and ceiling of the entire lab made sure the fire didn’t spread too far.”

Another deep sigh of release escapes my lungs.

“But what I can preliminarily tell you is that the cause of this fire seems unnatural,” he adds.

“How do you mean?” I inquire, not surprised.

“Well, I went through your fire protection system. Everything seemed to be intact and in working order. All systems were active on the fifth floor, except two. Both your carbon dioxide suppression system and your sprinkler system were turned off by someone on the inside. Someone tampered with your system Ms. Seth.”

Just as I thought. And my suspicions first point to Brent-Sigma; Ellis Brent to be precise. And just as I was thinking about him, a text from him flashes on my phone screen.

“I heard about the fire. Are you okay?” I ignore the message and slide my phone into the pocket of my sweatpants.

“We already questioned your security guard. He said that he was out for a coffee break when the fire started. The second guard was home sick.” I am lost in thought, trying to figure out exactly how Brent-Sigma is involved. However, it is the fact that they were able to carry this out at all that baffles me. They might have tried to make it look like an accident, but made some mistakes that hopefully will point right to them.

Another fireman steps up to Captain Price and taps his arm. The Captain leans his ear back and tilts his head while the fireman says something to him that I can’t hear. Captain Price turns back to me and says, “If you need anything, please let us know. We will compile a comprehensive report of our findings and make it available to you as soon as possible. I’ve got to continue with this investigation now though, Ms. Seth.”

Both firemen walk away, leaving me and Tracey. I turn to her. “Are you sure no one else got into the lab before the fire?”

“No,” she answers. “That’s not possible. I have been here since you left.”

I lean closer to her. I don’t want anyone else to hear what I am about to ask. “And our research?”

She looks around for a second before answering. “I was able to get two out of the three racks before the fire became too hot.”

“How are they? Where are they now?” I ask, desperately. The last stage of testing depended on those three racks.

“They’re still viable from what I could see. But we’ll need a standard lab to test them. They’re in the secondary lab.”

“Good,” I say with relief. The secondary lab is a smaller lab that only she and I know about. “We’ll move the samples to my lab at home when everything settles down. Everything about this smells fishy.”

“You think this was intentional?” She looks horrified. “Who would do such a thing?”

Without saying a word, I shoot her a glance that suggests:you know who. She opens her eyes, bright and beady.

Several minutes later, I hear the firemen confirm that the fire has been completely put out and the fire master confirms that he is right—my system was tampered with. He walks over to me to tell me he is sorry for my loss of property and heads out.

From out of nowhere, Lance sidles himself next to me. “Jesus” He mutters under his breath.

“Contact the insurance company,” I say aloud. “I want this place back to standard by the end of the week. No one goes into the building until further notice.”

“Already done.” He answers quickly. If there is one thing about Lance that is true, he is always one step ahead.

Just then, the security guard who was on duty walks up to us, looking gloomy. He is a middle-aged man, with kind eyes that seem resistant to look into mine, like he figures he is about to be fired.

“What is it now?” I grunt. I don’t know why I am being so gruff. I don’t think this was his fault, after all. I look at his name tag to remind myself of his name and try my greeting again.

“Saul, I’m glad you’re alright. Do you have anything you need from me?” I ask.

“There’s somebody here to see you.” Saul seems to relax a bit, but his eyes change to a look that says he is ready to get out of there.

“Who is it?” I ask. But Ellis steps out from around a truck and his appearance answers my question.

“It’s me.” The moment he comes into view, I feel a surge of rage come up within me. I move forward to him immediately, not completely sure what I plan to do when I reach him, but I have my fists balled up, ready to punch him in the face.

“You have the nerve!” Lance barks at Ellis as he grips my biceps with both hands to hold me back. “We’re not trying to be charged on assault.” He yells at me, as he moves to stand in front of me with his hands spread out, blocking my path.

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