Page 45 of Built of Flames
Bella nodded once and turned to Mitch. “My kit’s in the truck. I’ll get it and suit up.”
The engine always had spare suits, so he went that way to find stuff that would fit her. At one time, they’d only carried large and extra-large gear, but now they had options.
Bella set down her toolbox and started stepping into the gear he’d laid out. Her eyes were bright and her face was pale. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I was so scared when I heard it was a warehouse fire. I think my father believes it’s a serial arsonist as well. He asked me to come along.” Her smile was genuine, but he was worried.
“This might bring back powerful feelings. There are a lot of similarities between this one and the other fire.” He knew he didn’t have to spell out the connection.
Bella pulled on the jacket and nodded. “I know. I’ll be okay. It’s been on my mind almost constantly since you showed up at Midnight Lake. I can handle it.”
He handed her the helmet. “I know. And Christo and I will be right there with you.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
In a few minutes, they’d climbed the ladder that had been put in over the stair debris and were in the hallway leading to the offices. A suppression team moved with them as a backup.
Bella hadn’t hesitated along the way. Steady as a rock.
Mitch led the way into the office, where he’d found the pipe bomb. The formerly straight-edged hole was now about triple the size, with only one straight side left. The others were jagged, with plaster and rafters hanging down.
He clambered onto the desk and helped Bella up. Christo handed him a chair and Mitch climbed it. Bella steadied him as he peeked through into the ceiling.
The smoke was much thinner than it had been earlier. The team had been up with water and a fan while the paramedics had cleared him and Christo.
The bomb had exploded along with its message, leaving shards everywhere. There was no way to guarantee the floor was sturdy enough to hold their weight, not even Bella’s.
Mitch activated his communicator, which was now working. The explosion must have knocked out the jammer. “Have someone bring a stepladder to the last office on the second floor.”
Paul radioed back in the affirmative and he went silent again. He didn’t think Bella would be tall enough to see much from the chair, and he wanted her safe even more than he wanted answers.
Careful not to lean on the wood and screw up any evidence, Mitch turned a careful circle on the chair and took in the entire three-sixty view. To his eye, he saw nothing dangerous. No more obvious explosive devices. No flashing lights or smouldering objects.
He didn’t have the training Bella did, but he’d seen enough fires and remains of fires to be pretty sure he wasn’t allowing her to be in danger by exploring the area. He did another circle with the camera and passed it down, then took another survey.
When he climbed down from the chair, he waited while Christo and Bella both had a look at the video. By that time, Afri showed up with the ladder. They set it on the table and Mitch held it steady while Bella climbed.
Afri and Christo held the ladder and when Bella climbed to the second-top stair, he held her legs to keep her steady.
Bella set her kit on the ladder’s shelf and pulled out a flashlight. She took her own three-sixty tour of the space and then pulled out her camera and took lots of pictures while she did another circle.
She grinned down at Mitch as she turned with her back to the ladder, trusting him to keep her safe. With her trust in him, he knew he could do just about anything.
Time to get into serious discussions with Troy.
From The Frying Pan
Back in her cabin at Midnight Lake, Bella paced as she studied her data from a variety of angles. The board was crowded with her color-coded magnets. So much information. Moving while she thought helped her absorb it all.
In contrast, Tess Flores sat at the conference table with three monitors in front of her. Her head swiveled from screen to screen and her fingers flew over her laptop, but other than that, she rarely moved. The woman was quiet in all the ways.
As much as they were very different, Bella had liked her immediately when they’d met the previous night. Mitch was working for the next few days and Bella had wanted to go over her findings in her own space, so she’d returned.
She’d spoken with the Kelsor police chief, Sven Jorgenson, as well as Marcus and the Midnight Security team for their input. They all had ideas, but no one had the proof.
Bella was the only one convinced the proof was in the data they had. The identity of the serial arsonist was in there. She only had to be smart enough to figure it out.
Tess made a small hum and Bella stopped pacing, but the woman didn’t look up.