Thanks for your reviews and your messages! It's always great to know people are enjoying the story.

Ffnet doesn't send PMs to my email any more, so sorry if I've missed any.

Chapter 3

A Blast from the Past

'There was someone else. A woman.'

From his expression, Ironside thought his sergeant was about to get up and run all the way back to the Kingston Building. Mark noticed as well, and put a restraining hand on Ed's shoulder.

'Hey, man, just take it easy.'

Ed opened his mouth as if he was about to shout back at Mark, so Ironside interrupted.

'Sergeant Brown!'

Eyes wide with confusion, Ed looked back at his boss. It was an expression the Chief had rarely seen on his friend's face. He was taking short, shallow breaths, and whiter now than when he'd first appeared that the door. Ironside gave a small frown. He didn't like the way Ed had suddenly remembered, and the way he'd reacted.

'Chief, she was there. She warned me to run. She might still be under there…'

'And the fire crews will find her,' Ironside said firmly, looking Ed in the eye, willing him to understand.

'But-'

'That's their job, Sergeant Brown. If she's there, they will find her.'

'But-'

'Getting in their way is not going to help.'

That was something he could say with honest conviction. The wheelchair had taught him to make sure he helped when he could help, and to get the hell out of the way when he couldn't.

'But-'

'Ed! No!' Ironside told him, not breaking eye contact. 'You are in no position to help her like that. But you can help by telling me exactly what happened.'

Ed stared back at him, then briefly closed his eyes, breathing in more slowly. Finally, he nodded and slumped back into the chair. Ironside looked carefully at his sergeant, his friend, seeing the faint shadows under his red-tinted eyes, and the crumpled, dusty look to his jacket and shirt.

The difference between the man he'd waved away last night and the man before him now was astonishing. The explosion had stripped away the pretense, letting Ironside see exactly how hard his friend had taken what had happened six months ago. Ed could be guarded about his personal life and his feelings, and who could blame him considering what usually happened to the people he cared about? They were all so used to seeing who they expected to see, the image he projected, the calm, assured officer that was always there to be relied on. That wasn't who Ironside saw this morning.

For a moment, Ironside thought Ed had lost his nerve and he been pushed over that curious line between confidence and despair. There had been times Ironside had seen the true toll that police work took on officers. These were the people who see the very worst of human nature, having to work for a justice that sometimes never came. The brutality of violence, the cruelty of poverty, the insanity of drugs, it was all here in this city, no different from any other city in the world, and most of it ended up being dragged through this very police station. And being on Ironside's staff, Ed Brown was part of a unique group of officers who sometimes had to face nightmares from which there was no escape.

Ironside looked down to his useless legs. Yes, sometimes there was no way back to how life had been before. You could only go onward. But how could he help Ed? And what sort of help would he accept?

'Coffee first,' suggested Mark. Fran looked disapproving, but Ed gave a thin smile and nodded again.

'Take your time, Ed,' said Ironside. 'Try to remember.'

They waited while Ed took another mouthful of coffee. Ironside kept watching his friend, a cold dread growing in his stomach. The random nature of the memories, along with the uncharacteristic confusion and lack of details was a sign that the hospital should have kept him in and checked again for a concussion. He didn't like the stubborn streak that Ed had recently acquired about his health. The Chief knew exactly who he'd gotten that from. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but Ironside was not pleased.

'So tell me what happened,' Ironside repeated. 'As much as you can remember.'

'I responded to the call on the radio, robbery in progress,' Ed said. 'There was no one else close by. It only took me minutes to get to the building.'

'Backup?' asked Ironside.

'I think a couple of cars were on their way, too.' Ironside nodded. That would be easy enough to check later, if he had to.

'What was it like when you arrived?' Ironside asked.

'Some of the lights were on at the front in the foyer,' he said. 'Only the front, at the entrance. I think it was bright, too bright. That was odd. If you were going to go breaking and entering, you don't usually put on the lights.'

Ironside nodded again, encouraging him to speak. Ed closed his eyes, frowning with the effort to remember. It was difficult, that was obvious from his expression.

'I left my car away from the front, I didn't want it too close as I didn't want to be conspicuous. I walked over to the main door.' He paused, opening his eyes, looking at the Chief. 'Wasn't locked, I got right inside. Both sets of double doors opened easily.'

'Not locked?'

'I just walked straight in.'

Ed took a deep breath, his brow furrowed as if he was in pain.

'What did you see first?' prompted Ironside. 'What got your attention?'

'It was so hot,' he said. He said it slowly, the intonation not quite what Ironside would have expected, almost as if Ed was mimicking someone else.

'Hot?'

'Too hot to breathe. And there was an odd smell.'

Ironside raised his eyebrows.

'What kind?'

'Chemical. Like the school lab, and…' Ed hesitated. 'I can't describe it, bitter maybe. It wasn't like anything I recognised.'

Odd, but maybe not too much. The Kingston Building had science labs on some of the higher floors.

'Did you see anything else out of the ordinary?'

Ed closed his eyes once again, pursing his lips. Ironside noticed the concern on Mark's face as they exchanged glances.

'It just looked like a foyer,' Ed continued. 'There was a reception desk. A phone, seats, coffee tables, lots of glass windows and some pictures on the wall. There were some doors off to either side. I think one of them was open. Maybe. I-I'm not sure.'

'The open door? Is that where you saw the woman?'

At the mention of the other person, Ed tensed and opened his eyes.

'No,' Ed shook his head slowly, and Ironside did not like the expression on his face. 'She was further away, somewhere else. It was darker there. I don't know where it was.' Ed's hand went to tug at his collar, as if he was acting out what had happened before. 'I was so hot. The air was too hot to breathe. It looked like heat was coming out of the floor vents, the air shimmered like a mirage. It was so hot.'

'And the woman?'

'She looked scared, panicky. Confused. She was terrified when I first saw her.'

'Where did you see her?'

'It was dark. I think, she ran, I can't remember where she went, everything is blurry.'

Again, Ironside frowned. A mysterious woman who appeared and vanished without explanation. Could Ed have imagined the whole thing? It was unlikely, but considering the state his sergeant was in, he shouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

'What then?' he prompted.

Ed suddenly went still, hardly even breathing, his eyes fixed on the coffee cup. He didn't answer for a few seconds, and Ironside forced himself not to interrupt with more questions. In that moment, Ironside was acutely aware of the silence in the room, accentuated by the muffled noise of the traffic outside. And how everyone was staring at Ed.

'Then?' Ed continued eventually. 'I-I was curled up beside the wall, covered in dust and glass, the front was just gone and there was sky where there should have been a roof. I couldn't believe it. It was just gone.'

'And the explosion?'

Ed shrugged, slowly shaking his head as if he didn't quite believe what he was saying.

'I don't remember. That's all there is.'

In the hush that followed, Ironside felt everyone look at him.

'That is one hell of a story, man,' Mark said at last, breaking the uneasy silence. Fran had paused in her writing and was looking startled.

Ed nodded again.

'I can only remember bits afterward. My car was crushed but I could still call in to base. Then there were people. I don't really know…'

Ironside leaned forward, getting Ed's attention and looking him straight in the eye.

'You don't remember the actual explosion?'

Ed paused to consider the question, then shook his head.

'The girl ran. She had warned me to get out. I tried, I think I felt there was more I had to do. But the air burned. It was so hot.'

The emotional edge to Ed's voice worried Ironside more than the apparent lack of details.

'Take it easy, Ed,' Ironside told him. 'How about we concentrate on the woman. Can you describe her?'

'I remember what she looked like,' Ed murmured. 'Young, student age, slim built, long brown hair. Pretty.'

Beside the Chief, Fran gave a tiny huff of annoyance at the last word, but Ed didn't notice, he was back staring at the coffee.

'Could she be a student?' Ironside asked. 'Someone who studies at the labs? Someone who stays on the campus?'

Ed nodded slowly.

'They keep records. I can start looking there.'

Ironside noted the use of the word "I" without comment.

'And she might be missing from her room or her class today,' added Fran. 'We can ask around.'

This time, Ironside noted the word "we", also without comment. Mark had noticed as well, judging by his expression, and he looked at Ironside anxiously.

'So what's our first move, Chief?' Mark asked. Ironside acknowledged it with a nod, grateful to his aide for helping keep the conversation on track.

Hunching down, he considered the question carefully. The situation had left them little choice. Under other circumstances, Sergeant Brown would have been straight home in a patrol car, or maybe even back to the hospital for another x-ray. But only Ed had seen that girl. Using a police artist would take time, time they maybe didn't have. If there was a question of identifying her, then Ed was the only one who could do that. And while he could stay here, away from the scene of the destruction, it would all take that bit more time. Wasting time was not something they could afford to do. They had their jobs to do, and quickly, the Commissioner had been clear on that point. With Ed as his only witness, and his memory shaken up by the blast, taking him back to the scene might help tease out something a little more specific.

But apart from helping remember details, it might help Ed to get on with the job rather than sit here and brood on past mistakes, real or imagined. While actively working on the case was not an option, Ironside was sure that they would find something to help take Ed's mind off his brush with death. And besides, considering the amount of work Ed had done over the past few months, just expecting him to stop was like expecting the Golden Gate to fall over, or the sun not to rise. At least this was a way they could keep an eye on him without raising too much suspicion.

'Our first stop is the Kingston Building,' he said firmly.

They all looked surprised, especially Ed, who presumably thought he'd have to fight to get taken along.

'All of us?' asked Fran incredulously. 'Chief, you can't think that's a good idea, considering.'

A dark look crossed Ed's face at her words. Perhaps he would have responded, but Ironside didn't give him the chance.

'All of us,' he insisted. 'We all have our jobs to do.'

No one moved. Ironside scowled. He hated it when they did this.

'What are you waiting for?' he demanded. 'Christmas? Well, let's get going.'

The words had the desired effect, and everyone else stood, Fran pushed the pad onto the table, and reached for her jacket and bag. Mark moved to help Ironside push himself up the ramp. Ed trailed along at the back.

There was very little conversation as they walked through the department and down to the basement where the van was parked. Ed said virtually nothing even when addressed directly, just walked along with his hands in his pockets looking at the floor. Mark chatted to the Chief, and Fran stayed close as well, but didn't join in. The tension within the group was palpable and added to Ironside's worry.

They were even less talkative in the van as they drove through the city, and Ironside watched Ed as he stared out of the side window. The sergeant was lost in his own thoughts, barely responding when the Chief tried to start a conversation and, for the moment, Ironside was content to leave it at that. Fran, on the other hand, was staring out of the opposite window, and looked at the Chief from time to time as if about to say something. But each time she had stopped just before any words came out.

This was not the start to her new job that Ironside had hoped for. He knew Fran and Ed hadn't exactly hit it off on their first case. Fran had been upset by what had happened to her father and had lashed out, probably at Ed. The Chief couldn't be sure, as neither of them had said anything. There had been tension in the office for a few days afterward, but in the build up to finalising Fran's transfer it had appeared to fizzle out. He'd hoped they would be able to find some sort of middle ground, and it had been working. Up until now.

Mark drove steadily through the city and, rather than worrying about his staff, Ironside finally turned his attention to the job at hand. He looked at Fran.

'So, Officer Belding,' he said. 'What do you know of the Kingston Building?'

'Other than that fact it's just been blown up?' she replied curtly. Seeing Ironside's impassive response she gave a timid smile. 'Sorry, Chief. I don't know much about it. I saw articles about it in the paper, but I didn't read them, something about extending the campus, new halls and new labs. It was expensive, wasn't it?'

'No one but the owner can tell us just how expensive it was,' replied Ironside, arching his eyebrows. It had been rumoured to be so eye-wateringly expensive that even the most hardened industrialists would have swooned at the total.

'But,' interrupted Mark, as he slowed at some lights, 'Curtis Kingston is a cat with a lot of money. And the place looked expensive.'

'Had you been in it?' Fran asked. Mark nodded.

'We went to the opening, me and the Chief,' he replied. 'That was an evening to remember.'

Fran glanced to the Chief for an explanation.

'It's only been open a few weeks,' he said. 'A few weeks before that it was still an old derelict building ready to be pulled down. Curtis Kingston saved it from the rubble pile and used it to showcase his new building style.'

'New style?' Fran asked. 'What do you mean?'

'Did you ever see it from the outside?'

Fran shrugged.

'Not really, just lots of glass and steel, very bright and shiny. The student halls next door looked ok. And the whole campus itself looked quite nice.'

'Rather than pulling old buildings down, Kingston wanted to use what could be salvaged. To rebuild the front, while refurbishing the inside. Claimed it was the start of a whole new way of recovering old buildings.'

'Wouldn't that be a good thing?' asked Fran. 'Rather than knocking the whole thing down and starting from scratch?'

'That's not the way most of the men in the construction business saw it,' Ironside replied. 'And there were a few rumours. Nothing that could be proved.'

'Rumours?'

'Like how he got it through planning in the first place. How he got the design approved. How he got it insured. How he got the city to finance it. All of these questions don't have a clear answer.'

'And I still don't see why did we need a new building in the first place,' chipped in Mark. 'The university have plenty of labs and halls and space in the city already. I don't see why another whole campus. And why did they need another big glass building?'

'You were at the dinner,' Ironside said. 'You can answer your own question.'

Mark thought for a few moments, while guiding the van through the slow moving traffic.

'Curtis Kingston?' he suggested. 'That is the kind of cat who likes having his name on important things. Especially a groovy, eye-catching building that got everyone's attention.'

'Exactly,' said the Chief.

As Mark spoke, the van turned onto the street with the remains of the Kingston Building at one end.

Once, it had been a modernist fantasy in glass and steel, now it was still eye-catching, but for all the wrong reasons. The entire refurbished front was missing and the original stone facade was exposed to the daylight again. Sticking out were the hollow internal support structures of steel beams and bars, all twisted around each other, a few blocks of concrete still attached. Of the new front, there was little left, only a few chunks of steel or concrete were lying around the car lot at the entrance to the building. There was a dusting of shattered glass over the whole area.

No one spoke as they drove round to the edge of the cordon, to somewhere with enough space to get the wheelchair out of the van.

In the rubble-strewn car park, alone but for the emergency service vehicles, was a crumpled police Ford Galaxie, with a block of concrete embedded in the hood and its roof about a foot too low. The Chief saw his Sergeant give a tiny shiver. Having Ed along was a bad idea, the man had almost died here a few hours ago. Ironside gave an internal sigh. After everything else that had happened to them over the past few months, this could be the final straw.

But they all knew why they were here. They had a job to do. Ed wouldn't leave well alone until he knew that girl was safe, Ironside knew him well enough to predict that. And even more, Ed had been inside the building in the moments before it had been destroyed. He could be an invaluable source of information, if they could jog his memory, and Ironside had trusted that his sergeant could do his job. But now, seeing the building for himself, the Chief had the first gnawing doubts about the wisdom of letting Ed anywhere near this place again. It was not going to be easy, even for someone as focused Ed Brown.

And what about the attack by Richards and Mcarthur? Ironside wondered. There was a file on his desk that showed Ed was on a cliff edge. Wasn't this going to tip him over that edge, and into something even worse? Many times before that moment, Ironside had wished he'd made a different decision that day, six months before. Compassion and worry threaded through Ironside, knowing what Ed had gone through, and was still going through.

Brown was struggling. It was painfully obvious, so much so that the Chief wondered how he could have missed it before. He knew the answer, even if he didn't know how to help. Ed had made a deliberate attempt to hide it from his boss and Ironside hadn't wanted to pry into the other man's private life. Some men had no lasting luck in relationships. Of the three women Ed had ever taken a serious interest in, two were murdered and one had left him, unable to come to terms with his job as a policeman. Was it any wonder that Ed didn't like intrusive questions and only ever pretended to have a personal life?

They sat in silence for a few moments longer as Ironside brooded on his past mistakes. Even Fran, who was the most uncomfortable within the group, waited patiently to see what Ironside would do next.

They had a job to do, that was the bottom line, the line that Ed would instinctively understand. Other considerations would have to wait. Ironside gave an imperceptible shake of his head at the thought. This was one of the few occasions when he wished there was another way.

'Let's get this over with,' he said, moving to open the door.

Mark, Fran, then Ed got out of the van, with the Chief getting out last. There were people from Fire and a few from the police lab milling around the scene, all looking busy. One of the senior Fire officers saw them arrive and came over, nodding in greeting to the Chief.

'What do we have?' demanded Ironside.

The man gave a thin, tired smile, but nevertheless looked happy to see them.

'We've had some luck, Chief,' said the man. 'We've been all over it. Fortunate that this was a night time job, or there could have been hundreds of casualties. As it is, the place is clear.'

'You're sure?' It was Ed who spoke, his voice strained.

'Of course,' the Fire officer replied. Maybe he would have had more to say, but one look at Ed made him stop and the two men glared at each other in an uneasily stand-off. The Fire officer looked away first.

'My boss has just given us the nod,' he said. 'There's no one else.'

Ed's expression mirrored Ironside's own confusion, and again the Chief wondered if Ed had imagined the girl, he had sounded so certain earlier. Best to presume he was right and act accordingly.

'And you are sure there's no one?' he insisted.

'Very,' the Fire officer answered, beginning to sound annoyed. 'You can ask my boss if you want, but he'll just say the same thing. No casualties.'

There was no need to antagonise the Fire Service by suggesting they couldn't do their job, even if that was what Ed was probably thinking. Instead, the Chief gave a nod of thanks. As the man returned to his work, Ed turned to frown at the Chief.

'That's good news, remember, Sergeant,' Ironside said.

'I suppose,' replied Ed slowly. 'But in that case…?'

'We need to find her,' Ironside told them. 'And quickly. Fran, will you…'

'Chief?' Mark pointed to a man waving at them from over beside the edge of the building. Ironside recognised Frank from the police lab and gave him a wave back. As they watched, Frank zigzagged his way over to the Chief with the casual ease of a man who knew his way around a bomb site.

'Morning, Frank,' said Ironside with a smile as they shook hands. 'How does it feel to finally get out of the lab and into the fresh air?'

'I'm not in the mood for kidding around,' Frank said, his face echoing his sentiment. He looked at Ed and there were a few moments of tense silence. 'It's good to see you, Sergeant. When I heard I could hardly believe it.' Frank turned to the Chief. 'And now I've seen the place for myself I believe it even less.'

'This is Officer Belding,' said Ironside before Frank could make Ed feel even more awkward. 'Today is her first official day on my team.'

In spite of everything, Fran gave a beaming smile at the introduction.

'You picked a good day to start,' Frank said as they shook hands. 'Because you're going to need all the help you can get with this one, Chief.'

'That bad?'

'You'd better believe it.'

Fran shifted into the Chief's line of sight.

'I'm going to talk to the students in the halls,' she said, flicking a pointed look in Ed's direction. 'I'll be back as soon as I can.'

Ironside nodded, and watched her walk over to the low building close by, obviously a student hall by the way there were windows packed with young, gawking onlookers. He gestured at where she was heading towards.

'Those halls not been cleared?' Ironside asked in surprise.

Frank shrugged.

'Fire was happy enough to keep them in there and not poking around out here,' he said. 'Only the windows on the other side of the building blew out, the ones opposite the front. You know, offices, and a few shops. All the student halls were untouched.'

Ironside frowned, and Frank nodded approvingly at his confusion.

'Exactly,' he said. 'But that's not the worst of it.' Frank waved them all forward, leading them towards the broken building. 'I knew you were on your way, so I arranged for some of my boys to set up a route. You'll want to see this for yourself.'

'I will?' asked the Chief.

'You will. Because you are not going to believe it otherwise.'

Mark looked quizzically at him. Ed didn't react at all, and Ironside couldn't decide if that was a good sign or not.

The parking lot was covered in sparkling shards of glass, and the Chief could see the characteristic shatter patterns of architectural glass not normal plate. At least there hadn't been sharp-edged, lethal daggers of the stuff flying around lacerating people.

Frank noticed where Ironside was looking and nodded once more.

'It's a good job too. If they'd used the plate glass this could have been a bloodbath. As it is, most of it ended up as sand and dust not chunks. Smaller than I would have expected, but it should all be easy enough to clear.'

Closer to the building, there were a few stray blocks of concrete and steel, but Frank's team had cleared enough of a path for Ironside to get along safely, with Mark guiding him if it became tricky.

As they approached the entrance, Ironside looked up at Ed, and was unsettled by the expression of dismay and dread on his Sergeant's face. The foyer that Ironside remembered was gone. No desks or chairs or tables were there, not even a hint that anything like that had ever been there. The back wall was still standing, as it was the old building front made of good old-fashioned city stone, but the wooden doors that once were there had mostly vanished. In the centre was a hallway, cut out of the old building, leading to the stairwell that led to the upper halls and the conference rooms.

Slightly along that hall, a few feet away from the vaporised foyer and just against the right hand wall, there was an Ed Brown-sized shape, mostly clear of the all-pervading dust. On the wall above was a picture, still hanging, albeit now slightly squint. Further back, the rest of the hallway also looked untouched, except for a layer of dust. There was nothing to show that this wasn't the inside of a normal building, one that still had its front. It was Ironside's turn to stare.

'Two feet closer to the entrance, and you would have been in the market for a new Sergeant,' said Frank.

Mark was shaking his head.

'Man, this is heavy,' he murmured. 'How is this possible?'

'That,' said Frank, 'is a very interesting question.'

'I hope you have a very interesting answer,' replied the Chief.

'An interesting answer to what?' said a new voice from close by. At the question, Ironside noticed Frank's posture change as he crossed his arms. The Chief looked round to see Curtis Kingston himself striding over the debris towards them, accompanied by a younger woman. Kingston was the taller of the two, not quite the same height as Mark, lean like a greyhound, clean-shaven and strikingly handsome, one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. His companion was an intense-looking woman a few years younger than Kingston, in her early thirties. She had light brown hair tied back in a bun and was wearing a tan coloured jumper and brown trousers. Her gaze constantly flicked between Ed, Kingston and the Chief.

With Mark's help, Ironside manoeuvred himself round to greet them.

'Chief Ironside, it's a pleasure to see you here,' Kingston said, giving the Chief's hand a hearty shake.

Ironside nodded.

'Mr Kingston. This is Mark Sanger, my aide, and Sergeant Brown.'

After a moment of impolite staring, Kingston offered his hand to Ed, who took it with little enthusiasm.

'So you really are still among the living,' he said. 'When my assistant told me someone had walked away from the blast, I didn't believe her.'

Ironside looked to the young lady beside Kingston, making the reasonable assumption that this was the assistant in question. The young lady stared coldly back, unamused. Kingston laughed.

'Oh, no, this is Dr Wright. She doesn't assist anyone.'

The Chief held out his hand.

'Pleased to meet you,' he said. The woman paused for a few moments, then took his hand with a firm, steady grip. She didn't smile or look in any way pleased to meet him. She didn't say anything.

'So why are you here, Chief Ironside?' Kingston asked. 'It looks pretty clear that this was an issue with the gas.'

'Gas?' said the Chief, noting the way Frank reacted to the word.

'Well what else would it be?' Kingston said. He waved a hand dismissively at Frank. 'You are always looking for more than just the obvious explanation, but it looks like gas to me. I can't have time wasted on a long investigation. I have to get this place fixed up, it's costing me a fortune, with or without its front wall. But thank God there wasn't more damage inside. And that there weren't any other people inside, either. Oh, that doesn't bear thinking about.'

Ironside sensed Ed shift beside him at the words, but fortunately didn't say anything.

'My sergeant needs to have a look at the student records,' Ironside told Kingston. 'The students who would use this building, people who are familiar with it. If you could just point him in the right direction?'

'Oh, no, we can't have it like that,' Kingston said. 'Julia, would you mind taking him across there?'

Julia Wright didn't give any indication if she minded or not, but focused her cool, steady gaze on Ed. Then, without speaking she whirled around and walked off. At a nod from Ironside, Ed followed her, having to jog a few steps to catch up.

'And just what is he looking for in those student files?' asked Kingston in a polite tone. 'What do they have to do with my building?'

As far as Ironside could tell, there was no obvious reason not to be straight with the man, but there was a residual discomfort that Ironside couldn't shake about the situation. Ed had seen a mysterious woman, possibly a student, in the building before it was destroyed, but no one else had mentioned anything and there was no other sign of her. So either the girl had got out and was hiding somewhere or… Ironside paused. Or Ed could have imagined the whole thing. There was no need to share either possibility with Curtis Kingston, someone who was obviously more concerned with money than with any human tragedy. Besides, he didn't like Curtis Kingston and was in no mood to play nice.

'We have a number of lines of enquiry,' Ironside said with his best policeman smile.

'Lines of enquiry? Like?'

Ironside held the man's gaze for a moment.

'Like the ones I'm not going to discuss with you.'

'What the devil do you mean?' Kingston demanded. 'Not going to discuss with me? It's my damn building that's scattered over the sidewalk! I have a right to know what's going on.'

'And we have a right to investigate. Without interruption,' Ironside pointed out.

'There is nothing to investigate,' insisted Kingston. 'I have got to get my building rebuilt as soon as I can. I can't waste even more time.'

The way he was talking, he sounded like the building had been left in that state for years, not just a few hours.

Kingston crossed his arms, frowning at the Chief.

'It's a good job I have a backup plan,' he said coldly. 'The whole place would have been shut down by your inconsiderate investigating. Do you know how much money that would cost me?'

'Inconsiderate investigating?' repeated Ironside incredulously. 'It's more like an inconsiderate explosion, so don't go blaming us for doing our jobs, Mr Kingston. We have a duty to the public.'

'And I have a duty to my stockholders,' he said, matching the Chief's tone. 'So I need to get my building back standing up.'

Frank spoke suddenly, interrupting what could have been more arguing.

'I'm not going to be signed off on this one for weeks,' he said.

Kingston gave Frank a very ugly look.

'I don't think I need your permission, whatever kind of expert you think you are,' he said. 'I'm sure the Chief will see things my way and I can get my men here within hours to start the reconstruction.'

'I'm the kind of expert you need to get your insurance claim started,' growled Frank.

'Oh, do you think so?' said Kingston. The tone was friendly but the look on his face was the opposite.

'Mr Kingston,' Ironside said loudly. 'Whatever happened, we need to start with a few questions.'

Kingston's expression changed to one of resignation, and he shrugged, but the Chief wasn't fooled. It was clear what Mr Kingston's priorities were.

'What can you tell me about this morning?' he asked, deliberately using an open question.

'I don't know what you expect me to say, Chief Ironside,' Kingston replied tightly. 'I got a call at six this morning from my secretary to say that the front of my building was missing. I thought she was joking.'

'And it was an unexpected call?'

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'Did you have security issues? Disgruntled employees that might have wanted to get back at you. Reasons why the building might have been a target?' The Chief watched with grim fascination as his words caused increasing outrage.

'Just what are you implying Chief Ironside?' Kingston demanded. 'A target? A target! There is nothing wrong in, or with my department. This campus runs like clockwork.'

'But the front face of your new building is missing,' Ironside pointed out. 'So something went wrong.'

'That must be an accident. It must have been the gas main. I can't imagine anything else.'

Then maybe you have a very limited imagination, was what Ironside was thinking. But he let the comment pass without challenging it. There was something he didn't like about this whole sorry excuse for a conversation. Instead he said:

'I'm sure you understand, but we have to investigate. We need to explore every angle.'

'Every angle?'

'And we would appreciate your help.'

Kingston looked thoughtfully at the remains of the building around him.

'I suppose someone might have made a mistake with the storage,' he said, tapping his chin with a finger.

Frank, who had been fuming quietly as the conversation had progressed, finally gave a loud snort. Kingston glared at him. Ironside held up his hand, distracting both of them just long enough to stall any impending disagreement.

'I'm sure we all have better things to do than argue,' he said calmly. To underline his point, he held Kingston in his steady gaze, waiting to see what the man would do next.

Kingston looked from one man to the other, his lips tightly pressed together.

'Well,' he said eventually. 'We'll just see.'

With that, Kingston turned and marched off, even managing to raise a thin trail of dust as he left.

Mark gave a low whistle as soon as he was out of earshot.

'Now there goes a man who needs some lessons in the art of persuasion.' he said. 'Or a man used to getting his own way all the time.'

'You're not kidding,' said Frank hotly. 'He was here before I got here, and has been getting under my feet all day. I'm sick of him. And if he thinks I'm going to do anything but a thorough, by-the-book job, then he's got another damn think coming. Him and his backup plan and his duty to his shareholders. He can shove his backup plan "back up" somewher-'

'You know,' interrupted Mark, grinning at the Chief, 'for a man whose building is scattered over the sidewalk, he doesn't seem to be that concerned about the cause. More worried about the costs, maybe?'

Ironside smiled up at Mark.

'Exactly.'

'He should be worried about both,' said Frank, who still sounded cross.

'Which worries you the most?' Ironside asked, keen to hear more about what Frank had to say. But the other man just frowned.

'I can't answer that,' said Frank 'And I don't have any proof. Yet.'

'Yet?'

'I need to get back into it,' said Frank, shaking his head. 'There's a lot to do. A lot to sort through.'

He took a half step away but the Chief wasn't going to let him away without some hint of what had happened.

'I need something, Frank,' said Ironside. 'What's the verdict so far?'

'You know I can't say much for certain.'

Ironside hunched forward in his chair. He didn't like the way Frank was looking round at the bits of building nearby, and not answering the question.

'But there is something on your mind,' he insisted.

'Quick summary so far, then I have to go. And this isn't on the record, it's just first impression, right?'

'Right.'

'And maybe when I get more data, I'll have to change my conclusions, right?'

'Right.'

'Well, it wasn't gas,' said Frank in a derisive tone. 'Even an amateur could tell that. The debris pattern is wrong. It's quite close I'll give you that, but not close enough. Not enough boom!'

'If not a gas main then what was it?'

'I can't say much else, not yet,' Frank said. 'I'm still on the preliminaries. Except buildings do not normally explode like this if someone makes a mistake with storage.' There was an uncomfortable pause. 'Buildings do not normally explode like this, period.'

'Meaning?'

Frank looked the Chief in the eye.

'Meaning there is something very wrong here.'