The Scene Before That - Just Outside of the Inferno
Sergeant Hayward screeched up in the squad car and swore. The place was a disaster zone. What had once been St Michaels' free medical clinic was now an inferno.
The fire trucks were already there, unravelling hoses and preparing themselves to fight the blaze. He could hear the sirens of ambulances in the distance. Two or three squad cars had already arrived and they were hustling people back from the site. Everything was happening as it should. Now he just had to find out what the hell was going on.
Witnesses, that's what he'd need. Gazing over the crowd, he focussed on a likely looking woman who stood frantically on the fringes.
"Hello Ma'am. Are you okay?"
She jumped and swung around, relaxing slightly when she saw the uniform. "Officer! It's terrible!"
"Were you here when the blaze started? Are you unhurt?"
"Oh! Yes, yes… I'm okay… I'm… My name's Sarah Ellis. I was, I was working there earlier in the day… I volunteer and I live nearby and then I just looked out my window and there was just fire. Oh god! There were people in there… I know Cathy was on tonight and I haven't seen her and Roger was and Bryan! Bryan lives there… I can't see…"
He talked calmly, took her shoulder, and looked in her eyes. It was a trick he'd learned early in his career, seemed to make people calm down more. "It's okay Sarah. All the authorities are here and they're doing what they can. May I ask you a few questions? You work here?"
She gulped and looked a little more composed. "I volunteer a few days a week. I'm studying to be a nurse part-time, I thought I could be useful. I left at about three this afternoon for a lecture and I just got back to my apartment half and hour ago and I looked out the window and came running."
"So you didn't see the blaze start?"
"No, I… Cathy! Omigod Cathy! You're okay!"
Sarah broke off from his grasp and went running towards a dazed-looking woman who was being tended to by a paramedic. The fact that she was covered in ash seemed to indicate that she'd come from the fire, but unlike all the others Hayward had seen being dragged out, she looked mostly unhurt. Ah, good. He followed Sarah and had a quick talk with the paramedic while the two women hugged and cried.
She wasn't hurt badly and could probably answer some questions before being taken to the hospital. Even better.
"Excuse me Sarah, but I was wondering whether I could have a talk to Cathy?"
Sarah looked up at him and then turned quickly back to her friend. "Cathy, this is the police officer who's trying to find out what happened. If you just wanna talk to him…"
Cathy nodded. "That's okay. I'll be… I'll be fine. Mark… Mark was being loaded into the Ambulance over there. I think he got burned. Go look for him… make sure he's okay…"
Sarah nodded and hurried off and Hayward sat down next to Cathy.
"So you are?"
"Cathy… Cathy Hastings…"
"You okay?"
"I'm okay. I wasn't in the middle of the building or anything and I got out. But it went up so quickly… I think they put chemicals on it or gas or something… the others didn't…"
"Wait, wait a second… They? You think you know who did this?"
"It was the gang! It must have been. I told Bryan, I told him…" Her voice sounded frantic.
"Please, just calm down for a second, tell me this from the beginning."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just…" She took a deep breath. "Okay… Bryan Brian is the guy who runs the clinic…"
"Right. What's his last name there?"
The snort of laughter was utterly devoid of humour. "That is his last name. That's his name, Bryan Brian. Only the first one's with a Y and the second one's with an I, you see?"
"Ahh. Sorry. That's very… different."
"Uh huh. So Bryan's really into this whole 'Anyone can be redeemed', 'No-one's completely bad' thing. And there's a gang called the Manics that hangs around here. You heard of them?"
"Oh yes."
"Well there were two of them that came in tonight. They had knife wounds, and they were really bad and… I guess they couldn't find anywhere else to go to. They asked to stay here and get treated. I told them to go off to the big hospital but they said they wouldn't, even though they were dripping blood on the floor… I think they were afraid that the police would pick them up there."
"Bryan let them stay?"
"Yeah. He made them promise no violence and then he fixed them up and put them out the back. I told him not to. There's a full on street fight with the Manics and the Eightballs at the moment. We can't deal with that kinda shit. I told him."
"So you think the Eightballs did this…"
"There's a full on fight going on, there really is. That's probably how they got cut up in the first place. They're all crazy assholes, all of them… Oh geez… Jean Paul…"
It took him a few seconds to realise that she was addressing the last comment not to him, but to whoever had walked up behind him. He turned around.
Jean Paul was tall and well built with glasses and long blonde hair. He was looking at the building, utterly horrified.
"Jean Paul! Oh shit, I'm sorry. I don't know where Bryan is. I don't know whether he got out…"
Hayward flicked his eyes back to Cathy. "Who's…?"
"Jean Paul, this is a policeman who's trying to find what happened…"
"Sergeant Hayward."
"Right… This… JP is Bryan's friend. He helped set up the clinic and he comes around sometimes…"
JP hadn't taken his eyes off of the conflagration. "It's all gone…"
Hayward looked. It was indeed almost all gone. The blaze had been quick and ferocious and it seemed now that the only thing left of what had once been the clinic was the flames and the water spray as the fire fighters tried desperately to put it out.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry JP." There were tears in Cathy's eyes. "He was right in the clinic, right in the middle. I haven't seen anyone from in there. I don't think… I don't think he got out… I'm so sorry."
Finally, the eyes turned towards them. Hayward almost flinched. The despair in them was almost palatable and…
There was someone else. Something almost frightening.
"They killed him. The… the Eightballs, you said…"
Hayward coughed. "We don't actually have any proof of that yet, Mr…"
"Valley. Mr Valley."
"He might be okay, Paul. I don't know. He might have gotten out…"
"But he's probably dead." The voice was hollow.
"I'm so sorry. I told him, I told him. But he was so good, so good to everyone no matter what they'd done, or what they were involved with…"
"Yes. He was. He was… always…" Jean Paul's face crumpled slightly. "It's not fair…"
Hayward looked at him with sympathy. "I'll do everything I can to make sure we catch whoever did this."
An undecipherable expression crossed his face. "Will you?"
"I'll make sure they're punished."
And then… it was kind of weird; Hayward had to admit. The guy just went all… sharpened. Posture, facial features, eyes. And the voice…
"Punished." He said, and he abruptly walked away.
Hayward shook his head. 'Very weird', he thought, and he turned back to Cathy.
***
Sergeant Hayward screeched up in the squad car and swore. The place was a disaster zone. What had once been St Michaels' free medical clinic was now an inferno.
The fire trucks were already there, unravelling hoses and preparing themselves to fight the blaze. He could hear the sirens of ambulances in the distance. Two or three squad cars had already arrived and they were hustling people back from the site. Everything was happening as it should. Now he just had to find out what the hell was going on.
Witnesses, that's what he'd need. Gazing over the crowd, he focussed on a likely looking woman who stood frantically on the fringes.
"Hello Ma'am. Are you okay?"
She jumped and swung around, relaxing slightly when she saw the uniform. "Officer! It's terrible!"
"Were you here when the blaze started? Are you unhurt?"
"Oh! Yes, yes… I'm okay… I'm… My name's Sarah Ellis. I was, I was working there earlier in the day… I volunteer and I live nearby and then I just looked out my window and there was just fire. Oh god! There were people in there… I know Cathy was on tonight and I haven't seen her and Roger was and Bryan! Bryan lives there… I can't see…"
He talked calmly, took her shoulder, and looked in her eyes. It was a trick he'd learned early in his career, seemed to make people calm down more. "It's okay Sarah. All the authorities are here and they're doing what they can. May I ask you a few questions? You work here?"
She gulped and looked a little more composed. "I volunteer a few days a week. I'm studying to be a nurse part-time, I thought I could be useful. I left at about three this afternoon for a lecture and I just got back to my apartment half and hour ago and I looked out the window and came running."
"So you didn't see the blaze start?"
"No, I… Cathy! Omigod Cathy! You're okay!"
Sarah broke off from his grasp and went running towards a dazed-looking woman who was being tended to by a paramedic. The fact that she was covered in ash seemed to indicate that she'd come from the fire, but unlike all the others Hayward had seen being dragged out, she looked mostly unhurt. Ah, good. He followed Sarah and had a quick talk with the paramedic while the two women hugged and cried.
She wasn't hurt badly and could probably answer some questions before being taken to the hospital. Even better.
"Excuse me Sarah, but I was wondering whether I could have a talk to Cathy?"
Sarah looked up at him and then turned quickly back to her friend. "Cathy, this is the police officer who's trying to find out what happened. If you just wanna talk to him…"
Cathy nodded. "That's okay. I'll be… I'll be fine. Mark… Mark was being loaded into the Ambulance over there. I think he got burned. Go look for him… make sure he's okay…"
Sarah nodded and hurried off and Hayward sat down next to Cathy.
"So you are?"
"Cathy… Cathy Hastings…"
"You okay?"
"I'm okay. I wasn't in the middle of the building or anything and I got out. But it went up so quickly… I think they put chemicals on it or gas or something… the others didn't…"
"Wait, wait a second… They? You think you know who did this?"
"It was the gang! It must have been. I told Bryan, I told him…" Her voice sounded frantic.
"Please, just calm down for a second, tell me this from the beginning."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just…" She took a deep breath. "Okay… Bryan Brian is the guy who runs the clinic…"
"Right. What's his last name there?"
The snort of laughter was utterly devoid of humour. "That is his last name. That's his name, Bryan Brian. Only the first one's with a Y and the second one's with an I, you see?"
"Ahh. Sorry. That's very… different."
"Uh huh. So Bryan's really into this whole 'Anyone can be redeemed', 'No-one's completely bad' thing. And there's a gang called the Manics that hangs around here. You heard of them?"
"Oh yes."
"Well there were two of them that came in tonight. They had knife wounds, and they were really bad and… I guess they couldn't find anywhere else to go to. They asked to stay here and get treated. I told them to go off to the big hospital but they said they wouldn't, even though they were dripping blood on the floor… I think they were afraid that the police would pick them up there."
"Bryan let them stay?"
"Yeah. He made them promise no violence and then he fixed them up and put them out the back. I told him not to. There's a full on street fight with the Manics and the Eightballs at the moment. We can't deal with that kinda shit. I told him."
"So you think the Eightballs did this…"
"There's a full on fight going on, there really is. That's probably how they got cut up in the first place. They're all crazy assholes, all of them… Oh geez… Jean Paul…"
It took him a few seconds to realise that she was addressing the last comment not to him, but to whoever had walked up behind him. He turned around.
Jean Paul was tall and well built with glasses and long blonde hair. He was looking at the building, utterly horrified.
"Jean Paul! Oh shit, I'm sorry. I don't know where Bryan is. I don't know whether he got out…"
Hayward flicked his eyes back to Cathy. "Who's…?"
"Jean Paul, this is a policeman who's trying to find what happened…"
"Sergeant Hayward."
"Right… This… JP is Bryan's friend. He helped set up the clinic and he comes around sometimes…"
JP hadn't taken his eyes off of the conflagration. "It's all gone…"
Hayward looked. It was indeed almost all gone. The blaze had been quick and ferocious and it seemed now that the only thing left of what had once been the clinic was the flames and the water spray as the fire fighters tried desperately to put it out.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry JP." There were tears in Cathy's eyes. "He was right in the clinic, right in the middle. I haven't seen anyone from in there. I don't think… I don't think he got out… I'm so sorry."
Finally, the eyes turned towards them. Hayward almost flinched. The despair in them was almost palatable and…
There was someone else. Something almost frightening.
"They killed him. The… the Eightballs, you said…"
Hayward coughed. "We don't actually have any proof of that yet, Mr…"
"Valley. Mr Valley."
"He might be okay, Paul. I don't know. He might have gotten out…"
"But he's probably dead." The voice was hollow.
"I'm so sorry. I told him, I told him. But he was so good, so good to everyone no matter what they'd done, or what they were involved with…"
"Yes. He was. He was… always…" Jean Paul's face crumpled slightly. "It's not fair…"
Hayward looked at him with sympathy. "I'll do everything I can to make sure we catch whoever did this."
An undecipherable expression crossed his face. "Will you?"
"I'll make sure they're punished."
And then… it was kind of weird; Hayward had to admit. The guy just went all… sharpened. Posture, facial features, eyes. And the voice…
"Punished." He said, and he abruptly walked away.
Hayward shook his head. 'Very weird', he thought, and he turned back to Cathy.
***