LOST AND FOUND - PART IV
ARSON
Chapter 35
When Adam walked into the meeting room, everyone instantly fell silent. They could tell by the way he moved and his hard expression that he was furious with someone. Every person in the room fervently hoped that it was not them.
Adam had large pieces of what looked like white pasteboard under one arm. He stopped just to the right of the blackboard that hung on the front wall and began to prop them up with the bottoms resting on the chalk tray. When he was finished, eight white rectangles faced them. The people around the table looked at each other, but didn't speak. They all knew better than to say anything without Adam having asked them a direct question.
When they heard Adam clear his throat, they all sat up in their chairs and looked at him intently even though he still had his back to them. They tensed even more when he turned around and they saw his expression. If breathing fire were actually possible for a human, he would be doing it. Then he began to speak in a hard, yet quiet tone that reached them all without any effort.
"Our next assignment is insurance fraud involving arson." He blinked as though trying to clear his vision then swallowed hard. "But before we begin I want to make it absolutely clear to you just WHO you will be working for on this one."
He clasped his hands behind his back and put his head down to collect his thoughts, a pose Jerry always referred to as "The Professor."
When he lifted his head he had his teeth clenched so hard the muscles in his face shook. "You will NOT be working for me. You will NOT be working for the Marshals office. You will NOT even be working for the Federal Government."
He turned to the board and turned the first white rectangle around, revealing a picture of a smiling cherub-faced child with wavy blond hair that was tied up on top of her head with a huge bow.
"This is Karen Albrecht - seven years old." He reached for the next rectangle, "This is Also Karen Albrecht," he said as he turned the rectangle around.
His audience was too shocked to even gasp. The picture was of a small human form, curled up in a fetal position, but blackened and burned so badly it was impossible to tell anything else.
Adam stood there watching them for a minute, then reached for the next rectangle and turned it. This child was a smiling, gap-toothed, freckle- faced boy. "This," he had to stop and clear his throat. "This is Timothy Albrecht - six years old," he said, his voice rough. "And this is also Timothy Albrecht." He turned the next rectangle.
Even though they were expecting it, the reality of this small, burned body was still a horrific shock to them all. One man groaned while another one retched.
He moved to the next. "This is David Albrecht - five years old." Turning the pasteboard, they could see a serious boy this time with wide dark eyes and a cleft chin. "And this is also David Albrecht." This small body was almost impossible to see as human, even against the white background of the morgue table.
The people gathered around the table jumped when Mike suddenly stood and ran for the door and went outside. They could all hear the sounds of him retching. Adam paused and waited patiently for him to return, which he did quickly and took his seat again.
"This is Mary Albrecht - four years old," Adam said as he turned the next piece of pasteboard and the picture was of a tiny, tiny, child, with a heart-shaped face and delicate, almost ethereal features. He continued, "And this is also Mary Albrecht." Adam forced the words from his tight throat, and this little figure could not be seen as human at all.
When he turned to them they were shocked again because they could see his eyes were shining with unshed tears. He had to swallow hard again before he could speak. "This is who you will be working for."
"We believe that the father of these children, Simon Albrecht, torched his own home, because he needed the insurance money. And he knew that if the children, his own children, were not inside that house at the time he would automatically be accused of arson. So these children remained inside and died a horrible death by their own father's hand."
Adam stopped and clenched his teeth again as he noticed Nate looking away from the pictures. "Don't you look away," he said to the shaken man. "Don't any of you look away - I want you to have these images in the front of your minds at all times. We took and oath, we swore to protect and serve. It's far to late to protect these children, but it is sure as hell not too late to serve them."
He moved to the head of the table and sat in that chair, still watching them with hard eyes. "Those pictures are going to stay right where they are and any time you feel too tired to follow up on a lead, I want you to come in here and tell them how tired you are. Anytime you're discouraged and tempted to take a shortcut through procedure, I want you to come in here, look at them and explain just how hard this is for you."
He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them they seemed just a shade less hard, but more intense. "I want every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed. I want perfection out of you people and if you think you can't handle that, then tell me right now and I will replace you." He noticed Mike looking down with a red face.
"Mike, don't worry about it. The first time I saw them I threw up too."
"YOU threw up when you first saw those pictures?" Mike said, not believing it.
"No," Adam answered calmly. "I threw up the first time I saw THEM, and believe me, it is much, much worse in person."
Mike sat up and opened his mouth to ask a question, but changed his mind, then seemed to change it back again. "How did you get into the morgue to see them? I remember when I heard about this fire that no one was being allowed to see the bodies."
Adam leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and said one word, "Thea."
The other man nodded, feeling he should have figured that out for himself. "Did she..." he started to ask, but Adam shook his head before he finished.
"No, she's used to seeing things like this."
Nate broke in, "I can see her getting the both of you in, but how did you manage to get a photographer in too?"
"We didn't," Adam said with an edge of irritation in his voice.
"Oh," Nate said, "So you took the pictures."
Adam nodded once then brought the subject back to the direction he wanted. "What I want right now is for you to start talking, bounce ideas off each other, even argue if you must, but at least do something."
"You say it's suspected arson, but what proof is there?"
"I don't know," Adam said giving John an approving look. He reached into a document case that was sitting beside his chair and pulled out a sheaf of papers. Handing them to Dylan who was sitting to his right he said, "Every bit of information we have so far is in that report so look it over." He paused to sweep his eyes across everyone at the table. "YOU tell ME."
Everyone began to read the reports.
"Whoa," Dylan said. "This says almost the entire structure was destroyed. I've seen that place and it was partly brick, partly stone, and partly marble. I mean to do that, the fire had to be incredibly hot. He must have used something to create that kind of temperature."
"But with a building that size," John started to argue, "how could he possibly get enough of it spread around without somebody noticing something..."
"True, but this report doesn't say anything about what people heard. I mean I would have to poke around to look for traces of flammables and talk to the neighbors to find out if anyone heard any explosions. An incendiary device can be used to spread a flammable liquid and..."
Adam smiled a sharp, dangerous smile. "We're coming for you Simon," he said under his breath then turned his attention back to his people and just listened.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ARSON
Chapter 35
When Adam walked into the meeting room, everyone instantly fell silent. They could tell by the way he moved and his hard expression that he was furious with someone. Every person in the room fervently hoped that it was not them.
Adam had large pieces of what looked like white pasteboard under one arm. He stopped just to the right of the blackboard that hung on the front wall and began to prop them up with the bottoms resting on the chalk tray. When he was finished, eight white rectangles faced them. The people around the table looked at each other, but didn't speak. They all knew better than to say anything without Adam having asked them a direct question.
When they heard Adam clear his throat, they all sat up in their chairs and looked at him intently even though he still had his back to them. They tensed even more when he turned around and they saw his expression. If breathing fire were actually possible for a human, he would be doing it. Then he began to speak in a hard, yet quiet tone that reached them all without any effort.
"Our next assignment is insurance fraud involving arson." He blinked as though trying to clear his vision then swallowed hard. "But before we begin I want to make it absolutely clear to you just WHO you will be working for on this one."
He clasped his hands behind his back and put his head down to collect his thoughts, a pose Jerry always referred to as "The Professor."
When he lifted his head he had his teeth clenched so hard the muscles in his face shook. "You will NOT be working for me. You will NOT be working for the Marshals office. You will NOT even be working for the Federal Government."
He turned to the board and turned the first white rectangle around, revealing a picture of a smiling cherub-faced child with wavy blond hair that was tied up on top of her head with a huge bow.
"This is Karen Albrecht - seven years old." He reached for the next rectangle, "This is Also Karen Albrecht," he said as he turned the rectangle around.
His audience was too shocked to even gasp. The picture was of a small human form, curled up in a fetal position, but blackened and burned so badly it was impossible to tell anything else.
Adam stood there watching them for a minute, then reached for the next rectangle and turned it. This child was a smiling, gap-toothed, freckle- faced boy. "This," he had to stop and clear his throat. "This is Timothy Albrecht - six years old," he said, his voice rough. "And this is also Timothy Albrecht." He turned the next rectangle.
Even though they were expecting it, the reality of this small, burned body was still a horrific shock to them all. One man groaned while another one retched.
He moved to the next. "This is David Albrecht - five years old." Turning the pasteboard, they could see a serious boy this time with wide dark eyes and a cleft chin. "And this is also David Albrecht." This small body was almost impossible to see as human, even against the white background of the morgue table.
The people gathered around the table jumped when Mike suddenly stood and ran for the door and went outside. They could all hear the sounds of him retching. Adam paused and waited patiently for him to return, which he did quickly and took his seat again.
"This is Mary Albrecht - four years old," Adam said as he turned the next piece of pasteboard and the picture was of a tiny, tiny, child, with a heart-shaped face and delicate, almost ethereal features. He continued, "And this is also Mary Albrecht." Adam forced the words from his tight throat, and this little figure could not be seen as human at all.
When he turned to them they were shocked again because they could see his eyes were shining with unshed tears. He had to swallow hard again before he could speak. "This is who you will be working for."
"We believe that the father of these children, Simon Albrecht, torched his own home, because he needed the insurance money. And he knew that if the children, his own children, were not inside that house at the time he would automatically be accused of arson. So these children remained inside and died a horrible death by their own father's hand."
Adam stopped and clenched his teeth again as he noticed Nate looking away from the pictures. "Don't you look away," he said to the shaken man. "Don't any of you look away - I want you to have these images in the front of your minds at all times. We took and oath, we swore to protect and serve. It's far to late to protect these children, but it is sure as hell not too late to serve them."
He moved to the head of the table and sat in that chair, still watching them with hard eyes. "Those pictures are going to stay right where they are and any time you feel too tired to follow up on a lead, I want you to come in here and tell them how tired you are. Anytime you're discouraged and tempted to take a shortcut through procedure, I want you to come in here, look at them and explain just how hard this is for you."
He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them they seemed just a shade less hard, but more intense. "I want every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed. I want perfection out of you people and if you think you can't handle that, then tell me right now and I will replace you." He noticed Mike looking down with a red face.
"Mike, don't worry about it. The first time I saw them I threw up too."
"YOU threw up when you first saw those pictures?" Mike said, not believing it.
"No," Adam answered calmly. "I threw up the first time I saw THEM, and believe me, it is much, much worse in person."
Mike sat up and opened his mouth to ask a question, but changed his mind, then seemed to change it back again. "How did you get into the morgue to see them? I remember when I heard about this fire that no one was being allowed to see the bodies."
Adam leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and said one word, "Thea."
The other man nodded, feeling he should have figured that out for himself. "Did she..." he started to ask, but Adam shook his head before he finished.
"No, she's used to seeing things like this."
Nate broke in, "I can see her getting the both of you in, but how did you manage to get a photographer in too?"
"We didn't," Adam said with an edge of irritation in his voice.
"Oh," Nate said, "So you took the pictures."
Adam nodded once then brought the subject back to the direction he wanted. "What I want right now is for you to start talking, bounce ideas off each other, even argue if you must, but at least do something."
"You say it's suspected arson, but what proof is there?"
"I don't know," Adam said giving John an approving look. He reached into a document case that was sitting beside his chair and pulled out a sheaf of papers. Handing them to Dylan who was sitting to his right he said, "Every bit of information we have so far is in that report so look it over." He paused to sweep his eyes across everyone at the table. "YOU tell ME."
Everyone began to read the reports.
"Whoa," Dylan said. "This says almost the entire structure was destroyed. I've seen that place and it was partly brick, partly stone, and partly marble. I mean to do that, the fire had to be incredibly hot. He must have used something to create that kind of temperature."
"But with a building that size," John started to argue, "how could he possibly get enough of it spread around without somebody noticing something..."
"True, but this report doesn't say anything about what people heard. I mean I would have to poke around to look for traces of flammables and talk to the neighbors to find out if anyone heard any explosions. An incendiary device can be used to spread a flammable liquid and..."
Adam smiled a sharp, dangerous smile. "We're coming for you Simon," he said under his breath then turned his attention back to his people and just listened.
TO BE CONTINUED...