Title: When The Heat Is On Chapter 6 (6/?)
Author: Angela Penfold
Email: AngelaPRPi@aol.com
Disclaimer: The show's characters don't belong to me, won't make any money by writing about them.
Chapter 6
"Mr Doherty. I need you to go through everything you did from the minute your truck arrived at the fire." The woman had barely stripped off her jacket, which in the building heat of the day seemed totally unnecessary, and she was already getting down to business. Plucking the grey t-shirt that'd been concealed beneath away from her abdomen, Amelia raised her brows expecting an answer.
Jimmy paused, glancing over at Kim and Bobby. They'd moved into the room after MacNab but remained hovering by the door. Seeing they weren't going to stop what was going on for now, Jimmy turned back to the woman. The words emerged slowly at first, his tone a little husky. "Me and Sweet were the first ones in. Person who called the fire in said there mighta been someone in there on the second floor. Cap sent us in to check it out. First floor was burning pretty bad in the rear, it'd started spreading but the front door and the stairs were practically clear."
Shrugging, Jimmy glanced at Kim and Bobby again then looked back, locking his gaze onto Amelia's hazy green eyes. They'd all worked fires, they'd all understood what was coming next. "Seemed strange that if someone was on the second floor they hadn't got down already. Path was clear right to the door."
The plastic stylus paused against the tiny computer's screen. Amelia's brows rose slowly. Doherty might've had a point. She'd heard about the 911 call, it'd sounded legitimate at the time but linking Doherty's observations of the fire to the caller's words suddenly cast some doubt on the matter. "A victim upstairs could've had compromised health, smoke inhalation might've rendered them unconscious."
"No way," Jimmy murmured. For a moment he smiled, content in his confidence, flashing dimples briefly. He was battered and bruised but there wasn't any dimming of the sparkle in Jimmy's eyes. "No where near enough smoke at that point. Concrete ceiling anyway, smoke wasn't really seeping up through there. They woulda had to have been knocked out to keep them upstairs."
"No sign of any victims in there anyway," Amelia added. If the fire had gutted the place she would've readily admitted there was a possibility a body could still be lurking in the debris but the place had been checked thoroughly, no sign of anyone. Without voicing it they all knew now that the call had most likely come from the arsonist himself. As if to confirm it further, Amelia nodded. "Dispatch is location a copy of the call for me. Mr Doherty, you took point heading towards the stairs, correct?"
"Jimmy," Doherty said softly. If the woman was going to grill him the least she could do was make an attempt at easing the grim mood. "Yeah. I've got seniority over Sweet. We scanned what we could see of the first floor but we moved directly towards the stairs. A crate beneath them was smouldering, another one two feet away was burning fast but the stairs were fine. They felt solid at first. I got about two thirds of the way up, then boom!" The word had come from his own lips but Jimmy flinched anyway, the images that now must've been running through his head in time with his description making his breathing hitch.
"We started falling." He sucked in a breath, dark eyes focusing on empty space at the bottom of the bed. "Couldn't stop myself dropping. I hit the floor hard, saw flames catch on the wreckage around us. Couldn't see Sweet. He'd been right there but I couldn't see him."
Jimmy turned, disbelief drawing heavy creases on his brow, darkening his eyes and focused on Amelia. "Must've passed out after that. There was no warning, no reason for it to just fall apart like that."
Concerned with the changes in Jimmy's breathing, Kim moved to his bedside. She settled a hip against the thin mattress and took one of Jimmy's hands into hers. "It's OK Jimmy. They'd messed with the stairs, you couldn't have known."
A frown appeared briefly on Amelia's brow. "Jimmy, when you reached the staircase did you notice anything else around it? Some bolts were removed from the staircase, they weren't located in the rubble later."
He took a moment to think back, his eyes slipping shut. Jimmy shook his head, his expression slightly grim. "Floor there was clear apart from those crates. There was something on top of the one that wasn't burning bad but it was only one thing, too small to be bolts." Dark eyes fluttered open quickly, confusion shining in them more than ever. "It was a book of matches, one of those things you pick up in bars. Didn't think about it then, didn't seem too outta place."
Now that there'd been a confirmation of arson the matches meant a lot, especially to Amelia, Bobby thought. The instant Jimmy'd mentioned the matches MacNab had leaned forward in her seat, eyes rising from the palmtop, stylus pausing on its screen. Some idea had taken flight in her mind and it seemed like an important one.
"What about accelerants?" she asked hoarsely. "Smell anything in there?"
"Nothing," Jimmy said firmly. That didn't mean much though, anything from fabric to beer could be used to get a fire blazing well. "You didn't find any signs of one later?"
"There were signs of trailing at the rear of the warehouse but we're still waiting on the results of the swabs to find out what was used." It was terminology they were all familiar with. When an accelerant was poured onto a surface and lit it left distinctive discolouration behind afterwards that was known as trailing.
Amelia slid the stylus back into the palmtop and snapped the device shut. She stood, tugged the jacket back on and put the computer into her pocket. "That's all I need to check on for now. I might have to talk to you again once I've had a chance to analyse the evidence." Suddenly she seemed to have enough to work with though. Amelia nodded to the others. "Thanks for your time."
"Bye," Kim murmured.
As Amelia reached the door Jimmy called out from the bed. His breathing still hitched slightly but his voice was stronger. "MacNab?"
She turned slowly, dark brows rising. "Yeah?"
"Catch him. Make sure you get this fuck. I want him put away for life."
That probably wasn't possible but Amelia nodded anyway. "I will." Amelia turned away and walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
With her seat now vacant Bobby moved away from the doorway and settled in it. He leaned forward, planting his elbows on his thighs. "You feeling OK?"
"Sore," Jimmy said softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He still looked pale, his eyelids seeming heavy now too. "Expected it though." Tired eyes turned to Kim. "You tell Joey what happened?"
Kim nodded and lifted a hand to brush Jimmy's hair back from his forehead. "Yeah. I promised I'd bring him to see you later. We've got a shift but we'll stop by to check on you when we bring in runs. Get some rest OK Jimmy?" She bent and brushed her lips over Jimmy's brow. He didn't respond though, his eyes had already fluttered shut, sleep claiming him.
Author: Angela Penfold
Email: AngelaPRPi@aol.com
Disclaimer: The show's characters don't belong to me, won't make any money by writing about them.
Chapter 6
"Mr Doherty. I need you to go through everything you did from the minute your truck arrived at the fire." The woman had barely stripped off her jacket, which in the building heat of the day seemed totally unnecessary, and she was already getting down to business. Plucking the grey t-shirt that'd been concealed beneath away from her abdomen, Amelia raised her brows expecting an answer.
Jimmy paused, glancing over at Kim and Bobby. They'd moved into the room after MacNab but remained hovering by the door. Seeing they weren't going to stop what was going on for now, Jimmy turned back to the woman. The words emerged slowly at first, his tone a little husky. "Me and Sweet were the first ones in. Person who called the fire in said there mighta been someone in there on the second floor. Cap sent us in to check it out. First floor was burning pretty bad in the rear, it'd started spreading but the front door and the stairs were practically clear."
Shrugging, Jimmy glanced at Kim and Bobby again then looked back, locking his gaze onto Amelia's hazy green eyes. They'd all worked fires, they'd all understood what was coming next. "Seemed strange that if someone was on the second floor they hadn't got down already. Path was clear right to the door."
The plastic stylus paused against the tiny computer's screen. Amelia's brows rose slowly. Doherty might've had a point. She'd heard about the 911 call, it'd sounded legitimate at the time but linking Doherty's observations of the fire to the caller's words suddenly cast some doubt on the matter. "A victim upstairs could've had compromised health, smoke inhalation might've rendered them unconscious."
"No way," Jimmy murmured. For a moment he smiled, content in his confidence, flashing dimples briefly. He was battered and bruised but there wasn't any dimming of the sparkle in Jimmy's eyes. "No where near enough smoke at that point. Concrete ceiling anyway, smoke wasn't really seeping up through there. They woulda had to have been knocked out to keep them upstairs."
"No sign of any victims in there anyway," Amelia added. If the fire had gutted the place she would've readily admitted there was a possibility a body could still be lurking in the debris but the place had been checked thoroughly, no sign of anyone. Without voicing it they all knew now that the call had most likely come from the arsonist himself. As if to confirm it further, Amelia nodded. "Dispatch is location a copy of the call for me. Mr Doherty, you took point heading towards the stairs, correct?"
"Jimmy," Doherty said softly. If the woman was going to grill him the least she could do was make an attempt at easing the grim mood. "Yeah. I've got seniority over Sweet. We scanned what we could see of the first floor but we moved directly towards the stairs. A crate beneath them was smouldering, another one two feet away was burning fast but the stairs were fine. They felt solid at first. I got about two thirds of the way up, then boom!" The word had come from his own lips but Jimmy flinched anyway, the images that now must've been running through his head in time with his description making his breathing hitch.
"We started falling." He sucked in a breath, dark eyes focusing on empty space at the bottom of the bed. "Couldn't stop myself dropping. I hit the floor hard, saw flames catch on the wreckage around us. Couldn't see Sweet. He'd been right there but I couldn't see him."
Jimmy turned, disbelief drawing heavy creases on his brow, darkening his eyes and focused on Amelia. "Must've passed out after that. There was no warning, no reason for it to just fall apart like that."
Concerned with the changes in Jimmy's breathing, Kim moved to his bedside. She settled a hip against the thin mattress and took one of Jimmy's hands into hers. "It's OK Jimmy. They'd messed with the stairs, you couldn't have known."
A frown appeared briefly on Amelia's brow. "Jimmy, when you reached the staircase did you notice anything else around it? Some bolts were removed from the staircase, they weren't located in the rubble later."
He took a moment to think back, his eyes slipping shut. Jimmy shook his head, his expression slightly grim. "Floor there was clear apart from those crates. There was something on top of the one that wasn't burning bad but it was only one thing, too small to be bolts." Dark eyes fluttered open quickly, confusion shining in them more than ever. "It was a book of matches, one of those things you pick up in bars. Didn't think about it then, didn't seem too outta place."
Now that there'd been a confirmation of arson the matches meant a lot, especially to Amelia, Bobby thought. The instant Jimmy'd mentioned the matches MacNab had leaned forward in her seat, eyes rising from the palmtop, stylus pausing on its screen. Some idea had taken flight in her mind and it seemed like an important one.
"What about accelerants?" she asked hoarsely. "Smell anything in there?"
"Nothing," Jimmy said firmly. That didn't mean much though, anything from fabric to beer could be used to get a fire blazing well. "You didn't find any signs of one later?"
"There were signs of trailing at the rear of the warehouse but we're still waiting on the results of the swabs to find out what was used." It was terminology they were all familiar with. When an accelerant was poured onto a surface and lit it left distinctive discolouration behind afterwards that was known as trailing.
Amelia slid the stylus back into the palmtop and snapped the device shut. She stood, tugged the jacket back on and put the computer into her pocket. "That's all I need to check on for now. I might have to talk to you again once I've had a chance to analyse the evidence." Suddenly she seemed to have enough to work with though. Amelia nodded to the others. "Thanks for your time."
"Bye," Kim murmured.
As Amelia reached the door Jimmy called out from the bed. His breathing still hitched slightly but his voice was stronger. "MacNab?"
She turned slowly, dark brows rising. "Yeah?"
"Catch him. Make sure you get this fuck. I want him put away for life."
That probably wasn't possible but Amelia nodded anyway. "I will." Amelia turned away and walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
With her seat now vacant Bobby moved away from the doorway and settled in it. He leaned forward, planting his elbows on his thighs. "You feeling OK?"
"Sore," Jimmy said softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He still looked pale, his eyelids seeming heavy now too. "Expected it though." Tired eyes turned to Kim. "You tell Joey what happened?"
Kim nodded and lifted a hand to brush Jimmy's hair back from his forehead. "Yeah. I promised I'd bring him to see you later. We've got a shift but we'll stop by to check on you when we bring in runs. Get some rest OK Jimmy?" She bent and brushed her lips over Jimmy's brow. He didn't respond though, his eyes had already fluttered shut, sleep claiming him.