CHAPTER 4

"Yeah, Fred?" Matt had been awakened by his ringing cell phone at 2:34AM.

"Hey, we've got another theater fire and the boss wants you to take it since you're already dealing with Thorson's. It's another one that belongs to them - the 5600 block of North Figueroa. Will you do it?"

"Sure. Be there ASAP." He hung up and began dressing as CJ watched sleepily from the bed. "I'll call you later, Babe. Try to get some sleep, okay?" He leaned over and kissed her. "Love you."

"Love you. Be careful. I swear I'm gonna record that." Both laughed as he put his boots on and left. It was going to be a longer drive for the PI, going from the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to North Figueroa and as soon as he passed the gate at the end of the drive he hit both the lights and siren. When he reached the scene, it was obvious that the theater was going to be a total loss as well as several of the shops that adjoined it. Mark Weston was standing out in front directing the battle against the flames. When Matt reached his side he simply handed the PI a radio and patted him on the back. "It's bad. You take care of yourself in there."

"Yes sir." Matt ran to the door of the theater and could feel the heat hitting him before he reached the threshold. Several firefighters were visible trying to quell the flames in the lobby and he could hear even more on the radio who were inside the auditorium. Looking around the lobby, it was hard to make out where the concession stand was, and as Matt carefully made his way across the smoke-filled area, he could just make out the twisted wreck that a few short hours ago had dispensed popcorn and candy to movie patrons. It was much more damaged than the first theater. A quick look at the melted mess that had been the popcorn machine told him that it would be useless to him in this situation. Their arsonist had done a much more thorough job than the night before. Aside from filming the damage, there wasn't much that Matt could do there. He moved on into the first auditorium that looked like something out of hell: the majority of the seats from the front row all the way to three quarters of the way to the back wall were either melted or in flames and stretched across the entire width of the room; the curtains across the front as well as the screen were history. He shot some footage of the carnage and then moved on to the second auditorium that, although it was heavily involved, wasn't quite as far gone as the first.

Keeping the camera rolling, Houston moved into the center of the right hand section of seats. Operating under the assumption that their firebug had followed his route of the night before it wasn't long until the PI found the evidence he was looking for: the remains of a flare. Quickly bagging and tagging it, he stuffed it into his pocket and collected samples from the floor and the little bit of metal that remained of the seats. The majority of the firefighters in the auditorium were battling the flames on the left hand side of the aisle and Matt could clearly see once again that the fire in that area had been started near the center and got good coverage of it. It was impossible for him to try to collect any evidence there and he moved up to where the front of the theater had already been extinguished. Going behind the area where the curtain had been he found another flare and collected it. The back emergency exit door was standing slightly ajar and he moved over to that area, pulling a jar of dusting powder out of his pocket as well as a fingerprint brush. He quickly dusted the door and shone a light on it. Several fingerprints as well as some clear palm prints showed and he captured shots of it with the camera. Not only was it a video camera but it could take still shots as well, something that made it of particular interest to him and likely to other investigators. While there were other cameras out on the market that could do both video and stills, none could take the extreme temperatures that this model had been subjected to so far. He stepped out into the alley behind the theater noticing as he did that there were flames and ash coming from the roof and he radioed the information to Weston who began evacuating the firefighters inside.

Circling around the strip of shops, Houston paused at a dumpster when he spied a gallon container of what had held coconut oil. After first filming the scene, he carefully lifted the jug and continued around to the front of the shops and over to his truck where he pulled a larger evidence bag for the jug and sealed it up. He hadn't bothered to take the clipboard in with him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fill out the forms while inside. As he took off his turn out coat, he spied Rich Holt as he parked nearby. The captain got out of his SUV and came over to Matt's truck. "How'd it go?"

"Kinda on the warm side." Matt pulled a bottle of sports drink out of the cooler. "Want something?"

"Sure." He took a bottle of water and both men twisted the tops off as they watched the firefighters continued to try to contain the blaze. "Did you get anything?"

"Yep." Matt pulled out the camera and his laptop, setting the computer on the backseat of the truck and hooking the two up.

"Where did you get that?"

"It's something that Derwin and I are working on. Video and…" He pulled up the still shots of the fingerprints on the emergency exit. "Still shots, too. And it doesn't mind the heat." He pulled up a photo program and began singling out prints and getting them ready to submit. "Got a couple of palm prints here that look like the most recent."

"Good work. What about flares?"

"Yep." He pulled out what he had collected. "And…" Lifting the bag that contained the coconut oil jug he smiled. "Found this next to a dumpster. It looked like he tossed it and missed."

Rich patted him on the back. "You're doing great." It was then that both heard a creaking noise and turned to look as what was left of the theater's roof caved in as did the roof of the bridal shop on its left. "I hope all of our folks were out of there." The pair listened to the radio as accounts for each unit were called in to the battalion chief. "Phew…all present and accounted for."

Matt turned back to the computer and logged into the Fire Department website, locating the building plans for the theater. He began working on the forms he needed to fill out, using the information on the plans to help him fill in measurements on his report forms. "Don't think it's going to be too easy to measure in there."

"No, you're going at the right way." Rich turned and looked back at the smoking hulk of concrete, brick, and glass. "You know, some of these businesses may not be able to recover from this."

"Yep. Lots of folks are just barely hanging on as it is. Even with insurance it's tough to start over."

By the time dawn broke over the city, Matt had filled out as much of his paperwork as he could before going back into the wreckage. Rich would be joining him as would their boss, Fire Marshal Don MacLemore who now pulled up to the scene. Coming over to his two newest employees he got the rundown from Houston and looked at what he had so far. "Rich, I'm glad you suggested him. You two are doing some fine work and I appreciate it." Matt put his turnout coat and helmet back on and walked with the other two to speak with Mark Weston.

"Look what the cat drug in." Weston and MacLemore shook hands. "We've got a mess here, Don."

"Yeah, we do. Houston brought me up to date on what we have so far on this one and the one from the night before. Now if we can just catch the SOB that's doing this…" The Fire Marshal put a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Lead us through here, Houston. Let's see if we can spot anything else."

All four men entered what was left of the theater which wasn't much. The front wall looked like an ancient fort after a siege. Every window had been broken, and the classic marquee out front was now a twisted, melted mass of metal lying on the sidewalk, the once brightly colored glass bulbs now blackened and crushed. Speaking at the same time MacLemore and Weston commented. "Damn."

They walked through, both Matt and Rich taking samples from the scene where it had been impossible earlier and Matt continued to film the damage. When the group had toured the theater, they went through the adjoining shops that had sustained damage. The bridal shop was a complete loss with both the front and back walls collapsing onto the sidewalk and the rear parking lot respectively. "All the fabric in here sure made for some damage." MacLemore shook his head and they moved on to the next shop that had been a florist. While the walls were still standing the roof had collapsed.

The other end of the strip had housed a dry cleaners that now looked like it had been bombed. Between the chemicals used for the process and all of the clothing that had been inside it had never stood a chance, even with the sprinkler systems that were present. All four of the businesses had sprinklers but they couldn't handle the massive flames that had torn through, part of them spreading from roof to roof.

When they emerged the group walked back up to Mark Weston's SUV. "So what do you think, Don?"

"I think we need to find this guy quick before someone gets killed." The Fire Marshal looked at Matt. "Do we have any idea why this guy is doing it?"

"No sir."

"What's your next step?"

"I've got video footage to go through from the first fire and I've got to try to get what the businesses around here have." He motioned in a circle around them. "We've got a suspect with an APB out on him…that's all I have so far."

"Well you're going to have some help today." MacLemore looked at Rich. "Why don't you handle the videos? I think Houston here might be a little more qualified to go after the suspect." Both men answered at the same time. "Yes sir."

"What I said earlier about your work – both of you – still applies. You two are doing a hell of a job."

"Thank you, sir." They answered in unison again and exchanged a look before cracking up.

"We're going to set up a press conference for 10:00AM. Go get you some breakfast and be at the office by then. After that – you know what to do."

Both men nodded and took off for their vehicles. Rich looked over at his friend. "See you at the lab."

Matt nodded as he unlocked the cab of the truck and removed his turn out gear, placing it back in the storage area under the back seat. He grabbed a bottle of water and cracked the top on it, downing about half of it out of habit before stopping himself. Climbing up into the truck he pulled out his phone and dialed CJ, letting her know that once again he was fine and what was going on. "Babe, run a check on Ashford's financials for me. See if you can find anything that would point us in his direction. We've got to get him."

"I'm on it, hon. Take care of yourself. Love you."

"Love you, Babe. 'Bye."