Page 41 of Fighting Fire

Tim walked to Bryant’s office and opened the door. “Go ahead and leave the stuff on his desk. He’ll see it when he gets back.”

Lana set the reports on the desk, but photos sitting on top in an open file caught her eye.

“Are these from the fires?” Lana asked.

“They are,” Tim replied.

“I sure would like to look through them.”

She reached for the photos, but Tim stopped her.

“I’ve got a duplicate set I can lend you as long as you return them.”

“You don’t mind?”

He smiled. “No. I’m the photographer. I think it’s good that firefighters take a look. Sometimes you guys see something the arson investigator can’t. After all, you’re right there in the action.”

Lana followed the guy to his office, and he handed her a folder.

“It sure seems strange that Bryant’s so reluctant to accept evidence that you’ve collected and had analyzed. Seems it would make his job easier,” Tim said.

“That’s what I thought,” Lana concurred.

* * *

Back in the truck, Lana turned to Sean. “Do you think that Bryant could be the arsonist?”

“What?”

“Listen for a moment. He’s been hostile about me collecting evidence, won’t accept that the fires are connected, and complained to my captain.”

Sean shook his head and snorted. “I think he’s an uptight jerk who doesn’t like women firefighters. Jeez, his own coworkers don’t even like him.”

Lana heard the squeal of wheels just ahead of her on the bridge. Suddenly a car careened across the median and slammed into the railings. The railing gave way with a groan and scrape of metal. The car hung precariously, its undercarriage partly on the road and partly in midair. With another groan, the hood of the car dropped, but was held suspended by the broken and dislodged railing.

Sean was already picking up the radio to call for help as Lana grabbed her helmet and jumped out of the truck.

She reached the car and called, “Hang on. We’re getting you some help.”

A faint sound came from the front seat. “Help me.”

“Can you move?”

“Yes.”

“Try to come to the back of the car. We’ve got to get you out,” Lana instructed calmly.

“I’ll try.”

Lana could see someone try to crawl over the seat. But with the movement, the car shifted again.

“Wait! Stop!”

Lana edged forward as close to the car as she could get.

“Lana, not too close. If that goes over, you’ll go with it,” Sean’s voice cautioned.

She turned to him. “If we don’t do something, she’s going over regardless.”