Page 14 of Devil's Hour
“Nah, we were waiting for you,” Blue said, turning and raising his hand to grab a waitress’s attention.
“Afternoon, fellas, what can I start y’all off with to drink?”
Since they had limited time, Royce got down to business as soon as they gave their drink and food orders to the waitress.
“Zeke is not only the most amazing boyfriend, but he also happens to be a brilliant fire investigator,” Blue said. Zeke snorted beside him, gaining Blue’s attention. “What part of that isn’t true?” Zeke just laughed and shook his head. “Anyway,” Blue said, smiling at Royce and Sawyer, “we can trust him to keep the investigation secret for as long as it’s ethical for him to do so.”
“Absolutely. We understand your first obligation is to Fire Chief Winegard, and we wouldn’t ask you to do anything to risk your career,” Sawyer said, always the golden boy.
“It’s likely that Chief Rigby will bring in Winegard herself if necessary. They have a good working relationship,” Royce added. “Knowing her, she wants some facts first before she takes that route.”
“That makes sense,” Zeke said, nodding. “Based on the information Blue gave me, I have come up with three recent fires that could be more than malicious mischief.”
“Le Grande Street, Habersham Street, and Florence Street?” Sawyer asked.
Zeke smiled appreciatively and nodded. “Those are the three. All empty. All are believed to have been used for drug dens or manufacturing and selling meth. I pulled the reports and discovered that the details were pretty bare beyond the time the fire department arrived, the condition and occupancy of the building, and the time the engines rolled up their hoses and drove off.”
“That matches the few details printed in the paper about them,” Sawyer said.
“Is that common, Zeke?” Royce asked.
“It shouldn’t be common, but it is under the circumstances. The properties were vacant and most likely uninsured, so without a property owner or insurance company breathing down their necks, the lieutenant didn’t expend a lot of energy writing the report.”
“Were all three reports written by the same lieutenant?” Sawyer asked. Royce smiled, liking the way he thought.
“They weren’t. Matt Jacobs wrote two of them, and Tim Samuels wrote the third. I’d love to say something unique sticks out about the reports or their behaviors, but it doesn’t. I think it’s human nature to only do what’s required in a lot of situations.”
“Aren’t all suspicious fires supposed to be investigated by your team though?” Royce countered. “That seems kind of odd to me that three drug dens or former meth houses caught fire, but no one saw a pattern.”
“I agree with you,” Zeke said, nodding.
They paused when their waitress dropped off the drinks at their table and assured them their food would be right out.
Zeke continued once she moved on to her next table. “Suspicious fires are assigned a priority number for our team to investigate. It’s similar to how the ER doctors examine patients. People with heart attacks are seen before someone with a sore throat. The highest priority in our system is ten, and the lowest priority is one. Again, the priority rating has a lot to do with occupancy, pressure from insurance carriers, and certainty of a crime. Fires with a fatality are the highest priority.”
“I can understand the need for a priority system, but I need to be sure these three fires weren’t ignored because they occurred in poor neighborhoods,” Royce said flatly. “If our suspicions are correct, we have a vigilante group of arsonists who might’ve been caught had the fires been taken seriously and investigated right away.”
Zeke nodded. “I agree a hundred percent.”
“So, who is in charge of assigning the investigations?” Sawyer asked.
“Lieutenant Larissa Danson,” Zeke replied after hesitation. “She’s my immediate supervisor.”
“How does Lieutenant Danson assign which houses you investigate?” Blue asked Zeke.
“Seniority,” he replied dryly. “Just like every job, the rookies get the crap assignments.”
“These three fires would be classified as crap assignments?” Royce asked.
“Due to the condition of the houses, yes. Wading through the remains of a drug den is terrible. Trash, detritus, and drug paraphernalia every damn place, increasing the risk of injury or even secondary fires. Then there’s a potential for a tweaker to show up higher than a kite ready to fight you because their stuff is gone.”
“Has that ever happened to you?” Sawyer asked.
“More than once,” Zeke said. Blue placed his ham-sized hand on the back of Zeke’s neck. “We have two rookies that should’ve been assigned to investigate these properties.”
“And?” Royce pressed.
“Lieutenant Danson didn’t assign the fires to them. Instead, she teamed them up with senior investigators for additional training, which is common when things are slow.”