Page 4 of Forged By Fire (Danger in Destiny #9)

Chapter Four

C lint hated leaving Leslie at the hospital, but several members of her company had arrived to offer support to Danny while they waited for word on his condition.

Apparently, Danny’s wife was back in town and on her way to the hospital.

Leslie had people there to support her now.

The best thing Clint could do was get the bullet to the station and see if they could match it to another crime in the area.

As soon as he dropped it off at the lab, he swung by Detective John Paris’s office. John was leading the investigation into the shooting as well as the warehouse fire.

He found the detective on the phone but was quickly waved inside. Clint closed the door behind him and took a seat across the desk. He checked the texts on his phone while he waited for John to finish his conversation.

“I checked on him at lunch and will go back to the house for a while around dinner. I’m glad your mom is doing better.

Eve, honey, I’ve got to run. I’ll talk to you soon.

Give everyone my love. I love you, too.” John ended the call and put his cell phone down on the desk.

“Sorry about that. Eve’s mom had surgery yesterday, so Eve went down to help for a few days. ”

Eve and John were married over a year ago. She worked as the chief medical examiner at the morgue in the same building as the police department. The couple was well known and liked by everyone at the precinct.

“I hope her mom recovers quickly.”

“Thank you. The surgery is fairly minor but will impair Gemma’s mobility for a couple of weeks.

Eve wanted to stay and help her parents for a few days until they find a new normal.

” John picked up a pencil and pointed to the photograph of a Yorkie puppy.

“I think Eve was more worried about leaving Cody than she was about me.” He chuckled.

The couple adopted the puppy a couple of months ago.

He was growing like a weed, and at four months old, was full of energy.

Eve usually took him into work with her, having constructed a large play area of sorts in her office.

Unfortunately, John didn’t have a place for her in his office and was in and out far too often to bring Cody to the station.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad when things return to normal, too.”

John nodded, but his expression grew serious. “How’s Leslie Granger doing? Did you get an update on Bracken?”

“When I left, he was still in surgery. I was given the bullet recovered from his wound and took it by the lab. Other members of their company are at the hospital now, so Granger isn’t alone.” Clint intended to check in on all of them again before he went home for the night.

“That’s good. We’re all praying for Bracken’s recovery.”

“Any progress on the case? Was the other person missing at the warehouse ever located?”

John sat up straighter in his chair. “Yes. It turns out Sarah never showed up at work. She woke up this morning with symptoms of the flu. She’d called in sick, but the person she spoke with left early, so news of her absence never made its way around the office.”

Thank goodness she hadn’t been trapped in the fire. As far as the blaze itself went, no one was injured.

“And still no sign of the shooter?”

“None. We have two patrols stationed at the warehouse tonight, so if he is hiding inside, they’ll see him when he exits. We’ll do a more thorough search once we’re cleared to enter the building.”

Clint prayed they’d catch him. The fact was, it would be easy to get out and slip away undetected at this point—especially if he’d had some kind of escape plan in place all along.

“Granger said the suspect told Bracken it was too late to end the confrontation. I just wish we knew whether he said that because Granger and Bracken had interrupted him, or if he was there specifically to target a firefighter.”

“If it was the latter, then it begs the question—was our suspect determined to shoot just any firefighter, or was Bracken the target?” John dropped the pencil he was holding eraser-first onto the top of his desk.

He snatched it out of the air when it bounced back up again.

“We’ll have an officer stationed at the hospital for the time being.

If he was the intended target, then the suspect may go back to finish the job.

I’m looking into the warehouse and paper plant in general.

I want to know if there are any outstanding disputes with current or past employees, contracts, or even competitors.

See if there’s a reason why someone would be targeting the company as a whole. ”

“What can I do?”

“Since you know Granger, why don’t you talk to her as well as others at the fire station.

Find out if they’ve had any issues recently.

If any of their people have had run-ins with someone during their call-outs that made responding to fires difficult for any reason.

Talk to Bracken’s wife. See if there’s anyone he’s had a confrontation with outside of work. ”

“You’ve got it. I’ll see if we can track down the equipment the suspect was wearing. It sounds like it looked exactly like everyone else’s, minus the name tag. If we can figure out where he got it, maybe it’ll lead us to an ID.”

“That sounds like a plan to me. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Will do.”

The sooner they connected the dots, the better. Until they found the suspect and got him off the streets, Clint was going to worry about the safety of Leslie and everyone else at the station.

“We haven’t had any trouble—certainly nothing recent.

” Fire Chief Menendez poured a cup of coffee and offered it to Clint.

When the officer politely declined, Menendez kept it for himself and led the way to his office.

“There’s the occasional case of arson where our inspectors discover proof leading to the arrest of the person responsible.

But even then, we don’t usually see a lot of backlash. ”

That was certainly true. Destiny’s fire department and police department often worked hand-in-hand.

While most firefighters were seen as the heroes they were, that wasn’t always the case with officers.

Clint had personally come face-to-face with people who were angry at him for interrupting a dispute or arresting a loved one.

He always sought to do what he could to serve the town of Destiny and improve the lives of the people who lived there. Some days were easier than others.

“You’ve never had one of your firefighters singled out? Either in a negative or a positive light?”

“Well, sure. It happens on occasion. Cho carried a baby out of a burning building last week and was on the front page of the newspaper. Last month, Keyes stumbled on the evidence of an arson-based fire that led to an arrest.”

“Could you put together a list for me with any instances that stand out over the last four to six months?”

“Absolutely. The station is at your disposal. We all want the shooter caught as soon as possible.” Chief Menendez glanced at his cell phone, which was lying face up on the desk between them.

“I keep hoping someone at the hospital will call with some good news. I want to be there myself while they wait, but someone still needs to manage the station. We’ve got a company that’s filling in for Bracken’s, so his can wait with Granger.

Once Bracken is out of surgery and in recovery, I’ll head that way. ”

Clint could imagine everyone from Station #2 would be there if they could. That would be the case if someone from the precinct were in the hospital for a similar reason.

“I can understand that.” Clint checked his notes. “We’re in the preliminary stages of this investigation. I hate to ask this, but was Bracken having any trouble in his personal life? Was there anyone he didn’t get along with outside of the station?”

Menendez leaned back in his chair and immediately shook his head.

“Not that I know of. He was well-liked. A bit of a class clown, if you know what I mean. Quick to tease the others, but always in a good-natured way. If he was having any difficulties, he never shared that with me. If anyone might know, though, it’d be Granger. ”

The chief looked at his phone again and shifted his weight. It was clear he was ready to check in with his people and do something more than just sit there. Clint could certainly empathize.

“I have one more question, then I’ll get out of your way. Granger said the shooter wore gear that was identical to what you all wear, except there was no name on the jacket. How do you get your gear? Is something like that easy to get a hold of for anyone who doesn’t work for the fire department?”

“The fire department purchases gear from several different suppliers, depending on which is offering the most competitive price at the time. We have strict policies in place when it comes to what we purchase and what it’s for.

While some of our firefighters might purchase smaller accessory items according to their personal preference, essential personal protective equipment is provided.

Each firefighter is responsible for the upkeep of their equipment.

So, no, someone wouldn’t be able to easily purchase a full set of gear like that.

But commandeer a set from one of our stations?

” Menendez frowned. “As much as I hate to admit it, it’s not outside the realm of possibility. ”

“I know this station is brand new. Has everything been moved over, or are there still some things waiting to be transferred?”

“Everything’s here, and we double and triple checked the inventory.” The chief looked thoughtful. “We have eight fire stations in town. I’ll reach out and make sure each one goes through their gear—ours included.”

“That sounds like a good plan. In the meantime, we’re investigating things from the warehouse side.

We’ve also got people keeping an eye on Bracken at the hospital, just in case he really was the target.

” Clint pushed away from the desk and stood.

“I’d like for us to keep in touch. If you find out anything, please call me or contact Detective Paris at the precinct.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on everything as well. ”

“Absolutely.” Menendez stood as well and reached out to shake hands. “We appreciate the way the PD has teamed up with us on this.”

Clint gave the chief’s hand a hearty shake. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Before he could turn to leave, Menendez’s cell phone rang.

He held up a finger to stop Clint’s exit.

“This is Menendez.” There were several moments of silence as he listened to whoever was talking on the other end of the line.

“That’s good news. Yes, I will.” He focused on Clint, relief on his face.

“Bracken made it through the surgery. The bullet narrowly missed his heart. The next few days may be tough, but barring any difficulties, he should make a full recovery.”

Clint’s shoulders relaxed as he took in the news. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be praying his stay in the hospital is a short one.”

“Thank you.”

As he walked through the fire station and into the cool November air, he thought about his conversation with the chief.

There were several personal questions about Danny that he wanted to ask Leslie once he got back to the hospital.

With any luck, maybe Danny would be feeling well enough to answer a few questions himself tomorrow.