Page 108 of Inside Silence

“Hmmm,” she hums, making it clear she’s not buying what I’m trying to sell.

I quickly toss a few spoonfuls of sugar in my coffee in hopes of killing the bitter taste, and dart out the door before she has a chance to dig her claws in deeper. The woman is a terrier.

Once at my desk, I can’t help but replay my conversation with Bess to try and figure out where I may have messed up. Even under her usual ivory complexion, she’d looked pale, almost gaunt, with dark circles under her eyes. She’d also noticeably lost weight. Even being a small woman, she’s always been sturdy. This morning she looked like a stiff wind could blow her over. There’s definitely something wrong with her, but in my attempt to get to the bottom of it, maybe I was a bit too blunt.

The radio on my desk crackles with an incoming message, interrupting my trailing thoughts.

“Dispatch to all units, structure fire reported at 217 Main Street. It’s Main Street Mechanics, risk for explosion. All units, acknowledge.”

Jesus, that’s Clem Tanek’s auto shop. I just drove past it on my way here and didn’t notice a thing.

I snatch up my radio and check for my keys in my pocket as I respond.

“Unit 42 acknowledges. En route.”

I rush down the hall and out the doors to my cruiser, as more calls come through from the fire department and two of our sheriff’s units.

Engine one of Silence’s Fire Department is already on scene when I pull up in front of the building. Smoke is pouring from one of the partially opened bay doors and an orange glow can be seen from within the shop. I don’t interfere with the work of the fire department, which is well in the hands of fire chief Randy Nichols, who is already barking out orders at his crew.

“Is anyone inside?” I ask him quickly.

“Not as far as I know; the place doesn’t open until eight.”

I leave him to it and turn to the crowd forming on the sidewalk and street. Crowd control is my main concern, and I need to get these people back and out of the way. Tons of hazardous and potentially explosive materials inside could go off at any time.

“Hey!” I holler, trying to draw attention as I wave my arms. “I need everyone to back the hell up!”

A few listen and move out of the way, but there are still some folks trying to get closer, getting in the way of firefighters doing their job. But as I try to block their path, I’m knocked to the ground by a massive blast from behind.

My ears ring and I’m disoriented, my vision is obscured by a thick cloud of dust and smoke, as debris rains down around me.

A hand lands on my shoulder and when I look back, I see Deputy KC Kingma standing over me. His mouth is moving, but I can’t hear a damn thing. He grabs me under my arms and hauls me to my feet.

“You okay?” he mouths.

Other than that damn ringing in my ears and a slight stinging at the back of my head, I seem to be in one piece.

“I’m fine.”

Then I look around me to find chaos. Some of the people I was trying to push back are lying or sitting down, appearing injured by debris from the blast. When I look back at the auto shop, almost the entire front of the building is gone.

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