Chapter 7 - The Empty Inspection
Detective Price took the chain photograph to the fire marshal's office.
Daphne Holt, the investigator newly assigned to review the Harbor House case, spread the old inspection file across a conference table.
"The original report says both stairwell exits opened freely," Holt said.
"But this is odd. The test date falls during a scheduled electrical shutdown."
"Could an inspector still have checked the door?" Leah asked.
"Possibly. Yet there's no access log and no signed entry from the building manager."
Amir leaned forward.
"Who certified it?"
"Warren Keene. Retired the next day, then moved out of state."
"A coincidence?" Leah asked.
Holt didn't take the bait.
"We need his records and an explanation."
They visited Harbor House that afternoon.
The building stood behind temporary fencing, its windows boarded and its front steps sprouting weeds.
Someone had left children's chalk drawings on the sidewalk months before.
Rain had blurred the colors, but a yellow sun remained.
"Rachel worked here six years," Leah said.
"She knew every kid's birthday."
Price examined the outside of the blue stairwell door.
The chain was gone, but deep scrape marks remained around the metal bracket.
Holt photographed them with a measurement scale.
"That hardware was removed after the fire," she said.
A woman's voice came from across the street.
"I watched them take it off."
They turned.
An older woman in a green cardigan stood beside the neighboring building.
"Miriam Hayes," she said.
"I lived on the second floor with my grandson. Rachel got us out."
Price introduced herself.
"Would you give us a statement?"
Miriam's hands tightened around her shopping bag.
"I've been trying for nine months. Every time I called the foundation, they told me the investigation was finished."
May you like
She looked directly at Leah.
"Your sister wasn't trapped because she got lost in the smoke. She was trapped because somebody stopped her from leaving."
