Chapter 15 - Smoke Behind the Blue Door
We called Renee and the fire department before driving to the center. I parked across the street, where I could see the loading entrance without blocking emergency vehicles.
Colin's truck was backed against the bay. The metal door stood open. Inside, two figures moved cardboard cartons onto a handcart. One was Colin. The other I didn't recognize.
Gus and Mae had remained in a separate office wing finishing paperwork for the closure. Mae called me from inside. "There's smoke near the storage room," she said. "The alarm isn't sounding."
"Leave by the main entrance," I told her. "Don't go looking for a source."
"The corridor is full of it. The side exit won't open."
I felt cold all the way down to my knees. She was at the same door Eli had warned us about.
The first fire engine arrived with its lights reflecting blue and red across the windows. I gave the captain the building plan, the location of the bolted exit, and the route from the loading bay. He sent firefighters in with breathing gear. I stayed behind the safety line.
Through the smoky glass I saw a hand strike the exit door from the inside. I couldn't tell whose it was.
"Come on," I whispered, though nobody could hear me.
A firefighter reached the side entrance and forced it open. Gus emerged bent over, coughing. Another firefighter guided Mae behind him. She stumbled onto the sidewalk and grabbed the captain's sleeve.
"There were boxes in the storage room," she wheezed. "Someone was burning papers."
Colin's truck was still there, but Colin wasn't. The fire crews knocked down a small blaze near an overloaded electrical panel. The exact cause would be investigated; I wasn't going to guess.
Renee reached us while paramedics checked Mae and Gus. She listened, then pointed toward the security monitor at the front desk.
"Please tell me that footage was saved," she said.
May you like
Mae shook her head. "The hard drive was removed this morning."
On the desk below the empty monitor lay a black glove, and beside it a torn sheet of paper bearing my forged signature.
