Chapter 16 - Fire in the West Wing

I could see the smoke three blocks away. It rolled above the west wing in a black column that bent toward the river. Fire engines crowded the gate. Mr. Bell coughed beside a paramedic.

"Luis," he managed. "Nineteen years old. He stayed to shut down the compressors. The alarm went off and I lost him."

A firefighter had already gone in. Nobody needed me charging into a burning building, but I knew the old layout better than most people alive. I pulled the incident commander aside and showed her a service map on my phone.

"There's a second stairwell behind the parts elevator," I said. "The doors stick. He might have gone that way to avoid the smoke."

She radioed the crew. Minutes stretched into years. Then two firefighters emerged through the service door with Luis between them, his arm over their shoulders. He was conscious, coughing, and furious that he'd left his tool bag behind.

"Forget the bag," I said, kneeling beside him. "You can borrow every tool I own."

The paramedics gave him oxygen. The east wing's sprinkler system had held, and the active production floor was safe. The old storage rooms were ruined. Fire crews would spend the night making sure the blaze stayed out.

Bell grabbed my sleeve. "I saw somebody near the rear gate before the smoke. Gray utility truck. No company markings."

A firefighter emerged with a scorched metal cash box they'd found near the records room. The fire investigator took custody of it; nobody was going to rummage through evidence on a sidewalk. But through the broken lid I saw a corner of the red payroll ledger Mom had kept for years.

"That was in our locked office," I told the investigator. "It shouldn't have been over there."

She said the origin looked suspicious and asked for Bell's statement. I gave her Leah's number and the camera details. I wanted to believe that once officials had the facts, the danger would end.

Then Dad called from our house.

"Nate, I came to check on your mother. The back door is open. Her purse is here, but she's gone."

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I asked him to check the garden, the neighbors, everywhere. He did. There was no answer.

And the security camera by our driveway showed Harper's car stopping at the curb just before Mom disappeared.