“I received a call about fifteen minutes ago from Columbia County Rural Fire Department. That house we were security posting, the one that belonged to the train victim case you are working by Terminal 9?”
“Yeah, Clay Mullins's place. You said the fire department called?” Mac's heart plummeted.
“It's up in flames, Mac. Thought you'd want to know.”
I
T'S ON FIRE? Tell me I didn't hear you right.” Mac switched the phone to his left hand and hurried to his closet.
“Sorry, but from what I understand the entire structure is engulfed.”
“Great. That's just great.”
“You want me to get anyone else going on it?”
“Yeah, page Sergeant Evans please and let him know I'm heading out there. I'm requesting an arson detective also, so if you'll ask Sarge to call my cell phone I'd appreciate it. I'll turn it on now.”
“Consider it done. Is that it?” Tammy had already typed in the request. Like most dispatchers, she could type at warp speed.
Mac switched on the overhead light and grabbed a pair of jeans. “One more thing. Page Detective Dana Bennett and let her know we need to respond out there. I'll swing by her house to save us some time.”
“I've already called her. Our new system shows the assigned personnel alphabetically, and the dispatcher saw her name first. In fact, we just heard her on the radio air. She's already en route to the fire.”
Mac tried to contain his irritation that Dana always seemed to be one step ahead of him. “No problem,” he said to the dispatcher. “I'm just happy I didn't read about it in tomorrow's paper. Make that today's paper. I'm on my way, thanks.”
Mac dressed in a hurry, choosing jeans and a sweatshirt rather than a sports coat and slacks. He locked Lucy in her kennel and told her he would call the neighbor to pick her up in a few hours. Mac grabbed his gun and holster from the top of the refrigerator then snapped up a ball cap from the hall closet before running out the door.
He slipped on the icy sidewalk, surprised at how cold it had gotten in the last few hours. His duty car was sitting at the curb, and he had to scrape the windows clean before jumping in the car. Mac slammed his rechargeable flashlight into the charger after starting the engine. He probably wouldn't get a chance to get too close to the scene until it was rendered safe by the fire department, but he wanted to be ready.
After pulling out of the parking lot, Mac notified dispatch he was en route to Columbia County. Dana told him she was west at St. Johns when she heard him on the radio.
A good fifteen minutes ahead of me. What's she trying to prove?
Mac acknowledged her radio traffic, trying not to sound miffed. He was being petty and he knew it. Dana was just following protocol. “I'm coming through Longview to shave off some travel time. I'll meet you at the scene.”
“Anything special I need to be doing, Mac?”
“Yeah. Start getting names of responding fire personnel as soon as you get there. And while you're at it, find out what happened to the officer who was supposed to be guarding the house.”
“Will do. Drive careful.”
Once he reached Highway 14, he hit his siren and lights. It was freeway clear to Longview and he aimed to get there in record time.
Kevin never liked it when Mac drove to the north coast or even eastern Oregon by way of Washington State highways. Mac wasn't sure why. They were often less crowded and quicker than the Oregon routes. Kevin always argued they were being paid by the citizens of Oregon and should be looking out for their highways while traveling around the state.
Mac smiled, thinking of the friendly banter he had shared on the topic with his former partner. Mac's cell phone brought him up short and he realized he had experienced one of those rather scary momentsâdriving on autopilot and daydreaming.
Leaving on his flashing lights, Mac flipped off the siren so he could hear. “Detective McAllister.”
“Mac, this is Sergeant Evans. Heard about your little problem out in Columbia County.”
“Yeah, Sarge. Sorry to wake you, but I needed to get going and wanted to make sure you knew Dana and I were out and about.”
“Generally, the process I operate under is that I approve call-outs and you get the call from me.” Mac winced at the comment until he heard Frank's chuckle and realized that the sergeant was just kidding.
“Sorry about that. I can go back home if you want to go out instead, Sarge.”
“No thanks, hot shot. You need anything from me?”
“You already know about the search warrant we were going to serve. I'll let the lab know they can stand down for now, but I would like to have an arson detective meet us out at the scene.”
“There's not much they can do tonight. Not until things cool down and our hose-dragging brothers get their evidence-wrecking axes and boots out of the scene.”
“Yeah, you're right. Would you mind getting one out there in the morning?”
“Sure, I've got some follow-up in the morning at the prison with Philly and Russ but I'll get someone out to you. Ray and Stan are already on a fire out in Canby so I'll send Jan your way around 6:00 a.m. Let me know if it'll be longer.”
“You got it, Sarge. Jan will be great. Besides, I like her dog. Her lab reminds me of Lucy.”
“Except that her lab is worth about fifty grand. I can't believe the price we pay for these accelerate dogs. You'd think every dog could smell gasoline.”
Mac grinned at Frank's comment. “They probably can, just not tell you about it like Polo does.”
“Humph. You or Dana give me a call at sunup and give me an update, one way or another.” Mac maneuvered into the far right lane as I -205 merged with I-5 just north of Vancouver, then hit the siren again.
“Sounds good, Sarge. Thanks.” Mac clicked off his phone.
Mac thought about Frank's retirement and wondered what that would mean for the department. Especially with Kevin being sick. Kevin had talked with him about the possibility of promotion. Mac wanted to promote someday, but probably not for a while. He liked being a detective and found the idea of being a respected journeyman detective like Kevin intriguing.
Although Frank could be tough, he knew his business and Mac couldn't help but wonder who their next boss would be. Even though the sergeants weren't considered the “brass,” the first-line supervisors could make all the difference to the morale in a specific workgroup. Troopers and detectives rarely had contact with captains and majors from headquarters in Salem, so the sergeants and lieutenants pretty much set the tone for the office. Mac dismissed his concerns about the department. Whoever they got would work out. They pretty much had to.
Off to the southwest, across the Columbia River, Mac could see the glow of the fire. He made it into Longview and crossed the Rainier Bridge in record time, arriving at Terminal 9 shortly after 3:00 a.m. Two media vans were already at the scene with cameras rolling.
Dana, who was leaning against her car and wearing a T-shirt and jeans, waved at Mac as he drove into the lot. She was standing over one hundred yards from the fire, which was still putting out some serious heat.
Mac pulled off his sweatshirt before joining Dana at her car. “Can you believe this?”
“Incredible. This case gets stranger by the minute.”
“Did you get any kind of report from the fire captain?” Mac asked.
“They have both engine companies on the fire. The call came in around 1:30 a.m. through 9-1-1. The house was fully engulfed when they arrived. The unattached garage, over there on the right, was far enough away so they were able to save most of it.”
“Do they have any idea on the cause?” Mac asked.
“Nothing yet. We won't know until they get it put out. They've been dumping water on it since I got here. It's settling down now. They have a fire boat coming up from the Portland Fire Bureau to throw water on it from the riverside.”
“Jan and Polo will be here a little later,” Mac said. “I want her to take a look around without the firemen in the event we're looking at an arson.” Mac blew out a long breath. “So what's the story on our so-called guard?”
“Apparently a call came into 9-1-1 around 1:30 reporting a gunman on the west side of town. The chief put every available officer on it, including our guy.”
Mac shook his head. “Guess I can't fault him for that. Did anything come of it?”
“Apparently not. By the time they got to the site, the guy was gone and the house was in flames.”
“Gone, huh? Wonder if he ever existed.” Mac shook his head. “Could this case get any more complicated?”
“Let's hope not.” Dana turned back to look at the fire. “Seems like we're getting blocked at every turn.”
An hour later the fire had been reduced to a smoldering mass. Fire personnel would continue to look for hot spots in what remained of the structure for some time before giving the investigators the go-ahead.
Jan and her arson dog,Polo, arrived shortly after sunup. She pulled up to the crime-scene tape in her Chevy all-wheel-drive van, stepped out with her coffee thermos in hand, and stretched. Her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail under her blue baseball cap. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt with brown slip-on shoes. Comfortable traveling clothes, Mac supposed. She'd soon be suiting up in her fire turnoutâthe thick, suspendered brown pants and jacket.
“Hey Jan,” Dana greeted.
“Morning, Dana, Mac. What do you have for Polo and me?”
“This is the house Clay Mullins lived in,” Mac answered. “The man who was hit by the train a couple of days ago. We had a warrant signed to search his place this morning, but as you can see, we never got the chance.”
“And this is the place you thought might be worth a fortune?” Jan's eyes narrowed. “Mighty strange there'd be a fire only hours before a search.”
“We're thinking the same thing.”
“All right, before we go tramping around there I want to run Polo over what's left of the structure to look for accelerates.” Jan opened up the side door to her van and unlocked a kennel. Polo, the three-year-old black lab, jumped from the vehicle and sat at Jan's feet while she secured a beacon strobe to his collar. She then placed fire-resistant booties over his feet to prevent damage from the heat. Once her partner was properly dressed, Jan placed her fire turnouts on, along with her fire helmet and respirator.
Jan and Polo walked toward the structure and met with investigators from the fire department before going toward the house. Using a long leash, the arson detective lead Polo around the outside of the foundation. The dog sniffed and pawed at the water-soaked rubble. Polo's shiny black coat rippled as the eager dog worked through the charred remains of wood, glass, and metal.
“Hey, Dana,” Jan yelled. “Bring me some of those metal cans from the back of the van, please.”
“Sure thing.” Dana went into the back of Jan's van, digging through piles of picks, axes, and evidence-collection equipment. She grabbed two stainless steel containers that looked like empty gallon paint cans.
“These the ones you want?” Dana held them up. At Jan's nod, she and Mac met up with Jan at the yellow crime-scene tape.
“You two can come on in now. Polo hit on a possible site and I want to secure it before we move on.”
Dana turned to Mac. “Should I be keeping a log at this point?”
“No. It's still a fire scene. We won't need our log until the fire captain releases the scene.” Mac sighed. Firefighters were a detective's worst nightmare to try and work around. They were all over the scene, making a huge mess and stomping out almost every piece of physical evidence.
Jan took one of the metal cans as she passed Polo's leash to Mac. She then pulled a small metal shovel from her leather tool belt and began scraping a singed two-by-six that would have been part of the home's frame.
“Isn't that the entrance Cohen said he used to get in?” Mac asked.
“Yeah, I think you're right,” Dana answered, keeping her gaze focused on Jan.
Jan popped the lid off her metal can, placed the black wood scrapings inside the can, and sealed it. “Now the other one.” Dana handed her the second can and Jan repeated the process, this time setting some black melted plastic in the metal container before sealing the lid.
“What do you think?” Dana asked.
“Judging by Polo's reaction, I'm thinking gasoline. Did you see how he hit on this spot? I mean, he didn't hesitate for a second. The crime lab will have to confirm it though.”
Jan and the fire crew dug around for the best part of an hour before coming back to where Mac and Dana were waiting.
“We all agree that the place Polo sniffed out is the origin of the fire. There may be secondary incendiary origins that we haven't located from within the residence. It's too early to tell until I get some lab results. But the fire took off from this point and burned hot. There are some directional clues that indicate it started in this area and worked to the other side of the structure. This old paint and timbers were ripe for a fire. We can't rule out accidental yet, but my gut is telling me someone set this one.”
Dana knelt down to pet Polo. “Good dog.”
Mac looked out over the remains of the house. “What are the odds? We finally get our search warrant, and the place goes up in smoke.”
“They're never easy. That's what makes this job so interesting.” Jan scratched her chin with her wrist to avoid touching her face with her blackened gloves.
Mac smiled at the action. Jan had half a dozen black smudges already on her face. He was glad she had been assigned to help with this case. According to the guys, Jan had been around the back room almost as long as Kevin and Philly. She'd worked person crimes like sex abuse, murder, and assault for years before the agency began their arson units about ten years ago.