CHAPTER FIFTEEN #2
"No, not that I was aware of. The two have always been as close as brothers.
I don't think I've seen them even argue over anything.
If there were problems between them, I didn't know anything about them.
Frankly, it would shock me if there were.
The Chris family is like an extension of our family.
Tyler is devastated about what happened.
I spoke to his wife a few hours ago and she said Tyler was up all night at the restaurant, speaking to the fire marshal as they tried to figure out what caused the explosion.
" Hillary exhaled a long breath. "I know Jasmine is as upset as we are about all of this. "
Becca looked up, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Do you know if Dad suffered? Did he burn to death?"
Franks let Amy answer. He wasn't the person to field a question like that.
"I don't know exactly what happened there last night, but from what I've heard so far, I would guess he died quickly.
Probably by the explosion before the fire consumed the area.
The medical examiner might have better information than I do on that.
" Amy pulled out two cards from a small card wallet she kept on her.
"This is the medical examiner's information.
They'll call you once the body is ready to be released to the mortuary of your choice.
And this is my card. If either of you think of anything that we need to know, or if you remember something about a person or situation you witnessed recently, please call us. "
Becca took the cards and set them on the table by her mother. "Thanks. I wish we could help. Will someone keep us up to date on what they find out?"
"We'll do the best we can. I'm guessing Mr. Chris will be informed of any findings and you can find out through him." Franks glanced over at Amy who nodded.
"There will be a final report in time that will go to the insurance company as well. That should contain everything they find." Amy stood.
Franks followed her lead. "Thank you for giving us some of your time today. We're so sorry about your loss." He offered his hand to Becca first as Amy did the same to Hillary.
"Thank you." Becca smiled weakly. "I'll walk you out."
Hillary stayed seated as Becca led them through the house and to the front door. "Please find out if someone caused this. And if they did, make them pay for killing my father."
Amy placed a hand on Becca's shoulder. "We don't know if anyone did anything. It could be an equipment failure. I promise we will do everything to find out the truth, and if someone caused this, we will arrest them for what they've done."
"Thank you." Becca nodded.
Franks gave the young woman a gentle smile, then followed Amy back to the car. Once they got inside and had pulled away from the house, he let out a long breath. "I'm glad that's over."
"That's just the first of several grieving families we'll see today." Amy pulled her laptop back out. "Want to talk to the Chris family next, or Rachel Jefferson's family?"
"I'm sure Tyler Chris is already being questioned by people.
I'm not sure his wife will give us much more than Chef Tom's wife did.
Let's hold off on the Chris family for now and hit up the others.
Where am I headed?" Franks pulled out another piece of gum.
Most of the time it helped distract him from his desire to smoke again, but lately, it wasn't enough.
Hell, since he'd heard about Angus, it felt like torture not lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep drag to calm his nerves.
"Fountain Drive. It's that neighborhood west Fairway High School. Get us to the school and I'll lead you in unless you want me to put it in the GPS." Amy kept typing on her keyboard.
"I trust you more than I do some computer system." He glanced at her. "What are you doing on that thing?"
"Just organizing notes and making folders for each person we interview. I like keeping things easy to find." She sat back. "Don't you do the same?"
"I don't even have a laptop. Everything I do is from the office computer." Franks laughed. "I probably don't know how to use half the programs you have on that thing. I'm lucky to type up a report and have it readable with my typing skills."
"I thought everyone our age could type."
"You thought wrong." Franks reached to his console and handed Amy his phone. "Text Lance and ask for an update on Angus."
"He'd call if there was anything to report." She took his phone. "What's your passcode?"
"Eight, Six, Seven, Five."
Amy laughed. "Do not tell me it's from that song."
"Hey, it's easy to remember. It was a good song. I dated a Jenny in high school. We teased her about the song a lot." He huffed. "Don't give me shit. At least I was smart enough not to use my birthday or some shit like that."
Amy laughed as she unlocked his phone and sent a quick text message to Lance. "Does this mean you keep it simple and use that for everything?"
"Maybe. At least on ones I can. Some stupid apps want me to use letters and punctuation. Those get a bit trickier to remember. It's not like I use it for anything important. If someone wants to try and hack me, they can have at it. I'll track their ass down and arrest them."
Amy bit her lip but set his phone back in the console. "I do not understand what my sister sees in you."
"Have you asked her? You keep giving me shit about being friends with her, but have you asked her why we're friends?"
"Friends? Is that really what you are?"
"Maybe a bit more. I don't push. Besides, it's none of your business. If she wanted you to know more, she'd tell you."
"I don't want to give her the third degree.
I'm glad she's finding her own path. She's got a job she loves, and she's making friends in the area.
I just worry about her. She's been through so much.
Her ex was a piece of work. You don't understand what her life was like.
" Amy reached for his phone as it dinged.
She unlocked it again and read the response from Lance.
"Nothing new to report. Lizzy and Martin will be by after dinner.
Angus's vitals are stable. Still nothing from Betty.
" Amy glanced over at Franks. "Who's Betty? "
"A friend of Lizzy's." Franks had no idea what to say. Since he was texting Franks' phone, Lance wouldn't think twice about mentioning Lizzy.
"Was she at dinner with them last night? I heard her mentioned earlier."
"Um, I think she might have been there but not with them.
I'm not sure. I know she's always with Lizzy, so it was strange she didn't show up at the hospital with them last night while Angus was in surgery.
" Franks took a deep breath. He was not going to be the one to tell Amy that ghosts were real and actively hanging out with everyone.
There were some days he still struggled to believe in ghosts despite all the evidence he had that they existed.
"I'll have to look at the reservation list. Do you know her last name?" Amy asked.
"Nope. No idea. I've never met her in person. Just heard about her." That much was true. Since he couldn't see ghosts, he hadn't really met her. He might have had a few conversations with her through Lance and Lizzy, but he'd never heard her voice or laid eyes on her.
She typed something back to Lance, then set his phone back in place.
"I told him we'd drop by later today once we finished a few more interviews.
I feel bad for not being there more, but we do have jobs to do.
There's not much we can do for Angus now other than find out what happened last night.
He'll want answers when he wakes up, and I hope we will have them for him. "
Franks agreed. They needed answers. But sitting down for interviews with no clue what they were looking for didn't seem to be getting them answers.
They needed information from the scene. From the fire marshal and A.T.F.
to know exactly what happened. Was someone to blame or did a gas line have an issue?
So many questions. All he wanted was to turn back time and keep his friends from being at that restaurant last night.
Since he couldn't do that, he'd do the next best thing and figure out exactly why his partner was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life.