Chapter 23
Luke entered, his arm wrapped around Martha Reynolds, and a new hush fell over the waiting room. Her worry was etched into every line of her face. Olivia knew and hated the anguish she must be feeling.
With a heavy sigh, she approached Martha, enveloping her in a tight embrace. Martha clung to Olivia. Charlotte joined them, her presence a silent but steadfast support.
Martha”s eyes searched Olivia”s face, a silent plea for answers lingering in their depths. Olivia took a deep breath, steeling herself to deliver the news in the gentlest way possible. She held Martha”s hands in hers, offering what comfort she could.
Olivia began softly, her voice steady despite the turmoil raging inside her. “All we know is Jackson was injured in the consumer club fire. The medical staff is evaluating him.” She chose her words carefully, sparing Martha the harrowing details of Jackson”s condition for now.
Martha”s grip tightened on Olivia”s hands, her eyes brimming with tears as she searched for reassurance. Olivia squeezed her hands gently, offering a silent promise to be there for her every step of the way.
Her voice filled with compassion, Olivia murmured, “We”re all here for you. And I promise you, we”ll find out what happened. We won”t rest until we have answers.”
Martha nodded, a mixture of gratitude and anguish on her face. In that moment, Olivia understood the weight of her responsibility, not only to Jackson but to his mother and the others who were affected. She would do whatever it took to support the families of the dead or injured, and to uncover the truth behind the fire that had threatened to tear their lives apart.
Charlotte Everhart joined her daughter and Martha. “I’m so sorry to see you here again.” She offered Martha some tissues. “Come sit.” She took the woman’s hand and led her to an open seat.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sophie returned to the room. Her presence was met with a collective intake of breath as families looked for a bit of information about their loved one. She rounded the room giving updates about the patients she was caring for. Then she made her way to Olivia and Charlotte.
“Mrs. Reynolds,” she made the assumption the older woman between them was Jackson’s mom. “I’m Dr. Sophie Everhart. I’m treating your son.”
“Hello, Sophie. I remember you as a little girl in a green butterfly dress.” She smiled. “How’s Jackson?”
Sophie crouched down to be at eye level with Martha. “He arrived in very critical condition. We are going to try to get the carbon monoxide out of his system by putting him in a hyperbaric chamber. But before we do, you can see him.”
Martha was a pillar of strength. She turned to Charlotte. “I never thought I’d have to go through this again.”
Charlotte nodded. “The people who say God gives you only what you can handle are liars. I’ll be here when you come out.”
Olivia’s backbone straightened. She returned to her usual cool demeanor. Twenty years didn’t make a difference. Pain was pain.
Martha turned toward the doctor. “Dr. Everhart, I want Liv to see Jackson too.”
“That’s fine. Follow me,” her sister said.
Martha held on to Olivia as they were escorted into the trauma room. Jackson lay in the bed, connected to multiple machines and monitors, his skin ghostly pale, his face wrapped in white bandages covering burns. His nose and lips were still a sooty black.
His mother stood beside him, her voice quivering with emotion, “Please, Jackson, you have to get better. For me, for Liv—for all of us. We need you, baby boy. Please fight.”
Martha”s plea for Jackson”s recovery resonated deeply within the somber walls of the trauma room, her words raw with a mother”s love and desperation.
As Martha took a moment to gather herself, Olivia stepped forward, her voice remaining steady. “Jackson,” she began, her words a whispered plea, laced with love and longing. “It”s Livvy. I love you.”
In that minute, Olivia poured her heart out. “Turk is helping take care of everyone.” Her voice quivered slightly as she made promises to him. “Jackson, I”ll be here for your mom. I”ll watch over her like she”s my own.”
She swatted at her tears, her resolve faltering. “And I won”t stop fighting until I find the person responsible for this,” she declared. “I”ll leave no stone unturned, Jackson. I swear it.”
Taking a deep breath, Olivia”s gaze softened as she spoke her final words to him, “But, Jackson, if... if the fight gets too hard, if it becomes too much... you need to do what”s right for you. We”ll understand, Jackson. We”ll all understand.” She kissed his cheek.
Martha kissed his hand. She and Olivia watched the medical team wheel him from the room.
“We’ll get him into the chamber. I”m hoping the hyperbaric treatment will help raise his oxygen levels. It”s an intensive treatment, but it could make a difference.”
Martha wrung her hands. “What is it exactly?”
“It involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room, which helps increase the oxygen carried in the blood and speeds up healing,” Sophie explained. “It’s going to be a lot of waiting. I wish I could tell you more.”
“Does he have other injuries?” Martha asked.
Sophie sighed. “He has burns to the face and airway, six broken ribs and a fractured scapula. We will know the real severity once he makes it through the hyperbaric treatment.”
As Sophie left them to wait, Luke approached, bringing more information about Jackson”s heroic efforts during the fire. He hugged Martha, then held her hand. “Jackson saved eleven people.”
“Thank you for being here, Luke,” Martha said graciously.
Luke looked at Olivia. “Detective, could I speak with you privately?”
Olivia nodded. “Mom,” she said, “please take care of Martha for me. I need to focus. I have a job to do.”
Her mother”s eyes softened. “Of course, sweetheart,” she replied. “I”ll be here for Martha. You focus on what you need to do. Turk and I will take care of things here.” She looked toward the tall firefighter.
With a grateful smile, Olivia squeezed her mother”s hand. She grabbed her coat and led Luke from the room. Together they walked toward the hospital exit. As they stepped into the pouring rain, she remembered she came to the hospital with Jackson in the ambulance.
“I have Jackson’s truck. I can get you wherever you need to go.” Luke clicked the key fob.
Olivia cocked her head. “How did you get Jackson’s truck?”
Luke chuckled. “Monica and I were at the consumer club. We were just leaving as the front doors blew.”
Olivia”s eyebrows furrowed in surprise at Luke”s revelation. “You were at the consumer club?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Luke nodded, a rueful smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, Monica and I were just grabbing some detergent and breakfast food for the firehouse,” he explained, his tone laced with a hint of surprise.
A small sigh escaped Olivia”s lips as she processed the information. While she was grateful that Luke and Monica were safe, the circumstances surrounding their presence at the scene of the fire raised questions she would have to confront.
She chewed her lip, her mind racing with a flurry of thoughts and emotions. But for now, she decided to let it go, choosing instead to focus on the big picture. “Alright,” she conceded with a nod. “Let”s go. I have work to do.”
As Luke guided the emergency vehicle through the city streets, Olivia sat by his side, her knuckles white against the edge of her seat. Her eyes were fixed on the road ahead, but her thoughts were consumed by her feelings for Jackson.
“Detective,” Luke”s voice broke through the tense silence. “Jackson found what he thought were pieces of an explosive device,” he began. “That”s what trapped him. He was fifteen feet behind us as we evacuated. The wall came down between him and the rest of the company. We couldn’t free his passage.
“I”m sorry we left him, but he ordered us to,” Luke continued, his voice thick with anguish as he swiped at his eyes.
Olivia”s breath caught in her throat as Luke”s words sank in. “He found pieces of a device,” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, her mind reeling at the revelation. The idea of Jackson being trapped, alone and in danger, hit her again.
As Luke continued, his voice thick with emotion, Olivia”s hands vibrated slightly as she reached out to grasp his arm in a gesture of support. “Luke,” she said softly, “you did everything you could. Jackson knew the risks, and he made the decision to stay behind. You followed his orders, and that”s what mattered in that moment.
“What made him think to look for an explosive?” she asked.
Luke took a steadying breath, his gaze distant as he recounted the sequence of events that unfolded in the warehouse. “It was... surreal,” he began. “As we made our way through the canned vegetable aisle, a case of corn seemed to explode and then extinguish. Jackson... he just... he knew something wasn”t right.”
Olivia listened intently and took notes as Luke described Jackson”s swift actions. “He found part of a plastic bottle, some wires, phone pieces—you know, like the circuit board—and some putty,” he continued, his voice trailing off. “He grabbed an empty super-size can of tomatoes, put what he found inside and stomped it closed. We got the abandon order and started to make our way out. And then... he told me to get it to you.”
A sense of dread settled over Olivia as she pieced together the fragments of information, her mind racing with the implications of Jackson”s discovery. “That was what was in the tomato can?” she asked. “A possible explosive?”
Jackson had unwittingly uncovered the threat. Olivia scrawled some more notes. Multiple devices—large fire.
Olivia’s phone rang. It was Michael. “Liv, how’s the captain?”
“Mike, he’s bad,” Olivia replied, her voice tinged with sorrow. “He is critical. It”s a waiting game. What do you have?” She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the information she knew couldn’t be good. She’d seen the body bags.
As Michael filled in some of the gaps, Olivia”s heart clenched with each devastating detail. “Fourteen civilians... didn”t make it?” she repeated, her mind reeling at the sheer magnitude of the loss.
“Twenty-three critical, forty-eight survivable injuries... And twenty-seven firefighters injured.”
She struggled to find the words. “The firefighter who had the heart attack...” she began, her voice catching in her throat, “he didn”t make it.”
A heavy silence hung in the air as Michael processed the grim news. “Damn, I”m sorry,” he muttered, his voice thick with regret. He paused. “Jackson… he found components of a small explosive device and managed to preserve them. Witnesses reported pops of flames. Our arsonist must have placed them throughout the warehouse. We found another body with a phoenix vial.”
The news sent a chill down her spine. The presence of another phoenix vial now showed the arsonist didn’t care who they hurt.
“I”m getting a ride,” Olivia declared, her gaze fixed on the passing scenery outside the window.
“Liv, are you sure you want to be here?” her partner’s voice came through the phone, laced with concern.
Liv squared her jaw. “I need to find whoever is doing this, Mike. I can”t just sit and wait.”
Michael sighed on the other end of the line. “Alright,” he relented. “I”m in the command center. I”ll see you when you get here.”
As the call ended, Olivia turned to Luke. “I need your help. I need to walk the scene before I head into the bureaucracy.” She scrunched her brows. “I left my turnout pants in the hospital, so we need to stop by my car. I need my camera and my kit from the trunk.”
Luke nodded in understanding, his expression grave. “There should be a spare set of gear in the truck.” He gestured toward the back seat. “If there isn’t one here, there will be a set in one of the engines on scene. The scene will still be filled with hotspots. I”ll walk it with you.”
“Thanks.” Olivia advised him where she parked. As Luke said, they were able to come up with two sets of turnout gear.
“What are we looking for?” he asked.
“Remember that game you played in elementary school—what doesn’t belong? That’s what we are looking for.”
Luke shook his head and laughed a humorless chuckle.