Chapter 11 #3
“Well, it caused an extensive amount of damage, so the investigation will be ongoing for a while,” Nat said.
“We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, and we have to wait for the forensics team to properly remove all of the DNA kits before we can get started.
But from what we’ve pieced together so far from Gates and Dempsey’s scene reports, the burn patterns strongly suggest the fire started on the second floor, in the lab. ”
“Any idea what caused it?” Sinclair asked, and here, Ryan spoke up.
“Gates and I found three open containers of ethanol once we got past the cleanroom doors. It’s highly flammable, and burns in a pretty distinct, yellow-colored flame with a blue base. That was definitely the accelerant.”
“Could it have been a spill of some kind? An accident?” Tara asked.
Tyler shook his head. “No. The whole containment system experienced catastrophic failure. No alarms, no sprinkler system—we even had to break into the cleanroom. Those doors are specifically designed to stay unlocked if there’s an emergency, so no one gets trapped inside.”
“Could that have been a glitch?” Maxwell asked. “Or caused by damage from the fire?”
Tyler’s “no” was more forceful this time, and it collided with Nat’s “probably not”.
She raised a brow at him before saying, “Containment room doors are programmed to automatically unlock when the power goes out, or an alarm goes off. It’s not likely that they malfunctioned because they’re faulty, and multiple points of failure in a single system definitely suggests tampering, but we’ll have to investigate to know for sure. ”
“Understood,” Tara said, “but let’s move fast. If Navarro—or anyone else whose DNA kit was stored in the facility—had anything to do with this fire, I want proof.”
Nat nodded. “We’ll work the scene with Intelligence.”
Sinclair added, “And we’ll keep digging on Navarro to see if we can turn up that murder weapon or some connection to Brinkman that we haven’t found yet.”
“Good,” Tara said, turning her stare first to Tom, then to Chloe. “I know it’s hard to be patient, but given all the maybes here, we have to keep this investigation confidential until we know what we’re dealing with.”
The implication hit Chloe like a pinprick, sudden and sharp. “Wait. You don’t want to tell Esme about this, either?”
Tara’s hesitation answered the question even before she said, “She’s been through a lot, and she’s not in any danger right now. I don’t want to upset her if we don’t have to.”
“I don’t, either, but it’s not fair to keep her in the dark.
Look”—Chloe took a breath, trying her best not to argue with someone who A) she admired, and B) had made an entire career out of winning arguments—“I understand that we don’t know about the DNA yet, and that it’ll be a little while before we know for sure.
There’s a chance the evidence is viable, and you’ll arrest Navarro as planned. ”
She steadied her words, but damn, she had to choose it.
“But there’s a chance that DNA is ruined, and that Esme is the only thing standing between Leo Navarro and his get out of jail free card.
I promised to act in her best interest. If there’s enough potential for bad things that we’re all in this room discussing it, then she deserves to know, too.
Especially if her testimony becomes the only thing that proves Navarro’s guilt. ”
“You’ve got to admit, she’s got a point,” Addison said after a beat, and Tom punctuated the sentiment with a nod.
“Esme has been through a lot. There’s no denying that, and there’s no way this news won’t upset her. But she’d be even more upset if she finds out we knew all of this and kept it from her.”
It was the truth. Chloe’s relationship with Esme, as tentative as it was, was built on trust. She’d promised to be on Esme’s side and fight for her, no matter what. Even when—hell, especially when—things got scary.
“Okay,” Tara said, lifting her hands. “Let’s bring her in. I can deliver the news, if you’d like. I’m used to being the bad guy.”
“No.” Chloe dressed up the word with a smile.
“Thank you for offering, but bringing Esme down here will only get her even more defensive. The news will go over better if I tell her privately in her own space, where she feels a little safer. I can go right after we’re done here.
” The sooner she ripped off this Band-Aid, the better.
Tom winced. “I’d like to go with you—strength in numbers, and I want to be sure Esme knows we’ve got her back—but I’ve got to be in court in an hour for a custody hearing. It’ll probably take most of the day.”
“Ugh, and I’ll be tied up with the investigation,” Addison said, but Chloe waved off the concern.
“That’s okay. I’ll be fine on my own.”
To Chloe’s dismay, Tara shook her head. “No. I can get on board with not telling her here, but like you said, she’s going to be upset.
She might take the news better with someone else there.
Plus, like Tom said, we need her to know we’ve got her back.
” Her gaze slipped from Chloe’s, landing a few feet to her right, and no, no, no—“What about taking Gates?”
Tyler exhaled his shock. “Me?”
Tara nodded, her mind clearly made up. Damn it!
“Yes. You’re an expert, and Esme’s going to need emotional support.
You know how to keep people calm when things go sideways, and if she sees that the RFD is taking the fire investigation seriously, it’ll go a long way toward reassuring her that we’re doing all we can. Nat, can you spare him?”
“Sure,” Nat said, killing any last hope Chloe had of flying solo. “We’ve already done an initial briefing, and I’ve got his scene report. I’m sure there will be some follow-up, but like you said, the investigation is going to take time.”
Tara smiled. “Perfect. Then it looks like you two are a team.”