Chapter 16 #3
Sinclair shook his head. “At his restaurant, with dozens of people to back it up. We checked into everyone whose DNA was at the facility. We’re still chasing down a few details, but so far, they all alibi out.”
“That doesn’t mean Navarro couldn’t have hired someone to set the fire,” Addison added. “We’ll check out every possibility now that it’s a confirmed arson.”
“Yeah, about that,” Xander said, his dark brows bunched in thought. “This guy put accelerant in the filtration system?”
Tyler’s nod was grim. “This fire was strategically set to cause as much damage as possible in a short period of time. Filtration systems aren’t just designed to remove harmful particles. They’re built to control air flow and pressure. Add a highly flammable chemical and a source of ignition…”
“And you’ve got the perfect way to lead the fire through the entire system, all the way down to the lobby.
No wonder it traveled so far, so fast.” Capelli finished.
“That’s quite brilliant, actually.” Clearing his throat—likely at Maxwell’s high-level frown—he added, “You know, as far as evil plans go.”
A thought snagged in Chloe’s brain and tumbled out of her mouth. “I thought you said the containment system wasn’t working.”
“More like, it was working against us,” Tyler said. “Filtration is only part of overall containment. There are also sprinkler systems and emergency response alarms—those obviously weren’t functional—and most labs, including this one, also have what are called clean rooms.”
Tyler pointed to the center screen on the array, where Capelli had pulled up an image that had been taken before the fire, showing a series of small rooms divided by sliding doors made of what looked like plexiglass, three narrow booths equipped with multiple shower heads, and a row of HazMat suits hanging from hooks high above.
He continued, “They’re basically enclosed areas within larger facilities, specifically built to minimize contamination.
As a safety measure, the doors are all programmed to automatically disengage if there’s a loss of power.
That way, no one can get trapped inside.
But Ryan and I had to break in just to get to the lab. ”
“So, whoever did this had extensive knowledge of the filtration system, overrode the emergency response to kill the sprinklers and alarms, and took control of the failover system on the doors to delay firefighters from responding?” Sinclair asked.
“Yes. We’re not talking about an impulse crime here. This arsonist is as meticulous as he is smart.”
Capelli nodded his agreement as Chloe tried—somewhat poorly—to wrap her head around everything Tyler had said.
“And thorough. He bypassed all the security cameras.”
A soft curse spilled out of Chloe as Capelli pulled up what looked like surveillance footage from several different cameras both outside and inside the lab, time stamped on the evening of the fire.
Everything looked normal, the building empty.
Then, sure enough, the screens went simultaneously blank a few seconds later.
“Well, that explains why there was no system call to nine-one-one,” Addison said, “but come on. You can’t just hack into all this stuff without leaving a trace, right?”
“You can’t do anything online without leaving a trace.” Capelli’s brows pulled downward behind his glasses, his fingers flying over his keyboard. “Some people just know how to hide theirs. Luckily for us, I know—whoa.”
“It’s never good when he says that,” Addison murmured. After a few seconds, Capelli proved that this instance wouldn’t be the exception.
“The person who set this fire might not have been trying particularly hard to cover up the fact that he committed arson, but when he hacked into the system, he wanted to cover up everything.” More typing, more frowning. “It looks like he used a very sophisticated loop.”
Tyler looked at the information on the array, then lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay. I’ll bite. What’s a loop?”
“A loop is a fundamental programming construct that allows a set of instructions to be executed repeatedly, either for a specific set of intervals or indefinitely.”
“Can you slow that down for those of us with smoother brains, Einstein?” Garza asked.
Capelli, who didn’t seem to take a lick of offense, simply did as asked. “Oh. It’s a circle.”
“Like an automation?” Tyler asked slowly, and Capelli brightened.
“Exactly. Our arsonist bypassed the security system by taking previously captured data and looping it into the mainframe. The system saw this”—he clicked back to the camera view of the quiet, empty lab—“but that’s not what was really happening.”
Realization unfolded in Chloe’s brain, making her pulse escalate. “So, this guy essentially tricked the system into thinking everything was fine so he could take control and do whatever he wanted, like access the filtration system and lock the clean room doors?”
“Yes, but…” More keystrokes. More frowning. “I think it’s more like guys. This loop would’ve needed to be monitored while it was in place to make sure it went undetected long enough for someone to set the fire.”
“So, there’s a hacker and an arsonist?” Chloe asked.
Addison, however, didn’t seem disheartened by that little nugget.
“That might not be a bad thing. If we can figure out just one of their identities, we’d be in a good position to get them to flip on whoever orchestrated the fire.
And if that turns out to be Navarro, we’d have him dead to rights, even if the DNA is a wash. ”
“Do it,” Sinclair said. “Capelli, dig in on this hacker, and while you’re at it, let’s widen the net on camera footage from the night of the fire.
Xander, Garza, look into the schematics for the lab.
Floor plans, blueprints, containment system specs.
This arsonist knew what he was doing. Let’s find out who can access the details.
Hale and Maxwell, go through Dynamics employees, current and past. Take a hard look at anyone who might be disgruntled or strapped for cash—anyone at all who would give up intel on the layout of the lab.
We need Navarro off the street, the sooner, the better.
If he’s behind this, it’s how we get him. Let’s move, people.”
Everyone in the office moved at once, all turning toward their respective desks and keyboards, and Chloe fought to steady her spinning thoughts. “What should we do?”
“What you’ve been doing,” Sinclair said, splitting his gaze between her and Tyler. “Keep Esme steady and stay connected with Arson Investigation. We’ll update Tara, and as soon as we find something we can move on, you’ll know.”
Tyler nodded. “I’ll get Nat up to speed.”
“Sounds good.” Sinclair nodded once before heading to Capelli’s workstation. Chloe knew there was no better team in the city—hell, probably the state, or even on the entire East Coast—to bring this case to justice and keep Esme safe. She was living proof of their dedication and bravery.
But when Tyler looked at her and asked if she was okay, the “of course” that automatically crossed her lips was still a lie.