Patrick suspected that Maggie thought he wanted to be a firefighter only because their father had been one. He had to admit, when he found out his father had died saving others, he did think that was pretty cool. He never knew the man. Thomas O’Dell died before Patrick was born. He probably did have an inflated superhero image of the man. And so what if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps? What was so wrong about that?
Patrick knew he had the raw instincts needed to be a good firefighter. It became obvious to him a year ago when he and some friends were at the Mall of America on the day after Thanksgiving. Three bombs blew up and ripped through a portion of the mall.
Patrick could have easily made it to safety, but without hesitation, without even thinking, he turned around and went back into the devastation. While other people’s instincts were to flee from danger, Patrick’s was to run toward it and see how he could help.
“I think it’s what I’m supposed to do,” he had told Racine.
“You mean like God told you?”
By then he had already been warned about Racine’s smart mouth. He remembered smiling politely and saying, “Exactly. Just like God told you to be a homicide detective.”
Suddenly the church’s stained-glass windows burst into a rain of colored glitter. Three firefighters were caught under the spray of shattered glass. They stopped to shield themselves, then immediately hurried into the building.
Patrick stood back and watched. He felt his gut twist and his fists continue to ball up around his gloves. He should be following them instead of sitting on the sidelines preparing to hose down a building that wasn’t even on fire.
A firefighter in front of him struggled to unwind more hose. Another shouted at the guy to hurry just before he disappeared inside the building. Patrick didn’t even look over at Harper. He secured the chin strap on his helmet and pulled on his gloves. Then he hurried over to help the firefighter with the hose, knowing full well he was probably walking away from the best job he’d ever get in a long time.
CHAPTER 45
“It bothers you,” Racine said as soon as Ivan left, right after the windows exploded.
It took a second or two for Maggie to realize that she was talking about Patrick. When she didn’t answer Racine continued, “Tate Braxton’s an asshole but his firefighters are highly trained and certified.”
“How do you know Braxton?”
“Just by reputation. He’s a businessman. In it for the almighty dollar. But he does a good job making sure his people are qualified.”
They stood side by side watching the flames. A stretcher with a body on it had just been hauled to the first waiting ambulance. They sighed in relief when the body raised an arm and they realized the person was alive. Still, Maggie could sense Racine’s frustration at not being able to help. Her impatience and tension radiated off her.
“I dated one of Braxton’s firefighters a few years ago,” Racine added.
Maggie recognized the idle chatter the detective resorted to when she hated waiting, when she felt sidelined.
“She didn’t make it to Valentine’s Day either, huh?”
Neither of them shifted or looked at each other.
Racine said, “Nope.”
But she could see the smile at the corners of Racine’s lips.
Maggie felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket and she pulled it out. “This is Maggie O’Dell.”
“Maggie, it’s Tully. I just heard about the fires. Do I need to be there?”
“Not unless you want to stand around with Racine and me.”
“How bad is it?”
“Bad. We have casualties this time. There was a meeting in the basement of one of the churches.”
“And it’s the middle of the day. He’s getting cocky.”
“Or reckless.”
Racine’s phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and walked away from Maggie as she answered.
“The guy with the backpack,” Tully said. “He was there during the warehouse fires. The film footage shows him in the middle of the bystanders before the second building blast.”
“Doesn’t mean he started the fires.”
“No, but get this. Instead of just walking away? He disappears down a manhole.”
“That’s weird. Are you sure?”
“I went back to the site. Yeah, I’m sure. So why travel through the sewer system unless you have something to hide?”
“Or maybe you don’t want to be seen. Any idea who he is?”
“No. I don’t even know how to find him without staking out all the manholes in a ten-block radius.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Not in a ten-block radius, but maybe around the fire site. He stuck around during the fire and then came back at least once. Maybe he was looking for something in that alley. Something he left behind. Something that could incriminate him.”
“Good point.”
He sounded tired. She wanted to ask if he was okay. If his shoulder was okay, but she knew he hated such questions as much as she did.
“What time will you be finished with Dr. Kernan?”
Kernan. She’d almost forgotten.