So the chief himself was on hand, Cole thought as he hurried over to a hook-and-ladder from. Engine Company Twenty-one. He had donned his overcoat and helmet on his way over so he'd be ready to get to work. A hose had been attached to the ladder on the wagon, so that once it was raised water could be sprayed down onto the fire from above. Cole pitched in by helping turn the cranks that lifted the ladder.
Lieutenant Driscoll came over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the crackling roar of the conflagration. "The chief wants to see you!"
"Me?" Cole asked. He couldn't figure out why Chief Sullivan would want to talk to him.
Driscoll nodded and jerked a thumb toward the spot where the chief and Tobin were talking. Cole shrugged, moved aside so that another fireman could take his place on the crank, and trotted over to join Sullivan and Tobin.
"Hello, Brady," the chief greeted him. It wasn't quite so noisy here. "You know Mr. Tobin, I take it?"
Cole, nodded to the harried-looking warehouse owner. "Of course. I'm sorry about this."
"Maybe you should be," Tobin snapped.
Cole's forehead creased in a frown. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. He had a sudden feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"That warehouse was full of fine textiles," Tobin said angrily, "including some very expensive silk from the Orient. It's going to cost me a fortune to make up this loss!"
"Aren't you insured?"
Tobin shook his head. "Not for the full value of that merchandise. I'll be lucky if this loss doesn't ruin me."
"Like I said, I'm sorry," Cole told the man. "But I still don't see what that has to do with me."
Chief Sullivan put in, "We're pretty sure this fire was arson, just like the blaze that gutted Garrett Ingersoll's warehouse. Inspector Fernack and I have already talked to a couple of witnesses who saw some suspicious characters hanging around here earlier."
"You mean they set the fire in broad daylight?" Cole found that hard to believe.
"The waterfront was practically deserted today," Sullivan pointed out. "Everyone was up in Golden Gate Park."
Now that he thought about ft, Cole supposed the chief was right. The neighborhood would not have been as busy to start with on a Saturday afternoon, and on a day such as today, with all the festivities going on in the park, hardly anyone would be around the warehouse district.
He nodded slowly and said, "Arson or not, this fire doesn't have anything to do with me."
"Can you prove that?" Tobin demanded.
Cole felt anger welling up inside him. The warehouse owner was accusing him of having something to do with the blaze. He said sharply, "In case you haven't noticed, my job is putting out fires, not having them started."
"No, but you'd know how to go about it, wouldn't you?" Before Cole could make any reply to that outrageous suggestion, Tobin went on, "I've been talking to Garrett Ingersoll. When his warehouse burned down, it was full of goods, just like mine. The loss damaged his business, just like this one will hurt me. But when there was a fire at one of your warehouses, Brady, the place was empty. Mighty lucky for you, eh?"
Cole's hands clenched into fists, and he took a step toward Tobin. Chief Sullivan moved quickly to get between the two men. Cole said, "You said it yourself, Tobin. I lost a warehouse just like you and Ingersoll. Why would I have one of my own buildings burned down?"
"Maybe so you wouldn't look suspicious when everybody else along the waterfront started getting hit. Who's next, Brady? Are you going to burn down one of Richter's buildings, or Burke's?"
Sullivan put a hand on Cole's chest. "Hold on to your temper, lad," he cautioned. "It won't help matters if you take a swing at Mr. Tobin."
"Listen, Chief, you know what he's saying is crazy! I'd never have any building burned down."
Tobin pointed out, "You already own more property along the waterfront than anyone else. Could be that you want it all, and what better way to drive the rest of us out of business?"
Cole felt a muscle jumping in his cheek as his jaw clenched tightly. He didn't say anything, but he was grateful to Sullivan when the chief said to Tobin, "You're being mighty reckless with those accusations you're throwing around. Cole Brady is a valued member of our fire department."
"And that's why I'm not going to trust the fire department to investigate this blaze," Tobin shot back. "I'm going to rely on the police. Fernack will get to the bottom of this. I'm going to go talk to him again now."
"You do that," the chief said tightly. "But you'd better be sure of your facts before you go around accusing one of my men of a crime."
Cole and Sullivan stood together as Tobin stalked off. Cole said, "You know I didn't have anything to do with this, Chief."
Sullivan clapped a hand on Cole's shoulder. "I know, lad. You've always been one of the department's best men. But if these fires keep hurting your competitors here on the waterfront, it's going to look bad. For everyone's sake, I hope this is the last one."
Cole looked toward the burning building. Flames still shot up high over the collapsed roof, despite the water being poured onto the blaze. Sparks climbed into the grayish sky, making it look as if the stars had come out early. Cole wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.