ELEVEN
MY BUILDING’S PARKING lot was filled with people standing in clumps around the fire trucks, police cars, and EMT trucks. There were black smudges around my apartment windows and a hole punched into the brick in the general vicinity of my living room. I immediately spotted Briggs. He was standing in the middle of the lot, holding Rex’s aquarium, his clothes in tatters, his hair and face sooty. And one of his shoes was missing. He was talking to a uniformed cop, who was taking notes.
I parked the Buick, ran to Briggs, and grabbed the aquarium from him. I looked inside and saw that Rex was in his soup can. He peeked out at me and blinked his shiny black eyes.
“He’s good,” Briggs said. “I got him out before it got too smoky.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Sorry about your apartment,” Briggs said.
“As long as Rex is okay,” I said. “The rest is just stuff.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Briggs said. “The rocket missed the window and hit the building, so the fire wasn’t as bad as mine. It was mostly put out by your superintendent. He said he’s getting good at putting out fires in your apartment.”
“This must have happened right after I left.”
“Pretty much. I figure Jimmy knew I was staying here, and he was watching to get me alone.”
I turned to the uniform. “Did anyone see the rocket get shot off?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’re canvassing the building and the neighborhood. Hopefully we’ll find a witness.”
I saw Morelli making his way around the fire hoses and responders. He was wearing his stoic cop face. He got to me and looked in at Rex.
“Is he okay?”
I nodded. “Yes. Briggs got him out in time. I was making a capture in the Burg when it happened.”
Morelli looked up at my apartment. “Rocket?”
“Looks like it,” I said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone other than Briggs and the cop.”
“I was in the living room when it happened,” Briggs said. “I was going from the kitchen to the bathroom. I was going to take a shower. And all of a sudden there was this big bang that shook the building, and I was knocked on my keister. And there was a fireball on one side of the living room, by the window. And the fire ran up the curtains and there was a lot of black smoke, and the smoke detectors went off, and I got to my feet, ran to the kitchen and got the rat, and ran down the stairs with him and out of the building.”
“He’s a hamster,” I said.
Morelli looked around. “I assume your car is here somewhere?”
“It’s back by the dumpster,” I said. “I couldn’t find a place to park.”
He gave me the keys to his SUV. “I’m behind the EMT truck. Wait there while I poke around. I’ll get back to you.” He looked at Briggs. “Do you need medical help?”
Briggs shook his head, and some small chunks of plaster fell out of his hair. “I’m okay, but I wouldn’t mind you looking around for my shoe if you get into the apartment.”
Morelli left, and Ranger called.
“I’m fine,” I told him. “Briggs was in the apartment when it happened, and he carried Rex out.”
“I’ve got Hal on the scene if you need him. He said Morelli’s there so he’s hanging back.”
“How do you know all this without your control room?”
“We’re functioning offsite.”
An hour later the fire trucks and EMTs started pulling out of my lot. The fire marshal was on the scene. The gawkers were dribbling away, going back to their houses, and most of the people in my building were allowed to return to their apartments.
Morelli returned to the SUV and handed Briggs his shoe.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
“I’ve seen worse,” Morelli said. “You were lucky it missed the window and hit the wall. Your living room is destroyed, but the rest of the apartment is intact. Mostly what you’ve got is smoke damage and water damage. Your super went in immediately with commercial fire extinguishers and minimized the fire. He said he keeps them in the utility closet next to your apartment.”
“How soon can I get in?”
“If the investigators don’t find any structural damage, you should be able to get in this afternoon, but you’re not going to be living here for at least a week or two. Maybe longer.”
So my plan to use Briggs as bait had worked … but not in a good way.
“I’m staying here,” Morelli said. “This is part of the Poletti investigation. If you want to take off, I’ll call you when you can go in.”
Briggs put his shoe on, and we walked to the edge of the lot, where the Buick was parked. My plan was to go to my parents’ house and drop Rex off. If my father wasn’t home, Grandma and my mother might let Briggs into the house long enough for us to regroup.