#4--The Quiet Day--O’Connells

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  She reached for her phone, seeing the same message, and stood up, taking in the dinner they hadn’t eaten. Toby was already walking to the door. She grabbed her purse before hurrying to his bedroom and grabbing her shirt, then to the front door, where he was waiting to lock up.

  She was already halfway to her car when he called out, “Suzanne…” and she stopped, pulling the door open as he walked toward her.

  “Look, I didn’t mean to come down on you so hard or to sound like such a jerk,” he said, “but at the same time, this here, between us, I don’t know what to call it. I care about you. I really do…”

  The way he was looking at her, the way he stepped toward her, the chemistry rocked, and she could feel the pull again, feel herself being reeled back into whatever this was.

  “I sense a big ‘but’ coming.”

  He glanced away, hurried, brushing her off. He shook his head. “I like things the way they are. You just need to calm down a bit, not be so rushed. Besides, don’t forget the little fact that I’m a lieutenant and you’re not, and if others in the department get word of what’s going on between us, things could become difficult, namely for me.”

  “Oh, I see. This is about your image, about protocol?”

  He just shook his head and took a step back. “No, it’s that everything isn’t always that simple, Suzanne. Look, this isn’t the time. We have a fire to get to, and I really want to talk to you about this when we’re calmer, more reasonable, and have time.”

  He started over to his pickup, his new one, and she knew that was his way of shutting this down. There was just so much about Toby that she wasn’t able to grasp. He had a way of not answering, of evading, of deflecting, and for the first time since this thing between them had started, she wondered if this was something he’d always done or if she was finally seeing this relationship for what it really was.

  Would they ever settle into anything? Because right now, she didn’t want to admit it, but there might be something to what her brother was saying. This could be going exactly nowhere.

  Chapter Four

  Returning to the same box store she’d left only an hour earlier, she found the parking lot was thankfully no longer full. Two firetrucks were on scene, and Toby was already geared up, heading toward the ladder truck that had just arrived with four volunteers who were waiting to receive orders.

  Suzanne had on all her gear, her bulky turnout pants and jacket. She fastened it over Toby’s shirt, which she was still wearing, as she started over to him, putting on her helmet and thick gloves. The smoke coming from the large building wasn’t as heavy as she expected, but she was already assessing everything, making a plan, though she expected Toby to be on top of that. She was ready to shut down this fire before it grew into a blaze that would kill someone.

  She spotted her brother with a few of his deputies and emergency personnel where the smoke was concentrated at the back of the store. A few people were hurrying out, wet from the sprinklers, which was good news. At least something was working in their favor.

  “Do you think it’s going to be a full-scale fire and we’ll see some action?” said Everett, one of the senior volunteer firemen, who showed up at every fire. He hurried past her to stand before Toby, eagerly awaiting his orders, beat only by the newest volunteer firefighter, Greg. He was a full-time accountant, she thought, bored with life and looking for some excitement. Toby was engaged in a discussion with a man she assumed was in charge of the store.

  “Not sure until we get in there,” Suzanne said. “You know the thing about a fire: Smoke and flames can spread real fast. Any idea how it started or where?”

  Near Toby, the volunteer firefighters were all vying for an exciting order that would have them in the thick of it. She just hoped she wouldn’t be stuck babysitting them. Everett hadn’t answered her.

  The store manager was carrying on to Toby, likely having one of the worst days of his life. “It wasn’t all that busy tonight,” he said. “I don’t know how many are in there, but as soon as I heard someone yell about smoke, fingers were pointing at who started it. We know it was that kid. It had to have been. He was up to no good when he walked in the store…”

  She found herself looking around, willing Toby to get on with things and make sure everyone was out of the store, do a sweep, put out the fire, shut the power down, and avert disaster. There would be time after to figure out how it had started. Right now, he was still conversing and not ordering, and they were standing around with their thumbs up their asses.

  Come on, Toby! The only orders were to get a team to assess the situation, another to perform search and rescue, and another to get the ladder truck up and onto the roof, where the smoke was. He had to get everyone where they needed to be.

  “We’re not sure if everyone’s out yet, but deputies are inside, making sure,” Toby said.

  What the hell, Toby?

  She couldn’t believe he’d said that. Deputies weren’t firefighters. What was he thinking? She was about to say something when he glanced her way.

  “O’Connell, you’re inside with Sweeney. The fire broke out in the change rooms at the back of the store. Sprinklers kicked in, but the water could do more damage to stock, so let’s be mindful of what this could be costing the company, and be careful you’re not doing more damage. We need this thing shut down quickly for the owner’s sake.” Toby was loud and commanding. He had that presence about him.

  “What about doing a sweep of the store for any other civilians?” Suzanne said. “Why do you have deputies in there? Do we know how many are still inside, if there’s still a fire or anyone trapped?”

  She knew she was openly questioning him, but at the same time, she was the one who had walked him through these steps once, warning him about the changing conditions he should have been assessing from the moment he stepped on the scene. She’d been there to remind him before while teaching him in the field—fire behavior, fire suppression, and fire safety. Yet he was following none of it. Getting everyone out should’ve been his first priority, not preventing loss for the business.

  For a second, she wondered where his head was. He’d said deputies were in there, but they were the last ones who should be doing that job. And protecting everything inside from any further damage…had he seriously said that? Yes, he had. She was already planning the talk she would have with him after this was over.

  “Look, this place provides a lot of jobs, and we need to make sure we keep it that way,” Toby said. “Word already came down from the chief, so let’s wrap this up quickly.” He hadn’t answered her, and he gave her only a distracted glance. Everything between them was all business.

  Just as her brother Marcus made his way over, she shrugged on her air tank.

  “We think almost everyone’s out,” Marcus said, “but I’ve still got a deputy inside, Harold Waters. He went back in after a woman said her sister was missing in the change rooms. We have no idea how many were in the store, though.”

  “Harold?” Suzanne said. “What is he doing there, and whose brilliant idea was it to send in deputies to get civilians out during a fire?”

  Marcus was still walking beside her, gesturing to the store. He barely glanced her way. “Harold was first on scene, and I was second. Are we really having a pissing contest about who’s doing what?” The way he said it had her shaking her head. Maybe he had some idea of her worries, as he continued: “Harold was out this way already. He’s coming to work for me—just starting earlier than expected. That’s right, you two know each other.”

  She knew Marcus wouldn’t remember how close she and Harold had once been. So that was what Harold had meant about meeting with her brother. He was working there now.

  “Fine, I get it,” she said. “Now get your men the hell out of there. We’re here, I’m here. Stick to what you guys do, arresting and keeping order. Keep the order out here so I can put the fire out in there. And do me a favor: Keep the rest of your deputies out. I don’t need anyone else in the
re to rescue.”

  The front doors were wide open, and with the smoke coming, she had no idea how many were still in the store. She didn’t like this at all.

  “I get it, Suzanne,” Marcus said. “When you go in, send Harold out. I won’t send anyone else, but at the same time, why hasn’t Toby been all over this? His first priority should be getting everyone out, finding the fire, putting it out. You all are standing out here rather than getting inside and doing as you said, getting the people out.”

  What the hell was she supposed to say to that? He was right. She still couldn’t believe Toby wasn’t dragging the hoses in—screw the damage—just to make sure the damn fire was out. He needed to get the ladder truck up to the roof, where smoke was billowing, and cut through with an ax. That was what she’d have done, but then, she wasn’t in charge.

  She pulled in a breath, touching the top of her helmet. “What do we know about the fire, where it started? Anything I need to worry about inside?” It was something she should have heard from Toby, but he was likely still standing there, letting the manager ramble on.

  “Suzanne, get in there!” Toby called out behind her.

  Marcus glanced to him the same time she did as he walked her closer to the building. The visibility was low, and for a second, she wanted to set Toby straight. Like, what the hell was that?

  “Just a lot of fuel for a fire, you know,” Marcus said. “Most things in there, once a fire takes hold… It’s not just food but clothing, houseware, furnishings. Everything will burn nicely if it takes off. Be careful.”

  At least Marcus stopped at the door. She took in people everywhere nearby and a deputy standing just inside without the needed equipment. Smoke inhalation could come out of nowhere. They were a small department with limited personnel, and something like this could suddenly become a five-alarm fire, with multiple lives at stake, and unlike stock, lives couldn’t be replaced.

  That was the call she’d expected, yet Toby seemed all about being a hero for the company. Carrying an ax in one hand, she glanced back to see Marcus moving people away just as Toby approached and touched her shoulder.

  “Hey, Suzanne, let’s do a quick sweep and make sure everyone’s out. Then get these sprinklers shut off as soon as the fire’s out. Let’s be careful so I don’t get my ass handed to me on a platter. Don’t be so eager to put that through a wall or door if you don’t have to,” he said, gesturing to her ax.

  Stuck on how tall, dark, and handsome he was, for a moment she felt as if he had her back. But at the same time, she wanted to remind him, lives first, property second. Hadn’t she taught him that?

  He shrugged on his tank, his mask around his neck like hers, helmet on, as they stepped into the store. Sweeney, she realized, was just ahead of them with an extinguisher. The grocery department on the right seemed not as affected.

  “How long has this been going?” she said. “The clock is ticking.”

  Toby might be her boss, but it seemed she needed to remind him that smoke and toxic gas could spread in seconds. She heard someone calling out, past a display shelf, through the haze of smoke that continued through the store. The sprinklers were on. A man was on the ground, older, with a gash on his head. He had likely slipped and fallen on the slick floors.

  “You take him out, and I’ll do a sweep in back,” she said to Toby, who was already helping the man up. She couldn’t see anyone else.

  “Suzanne, be careful, and remember what I said: Just do the sweep, you and Sweeney. Contain that fire in back and get it out if it’s not already.”

  Right, and what about the rest of the store? He should have ordered a coordinated search, done in grids, each of them taking a section, to make sure everyone was out. This was beyond a house fire, a barn, or anything he’d ever been in charge of. How was he not getting this?

  She heard something, a shout, as she made her way through the haze, putting on her mask, as the smoke was getting thicker. She saw Sweeney with the extinguisher. It looked like the flames were out on a display of sweaters, and she tapped his shoulder.

  “Get a hose back in here and soak this area,” she said. “Is this where it started?”

  Sweeney shook his head. “Smoldering is all I see. Not sure. The change rooms are over that way. Check it out while I finish here. There are just too many spots for something to take off.”

  She nodded and made her way over to the change rooms, hearing a voice again. Then she saw him, Harold, coming right toward her with a wet cloth pressed over his mouth and nose. She should’ve been angry, but her training kicked in, and she said, “Anyone back here?”

  It took another second before she realized he hadn’t known it was her, though he did by the time he gestured, pulled the cloth away from his face, and said, “Back office. Heard someone, but I can’t get the door open.” He took in her ax.

  He didn’t need to say another word. If the door wouldn’t open and someone was in there, she’d use her ax without hesitation. And Toby? Well, he was just going to have to deal with it.

  “Okay, I’ll check it out,” she said. “You need to get out of here.”

  All he did was shake his head and start moving toward the back of the store. “You got anyone else coming in?” he shouted.

  There it was, the question she didn’t want to answer. If she had been in charge, she’d have organized a grid search to account for everyone, but as far as she knew, it was just her and Sweeney, with Toby presumably still helping that old man out of the store.

  “Just us,” she said.

  His eyes were questioning in response, but he turned and pulled her with him—and even though she was the firefighter, he moved her behind him.

  Chapter Five

  “Again!” Harold said, then moved to take the ax from her, still holding the wet cloth over his nose. The smoke was thicker, and she couldn’t hear anything else.

  “No way! Seriously, Harold?” she yelled, gesturing for him to back up.

  Just then, from beside them, another firefighter kicked in the heavy steel door, nearly splitting the frame she’d been trying to pry open with the ax and moving her aside. All of a sudden, he was there. She’d thought it was Sweeney, but she couldn’t believe it was, in fact, Toby.

  “Hey, what are you doing…?” she shouted.

  The door crashed open. Inside the concrete room, a fan was running. They all moved inside, Harold already ahead. The man was on a mission, and she heard him yelling, looking around the room. The air seemed clear, not much smoke. It appeared to be a storage room, with a desk and metal shelves. A TV was on, and Harold pulled the plug on it as she heard the door close behind her. The only smoke in there had drifted in through the open door. It had been sealed well, which was both good and bad.

  “Anyone in here?” Harold called out again.

  Suzanne pulled off her mask and looked up at the low white ceiling. It was a box, contained. She glanced at the closed door behind them. It was time to go.

  “Came to get you, is all,” Toby said, pulling off his own mask. “I have that man out, with EMTs checking him over. Pretty sure no one else is in here.”

  The secure room at the back of the store was isolated. For a second, she didn’t know what to say. Toby lifted his gaze to Harold, who was at the far end of the room, by the shelves. Everything was dry, no sprinklers, nothing on.

  “No one’s here,” Harold said. His deputy shirt was covered in soot, and the wet cloth he was holding was likely a shirt he’d grabbed and soaked from the sprinklers. Smart, good thinking. “Must’ve been the TV I heard.”

  Toby was now on his radio.

  Suzanne stepped over to Harold and rested the ax on the desk. “Well, then let’s get out of here before the smoke is too thick. You aren’t dressed for this, and you have no mask. You need to get yourself checked out by EMS, get some oxygen. You know the drill. What were you thinking, coming in here?”

  He stepped over to her, closer. “I was doing my job, getting people out. You weren’t here yet, b
ut I was close by. Not sure what you’re upset about, Suzanne. If it hadn’t been for us, you would’ve found a mess here. You know, with smoke, people become disoriented quickly, and they were. In a huge store like this, not everyone had made it out. Now you’re here, you can finish the job we started. There’s no way to know who’s still in here unless you have the numbers to search and make sure everyone’s out. This is the worst situation. Everything about this works against you.”

  She noted the arrogance as he spoke. Those orders should have been coming from Toby. Being at a loss for words wasn’t something Suzanne was known for. Harold gripped the shirt to his face and glanced past her, over to Toby.

  “No one’s here,” he was saying. “It’s clear in the back.”

  She thought she could hear Harris, another firefighter, replying with something about the fire not being contained to the building. It was coming from somewhere else.

  “What?” Toby snapped. “What do you mean, it’s not secure? Another fire, where?”

  She didn’t know where to look. She glanced back over to Toby just as Harold stepped closer to her.

  “Okay, we’re on our way out. Have Sweeney bring in the hoses, dammit. Wanted to avoid it. Get Greg and Everett to man the front of the store until other crews get here. I don’t know if anyone else is in here.”

  She just stared at Toby, wondering what the hell he was doing. “What’s going on?” she said.

  Toby moved to the door, his mask back on. “More smoke is coming from the side of the building. One of the guys said there was a flare-up in sporting goods. They have propane tanks there, oil. We need to go…”

  She could feel the situation spiraling into something that should never have been allowed. This could have been managed better, in an orderly and controlled way. Like, what the hell was Toby doing? He was completely blowing this. Crews and assignments were the first thing he should’ve handled.