Diana (12 page)

"Chief, I told you, don't worry about it. I promise to give you the heads up if I come across something, but really, today I'm just following procedure."

"You're a good man, Fontella. You were one of the best firefighters around. It's a relief to have you still working for us."

Luke walked to the door, politely indicating the chitchat was over, and he needed to question the guys.

The chief got the hint, smiled, then left the room.

Luke took a deep breath. It was enough that a certain detective remained on his mind. He sure didn't need to feel this pressure from the reminder that his comrades came first.

He had a job to do. If a firefighter screwed up during a fire, that firefighter would be reprimanded, peer pressure or not. Fighting fires was a dangerous profession, with no room for mistakes.

Luke opened the door and asked to speak with Brian Pellino first. They shook hands. He leaned against the chief's desk, holding a notepad and a file with Brian's written report.

Brian stood in front of him.

"You can have a seat."

"No thanks."

Luke glanced up at Brian, then back at the report. “I just have a few questions for you in regards to the fire from the other night. I see here that you were partnered up with Don O'Rourke? You two entered the third floor from the Stairwell B side. Is that correct?"

"Yes. We took the lead. We were on a search and rescue. The residents were already out."

"Once the fire was extinguished, both you and O'Rourke entered the apartment believed to be where the fire originated, and the victim was found?"

"I didn't see the victim. O'Rourke did."

Luke looked at Brian over the edge of the file he read. There were numerous boot marks located very close to where the charred remains were found.

"You were supposed to stay by your partner's side at all times. Why were you separated?"

"I searched the rooms to the left and Don went to the right. The fire was fully extinguished. There was no need to stay latched at the hip.” Brian's attitude was strong in his tone.

Luke knew it was no big deal that the firefighters separated, but it was protocol for them to remain together as a team. He recalled the arson scene. It appeared numerous boot prints were around the body. He couldn't help but wonder if more firefighters from this station house had gone to the room to take a look. That wasn't exactly protocol. There was no need for the firefighters to all be there. If anything, once the fire was extinguished, no one should've been allowed access until the homicide investigators and the fire marshal were on the scene.

As if reading Luke's mind, Brian spoke, “Are you fucking kidding me? I'm gonna get reprimanded for separating from my partner for thirty seconds even though the fire was completely extinguished?"

"There were many boot prints around the scene. Proper protocol states that when a body is found, the scene is to be preserved."

"I'm not the damn chief fire officer. That's his job. I did mine."

"Then why the hell were there so many damn boot prints around the damn body?” Luke raised his voice.

"I never got close to the body. I know procedure."

"That's questionable, Brian."

"What?” Brian appeared shocked at Luke's insinuation.

Luke took a deep breath, then released it. “I'm going by your report, and Don's."

"This is about my sister, isn't it?"

Luke was taken back. The last thing he expected was for Brian to bring up Diana.

"You're going to mess around with my career, my life, because you're pissed at some rumor about my sister and your dad?” Brian walked toward the doorway.

"Brian, wait. I..."

"Are you done with your questions? Because it seems to me that you already decided to pin this on me. I'm out of here.” He exited the office, leaving the door wide open.

Luke noticed a few other firefighters looked at him. This wasn't going well. Maybe he'd have more luck with O'Rourke.

"O'Rourke, you're next.” Luke headed back inside and Don followed.

He asked Don similar questions.

"So why did you go so close to the body?"

"I wanted to be sure she was dead."

Luke glanced at Don, annoyed at his wise guy comment. “The fact that she was charred black is a pretty good indicator that she was dead. You know procedure. Once a fatality is located that scene must remain preserved."

"I don't know if anyone else went in there. Initially, it was Brian and me, then we radioed it in and the rest of the crew arrived. We were told to help out down the hallway. The homicide detective was on the scene along with you."

He didn't like Don's attitude, either. He was arrogant and made it obvious that Luke's line of questioning was redundant. Unfortunately, Don was wrong. Something about the way the crime scene appeared bothered Luke. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Are we done?"

"For now. I'll call you if I have any other questions."

Don left the room, and Luke took a deep breath. He didn't intend to piss anyone off today. It wasn't his intention to accuse the two firefighters or their crew of not following procedure, even though evidence left at the scene indicated that they didn't.

He wasn't expecting this. When the scene wasn't preserved immediately, then evidence collected could be contaminated. These procedures were written down in two separate reports proving that these two firefighters, and perhaps others in the crew, entered the crime scene after the fatality was discovered. Their lack of preserving the scene not only would cause problems with credibility in a future prosecution, but more seriously, they could have contaminated potential evidence.

Luke felt a pain in his head. He gathered his stuff and exited the office. On his way out, numerous personnel, including the chief, confronted him.

The stares were intense, the anger obvious, as he swallowed hard but ventured through the tough, invisible barrier in the air.

"Chief, I'll be in touch if I need anything further."

The chief didn't respond. He just stared at Luke.

Luke could just imagine what they thought, and it wasn't good. He'd accused a whole crew of fucking up and they didn't like it one bit.

Before things got out of hand, he exited the building. He should've conducted the interviews in his office. Instead, he gave special courtesy to his fellow firefighters. What a mistake that turned out to be.

Diana just got out of the shower. She took a sip of wine and threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. She towel dried her hair, and was about to grab the blow dryer from the cabinet when her phone rang.

She picked up the receiver. “Hey, Diana, it's Brian. We got a problem."

Diana downed her glass of wine, then refilled. The more Brian explained things, the angrier she became. What the hell was Luke Fontella doing?

She tried to calm her brother down, but it appeared he was annoyed with her and the rumor she thought she'd proved to be false. Her brother still had his doubts. That was obvious by his tone, and his lack of enthusiasm when saying he didn't blame her. He did.

Diana hung up the phone and quickly grabbed her notepad from her purse. She had Luke's number. She hadn't spoken to him since the day she surprised him at his apartment. That whole situation was a shocker, and now Luke's accusations about Brian and his department's lack of professionalism was the bottom line. What was his problem?

"Fontella!” Luke abruptly answered his phone, while he unlocked the car door and jumped in.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Who is this?"

"Detective Pellino. What kind of sick game are you playing, Fontella? The nerve of you, to accuse my brother and his entire station house of not following protocol, just because you have some serious issues. You're supposed to be investigating the arson and fatality, not reprimanding the brave men and women who entered that building with the hopes of saving lives and maintaining their own."

"Perhaps it's you, Pellino, who should be looking at your investigation more closely, as well as where your priorities lie. Maybe you're too close to those involved with the case."

"Screw you, Fontella!” Diana hung up the phone

She was so annoyed. The nerve of that jerk. She allowed the anger to get the best of her. Grabbing her car keys, she headed out the door.

On the way, her cell phone rang. “Hello!"

"What the hell is going on?” Diana recognized her brother Paul's voice.

"What's going on?"

"You tell me? I heard what happened to Brian and Don. Who the hell does Luke Fontella think he is? He was freakin’ in our house, ate our food, joined our family gathering, and he does this shit!"

"Calm down, Paul. I'm on top of it."

"This is your family, Diana. Don't take his side in this. You know that Brian is a good firefighter. Fontella is jealous."

"I'll take care of it, Paul. I gotta go."

She hung up the phone. She understood her brother's anger. That same anger stayed with her the entire ride over to Fontella's.

Twenty minutes later, she was outside of Luke Fontella's condominium complex. She pulled the car alongside the curb and exited her vehicle. Anger swam through the blood in her veins as she walked up the driveway.

She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to calm down before she did something rash, but she just couldn't locate any means of rationale. This jerk messed with her, messed with her family, while he stood on his soapbox all high and mighty.
Screw you, Luke Fontella, Fire Marshal.

Diana clenched her teeth and sighed angrily.

There appeared to be one light on inside the house. Otherwise, it was dark. Obviously, no one was home.

Then she saw a light on by the side entranceway. She headed that way first. Peeking through the window, she noticed it was the side entrance to the garage and a workshop. The door was slightly ajar, so she pushed it open.

"Fontella, you in here?” she called out, holding the zip up sweatshirt she threw on tighter against her chest. She glanced down at the many brown boxes that lay on the floor. Cans of turpentine, firefighting equipment, and other emergency gear were in plain view. The smell of turpentine and paint filled her nostrils.

"Breaking and entering is a serious crime."

Diana abruptly turned toward the voice behind her. Luke was inches away, entering from the door she just came in.
How the hell did I miss him outside?

"I called your name. You didn't answer,” she responded abruptly, unable to hide the fact Luke snuck up on her undetected.

He brushed by her, walking into the garage, closing the door behind him. “So you enter my home, anyway? It's against the law, you know?"

Diana suddenly felt the confinement of the space. “You have some explaining to do."

Luke laughed. “I have some explaining to do? You're making it a habit of entering my home uninvited. Then you call me, rambling on, about how I'm not doing my job. You're not doing your job. Maybe you shouldn't be assigned to this case. Your brother is somehow connected. There's a conflict of interest."

Was he blaming her brother? Was he questioning her professionalism? She didn't need this shit.

"If you seriously think my brother is involved with this, you can go to hell, Fontella.” She turned toward the door. Luke grabbed her arm.

She turned to him.

"You think you have all the answers, don't you, Pellino? Well, you don't know shit. Coming from a family of firefighters or not, you're clueless."

She tried to pull her arm away from Luke's grasp. “You're wrong. You had no right to accuse your friends, your comrades, of such extreme mistakes.” She pointed her finger at his chest.

His grip tightened on her arm. He stepped closer. She took two steps back, knocking into the door.

He lowered his voice. “I'm an arson investigator. It's my job to ensure and validate that each firefighter did their job accurately. Their lack of procedure has jeopardized solving this case quickly."

"You don't know that. Investigating a fire fatality is difficult. The ME was able to find other evidence that may prove crucial to identifying at least the profile for our killer."

"I'm not after a profile. I want to catch the guy responsible."

"I don't?” Diana raised her voice, her tone indicating the insult his comment evoked.

"Maybe you are and maybe you're not."

She huffed, then attempted to leave. She remained pinned against the door as Luke grabbed her by the waist.

"Where do you think you're running off to?"

He pulled her a bit too quickly, and she bumped right into his chest.

He pressed his body against hers. The door wedged up against her backside.

"I don't need to stay here and be insulted. I'm doing my job, and you blaming others, reaching, is not going to catch our suspect."

"You're too close to this case. It's your brother's department. There's too much at stake to not be investigating this with a clear head."

"I have a clear head. Yours, on the other hand, is questionable.” She raised her chin with confidence.

Luke clenched his teeth, squinted, and held her gaze.

All she could do was wait for his next move.

"Your confident attitude pisses me off."

"Your inability to work as a team is irritating."

Just as she got the last syllable out, Luke covered her lips with his. He kissed her deeply. Simultaneously, their bodies pushed up against the metal door. Her hip hit the cool side of it.

With one hand, he held her head in place as he controlled the depth of their kiss. His other hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her hips against his.

Diana wrapped her arms around his neck. Their kissing intensified. She didn't think. She just reacted, and found herself being ravished by a man who made her very angry, and made her pulse rate increase. The heat and solidity of his hands made his intentions known, as his lips, moist with lust, traveled over her mouth, to her chin then neck. Their breathing was hot against their skin.

All the anger, rage, and insult she felt diminished with each touch, each caress, and kiss from Luke Fontella.