Terry Odell - Mapleton 03 - Deadly Puzzles (17 page)

The box dropped to the floor between them. Panic filled Angie
’s face. She darted for her front door, the one that led straight down to Daily Bread.

“
Wait,” Gordon said. “It’s safer if you go out the back.” When Angie didn’t stop, Gordon grabbed her arm. “Angie. No. It’s probably a false alarm, but if there’s any kind of fire, you don’t want to rush into the midst of things. Trust me.”

She jerked free, but raced through the kitchen to the rear stairs. Gordon maneuvered past her, taking the steps two at a time, holding on to both handrails, more to make sure Angie didn
’t try to overtake him than for balance. He sniffed the air, seeking a whiff of smoke, hoping not to find it.

Once they hit the ground, he cut through the narrow alleyway between Daily Bread and the shop next door, Angie still on his heels. When they reached the street in front of the diner, half a dozen patrons and the Daily Bread wait staff milled about on the sidewalk. But other than the shriek of the alarm, everything seemed normal enough.

“Where’s Ozzie?” Angie shouted above the noise. Her head whipped from side to side as she searched the cluster of people. She rushed toward the spot where the rest of the staff waited. Then, abruptly, the alarm cut off, bringing a welcome silence.

Ozzie, Daily Bread
’s portly cook, emerged from the building, holding a cell phone to his ear. The sound of sirens grew nearer. A Mapleton Fire Department truck and an ambulance swung to a halt in front of the diner. Gordon shook off a stomach-sinking feeling of
déjà vu.

Ozzie shoved the phone in his apron pocket and clomped toward the approaching rescue workers.

“It’s nothing,” Ozzie said. “Maybe the chicken I was grilling set off the smoke alarm. My guess, though, is that someone was sneaking a smoke in the restroom. No fire that I could see.”

“
We’re still going to take a look,” a firefighter said. He raised his voice. “Everyone, please stay outside until we give the all clear.”

Davey Gilman and Tom Reynolds, two of Mapleton
’s paramedics, worked their way through the cluster of people. “Hey, Chief.” Gilman smiled, white teeth gleaming against his ebony skin. “What’s this thing you’ve got for fire lately? Heard about your rescue operation. Trying to switch careers? If you are, I’d reconsider the firefighter thing. Safer being a paramedic. We wait outside until they’re done.”

“
Not to worry,” Gordon said. “Had enough smoke eating for a lifetime.”

Reynolds, as light as Gilman was dark, nodded, his expression somber. He clapped Gordon on the shoulder.
“Sorry about the victim. But he was too far gone before you even got to him. You’re lucky it didn’t get you, too.”

There was something in Reynolds
’ tone that cut straight through Gordon’s gut. Until that instant, he hadn’t internalized how lucky he had been. “Yeah.”

Once Ozzie had finished talking to the firefighter, Angie trotted to the cook
’s side. “What happened? Was it a fire? Did the sprinklers kick in?”

Ozzie pursed his lips.
“No. And they would have if that was the problem. I was grilling chicken when the alarms went off.”

“
Grease fire?” Angie asked. “Flare-up?”

Ozzie fisted his hands at his ample waist.
“Don’t see how. I cleaned the grill before I started grilling. Nothing different from what we do every day. When the alarm went off, I pulled the chicken while the staff got everyone outside. I called 911 and reported it, per regulations. My guess is it was Erin, sneaking a smoke in the restroom. I’ve warned her more than once. Pain in the patoot, if you ask me.”

“
I’ll talk to her. At least it didn’t happen later, when we were full. Will we be able to have dinner service?”

As if in answer to her question, the firefighter came out.
“Everything’s fine in there. No evidence of any residual smoke. You can get back to work.”

“Can you tell what set off the smoke detectors?” Angie wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the chill air. “Ozzie said he wasn’t doing anything to trigger an alarm, and the sprinklers didn’t kick in, so it wasn’t a problem with the grill. Was it a faulty detector? They’re all wired together.”

“Can’t tell,” the firefighter said. “According to the main panel, it was the detector in the restroom that activated first.” He nodded in Ozzie’s direction.

“
Told you,” Ozzie grumbled. “I hope this teaches Erin a lesson.”

“
I’m sure it will.” Angie wiped a hand across her forehead. “But to be safe, I’ll get all the detectors checked out. Make sure they’re not going off by accident, or are too sensitive. And, I think we should offer vouchers to the people who were here. What do you think?”

While Angie and Ozzie discussed the best way to salvage the rest of the day, Gordon fell into step with the firefighter who was strolling to the truck.
“Do you think someone might have tampered with a detector?” Gordon asked.

The firefighter stopped.
“I suppose, although there was nothing obvious. Normally, people disable them, not set them off. Do you have reason to believe someone did?”

“
Hey, it’s part of being a cop. Always looking for the dark side.”

“
If you want to go inside and have a look-see, be my guest. We’re out of here.”

The crew climbed on board the engine and drove off, followed by Gilman and Reynolds in the ambulance. Gordon strolled over to Angie, bent and whispered in her ear.
“I’m going to look inside for a minute.”

She spun away from Ozzie, her eyes wide with alarm.
“Why? Do you think there’s something the firefighters missed?”

He squeezed her shoulder.
“Not really. But I’d feel better if I looked at it. I’ve got a different mindset.”

“
Yeah, you’re always the cop.” She waved toward the door. “But if you want a cop’s skepticism, why don’t you ask Ed Solomon to come over, too? He can find a crime just about anywhere.”

Angie
’s irritation was impossible to miss. What had he done now? Shouldn’t she appreciate that he was trying to help?

He tromped into the diner.

Reminding himself to stop before charging inside, he paused in the doorway and took a slow, deep breath. He needed to look at this like a cop. Odds were it was what Ozzie had said—someone smoking where they shouldn’t have been, setting off the alarm. Still, he took his time wandering through the space. Other than some toppled chairs and a handful of uncleared tables, nothing looked any different than it did the hundreds of times he’d been here before. The kitchen showed no evidence of any fire damage—or of a fire, period.

Next stop—the restrooms. He paused in the alcove and tilted his gaze to the ceiling. No smoke detector. He
’d never paid attention to the placement of smoke detectors in here. He took a whiff of the air. A trace of cigarette smoke? Even though Ozzie had said he’d thought the smoker was a woman, even though Gordon was alone, even though it was part of his job, he felt more comfortable going into the men’s room first. He shouldered the door open.

Definitely a stronger odor in here. He stopped. Checked the ladies
’ room. No smoke in there. He backed out, brain spinning. Thinking. Other than Ozzie, the staff was all female. No point in Erin sneaking into the men’s room for a smoke. He called the station and asked for an officer to come over with an evidence kit.

Gordon marched through the restaurant and out to the sidewalk. Angie and Ozzie stood right outside the door. The staff clustered together, talking. The customers were strung out along the sidewalk, checking cell phones, shuffling their feet, impatiently waiting for whatever was going to happen next. Gordon recognized all but two men and one other couple.

“Find something?” Angie said to Gordon, daring him to say he had.

He lowered his voice, turning away so his back was to the line of customers.
“As a matter of fact, I might have.”

Angie
’s eyes popped wide. “What?”

He glanced at the customers once more. They gazed at him expectantly, as if he had some kind of answer.
“Are those all the customers who were in the diner when the alarm went off?”

Ozzie
’s gaze moved from one to the next, as if he were trying to match these faces to the ones he’d seen. He scratched his chin. “I’m in the kitchen more than out front. You need to ask the servers. Donna had front of the house. She’d know.”

“
And why are they all waiting?” Gordon asked. “I’d have thought they’d want to get going once the firefighters left. Or did they leave belongings inside?”

“
I doubt it,” Ozzie said. “If there’s a threat of a fire, you grab everything before you go.”

Gordon visualized the space. Ozzie was right. Tables with coffee cups, plates, and crumpled napkins, but he hadn
’t seen coats, purses, or packages. He wished he’d have taken the few extra seconds to grab his own coat before racing after Angie.

“
We promised to comp them for whatever they were eating and give them coupons for their next visit,” Angie said. “But I have to go inside to get them.” She gave a weak smile. “Apparently a free meal from Daily Bread is worth waiting for.”

“
Why don’t you go get what you need. But don’t go near the restrooms.”

“
I’ll be back with your coupons in just a minute, folks,” she said to the group. “Thanks for your patience.” She trotted to the door.

“
So, it was Erin smoking,” Ozzie said.

“
I don’t think so. Can you call Donna over, please?” Gordon didn’t think that whoever had set off the smoke detector would have hung around, but one never knew. The culprit might stay around because nobody would think he’d be that stupid. Of course, there were a lot of stupid people doing stupid things. Made it easier to catch them.

Donna, her gray curls gathered in a tight knot atop her head, walked over.
“You wanted to see me, Chief Hepler?”

“
I’m trying to tie up a few loose ends. Are these people the only customers you had before the alarm went off?”

She turned and perused the group.
“I think there were a couple more. Depends on how long before the alarm went off you’re talking about.”

“
Let’s say fifteen minutes.”

She scrunched her lips.
“I’d have to check my tickets to be sure.”

“
Do you have them with you?”

“
No, they’d be inside. I don’t think there’s more than two or three others. The ones out here haven’t been rung up. Kind of nice that they’d hang around to settle their bills.”

“
I think Angie promised them coupons for another time.”

Donna laughed—a cackling sound.
“Well, that explains it. You want me to get those tickets?”

“
Please,” Gordon said. He trailed her inside. Angie was at the counter, writing something on slips of paper. Her coupons, he assumed. She gathered them and, barely looking at him, went outside.

“
Angie, wait.”

She turned.

“If anyone wants to come in, please tell them you’ll be reopening later, but for now, you’ll have to be closed.”

She bristled.
“This is
my
restaurant, remember. The firefighters gave an all clear.”

“
Yeah, well they’re not cops, and I want to have a cop’s take.”

“
I thought that’s what you did. You
are
a cop, aren’t you?”

“
An off-duty cop who doesn’t have any equipment. It shouldn’t take long. Under an hour. You’ll be open for dinner, I’m sure.”

She stormed to the door, then paused. He watched her back straighten, her head lift. Putting on a cheerful face for her clientele.

“Those receipts?” he said to Donna.

She swung around the counter and pulled a large envelope from a shelf below.
“Lucky for you this is our lull between lunch and dinner. Not much to go through.” She leafed through a small stack of register receipts with her original order tickets stapled to them. “Going back an hour, I have five who were here, paid, and left. Are those the ones you want?”

“
Yes,” Gordon said. “And, what can you tell me about the ones waiting outside? Were they all seated the whole time they were here? Anyone use the restroom?”

Donna scratched her head with the pencil she kept tucked in her hair.
“It was slow, but I don’t keep tabs on everyone. I was the only server in front, and I was running the register, too. Dinner shift was doing sidework, mostly. They might have noticed.”

Gordon peeked outside. Angie was talking to Mrs. Lipsky, one of her regulars. Great. Her husband was the editor of the
Mapleton Bee
. Between Solomon collaring the ATM scammer and this, the next issue should be a doozy.

He stepped out and approached the three members of the staff. All were happy to answer his questions, but none had noticed anyone using the restrooms. Erin spoke up.
“I know Ozzie thinks I go in there to smoke, but I go outside. Every time. Even if it’s cold.”

He thanked them and told them they could go inside, but to stay together.

Angie came up behind him. “Can they finish their sidework? Help in the kitchen? We
are
going to open for dinner.”

“
Let’s go inside,” Gordon said. After making sure the front door was locked, he asked everyone to join him at a booth the staff agreed hadn’t been occupied during the afternoon. They squeezed into the banquette, and Gordon dragged a chair from a nearby table and sat. He explained that he’d called for an officer to print the men’s room.

“
Because you smelled smoke?” Angie said. “As I recall, it’s against the law to tamper with a smoke detector, but it’s a pain in the ass if you break the rules by smoking and set it off.”

“
It’s quite likely it was a customer,” Gordon said. “That’s why I’m asking if you noticed anyone who might have used the restroom right before the alarm went off.”

Donna shook her head.
“I’m still not following you, Chief Hepler.”

Gordon backed up. No reason to expect anyone here to be able to read his mind. Or even think on his wavelength the way Solomon seemed to.
“Weighing all the possibilities. He might not even have been a customer.”

“
No, we’d notice if someone came in just to use the restroom,” one of the servers said. “Especially when it’s quiet like it’s been.”

“
He might have been a customer who tried to be inconspicuous by ordering something—maybe lingering over coffee,” Gordon said.

“
You mean like casing the joint?” Erin giggled. “Waiting to make his move?”

Angie grimaced, then turned her attention to Gordon.
“I think you’re making a big deal out of this. If someone wanted to start a fire, that’s one thing. But what reason could anyone have to set off a smoke detector? All that would do would bring the firefighters.”

Erin lifted her chin.
“Maybe he thought if he activated the alarm, we’d turn them off. Maybe even shut down. And then he could come back later.”

“
And do what?” Ozzie snorted. “Set a fire? Because if he was going to break in, shutting down the fire alarm wouldn’t disarm the burglar alarm. They’re totally separate.”

In a stomach-sinking, head-slapping moment, Gordon leapt from his chair.
“Wait here.”

All
eyes turned to him.

There was a knock on the door
, and Gordon rushed to admit Solomon, who carried an evidence kit and a questioning expression.

“
Ditch the kit,” Gordon said. “You’re with me. Now.”