Page 46 of Last Chance Christmas
“Which means she still has a few days to decide.” Zoe tugged her gloves on and turned toward the building.
Della wasn’t even sure she’d stay long at the Christmas party. For sure she wasn’t going to worry about a date. But the toy drive—now, that was her baby. She wouldn’t miss it for anything. And the sooner they put out this fire, the sooner she could get back to her preparations. “Let’s do this.”
Gray-green smoke poured out of the front windows of a shop, but no sign of flames yet. Not from the outside. The discolored billows were enough reason for concern. Something toxic was burning. At one time, the building had been a café, then a thrift store. Now it was an insurance office with a couple apartments above it.
Della and the others found Lieutenant Patterson talking with Bryce. As captain, he would be the scene commander on this call.
The lieutenant pointed to the building and yelled over the sirens and alarms. “Rescue Squad 5 is going to the back while you fight the fire up front.”
“You got it, boss.” Izan grabbed the hose while Zoe and Della attached one end to the truck. Once they were ready, the trio stepped toward the building, but Officer Thomas approached. “Nixon, make sure to stay between Izan and Zoe. I would go in there if I could, but?—”
“Don’t worry. We watch out for each other.” Della pulled her SCBA mask on, then the helmet.
“We got this, Tony. Let her do her job.” Izan’s voice came through the speaker in his mask.
Anthony backed away but didn’t look happy about it. Maybe he was taking the threat more seriously than she thought. He actually seemed pretty concerned about her. But for now, they had a fire to put out.
Izan wedged his Halligan tool into the door frame. “Hit!”
Della aimed the flat axe head and swung. The one hit was all it took. The door flew open, allowing thick gray clouds to pour out. Della followed Izan and crawled under the smoke hanging from the ceiling. Zoe, right behind her, should have the hose head. They got to work, assessing the fire, finding the main source around the corner of the front room and in an old kitchen.
“Let’s get water on it,” Izan called out. Zoe passed up the nozzle. Once situated, they called to start the water. Izan aimed the hose while Zoe added more slack as needed.
Della blocked out the chatter from the other teams on the comms and called over the radio that they were ready for water. She stumbled on a rug and readjusted her grip on the hose. She shut her eyes a quick second, which only made her dizzy.
“You okay, Nix?”
“Is it just me, or is the smoke getting thicker?” She didn’t need anyone thinking she couldn’t do her job. She pushed all the discomfort aside and focused once more on the fire. Her eyes stung, but she could see the indicator lights on her mask. Green lights. Plenty of air. So why did her eyes burn?
They stepped farther into the kitchen, dragging the heavy hose with them. Della tripped and fell to one knee.
“Hey, you o—” Zoe stopped mid-sentence. She leaned over to help her up. “Della, get out of here. Your mask is filling with smoke!”
“What?”
No wonder her eyes hurt so much. She blinked them, trying to stop the burning as she stumbled out of the building. She ripped off her helmet, and even without loosening the straps, the mask hung off the side. She gulped the fresh air.
Anthony and Bryce ran over, Kianna Russell at their heels with an oxygen tank.
“What happened?” Anthony asked, his voice tight, rain dripping off his coat and hat.
Bryce helped free Della from her air tank. “Something’s wrong with the SCBA. Her mask had smoke in it.” He inspected the mask and valves. “Here. Look at the straps. They were cut partway. If they’re hanging on by a few threads, it wouldn’t take much for you to lose the suction you need for a good seal.”
“Why don’t you take some oxygen? We don’t know how much smoke you inhaled.” Kianna handed her the mask.
Della held it but didn’t put it up to her face. “I inspected the whole thing this morning. Everything was fine.”
Kianna pushed the mask onto Della’s face. “Focus on your breathing.”
Crawford and Officer Thomas shared a look.
“Go back and check the footage. I inspected my unit first thing.” Her voice sounded muffled under the plastic covering the lower half of her face.
“It’s okay, Nixon. We’re on your side. Try to relax.” Kianna looked up from taking her pulse.
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have a serial killer after you.” She stared down Officer Thomas. He still didn’t look convinced. Like she’d sabotaged her own equipment? “You have to believe me though. I don’t skimp out on my inspections.”
“I didn’t say I don’t believe you.” Anthony cocked his head sideways. “I’m trying to understand what happened and why a serial killer would sabotage your equipment.”
