Page 19 of Hearts to Mend

“Isn’t that—?” Dan starts.

“Margaret’s building,” I finish and quickly stand, grabbing my go-bag—an old backpack that holds two bottles of water, snacks, my camera, recorder, press ID, lots of pens, and a notepad.

“I hope she’s okay,” Dan says to my back as I sprint for the door.

“I hope they all are.”

CHAPTER 9

DEE

* * *

We can see the fire from blocks away. Orange flames spike into the black sky, gray smoke billowing above, cinders raining down between the silhouettes of tree branches. It calls to us like a beacon, leading us back to the scene we visit far too frequently.

This time, when we arrive, I stop near the hydrant so Rooster and Drew can run hose to it, then park about fifty feet from the structure as they charge the hose. Ladder and Engine 12 line up at the curb, and their crews do much the same thing.

Watts is incident commander for this scene, coordinating our attack with the other crews, while I interview witnesses lining the curb and milling around in the street. Soon, I have a list of two residents unaccounted for: Pamela on the second floor, unit D, and Earl on the ground, unit A.

After informing Watts of the situation, it lands on Drew, Rooster, and me to perform search and rescue for Pamela on the second floor, while the guys of Engine 12 look for Earl down below. Ladder 12 gets to work venting the building and getting water on the roof.

Drew and Rooster lead the way upstairs with the hose, attacking the seat of the fire, and I follow in their wake, a torrent of sooty runoff water rushing over my boots and down the stairs. The fire hasn’t reached the front of Pamela’s unit yet, but the air up here is thick with smoke, reducing visibility to just a few feet.

Using my flashlight to see through the dense smoke, I crouch low, where the visibility is better, and search for the missing woman. I check the couch and chairs in the living room, but, more often than not, it’s the floor where we find survivors. It’s usually where we find the dead too.

And I have found more dead than I’d care to remember. It’s the worst part of the job. On those difficult days, I wonder why I chose this career. In high school, I’d planned to go into emergency medical services. I wanted to help people, to do something the next time I walked into a room and found a mom overdosing. Then I got that shitty letter from Afghanistan, and now I help people by running into burning buildings.

Go figure.

Pamela is easy to locate, curled up in the bathtub with the water running and a wet towel over her nose and mouth to keep the smoke out of her lungs. I crouch beside her, trying to assess any injuries. She looks unharmed, though her pupils are blown, her eyes bouncing around the room, looking past me toward the doorway, probably wondering if she’s still surrounded by fire.

“Can you walk?” I start to help Pamela to her feet.

“Leroy!” she screams over my head as she balances on shaky legs, her feet slipping a little in the wet tub.

“Who’s Leroy?” I ask her, ready to inform the team we have another potential victim or survivor up here.

“Leroy!” She howls at the ceiling and hacks as her throat seizes up.

I manage to get Pamela out of the tub and into the main hallway, where Rooster and Drew are keeping our exit clear of fire.

“My baby!” She starts shouting again, her voice raw and scratchy. “He ran away when I tried to bring him into the tub with me.”

What baby could run away—?

“Is Leroy a dog or a cat?” Drew steps in to ask.

“He’s a Bichon Frise.”

Of course. Leroy is a dog. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Get her out of here. I’ll find Leroy,” I tell the guys.

“Dee, no, these trusses won’t hold—” Rooster tries to argue, but I cut him off.

“I’ll be quick.”

He cusses at me as he picks up Pamela and starts to carry her outside. Drew cusses at me, too, as he directs the hose’s stream down the hallway ahead of me, trying to knock down the fire at the back of the apartment, where I’m headed. On the radio, Watts is cussing me now as well, but I’m compelled by the desperate look in that woman’s eyes. I need to save Leroy for her, and maybe a little bit for myself too.

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