Silent Scream Read Free Page A

Zell’s on his way up with the saw.”
    David felt the pressure in the line lessen as firefighter Gabe Sheridan closed off the valve from the ground. He looked down
     to see Jeff steadily climbing the ladder.
Hurry
, he wanted to hiss, but knew Jeff was doing it right. Doing it safe. For a moment he considered taking his own ax to the
     window, but knew the power saw would do the job on the impact-resistant glass a lot faster than he could, so he conserved
     his energy.
    He glanced back through the window at the woman inside. She hadn’t moved.
    She was probably dead.
Don’t be dead
. He peered through the glass, wondering if anyone else was in the room. Wondering if she could have set the fire.
    Jeff climbed into the bucket, power saw in hand. David pointed to the far edge of the glass, away from the victim and her
     handprints, blocking out the mental picture of how terrified she must have been as she pounded and clawed, trying to escape.
     She might have set this fire. They needed to preserve her prints on the glass for the cops.
    His air can was almost empty so he switched it while Jeff forced the saw through the nearly impenetrable glass until the hole
     was big enough for David to push through.
    Jeff grabbed his shoulder. “She could have done this,” he shouted. “Be careful.”
    “I will,” he shouted back. He climbed through, landing as close to the wall as possible in case the floor was weak. He crouched
     low and searched the room for anyone else.
    But there was no one.
Go. Get her out and go
. She was light, her weight barely registering when he hefted her over his shoulder. He handed her to Jeff, then climbedback through the window and radioed Gabe Sheridan to take them down.
    The platform backed away from the building, away from the flames that were still licking at the second floor. The paramedic
     was waiting on the ground to take the victim.
    David pulled off his mask the moment his feet hit the dirt, Jeff doing the same. For a moment David closed his eyes, letting
     the air cool his face. The night air that would have been otherwise brisk was still hot all around them, but compared to wearing
     that damn mask it was like stepping into A/C. Medic Scotty Schooner looked up, grim.
    David knew. “She’s dead?”
    Scotty nodded. “Yeah.”
    Jeff’s hand clasped his shoulder. “Sorry, buddy.”
    “Me too.” David remembered the handprints on the window. “Check her hands.”
    Scotty knelt next to the gurney holding the body of a girl David could now see was no more than a teenager wearing ratty jeans
     and a thin T-shirt.
What a waste
.
    Scotty was frowning at the girl’s hands. “They’re covered in some kind of gel.”
    David’s captain and two uniformed cops joined them, the three of them bending over the gurney to see her hands.
    “What is this shit on her hands?” one of the cops asked.
    “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it reflects light. I saw her handprints on the window,” David told him. “My light hit the
     glass and the prints shone. Fire investigator’s going to want to sample it. If she set this fire, she got stuck up there and
     panicked. There were lots of fist-sized prints, like she pounded, trying to get out.”
    “If she didn’t do this fire, it’s murder,” the other cop said. “I’ll make the call.”
    “Tell them it’s a double,” a female voice said behindthem. Carrie Jackson stood behind them. Her engine team had been spraying the west side of the structure, next to the lake.
     “I was laying line and nearly tripped over the guard. He was shot in the chest.”
    Scotty stood up. “I’ll go check him out.”
    Carrie shrugged. “Go ahead. But he’s definitely dead. Has been for a while.”
    “I believe you,” Scotty said. “But it’s regs. Show me where he is.” Together, Scotty and Carrie set off around the building
     with the first cop.
    The second cop straightened with a sigh. “I’ll get Homicide, the ME, and CSU out here. They’ll want to