Trapped

"Oh, Roger," Lucille Ingram whispered to her husband as she edged in closer to get a look at her son.

"He's strong and a fighter. Todd will be just fine."

"You're right," she said with a renewed determination.

She leaned over her son's bed and talked to him in a soft voice for several minutes until the nurse asked them to leave again. Lucille gave Todd a kiss on his forehead and promised she'd be back. Her husband squeezed their son's hand and left the room. The couple held each other in the hall and let the tears fall.

****

Andrea shook her head and attempted to open her eyes. A buzzing woke her that sounded like her alarm clock but much louder. Confused, she wondered why no one turned it off. Unless she was alone and then it was up to her to find the switch, she told herself. She shoved the covers off and started to swing her legs off the bed.

"Hello, young lady," a cheery voice said near Andrea. "Trying to wake up, are you?"

Startled, Andrea's eyes popped open. "Who are you?" she asked the woman standing next to her bed.

"My name is Jill. I have some questions for you if you don't mind," the blonde said.

Andrea nodded and waited for her to speak again. The events of the last few days rushed at her when she realized she was in a hospital room.

"You didn't have any identification on you when they brought you in. Can you tell me your name?" Jill asked.

"Andrea Christiansen."

"We can contact your family for you if you'd like. Do you have so—"

"No," Andrea said before the other woman could finish. "I don't have anyone."

Jill didn't react to her statement as she went on to the next questions about Andrea's general health. It was several minutes before the woman stopped talking and just looked at Andrea.

"You're a lucky girl, Andrea."

"I know," she whispered. "The firefighter — can you tell me — did he make it out?"

"Captain Reade is waiting to speak to you. I can get him if you'd like."

Tears trickled down her cheeks as Andrea thought about someone losing their life to save her. "Okay."

Jill left and Andrea closed her eyes since the pounding in her head made her dizzy. She rested until Joe knocked on her door an hour later.

"I'm Captain Reade. Jill told me you were awake and ready to have a visitor."

"She wouldn't tell me if he made it out ..."

Joe took his time answering the pale young girl. Anger over the situation wouldn't get answers he knew.

"Miss Christiansen, can you tell me what you remember?"

Andrea hesitated for only a few seconds. She admitted staying in the apartment the night before the fire. A brief outline followed of her walk to town in the afternoon and the return to see the building in flames. Joe heard the emotion in her voice when she talked about the papers in the container in her closet. He already knew that she still had it with her when they brought her into the emergency room but didn't say it.

The next part was a bit more random as Andrea tried to remember the exact way she went into the building. Joe offered quiet words of reassurance as she led him through Todd following her inside. She pictured it in her mind to be able to give Joe the details he wanted so she didn't miss anything important. Things were sketchier just before the explosion when she ran out of air and fell, she told him.

"You're doing great," Joe said. "What do you remember about the explosion?"

"Everything just blew up around me and the floor shifted. Something knocked me out, I guess. I think I woke up a few times but I'm not sure if I was dreaming or not."

"They found Todd last night. He's the young man that went in after you," Joe explained after she'd finished.

"Is he going to be all right? Please tell me."

Joe gave her the few facts that he could on Todd's condition before wishing her a speedy recovery. He took a few steps to the door and stopped.

"One of the investigators will be in to see you before you leave. They have some questions as well. Thank you for seeing me today."

He walked down the halls to the unit where Todd was and thought about her words. Joe sensed her feelings of guilt and wondered what was in the box important enough to risk her life. That was something he hoped to discover on his next visit to her, he decided.

****

Derrick was back to work as were many of the others that spent hours waiting for word on Todd during his surgery. Someone from the station was always there after their shift ended sitting in the small room with his family and friends, though. The Ingrams were staying in town until they knew he was out of danger, of course. They went to Todd's apartment for a few hours of much needed sleep before returning the next morning.

Trey talked to Tom the night before hoping his team had uncovered some evidence in their search. The owner of the building seemed a bit anxious to have them finish when Trey saw him. According to Tom, the building had a huge insurance policy on it that made them suspicious, too. He also refused to answer several of their questions without a lawyer present. The men agreed they needed more answers and soon.

****

Little squiggly worms floated in front of his eyes as Todd tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing today. He watched them move along in slow motion until they blended into one large blob. Odd how they did that, he thought and went back to figuring out his plans. It was so warm already that Todd decided he'd rather go swimming. His body felt stiff and so he determined he could use the exercise, too. Strange things happened even here. Now he just had to make up an excuse for missing work.

Lucille Ingram sat next to her son's bed and wondered what was going on in his mind. She talked to him about the trip she and his dad hoped to take for their thirtieth anniversary next year. It hurt to think he might never be able to do some of his favorite sports again but the alternative was far worse. There was always good if you looked for it, she reminded herself.

****

Andrea wasn't supposed to get out of bed alone yet. The nurses reminded her to use the call bell but they didn't know her independent streak. She wanted another pillow and remembered seeing one in the closet. It only took her a few minutes to work out how to maneuver with all her tubes and hoses. A rush of adrenaline hit her when she opened the door and saw what sat on the shelf.

The box wasn't heavy even though it was full. Andrea set it on her bedside table and thought about the firefighter. Todd she now knew his name was. No one told her anything about him, but her room was right by the nurses station and she heard them talking. She knew they blamed her even though they tried not to show it when they took care of her. Looking at the box it shocked her that she'd taken such a risk. One glance at the contents was all it took to remind her.

Pages of documents and letters made up a large bundle. A smaller one had the only photos remaining of her parents. A brief glimpse pacified her that the pictures were all there. It would take longer to sort through the papers but she had no choice. Someone had gone through them since she'd last put the box away. Fear at what might be missing gave her enough energy to begin the task.

****

Tom listened to the apartment building owner complain again about how much of an inconvenience the fire was to him and wanted to walk away. Grease odors and stale cigarette smoke clung to the overweight man.

"You people are huntin' for somethin' that ain't there," he said.

"Mr. Bloomers, the insurance company and our department —"

"I got a business ta run and you ain't lettin' me."

"If you have a problem with me being here, we can always call the cops to sort it out," Tom replied.

Willie Bloomers didn't want any more cops on his property. The fire caused enough attention but now he just wanted things wrapped up. Over the years, he'd learned to cover his tracks better than he had in the beginning. He chuckled at how easy it was to make some people believe just about anything.

"You find something funny about all these people having nowhere to live, Mr. Bloomers?"

"Just git off my land 'fore I make sure ya do," Willie told him before he turned away.

Tom longed to find proof that this sleaze wanted the building to burn. All his instincts told him the man was as shady as they came. He watched as Willie stuffed himself into his new Cadillac and drove away. His determination to find some evidence made him pull out his cell phone and call Trey.

****

Lucille sat at her son's side and read from a book of poetry. Roger was out taking care of business on his laptop when someone knocked on the door. She stepped into the hall to see who it was since Todd couldn't have many visitors yet.

"Are you Todd's mom?"

"Yes, but — you're her, aren't you?" Lucille said in an angry tone.

"He ... it's my fault he's hurt." Andrea's words came out in a quivering voice as she felt the older woman's pain.

"Why are you here?" Lucille asked.

"I wanted to tell him how sorry I am but I know he isn't awake yet. The doctor said he's releasing me tomorrow and then I won't be able to see him, either. Will you just let him know for me, please?"

Andrea turned to leave but Lucille's question stopped her. "Why did you go in there when you could see it wasn't safe?"

"It's a long story and I don't expect you to understand."

"Try me." Lucille said just the two words but Andrea felt the power in them.

Andrea studied the other woman's face and decided to take a risk and trust her.

"I can show you better."

The two women walked to Andrea's room without speaking. Both had so much on their mind they didn't know where to begin. Lucille closed the door for privacy and waited. An hour later, she held a sobbing Andrea in her arms and wished she knew what to do now. Papers and documents lay on the bed and table showing a trail of obvious deceit. Roger would be able to help but Lucille felt lost with all the information she'd heard.

"You need to show this to the authorities. Someone has to stop this before it happens again. Where are you going to stay when you leave here?"

Andrea wiped her nose again and shrugged. "I was hoping I could find a shelter to take me in for now. Everything I owned was in that apartment."

"I'm going to see if my husband is with Todd. He'll be worried about me. Then we're both coming back here to figure something out," Lucille said before she walked out.

****

Todd felt the stinging in his leg and wished it would stop. His eyes felt too heavy to open so he didn't bother trying. A soft humming sound reminded him of an aquarium filter running. More sounds came to him from every direction. He made a mental note to check his tires after listening to the hissing of air escaping from one. A clanging upset him because now he'd be late for dinner again. His mom hated that, too. Todd swore he heard her voice as more images carried him back into their midst.

****

Lucille ran into Joe and Trey in the hall just outside Todd's room. She peeked in to see her husband sitting in the corner reading a magazine. A quick wave of her hand brought Roger out to join the others where she told them about Andrea coming to see Todd. The men all had questions but Lucille felt it was up to the young girl to tell them so she took the men with her back to see Andrea.

It didn't take them long to see the value in what Andrea held in the box. Trey looked at Joe and nodded before he went back to checking the papers.

"Do you see why I had to get this now?" Andrea asked the group. "I only have the originals here."

"We need to make copies of all this to be safe. I'm going to talk to someone in the office here that I know about it," Joe said. "I'll be back soon."

Roger and Lucille talked with Trey and Andrea but didn't bring up the fire again. The others could see the strain on the young girl's face from her part in the last hour. Trey told some funny stories about his neighbors black lab and soon had her smiling. Roger added a tale from his childhood about a collie as he tried to top Trey.

"Looks like I missed something funny," Joe said when he returned to find them all with tears in their eyes from laughing so much.

The group shared a silly grin before bursting out once more. Andrea held her stomach in discomfort at the exertion and grimaced. Lucille noticed and went to her side right away.

"Lay back, Andrea. Let me help. Roger, will you get a nurse for her, please?"

Trey stepped aside as the older man returned in less than a minute with one of the staff. It didn't take long before Andrea was resting again from the pain medication administered. Lucille herded the men into the hall and shut the door.

"There are two extra copies now." Joe spoke first as they wandered into an empty sitting area. "I put one in her box with the originals."

"And the other set?" Trey asked from across the room.

"They're safe."

Roger and Lucille just nodded while Trey looked at the man for a moment. Ethics and honesty were important to Trey. This didn't quite feel right to him.

"Will you tell her you have them?"

"If I have to, yes, I will. It's really for her own good, Trey. If the wrong person heard about what she has ..."

Trey didn't need him to finish. He knew what happened all too often when a scumbag thief went after something he wanted.

"I understand."

****

Willie felt the sweat in every crease of his rotund body even though the air conditioning was on. Odd sounds came from the decrepit desk chair in the dreary room he used for his personal office. This was where the real books and documents were. Only those he knew wouldn't talk came in here.

Pudgy fingers sorted through the stack of folders and files in front of him. A triumphant smile came over his face when he found what he wanted and shoved the rest to the side. Several tumbled to the grimy floor but Willie didn't bother with them. These documents held his full interest.

He read them and grinned. Memories of the couple that owned the house on the corner came back to him. They didn't have a clue what was going on when he approached them that afternoon so long ago. A simple conversation about their location got him just what he'd hope to find.

Both the man and wife were naïve in business and fell for his offer to purchase their place for a huge sum. Contracts with small print they didn't understand confused them so Willie translated for them. Of course, what he told them wasn't at all the same but they trusted him. The thought of such a large amount of money and Willie's charm had them signing in no time.

Only they didn't get what he'd said. In fact, Willie only gave them a quarter of the market value for their house. They went to a lawyer but since the couple signed without coercion, they didn't have a case. Willie gave them a week to get out before he took over. The following day bulldozers razed the entire place.

The apartment complex went up and Willie collected the rent each month with a grin. It was just the beginning of his underhanded dealings. Over the years, he built another apartment building across town on property he got for almost nothing from a grieving widow that just wanted out of her house.

Now the cops were asking him about the fire. Willie wiped the sweat off his forehead with a filthy rag and tossed it onto the desk. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. Sparky had a lot to answer for and he'd better tell Willie what he wanted to hear or there would be trouble.

"The cops are snooping around the apartment building," Willie said in place of a greeting when Sparky answered.

"Let 'em. Ain't nothin' fer 'em ta find."

"You heard a fireman and girl were in there when the place exploded din't ya'?"

"Too bad fer them, but it ain't my fault they was in there," Sparky said in a defensive voice.

"If the cops find somethin', Sparky, ya better run. 'Cause I ain't goin' down alone."

Willie slammed the phone down and cussed. He'd covered his tracks so well for years now. However, the apartment building was old and needed costly repairs. With the insurance policy he carried on it the fire was a better solution. It didn't matter to him if anyone lost their possessions as long as he profited. That's what he was in it for.

Faded documents sat on the desk in front of him as Willie tried to figure out what nagged at him. This wasn't the first time Sparky worked for him. Nothing suspicious ever came up from the other fires so why this one, he kept asking himself. It couldn't be because of the two people trapped in there, since they were the ones stupid enough to go back in.

Willie closed the file and mopped the dripping sweat from his face again. He left the office and decided to drive past the site of the fire to see what if anything was going on. Maybe the investigation was over and he'd get that fat insurance check soon. That lifted Willie's spirits until he got near the apartment building.

He turned at the corner when he saw all the vehicles in the driveway. A quick flick of the switch cranked the air conditioning up when he felt the sweat drip down his back. An evil smirk crossed his face as he crossed town and made his way to the ramshackle old house almost hidden in the woods. Sparky was getting company.

****

Trey worked with Tom and his small crew to search for that one single clue that might give them the answer they needed. His instincts told him they were in the right area, though.

"Check this out, boss," one of the men said.

Tom studied the section for several minutes before walking around to the apartment next to where they worked. Inside he gazed at the destruction and worked out some possibilities in his head.

"Trey," Tom called out. "Look at this."

It didn't take long for the two men to find the proof they needed that the explosion wasn't from the propane tanks. A quick call to the police department had Chief Nolan on his way. More searching found the source of the fire as well. Angry at the sleaze that arranged this, the group of men went outside to wait.

Colby's police chief was sharp. Though not from the area, he'd been there long enough that everyone called him a local. Arson was an ugly word and even worse when innocent people lost everything they owned because of it. Nevertheless, they only had evidence to the how of the fire, not who did it. That was going to be his department's job.

Samples went into the proper containers and labeled after one of the team photographed it all. A tired but triumphant bunch soon left. They just hoped it didn't take long for the police department to find the culprit.

Joe knocked on Andrea's hospital room door later that same evening. He wanted to talk to the girl about what steps she should take next. Somehow, he felt sorry for her even though he knew Todd was hurt because of her.

"Andrea, are you awake? It's Joe Reade."

"Come in, Mr. Reade."

"You can call me Joe." He grinned when she blushed but just went on. "I hope you don't mind that I'm here?"

"Not at all, Joe. I get bored by myself."

"You're going to the police aren't you? The documents you have prove enough to start an investigation into him."

Joe felt certain there was a connection between the arson and some of the transactions shown in Andrea's box of papers.

"Right before the fire I'd decided I had enough proof to do that. I wanted to keep an eye on the slime bag, though."

"That's why you moved into the apartment building," Joe said with a knowing look.

"Yes, it is."

"I'll help in any way I can if you'll let me, Andrea."

"Why would you do that? It's my fault Todd is hurt. You should hate me."

"Todd knew the risks going in after you. He made the decision himself. I can't say it was a good one but I'm sure anyone in the department would do the same thing in that situation. Saving people is part of what we do."