the ordinary, about the case?’
Karl could hear Hicks move slightly, as if trying to get comfortable in the bed.
‘Apart from some irresponsible person stacking over fifty bottles of propane gas beside a wall and causing an explosion?’
‘Apart from that, yes.’
‘I haven’t read the full report. Barney Blaney is standing in for me. But from what I did read and was able to discern, the fire started in the kitchen, or in the proximity to it, and was probably caused by a cigarette that wasn’t fully extinguished.’
‘Could the fire have been started maliciously?’
‘All things are possible, but let me give you a few statistics before you start making assumptions and getting yourself into trouble. Kitchens are the principal area of origin for home fires, and smoking is a leading cause of fire deaths. Eighty percent of all fire-deaths occur when people are asleep. Put alcohol into the mix, and you’ve an invite for disaster. Those are the hard facts, and appear to be cohesive in this scenario, as well as backing up Blaney’s report.’
Karl thought for a moment. ‘Do you rate Blaney’s judgement?’
There was a slight pause. ‘Well…he’s a highly qualified and competent pathologist. He knows his stuff. Foul play was ruled out, more or less.’
‘More or less?’ Karl added a suspicious tone to his voice.
‘Nothing has been conclusively established, because of the sheer ferocity of the fire caused by the explosion. The house practically disintegrated, along with the adjacent building, a grocery shop. Not all the bodies were accounted for, or what was left of them.’
‘Why do you think that was?’
‘Instantaneously vaporised, is one appalling explanation. Or pure incineration. Coupled with this were the gale-force winds that morning, and throughout the day, creating extreme conditions that would have hindered finding all particles from the bodies.’
‘I see…’
‘When you say it like that, you clearly don’t see at all. Look, if it makes your client feel better, ninety-nine percent of the time, friends and family are wracked with guilt at not having been able to prevent the unpreventable. They end up conjuring conspiracy theories about fires being started deliberately. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are wrong, of course.’
‘What about the other one percent, who are proven right?’
There was a five-second stony silence before Hicks replied.
‘That’s why they hire people like you , Karl, hoping to prove people like me wrong.’
Chapter Twelve
If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself .
George Orwell, 1984
‘D o you want to see something?’ Tara said, grinning at Dorothy.
‘What?’
‘A secret.’
‘What kind of secret?’
‘The best kind. The dangerous kind.’
Dorothy didn’t want to be part of any secrets this strange girl might have, especially dangerous secrets, but she also didn’t want to insult her.
‘What is it?’
Tara turned, edged up to the top of the old horsehair mattress. Slid her hands inside. When she extracted her hands, she was holding three items: an ancient cutthroat razor; a busted cigarette lighter; and a miniature, moth-eaten teddy bear, encrusted in dirt, most of its face missing.
‘I’ve been chipping beneath the boarded-up window with this old razor. I’ve already made a wee spy-hole to see outside. If we make it bigger, we can escape. The wood isn’t very strong. It’sfilled with woodworm. This whole shitty place is falling down.’
‘Won’t that take forever, using that rusty razor?’
‘Not now that there’s two of us. Don’t you see? I can work away at the wood, while you listen out for Scarman.’
The mere mention of Scarman’s name made Dorothy’s stomach percolate with nerves. ‘But…what if he finds out? Won’t…won’t he punish us?’
‘The trick is not to let him find out, isn’t it? Any wee bits of wood from the cutting, I shove it out through the hole. That’s what
Karl could hear Hicks move slightly, as if trying to get comfortable in the bed.
‘Apart from some irresponsible person stacking over fifty bottles of propane gas beside a wall and causing an explosion?’
‘Apart from that, yes.’
‘I haven’t read the full report. Barney Blaney is standing in for me. But from what I did read and was able to discern, the fire started in the kitchen, or in the proximity to it, and was probably caused by a cigarette that wasn’t fully extinguished.’
‘Could the fire have been started maliciously?’
‘All things are possible, but let me give you a few statistics before you start making assumptions and getting yourself into trouble. Kitchens are the principal area of origin for home fires, and smoking is a leading cause of fire deaths. Eighty percent of all fire-deaths occur when people are asleep. Put alcohol into the mix, and you’ve an invite for disaster. Those are the hard facts, and appear to be cohesive in this scenario, as well as backing up Blaney’s report.’
Karl thought for a moment. ‘Do you rate Blaney’s judgement?’
There was a slight pause. ‘Well…he’s a highly qualified and competent pathologist. He knows his stuff. Foul play was ruled out, more or less.’
‘More or less?’ Karl added a suspicious tone to his voice.
‘Nothing has been conclusively established, because of the sheer ferocity of the fire caused by the explosion. The house practically disintegrated, along with the adjacent building, a grocery shop. Not all the bodies were accounted for, or what was left of them.’
‘Why do you think that was?’
‘Instantaneously vaporised, is one appalling explanation. Or pure incineration. Coupled with this were the gale-force winds that morning, and throughout the day, creating extreme conditions that would have hindered finding all particles from the bodies.’
‘I see…’
‘When you say it like that, you clearly don’t see at all. Look, if it makes your client feel better, ninety-nine percent of the time, friends and family are wracked with guilt at not having been able to prevent the unpreventable. They end up conjuring conspiracy theories about fires being started deliberately. Ninety-nine percent of the time they are wrong, of course.’
‘What about the other one percent, who are proven right?’
There was a five-second stony silence before Hicks replied.
‘That’s why they hire people like you , Karl, hoping to prove people like me wrong.’
Chapter Twelve
If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself .
George Orwell, 1984
‘D o you want to see something?’ Tara said, grinning at Dorothy.
‘What?’
‘A secret.’
‘What kind of secret?’
‘The best kind. The dangerous kind.’
Dorothy didn’t want to be part of any secrets this strange girl might have, especially dangerous secrets, but she also didn’t want to insult her.
‘What is it?’
Tara turned, edged up to the top of the old horsehair mattress. Slid her hands inside. When she extracted her hands, she was holding three items: an ancient cutthroat razor; a busted cigarette lighter; and a miniature, moth-eaten teddy bear, encrusted in dirt, most of its face missing.
‘I’ve been chipping beneath the boarded-up window with this old razor. I’ve already made a wee spy-hole to see outside. If we make it bigger, we can escape. The wood isn’t very strong. It’sfilled with woodworm. This whole shitty place is falling down.’
‘Won’t that take forever, using that rusty razor?’
‘Not now that there’s two of us. Don’t you see? I can work away at the wood, while you listen out for Scarman.’
The mere mention of Scarman’s name made Dorothy’s stomach percolate with nerves. ‘But…what if he finds out? Won’t…won’t he punish us?’
‘The trick is not to let him find out, isn’t it? Any wee bits of wood from the cutting, I shove it out through the hole. That’s what
Similar Books
