His shoulders slumped, but he offered a slight smile. “I’m glad you’re happy, Harper. Have a good time tonight.”
With a wave, she hurried out of the lab and back to her car. Once at the hospital, she wondered what she would be facing. Making her way to the fifth floor, she saw a young woman standing outside the hospital room bouncing a small child on her hip, chatting with several other people.
The woman looked at her as she approached, and she introduced herself. “Mrs. Habib? My name is Harper Walsh, from Eastern Mutual Insurance Company. I wanted to come by and see how you and your family are doing.” Her gaze shifted to the doorway next to the other women, and she asked, “I understand your husband is here?”
Nodding, Mrs. Habib said, “Yes, he was injured. The smoke detector was going off, and he was afraid for us to try to get down the stairs. I got halfway and then jumped over the banister down into the hall. He rushed back up to get our son and dropped him into my arms. He followed right after, but inhaled smoke and burned his hands as he tried to feel his way along the wall.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Habib. Do you and your family have somewhere you’ll be staying?”
One of the women nearby interjected into their conversation. “I’m her sister. They’ll stay with me.”
She smiled softly, her expression warm. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. I just wanted to check to see how you were doing.”
“We had insurance. Will we get anything? Will it pay?”
She looked at Mrs. Habib’s anxious face, her fear of the unknown future tangible between them. Nodding, she reached out her hand and placed it gently on the woman’s arm. “One of our insurance adjusters will be in contact with you tomorrow. The Fire Department determined that the fire was started from a small space heater in your living room. I did an examination today, and I concur that was where the fire started—”
“My husband always checks it at night. He always turns it off,” Mrs. Habib cried.
“I also found the heater turned off,” Harper rushed to assure. “We’ve taken it to our lab for examination, but your husband was not at fault. And yes, your insurance will pay to help you start your life over again.”
She felt the sting of tears in her eyes and swallowed past the lump in her throat as Mrs. Habib’s face crumpled into tears, the other women surrounding her with hugs and tears of their own. Stepping back, she turned to leave when a hand grasped hers, and she looked to see an older woman peering up at her with tears running down her face.
“Thank you,” the woman said. “I am the grandmama. The news you bring today will make everyone feel so much better.”
“You’re welcome. I wanted to make sure they knew everything would be taken care of.” With a final nod toward Mrs. Habib, she walked back out of the hospital and climbed into her car. Exhausted, and yet elated, she drove to the grocery store, a smile on her face. Work for the day was done, and now it was time to think of her date.
20
Sean drove to Harper’s apartment, anxious for their date but having a hard time putting his work behind him. His mind rolled over the events of the day, churning them around, trying to make sense of their investigation.
He and Jonas had reviewed the evidence, including the lab reports and the lists of buyers from the chemical companies.
He had spent time earlier in the day doing a little research on John Simpson, finding it difficult to get Shamika’s description out of his mind. Fuckin’ Firestarter. The basic information on John turned up nothing noteworthy. Graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Chemistry. John had little social media presence, but a quick study of his friends showed that he tended to hang with others interested in chemistry. John had moved to Hope City to obtain his Master’s Degree in Chemistry from the university there. He found John’s YouTube channel, a virtual how to start a fire and blow up shit channel.
“I’m finding some information on John Simpson,” he had said, looking at Jonas. “He’s definitely worth looking into more, but right now I’ve got a date.”
Jonas had grinned and tossed a two-fingered salute as Sean shut down his computer.