Exposed by Suzanne Ferrell Page A

shook her head. “No, I want to see this for myself, hear what they have to say.”
    “They probably aren’t going to let us get too close.”
    “That’s why I brought this,” she said, holding up the camera. “I don’t know what it will see, but I can zoom in without getting in the way.”
    “Handy,” he said, releasing his hold on her.
    “Oh? You mean you’ve found something useful about my profession?” she said with a little quirk of one brow.
    Admiring her ability to tease him at such a serious moment in her life surprised him. He released her hand. “Jury’s still out on that.”
    When he came around the car, she was standing on the sidewalk, so still he studied her carefully to be sure she was breathing. Any humor she might’ve had in the car was completely gone.
    “You okay?”
    “Yes, it’s just…” She inhaled on a little gasp. “Gone.”
    He patted her shoulder, then gave it a squeeze. “Try not to look at the whole devastation. Maybe taking pictures will help you?”
    She nodded, shoved her sunglasses up on her head and lifted her camera, turning to focus on the area nearest the street.
    “Folks, I’ll have to ask you to stay back,” a fireman in full firefighting gear approached them.
    “Sorry to intrude. Deputy U.S. Marshal, Frank Castello,” Frank said, taking a step forward, holding up his badge for the man to see. Even though he was on medical leave, he’d get further with the authorities if they knew he was with the Marshals.
    “Lieutenant Weller, CFD,” the fireman said extending his hand. “What brings the Marshal’s service to this fire scene?”
    Frank shook the younger man’s hand. “I’m here completely unofficially. This is Ms. Peele, the owner of the house.”
    “I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. Peele,” Weller said, as Sydney joined them. “As you can see, between the explosion and the fire, there’s not much here that’s salvageable.”
    “I can…see that,” Sydney said with a slight hitch in her voice.
    She blinked a few times, and Frank could see the tears in her eyes. She dashed her hand over them and inhaled, fighting for control. The urge to wrap his arms around her and pull her in tight hit him, but he pushed it away. So far, she’d handled the situation with guts and determination, something he admired in her. He wasn’t going to take it away from her by acting like she was some weakling who needed comfort.
    It took her a moment, but she swallowed a few times, then lifted her camera to take some pictures of the rubble that was once her house and the firemen pulling out the debris from piles. “Why are they wearing all their gear? Shouldn’t the fire be out by now?”
    “In today’s world, with all the electronic devices and plastics, there are lots of chemical gasses that can be released when things are burned. Even more dangerous after the fire is out. Our cleanup men always use CO2 monitors, but given that we know you had a darkroom on the premises, our captain felt is wisest that we use our SBCA’s today.” He pointed to the men on the side near the firetruck. “We’re also taking precautions in case anything smoldering beneath this rubble flames up.”
    They watched the firemen sift through what was once her home for a bit. Frank could see Sydney fighting to remain calm. Once more, he had to admire the grit in the woman.
    “Did you find a body inside?” she finally asked.
    The question caught the fireman off guard. He glanced at where his men were dragging out the rubble. “Uh, no. No, we haven’t. Do you think someone was in the house last night?”
    “I hope not,” she said, this time, a tear escaping to run down her cheek.
    Frank took a step closer, letting her know he was there to support her. “Her brother had been staying in the house while she was out of town. We can’t reach him by phone, and just wanted to be sure.”
    That seemed to relax Weller. “As far as I know, the house was completely empty, ma’am.”
    Sydney