New Beginnings ~Eddie Diaz 9-1-1

Chapter 16

Val's POV:

"So what do you do in arson?" Eddie asked.

"Well, if the firefighters on scene at a fire find any suspicious items such as chemicals, a time device, suspicious burn patterns, absence of valuables, forced entry, or low burning points with unidentifiable point of origin, arson is called and they have to return to the scene to investigate." I said explaining arson investigation as best as I could.

"You know you're hot when you talk about arson and things I don't completely understand, right?" He said.

"Eddie!" I yelled nudging his arm with my elbow.

"You know you love me." He muttered.

"Yes, I do." I said as we got out of my car and walked towards the house. Before I walked towards the steps, I grabbed a crowbar that was in my trunk to pry the door open.

"Should I ask why you have a crowbar in your trunk?" He said playfully.

"In case I see a house I want to rob." I said half annoyed because the answer was kinda obvious.

"Really?" Eddie asked dumbfounded.

"No dumbass, in case I am asked to help with or investigate an arson case." I said jokingly.

Eddie nodded and I pried the door open. We walked inside and I went upstairs while Eddie looked downstairs.

"What exactly are we looking for?!" Eddie yelled from the first floor.

"You'll know what is suspicious when you see it!" I yelled from my spot upstairs.

I walked into the master bathroom and instantly notice a something suspicious. I noticed a pattern of a burn that didn't have a significant start point that would make sense given it's a master bathroom. The firefighters on scene ruled out an electrical fire and there were no other significant fire hazards in the room that would line up.

"Eddie! You should see this!" I yelled.

He came up the stairs and joined me in the bathroom.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Notice the burn pattern. What do you see?" I asked waiting for him to notice.

"There are no other significant fire hazards in the room that would line up with that type of burn." He said following the burn trying to track it to its starting mark. "Did firefighters on scene rule out electrical fire?" He asked.

"Yeah. Trace the burn back towards an original starting point." I said.

"Over here. Is this a time device?" He asked holding up a small piece of technology with a plastic glove.

He stood up and met me half way. 

"Yeah." I said. "Where did you find it?" I asked.

"Behind the wall. I took a picture of it before I moved it." He answered.

"Good." We should drop this off at arson. Then let's grab some lunch and come back to talk to some of the neighbors." I said.

"Can they get anything off of this?" Eddie asked.

"Not completely sure. It's pretty charred but they might be able to trace it back to where it was bought." I answered.

We left and drove to arson and handed the time device to forensics to see if they could get anything. They just said that they will call me when they know anything. Eddie and I drove to a small diner a couple blocks away and grabbed some food.