Break Her

Ignite on Contact

*Firehouse 51: Chief's Office*

The owner of the small room was standing next to his wife, who was leaning back against the front of his desk. The couple was facing Ana, Matt, and Kelly with grim expressions.

"Donna believes the fire was intentionally set." Chief informed.

"Did one of the students see what happened?" Matt wondered.

"No. Nobody was there when it started. But after the fire, when we were outside the school, the way the chem lab students were whispering to each other. . . it's like they knew something." Donna explained.

"Did you hear anything specific? Any names? Anything?" Kelly inquired.

"No. A lot of the faculty have reached out. We brought in a counselor, but none of these students will talk." She replied, sadly.

"So you think one of the students did this?" Ana asked in confirmation.

"Yeah. I just don't know which one, and if any of the others saw it happen." Donna sighed. "Look, I know all of this sounds really vague, but-"

"Donna's instincts with the case are dead on." Chief spoke up for his wife. "She says they're hiding something, then they are."

"What does OFI say?" Matt wondered.

"They're still investigating the scene. I just spoke with Lieutenant Hubble. She says with all the chemicals stored in the lab, and all the gas lines, they're just going to go under the assumption that it was an accident, unless we find evidence of arson." Chief recalled.

"Meanwhile, Jamie Wagner is in the hospital with burns all over her body." Donna muttered.

"I'd like you two to go to the school. Make sure OFI doesn't miss anything." Chief instructed, gesturing between the two Lieutenants. "And tell Ana if you find anything. We all know how nice it is to have a cop on our side."

"Yeah, you got it, Chief." Kelly nodded.

Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, motor vehicle accident on Lakeshore Drive and Lincoln.

"We'll do everything we can." Matt assured, opening the door for Kelly and rushing through afterwards.

"I'll even bring my team in if I have to." Ana promised, sprinting after the two men.

*Time Skip brought to you by that call going exactly as it does in the episode*

Kelly, Matt, and Ana were back in Chief's Office after taking another look at the fire scene.

"No, you can't really blame Van Meter. I mean, he had no way of knowing that we carved that trail he was looking at." Kelly pointed out, leaning forward on the back of a chair.

"I'm confused. If it wasn't accelerant, how did the fire start?" Chief wondered from where he was seated as his desk.

"It could've been improperly stored chemicals. They had a lot of old, outdated stuff in those cabinets." Matt replied, looking over at the Squad Lieutenant next to him.

"Yeah, we just gotta get the lab results." Kelly nodded.

"Help me to understand this. I sent you there to help OFI look for signs of arson, but instead you rule it out?" He asked in disbelief.

"They didn't rule it out, Wally." Ana spoke up from his left. "They just kept OFI from going down the wrong road."

"Exactly." Matt agreed.

"Look, they were headed down a blind alley with the whole char line. We just set them straight." Kelly explained.

"We have a teacher that may not survive. The police are not going to put any resources into this thing until it escalates to a criminal investigation, so please, go back there." Chief yelled, shooting out of his seat and rising to his full height. "You keep digging until you find something that can make that happen."