New team

12.Memory board

Hi! This chapter is totally something that I didn't have in plan, and as I should have expected, it didn't go as planned so I hope you will be fine with a version you're given. I leave the end open and I'm curious who you've bet on it is;-)

They met with Hannah again at the back yard of the big red building on west side of Newtown two day after. They used the opportunity that the three of them had a whole day off and could spent as much time in local library as the time let them. But they were even more surprised when Hannah lead them to the other wing of Newtown Fire Academy. 

"What exactly are we doing here?" Julia asked confused, as she approached Hannah long before her friends did. 

"I wanted to show you one thing in the library. I've written my final work at collage about gathering and researching through information, so trust me I have experience, but I don't doubt that you may not see it so easily as I do" she chuckled briefly before she entrered through the lonely door on the left from the main entrance. 

"You know we'd studied here and we are perfectly awere that you're leading us to the library, don't you?" Chris added a little cheekily, but Hannah acknowledged it with a smile. 

"So you also should know that there is a special wall of fame for the most looked materials in Newtown files?" She asked mischeviously. 

"Let him talk, Hannah" Julia waved Liam and Chris off. "Never in my whole life have I seen Chris with a science book in his hand" she turned to her friend with teasing smile on her face. 

"I visited the library countless more times than you did" Chris snapped back. 

"But in difference to you, I was never caught at doing something more illegal than legal" Julia concuerted boldly. 

They walked down a deserted corridon in silence before Liam openned big door to let them all in first. Then Hannah took a lead again to let the firefoghters followed her to the line of bookshelfs, tall to the ceiling. Hannah lead them to a last one of the bookshelves and reached for only book that turned out to indeed be a file manager when she took it from the shelf. 

"Memory board" Chris read the title when they sat at the table in the corner. 

"This is a collection of all newspapers that appeared in which important events for firefighters were described" Hannah explained briefly before she began to rush through the file to find a newspaper that she was interested in. "I read this article a thousand times, but I can't understand it" Hannah admitted as she handed the newspaper to Liam.

"Series of exploations from unknown causes on the outskirts of Newtown" he read the title out loud. "The cause or causes are still not known, but in one of the exploations one of Newtown firefighters and also an independent arson investigator died" Liam read the first few lines of the article as the others ran their eyes through it as well. 

"Why is it said that his name is Justin Morris?" Chris asked confused. "It's sounds like I heard once this name". 

"For sure you have if you have heard a story about fireman Sam" Hannah snorted amused at their inability to connect the dots in search for informations. "I don't know a single person in whole Pontypandy who would have ignore three people working closest to fireman Sam" she stated confidently. 

"Who they are?" Chris asked curiously. 

"Were" Hannah corrected sadly, sighing. "Elvis Cridlington, Station Officer Steele and Penny Morris" she counted on her fingers. 

"When it happened, Hannah?" Liam asked to changed the topic after the uncomfortable silence, they were sitting in, was beginning to be too tense for him.

"It says 27th of November 2013" Hannah replied, before she took a photo of the newspaper to put it back to the book file. "I'll send the photo to you when I'll be back home, but firstly we still have a meeting eith someone" she announced. 

It was silence, that filled the air, between them as they left Newtown Fire Academy and walked a shortcut from the park to reached the more noisy streets in the centre of the city.  

Only when they reached a door to Bella's pizzeria, the voices surrounded them. It was surprisingly calm for such an hour when all the collage students walked out from university or academy. So they took the same alone table as before and Hannah was again the first one to break the silence after they politely asked Bella for a menu. 

"The cases of this fires where not so simple. A few firefighters from Swansea investigated it and announced that it was a simple home fire caused by electicity failture. But when the similiar case was discovered a few weeks later in Newtown in the hair salon, it had to be something deeper" Hannah cut the long stroy short for them to be better informed. "I had a very hard time trying to figure this out, writing my work about, until I came across this article" she showed them once again a photo of the newspaper. "Turns out that Justin Morris was an investigator in one of cases about arsons in Newtown and on his way he happened to help the team from Swansea". 

"But what does it have to do with our task to bring the whole team back together?" Chris asked annoyedly. 

"The name!" Julia asked, patting herself hardly on her forehead. "It is the same name as the firefighter from the team had". 

"I don't exactly think it could be a case" Hannah objected. "As far as I remembered, Penny has never had a brother". 

"Maybe we'll ask Station Officer Jones?" Liam invented. 

"Are you out of your mind? If I hadn't known that Tony is on shift right now, I would have really believed that he dressed up for you and went with us, instead of you, Liam" Julia snapped. "He doesn't know baout anything and as long as we want this to suceed, it has to stay like that!".

"But why? Would it have been easier for us?" Liam pressured. 

"If I can interrupt you" Hannah chimmed in. "I agree with Julia. From the things I have heard being in Pontypandy, fireman Sam took it to himself" she explained. 

"As a investigative journalist you must be right" Liam agreed. "But I still don't get why you take us all the way to Newtown Fire Academy's library?"

"I don't think really it can be important for you, but Sarah's will soonly write her work at collage and I wanted to help her. Writing about newspaper's news are a good option to start. But I have to figure out soemthing from the fire report as well" she showed them a couple of notes on her phone with a lot of symbols that were familiar for firegfighters. "Her uncle refused to help her, saying that Sarah should better keep herself away from this topic, but..." she hesitated. "She is too stubborn to let go" she looked at Liam meaningfully. "I gues syou could help her with this" she leaned a little to show him how she was just sending her notes to him. 

"Oh, alright" Liam replied awkwardly. 

He wanted to add something else when they noticed how, right after Mr.Elvis brought them ordered pizza, another person appeared behind their table.