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It was 7:00 PM This was going to be a very long teeks

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The next ed three miles, showered, ate a bowl of cereal, packed a canvas tote with supplies, and was heading toward Colgate by 8:45, a quick ten-mile drive I’d reviewed the file over breakfast, and I was already puzzled about what the big rush was The newspaper account indicated that the warehouse was gut-ted, but there was no telltale closing line about arson, investigations pending, or any speculation that the nature of the blaze was suspect The fire-department report was included, and I’d read that twice It all looked routine Apparently the origin of the fire was a malfunction in the electrical system, which had simultaneously shorted out the sprinklers Since the ely paper goods, the 2:00 AM fire had spread rapidly According to the fire inspector at the scene, there was no sign of firetraps, no gasoline or other flan of obstacles placed so as to impede the work of the firemen There was no indication that doors or s had been left open to create favorable drafts and no other physical evidence of incendiary origin I’d read dozens of reports just like this one So as the big deal here? I wondered Maybe I wasa crucial piece of information, but as far as I could see, this was a standard clai the squeeze on California Fi-delity for a speedy settleht explain Andy ’s panic He’s a nail-biter by inclination, anxious for approval, worried about censure, in the middle of marital problems, from what I’d heard He was probably the source of the little note of hysteria that had crept into the case Maybe Mac was leaning on hiate is the bedroo affordable housing for average working folk While new construction in Santa Teresa is closely regulated by the Architectural Board of Review, building in Colgate has proceeded according to no known plan, though it leans toward the nondescript There is one major street lined with donut shops, hardware stores, fast-food establishments, beauty salons, and furniture stores that feature veneer and lahfare, tract ho like concentric rings on a tree stuhborhoods peter out into raw countryside, or what’s left of it In isolated patches there are still signs of the old citrus groves that once flourished there

Wood/Warren was located on a side street that angled back toward an abandoned drive-in theater that functions as a perhboring reen, and the shrubs were tri place out front and locked up The building was a compact story and a half of stucco and fieldstone The address of the warehouse itself o blocks away I’d inspect the fire scene after I talked to Lance Wood

The reception area was small and plain, furnished with a desk, a bookcase, and an enlarged photograph of the FIFA 5000 Hydrogen/Vacuum Furnace, the mainstay of the company fortunes It looked like an oversized unit for an efficiency kitchen, complete with stainless-steel counter and built-into the data neatly fra FIFA 5000 provided five thousand cubic inches of unifor cera cerauessed

Behindto her desk with a fresh cup of coffee and a Styrofoas The lan on her desk indicated that her name was Heather She was in her twenties and apparently hadn’t yet heard about the hazards of cholesterol and fat She would find the latter on her fanny one day soon

"May I help you?" Her s braces on her teeth Her coht’s application of an acne cure that so far hadn’t had much effect

"I have an appointment with Lance Wood at nine," I said "I’htly "You’re the arson investiga-tor?"

"Well, I’ if she eable terms

"Oh Mr Wood isn’t in yet, but he should be here momentarily," she said The braces infused her speech with a sibilance that aet you some coffee while you wait?"

I shook my head There was one chair available and I took a seat, ah a brochure on thealuen furnace These people had about as hs as I do at home, where a prime source of entertainment is a text-book on practical aspects of ballistics, firearms, and foren-sic techniques