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“Okay, I’m fine,” she said, taking her head into her bruised hands.
“Miss McBride,” someone said, getting our attention.
We turned around and saw two cops standing behind us.
“Hi, I’m Detective Lance Jones, and this is my partner, Nate Murray,” Detective Jones said. “We are from the New York Police Department,”
"Yes, how may I help you, officers?" Mira asked.
The officers glanced at me and hesitated.
“He’s my friend. It’s fine,” she assured them.
“We are just coming from your building site where the fire incident occurred,” Detective Murray said.
“And?” Mira asked in an intimidating voice. “What did you find out?”
I could have sworn the officers flinched when she questioned them.
“We believe it was arson,” Detective Murray said.
“It could have been an electrical fault,” she said. “It’s not like I doubt my electrical technicians, but accidents do occur on building sites. What is the reason to believe it’s arson?” Her shoulders quivered again, and I rubbed my hand on her arm.
“We are treating the fire as arson, but we can’t disclose any details to you now,” Detective Jones said. “I’d like you to come to the station to answer a few questions.”
“I can’t come now, but I’ll come in later today. My foreman was hurt, and he’s in the crash room now. I’d like to be here when he wakes up, so he has someone with him. He doesn’t have any family nearby,” she said sadly.
“Our station is open twenty-four hours,” Detective Murray said with understanding in his tone. “Here’s my card. Call me as soon as you leave here.”
Both officers handed their cards to her. Mira sat down on one of the chairs in the hospital corridor while I stood beside her.
A few minutes later, I received a call from my secretary, reminding me about a meeting I was supposed to have with some investors, but I told her to reschedule it. Being by Mira’s side was the most important thing to
me, and I was too caught up in the moment to realize the significance of that thought.
Chapter Thirteen
Mira
I have never been one to look for a shoulder to lean on, but I was grateful Ward was with me. It felt like someone was poking at my heart with the sharp end of a knife, and it hurt. Joe was out of surgery, but he was still in a coma because he hit his head on the pavement when he jumped down from the building. Joe didn't have any family, and he wasn't in a relationship. He was a loner. Right now, I was the only family he had. It hurt me to see him lying so helplessly on his hospital bed. I was exhausted and hurting, but I needed to see the building myself to determine if it was arson or not.
“I’m going back to the building site,” I told Ward. “Then, from there, I will go to the police station and go home to change, so I can come back here and be with Joe.”
“You will wear yourself out doing all of that, Mira. Let me drive you to the site, and then I’ll take you to the police station. After that, you’ll come back to my place, or yours, to crash for a few hours of sleep.” I started to protest, but Ward continued, “You won’t be able to help Joe if you’re sick. Let me help you."
I looked at Joe one more time before walking out of the room. "Okay, fine," I agreed.
Ward took me to the site where the fire occurred, and the local media crew was already there. “You can’t go in there. The media are sharks, and they’ll swallow you whole,” Ward said.
“No, I have to do this,” I told him. “Stay right here, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Mira—” He squeezed my hand and leaned over to kiss my lips.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.
The reporters rushed toward me when they saw me get out of the car. Each one fired questions at me, one after the next.
“No comment,” I said and made my way into the building, which still smelled of smoke.
