Heaven's Fire (16 page)

The TV8 production van was still in place, as was the smell of corn dogs and cotton candy. As Lake Days drew to a close on its final day, the park was jam-packed with people and the Coast Guard continued its search for Ray Guida’s body.

Lake Michigan was beautiful--blue and tranquil. Like Jake's "bucket of water," the lake's surface was "quite the same as before."

Simon watched as a young couple picked up beers and nachos at a concession stand and boosted themselves up on the seawall to
monitor
the Coast Guard search. A real life Reality Show, except the couch was made of rocks.

The ATF agent
steered toward the red-and-white-striped headquarters tent and
stuck his head in. A woman of about thirty-five sat behind a table. She had dark hair cut short around a freckled face and was wearing khaki shorts and a royal blue Lake Days T-shirt.
On
the telephone as he ducked in, she looked up and waved him over.

The place was bare bones, just a tent set over now parched grass
crisscrossed by heavy duty extension cords.
Four tables were arranged along the walls of the tent, two held telephones, another was piled high with T-shirts and Lake Days souvenirs, and the fourth held just a single box of Dunkin' Donuts and a
30-cup percolator
. The coffee smelled like pencil lead.

Behind the table was a wall of cardboard boxes labeled
"
Beer Cups
"
and
"
Toilet Paper.
"
There was something cosmic about the combination. The circle of life.

The mayor was still talking.
"
That’s fine, Bryan, but we only have three days until the Fourth. We need to make a decision here.
"
She eyed Simon as she spoke.
"
I know, I know. Okay. Get back to me, then.
"

She hung up the phone and turned to Simon, who had settled himself in a chair across the table from her. She stuck out her hand.
"
Clementine Cox.
"

"
Simon Aamot. I’m with ATF, investigating the explosion Friday night. I wanted to introduce myself.
"

"A terrible thing.
"
She gestured toward the phone.
"
I was just talking to Bryan Williams, our event manager, about it and what it means to us.
"

"Means?" Simon said politely.

"
Yes, the explosion has been a horrible set-back for everyone involved with Lake Days.
"

"
Some more than others,
"
Simon pointed out.

"
Of course.
"
Cox picked up a pencil and tapped it twice, then set it back down.
"
Do we know what happened yet? The Firenzes are supposed to fire our County Fourth of July fireworks on Wednesday. I have to say, I’m seriously thinking of trying to break the contract.
"

"
The Fourth of July show is here, too?
"
Simon asked.

"
That’s right, and we expect a very large crowd. We'll be using the park across the street, as well.
"

Home of the beaver
.
"
You’re in charge of that celebration, too?
"

Cox nodded.
"It's a county event."

"
And you’re thinking of replacing Firenze?
"

She leaned forward across the desk, like she was taking him into her confidence.
"
If Firenze Fireworks was negligent in the Lake Days show, we
certainly
have grounds."

"
I’ve seen no evidence of negligence on their part, at least up to this point in the investigation."

"But if there was no negligence, why did the shell explode? And what about the other thing? The fireworks in a box?
"

"
Fire in the box. From what I can tell, that was a freak accident.
"
Simon leaned forward, trying to explain something that seemed harder and harder for people to understand these days.
"
Despite human beings' best efforts, things go wrong sometimes--it's inevitable in life. And when you’re dealing with fireworks and high explosives, the potential for those incidents to have major consequences is going to be greater."

The mayor opened her mouth, but
Simon kept
going.
"
It’s something fireworks people understand. People who hire them to put on displays need to understand it, too."

The mayor held up her hands, fingers spread, as if waving off responsibility. "So you're saying, essentially, that if you play with fire, you
should be expect to be
burned?"

Simon wasn't going to let her off that easily. "Or if you
hire
someone to play with fire.
"

"
We ar
e having
a
fireworks
display
on the Fourth of July," Cox said, unequivocally.
"
The question is,
do we use the Firenzes?
"
She eyed him.
"
It's not as if this were
their
first deadly accident.
I un
derstand you investigated
an explosion at the factory
a couple of years ago."

"
I did,
"
Simon said simply, determined not to get defensive like he had with Martha Malone.

"
So you're familiar with the Firenzes
?
"
The mayor pursed her lips.

"
Familiar
enough,
"
was all Simon said, suddenly wary of where Cox was going with all this.

She surprised him and backed off.
"
So bottom line: Is it safe to use Firenze Fireworks for this show?
"

Simon relaxed.
"
Safe as anyone. Safer than most.
"

She
seemed to mull that over
.

"
According to
Bryan William
," Simon continued, "
you were the one who
suggested
the Firenzes in the first place.
"

The mayor flushed now, all but obliterating the spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
"
Public sentiment demanded we give them a chance because they're local. In truth, I want to make this a regional show, something that people will come from a hundred miles in any direction to see. I don’t think Firenze has that kind of appeal, and I never did.

"But all in all," she continued, picking up her pencil again, "it will probably be best to go with Firenze for Wednesday's show. As Bryan points out, our contract with TV8 stipulates it, and it would be a difficult point to renegotiate."

So why all this discussion about the Firenzes if Cox was contractually bound to use them one way or the other, Simon wondered. Was the mayor trying to elicit Simon‘s endorsement, so if something
did
happen she wouldn‘t be.... Then he realized what she had just said: "TV8 is broadcasting the Fourth of July Fireworks, too?"

"Yes. They hadn't planned to, but--" The phone rang and Mayor Cox picked up immediately. She seemed glad for the interruption. After listening a moment, she put her hand over the mouthpiece and said, "I'm so sorry. I'm going to have to take this. Was there anything else?"

It was a dismissal and Simon complied,
figuring he'd
walk up the bluff to TV8 and see what he could find out about Wednesday's show. He was about halfway there when someone called his name and he turned.

Bryan Williams, wearing khakis and a blue golf shirt, was at the wheel of a
"
Lake Days Staff
"
golf cart.
"
Can I give you a lift?
"

Simon stepped into the cart.
"
Sure, I was just going to the TV8 stage.
"

"
And I, as well.
"
Williams stepped on the gas.
"
I need to discuss details of our Fourth of July broadcast with Martha Malone.
"

Simon nodded.
"
The mayor was just telling me about that. I don’t remember the celebration ever being televised before.
"

Williams nodded, keeping his eyes on the crowd slowly parting to let them through.
"
It’s quite the coup. The Lake Day ratings were so high, TV8 negotiated for the Fourth of July, as well. Ad time is selling briskly, I understand.
"

This is what
Cops
and
America's Worst Whatever
hath wrought, Simon thought. Ratings would be sky-high, fueled by people hoping for another live, on-camera bloodbath.
"
I bet,
"
was all he said.

When they arrived on the bluff, Martha Malone was standing on a corner of the set, the lake behind her as she spoke to the camera. Williams stopped the cart, and Simon got out with a nod of thanks and moved toward the monitor
that faced
the crowd.

Malone:
"
So as the search for Ray Guida’s body goes on, so do the questions.

"
TV8 research has found that Simon Aamot, the ATF special agent who is leading the investigation, also headed the inquiry two years ago when Francesco Firenze was killed by a
blast
at the Firenze Fireworks Factory. That explosion was caused by, quote, "lightning in the atmosphere." That despite the fact that according to our meteorologist, no lightning strikes were reported in the area.

"
Now
Simon Aamot
is refusing comment to the media, while at the same time our own Luis Burns reports seeing Aamot and Pat Firenze on a friendly, first-name basis.

"
Can
Aamot be objective, people are asking? That may be a fair question.

"
And, finally, should Firenze Fireworks--given the history of "accidents"--be allowed to produce the Fourth of July show scheduled to be aired live right here on TV8 Wednesday night?
"

[Aamot headshot]
"
Again, Simon Aamot has refused comment.
"

Well, look at that, thought Simon--a photo suitable for fram
ing.
Plus, they had spelled his name right.

Damn it to hell. First, TV8 decides to broadcast the Fourth Fireworks show because of the great ratings they got for Friday's disaster, and now they were using Simon to goose the drama quotient. And what about Malone with her "should the Firenzes be allowed to produce the show"? According to the mayor, TV8's contract virtually
demanded
Firenze Fireworks do just that. Of all the hypocritical...

But Malone had returned to the anchor desk and was in an on-camera exchange with George Eagleton, so Simon couldn't very well vent on her. That left the one person he
could
vent on.

When he reached the TV8 production truck, he yanked open the door, purposely letting it slap back hard against the metal shell of the truck.

*****

Jake, inside at the console, jumped.
"
Hey! We’re on the air.
"

He pointed at her tech director.
"
Let him take over. I need to talk to you. Now.
"

Jake shook her head.
"
I don’t care what you need.
I
need to finish this broadcast.
"

Simon’s eyes narrowed.
"
Now.
"

She started to refuse again
, but in truth the anchors were signing off an
d she was pretty much done for the day.
"
Fine.
"
Jake shoved past
Aamot
to
hop
out of the truck and then turned
on him
.
"
Now, just what in the heck was
that
all about?
"