Amy stepped closer to the bed. "We won't keep you long, Lisa. We're just hoping you can tell us what happened."
"I'm not sure. I was standing near Chef Tom when Rachel ran up to him. I didn't hear exactly what she said, but something about smelling gas in the storeroom. Then before Chef Tom could react, the place exploded." Lisa spoke very quietly and kept her eyes closed as she talked to them. "I must have been thrown, because when Jared, one of the cooks, grabbed me and tried to put out the flames, I was across the front side of the kitchen. Like I was standing on the right side, by the doors that went out front, then suddenly I was clear over on the left side by the dessert area." She finally opened her eyes and looked at her mother. "More on my lips, please."
Patty reached for a small packet of what appeared to be some kind of petroleum jelly and used her finger to smear it over Lisa's lips.
"Thanks." Lisa took a deep breath.
"Did you smell anything?" Amy asked.
"No, but I wasn't near the storage area. That's way in the back of the kitchen. I don't know what she smelled, but she looked worried, and I saw Chef Tom's eyes go wide when she told him. It all happened so fast. Chef Tom didn't have time toeven check it out. Everything happened right as Rachel told him. Then suddenly Jared had me in his arms, carrying me out of the fire. I must have passed out, because when I woke up again, I was here."
Franks took notes, wondering who Rachel was and hoping she wasn't one of the bodies at the morgue right now.
"Do you know Rachel's last name?" Amy asked, showing her thoughts were in the same direction as his were.
"Um, no, but she's worked there forever. I started two years ago, and she was already there. Sorry. She and I weren't close. I heard she died." Tears dripped from the corner of Lisa's eyes. "I don't know how I lived. Everyone who was standing near me died."
"I'm so sorry. I know how hard this has to be for you." Amy's voice was filled with compassion. "Just a few more questions. Did you notice anyone around who didn't belong there before this happened?"
"No, not really. I mean, Chef Tom's wife came in, but that wasn't uncommon. The florist came with a last-minute delivery for the front. I didn't pay much attention to that. Jules, the lead out front was upset that some of the flowers were dying, so she'd put in a rush order. Other than that, it was just the kitchen staff. Some of the servers came back, but that's normal too. Chef was just waiting for the rush to slow, then he was going to do his nightly walk around the tables to make sure everyone was enjoying things. It was all normal. I didn't see anyone that didn't belong."
"Do you know what floral shop they used?" Franks asked.
"Buds and Blooms. They've always supplied the flowers as far as I know." Lisa looked over at her mom, then back at them. "I wish I could help, but things happened so fast."
"You have helped," Amy assured her. "One last question. In the past few weeks, has anyone been upset with the chef or the restaurant? Maybe a disgruntled employee or customer?"
Lisa shook her head. "No. Carl quit, but that was because he was moving. I don't know of any other employees who were fired or quit recently. We all got along. We were like a big family. As for customers, I wouldn't know about that. You'd have to talk to Jules. She handles everything dealing with the diners."
Franks circled Jules's name in his notebook. She was someone they would need to track down and talk to soon.
"Thanks for your time. I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hope you make a full recovery," Amy told Lisa. "If you have any questions or think of anything else we need to know, please call us." She set a card down on the table.
"Just find out why this happened. Why my friends are dead," Lisa said softly.
Franks nodded as he followed Amy out of the room. Once in the hallway, he turned to her. "We need to find out more about the smell of gas in the storeroom."
"Agreed, but the two people we know spoke about it are dead. Hopefully, one of the other kitchen workers knows something. I've got the addresses of the other people who were working that night. Let's go grab a late lunch, then we can figure out our next steps." She pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at it. "Gretta says nothing of interest to report on the first autopsy. The others should be done this afternoon. Wants to know if they can release the bodies to the family yet."
"Have her hold them another twenty-four hours, just in case. I can't see why we'd need to go back over them, but I'm not comfortable releasing them yet." Franks pulled out his own phone as they started walking down the hallway. "I'll message Captain Marshall and let him know about the smell of gas, and about my decision to hold the bodies a bit longer."
With both of them busy texting, they headed down the elevator and walked outside. Clouds were moving in, and it looked like rain in the distance. Franks hoped rain wouldn't destroy any evidence yet to be collected at the scene. He thought about the cars with their windows blown out, and all the businesses in the area with the windows gone. The rain wouldn't be welcome. He hit the fob and unlocked the car doors. "Where do you want to eat?"
"Somewhere we can sit. Something greasy. I need comfort food." Amy strapped her seat belt over her and pulled her laptop back out.
"I know just the place." Franks pulled onto the road, remembering all the times he'd eaten with Angus at the café he was heading to. His heart ached as he wondered if they'd ever have the chance to eat there again. They'd shared so many laughs over lunch. He knew Angus's favorite places, and Angus knew his. They teased each other about eating habits, joked about weight gain, as well as having many serious conversations over their meals. God, he had to be okay. He wasn't sure he could go on working if he didn't have Angus as his partner. It wasn't that Amy was bad, but his entire routine was off. He didn't know Amy as well. He couldn't predict her movements, her thoughts. He could do all that with Angus.
"Stop worrying. You're going to crack the steering wheel if you don't relax." Amy tapped her hand against his arm. "We'd have gotten a call if anything changed at the hospital. Angus is going to be just fine. You'll be joking around with him in no time."
Franks swallowed hard. "God, I hope you're right. I don't know if I can do this job without him. He's just…" He shook his head. "It just wouldn't be the same."
"I know. I felt that way when Roger left and I was stuck working alone most of the time. It's hard as hell, but we manage.But you aren't going to have to face that. Angus will be back. You survived when he went on that cruise. This is just another break. He's going to come back and be pissed off if he finds out you were this worried about him. He wouldn't want you focused on him. He'd want you to focus on the case. Let's figure out what happened so when he does wake up, we can tell him."
Franks nodded. Amy was right. Angus would hate him being like this, but it was hard when no matter where they went, he had a memory of Angus. They'd been all over this city together. Refusing to get caught up in his worry, he focused on the road and thought about their case. "I wonder if they found a gas leak. If so, we know what caused the explosion. I'm so frustrated that it's taking so long to get information from the fire marshal and their team."
"It hasn't even been a day. I keep reminding you of that. It just feels like forever since this is affecting us so personally."
"Yeah, but they should know about a gas leak, right?"
