Liv scanned the display, her breath catching in her throat as Michael Wheaton’s personnel document stared again at her. Two explicit particulars despatched a shiver down Liv’s backbone—particulars she by no means knew about Michael till now. “Born in Waverly Junction on December 15, 1979,” she murmured, her voice barely audible as the belief washed over her.

Brad watched her carefully, his gaze stuffed with concern. “Do you know he was born right here?” he probed.

Liv shook her head, her thoughts reeling with the implications of this newfound revelation. “No,” she whispered, her voice tinged with disbelief. “I had no thought. And the birthdate, it’s the identical date Jackson was born.”

“Wow. That’s an odd twist. What concerning the bomb coaching?” Brad requested.

Liv pursed her lips. “I’ve the identical coaching…however…”

The point out of a medal of valor he acquired throughout a high-risk rescue operation in 2012 made her get away right into a wonderful sweat. “What occurred?” Her voice trembled with a combination of worry and uncertainty.

Brad hesitated for a second, his gaze flickering with a shadow of one thing indefinable. “I am unsure,” he admitted quietly. “However one thing round that date made him come again to Waverly Junction. After a medal, you rise increased within the NYPD. You don’t go away a profession builder.”

“Can we discover out?” she murmured.

“It’s going to take a while, however I’ll look into it.” He paused. “I’d additionally prefer to know if there’s any significance to them sharing a birthday.” He leaned again in his seat. “Liv, I’ll name you as quickly because the lab work is available in. Within the meantime, don’t work alone and watch your self. Michael’s habits is unusual, however what makes you assume he could also be concerned within the fires? Suppose, Liv. What set you off? There must be greater than him getting there forward of you.”

She huffed out a sigh. “There’s one thing extra, however I can’t?—”

“Liv, you’re exhausted. It’s worthwhile to get some relaxation.” He leaned in towards her. “If he’s your arsonist, he’s very harmful.”

Twenty-Seven

Liv gripped the steering wheel tightly as she navigated the acquainted roads again to Waverly Junction, her thoughts swirling with a torrent of questions and doubts. Why hadn’t Michael Wheaton, the person she had trusted and labored alongside, informed her he was born in Waverly Junction? What transpired throughout that high-risk rescue operation in 2012 to make him go away New York? And was it merely a coincidence that he and Jackson shared the identical birthday, or was there one thing extra sinister lurking beneath the floor?

Was she seeing issues that weren’t there? Was he simply creepy?

Liv wrestled with the troubling ideas. She could not shake the sensation of unease that gnawed at her. As she drove again to city, the acquainted sights and sounds of Waverly Junction blurred previous her in a haze, her ideas consumed by the case recordsdata. However her ideas have been interrupted by the shrill ringing of her telephone. The chief of the Waverly County PD’s title flashed throughout the display.

Her coronary heart skipped a beat as she answered the decision, the anguish within the chief’s voice sending a chill down her again. “The place are you, Liv?” he demanded, his tone edged with concern. “We have a state of affairs right here.”

“I’m on the outskirts of Waverly Junction. What’s occurring?” Her pulse quickened with worry.

“The facility plant for the Waverly Junction Hospital is on hearth. They’re evacuating the sufferers to neighboring Waverly County and Spring Hill.”

Jackson. The information hit Liv like a freight prepare. “I’m on my manner.”

She redirected her course, throwing on her lights, and headed towards the hospital. She hated to make the decision, however she speed-dialed Michael’s quantity. “The place are you?”

“I’m on the hospital. They’re evacuating everybody. All of the ICUs and the nursery are going first.” He took a deep breath. “The place are you?”

“I’m about fifteen minutes away. I’ll meet you within the doctor lot.” She ended the decision. The following name went to her mother.

“Liv, the place are you? I’m with Martha. The hospital workers is making an attempt to get Jackson out of the hyperbaric chamber. It’s on battery energy. They’re reversing the dive.” Charlotte’s breath caught. “Liv, there’s a lot smoke.”

“Mother, you and Martha get out of there. Get exterior. I’ll strive to determine what they’re doing,” she pleaded. Subsequent she dialed Turk Crenshaw. “Turk?”

“I’m making an attempt to get to him.” She may barely hear him over the sounds of shouts and radios. “The hyperbaric chamber is within the hospital basement.”

“Turk… don’t let Michael Wheaton close to him,” she yelled. She hoped he was simply jealous of Jackson, however she wasn’t going to take any probabilities.

“I can’t hear you!” he roared.

Her personal breaths have been coming too quick. She tried to gradual herself down. By the point she was capable of be heard, Turk had ended the decision.

As she neared the scene, the acrid scent of smoke crammed the air. She tamped down her nerves as she navigated by means of the throngs of emergency automobiles and panicked bystanders, her senses on excessive alert.

A scene of commotion, confusion, and frantic hustle met Liv when she arrived. Smoke billowed ominously from the ability plant hooked up to the hospital, casting a darkish shadow over the encircling space as flames exploded by means of the rooftop. After parking within the doctor’s lot, Liv’s coronary heart twisted with conflicting feelings when she noticed Michael leaning casually towards his parked automobile, the image of calm amidst the chaos raging round them.

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