She asked, “What’s this fire suppressant system got to do with anything?”
“I have a theory,” is all Stone would say.
“Wouldn’t the architect who did the building have the plans that would show both the fire system and the HVAC?” Annabelle pointed out.
“They would,” Stone said. “Although the Jefferson Building was built in the late 1800s, it underwent extensive renovation about fifteen years ago. The Architect of the Capitol has the plans, but we have no access to them.”
“Did they use a private architectural firm to help with the renovation?” she asked.
Caleb snapped his fingers. “You know, they did, one right here in D.C. I remember now, because the government was trying to stimulate the local economy and was getting more into public-private partnerships.”
“There’s your answer,” Annabelle said.
“I’m not following you,” Stone replied. “We still have no access to those plans.”
She looked at Caleb. “Can you get me the name of the firm?”
“I believe so.”
“The only issue will be whether they’ll let us take pictures of the plans. I doubt they will, and copying them is probably out too.” As she was thinking out loud, the Camel Club stared at her mystified. She finally noted this and said, “I’ll get us into the architectural firm, but we need copies of the designs if we’re going to locate the fire room and HVAC in the building.”
Milton said, “I have a photographic memory. If I look at the plans once, I can memorize them.”
She looked at him skeptically. “I’ve heard people make that claim before, and it never quite works out.”
“I can assure you that it ‘works out’ with me,” Milton said indignantly.
She grabbed a book off the shelf, opened it to a page in the middle and held it up in front of Milton. “Okay, read the page to yourself.” He did so and nodded. Annabelle turned the book around and looked at the page. “All right, Mr. Photo, start regurgitating.”
Milton read the page from memory, including punctuation marks, without one misstep.
For the first time in their company Annabelle looked impressed. “You ever been to Vegas?” she asked. He shook his head. “You might want to try it sometime.”
“Isn’t card counting illegal?” Stone asked, quickly deducing what she was alluding to.
She answered, “No, so long as you don’t use a mechanical or computer device to do it.”
“Wow,” Milton exclaimed. “I could make a fortune.”
Annabelle said, “But before you get your hopes up, even though it’s not illegal if you’re just using your brain, if they catch you, they’ll beat the crap out of you.”
“Oh!” Milton said, horrified. “Never mind.”
She turned to Stone. “So how do you think Jonathan was killed? And no more doublespeak or I walk.”
Stone studied her and then made up his mind. “Caleb found Jonathan’s body. Right after that he fainted. At the hospital the nurse said that he was getting better and that his temperature was coming
“And your point is?” Annabelle said.
“The fire suppressant system at the library uses a substance called halon 1301,” Caleb said, taking up the explanation. “It starts as a liquid in the pipes but turns into a gas when it comes out of the nozzle. It puts out fires in part by eliminating oxygen in the atmosphere.”
“Meaning Jonathan might have suffocated to death! Good God, you mean the police didn’t stumble across that possibility and check to see whether the gas cylinder was empty?” Annabelle said angrily.
“There was no evidence that the system was even engaged,” Stone said. “The warning horn didn’t sound, and Caleb learned that it was operational, although it could have been disconnected and then reattached later. And the gas leaves no residue.”
“And on top of that, halon 1301 could
“So where is this leading?” Annabelle asked. “You seem to be saying two different things. It was the gas but it wasn’t the gas. Which is it?” she demanded.
Stone took up the discussion. “One element of the suppressant being engaged is the lowering of the temperature in the room. Caleb said he saw Jonathan’s body, got an immediate chill and fainted. I believe the chill came from the gas, which led to the nurse’s comment in the hospital about Caleb’s temperature coming up. And I think Caleb fainted because the oxygen levels in the room
Annabelle said, “So it obviously wasn’t this halon 1301 stuff. So something else?”
“Exactly. We just have to find out what.”
Annabelle stood. “Okay, I need to start doing some serious prep work.”
Stone rose and faced her. “Susan, before you really become involved, you need to know that there are some very dangerous people tied up in this. I’ve already had evidence of that personally. It could be very risky for you.”
“Oliver, let me put it this way. If it’s any more dangerous than what I was involved in last week, I’d be floored.”
