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July 2021—Greenfield, Massachusetts
It was ten o’clock on a Saturday night when Karen got called about another apparent arson. She and Jeff were at a friend’s house playing Pictionary after going out to dinner. Jeff dropped her off at Newton Elementary School with the firefighters at the back of the building. Chief LaFarge said, “This fire’s a lot like the middle school fire last month. The arsonist broke that window, poured some gasoline, and threw a lit match inside. This time there was more damage inside because some paper and cloth caught fire, and it spread. There wasn’t any fire outside the building.
“There’s a surveillance camera over there,” said Officer Jupe. “I called the principal, Judy Light, and she should be here soon.”
“Who called it in?”
“Nobody,” said LaFarge. “The fire alarm was triggered at nine thirteen, and we responded.”
Jupe said, “There weren’t any witnesses around when I got here either.”
Police Chief Reyes arrived. He looked at Karen up and down because she was wearing her dress. “I feel underdressed. I must not have got the memo.” Karen rolled her eyes and gave him an update. He just nodded, said, “Keep me informed,” and left.
When Principal Light showed up a couple of minutes later, Karen and Chief LaFarge followed her in to inspect the damage. “It isn’t too bad, really,” said the principal. “Mostly superficial damage, and some of the bookcases will need to be replaced.”
LaFarge pointed at the ground. “This is where it started, and there’s the remnant of the match that started it.”
“I’m going to get some Crime Scene techs up here in the morning,” said Karen. “Officer Jupe, tape off the scene, inside and out. Principal Light, please show us the surveillance video.”
As they walked up to the office, the principal said, “Please call me Judy.”
“I’m Detective Tindall.” Judy accessed the surveillance video on an office PC and let Karen scan it with Chief LaFarge looking over her shoulder. “There he is!” said Karen. “We had a fire at the middle school a few weeks ago, and we thought it was probably kids, but we didn’t get any video. This shows a big guy, but he’s in the shadows. I can’t really see what he looks like. Please send me a copy of this, and I’ll see if the techs can improve it. Also, please copy the video of the night before. He may have done some reconnaissance.”
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Karen met with Chief Reyes the next day at the station. She was frustrated. “The techs tried to improve the arson video, but it isn’t good enough. All we know is that it’s an adult, probably male. I checked surveillance from nearby businesses, but there’s no sign of this guy. There isn’t any other good evidence. The melted gas can from last month just showed oil and sawdust residue that says it was probably used for chain saws. I don’t have a motive. The fires were lame and didn’t really accomplish anything, but next time someone could get killed.”
“What do you think we should do next?” Reyes asked.
“All I can think of is to put better surveillance cameras on all of the schools.”
Reyes did a search on his computer. “I’ve sent you the website of a security company in Springfield. I know the owner, Garrett Lawrence, from the army. Tell him it’s me asking and that you need it right away. You can coordinate with the school superintendent.”