Chapter 332: Matter Resolved

Chapter 332: Chapter 332: Matter Resolved

Seeing the joyful look on Zoe Sawyer’s face, Heath Hale and the others had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

Now that they’d heard her say it herself, everyone watching became ecstatic.

"What happened? What’s the cause of the fire?!" Evan Keller demanded, grabbing Zoe Sawyer’s arm in his excitement.

"Someone was smoking and tossed a lit cigarette butt on the ground. The wind blew it onto the nylon mesh, and that’s what started the fire!" Zoe Sawyer explained what she had seen to the others.

She turned to Beau, who was sitting at a desk. "Beau, I need a sketch!"

The two worked in perfect sync. In less than ten minutes, a portrait was ready for everyone to see.

Zoe Sawyer handed the sketch to Evan Keller. "Just get this guy under control and make sure no one is smoking on the scaffolding. If you do that, we can most likely prevent the fire today!"

Even though they didn’t know how she could suddenly see the cause of the fire, stopping it was the most important thing right now.

Evan Keller wasted no time. He quickly snapped a photo of the sketch and sent it to the Director, along with a brief explanation of what Zoe Sawyer had seen.

Over in the special administrative district, Captain Miller, who was at the residential complex, also received the photo and a brief explanation.

Captain Miller stared at the sketch and immediately recognized the man. It was the foreman they currently had in custody.

"What’s this?" Captain Lynch leaned over and asked, looking at the sketch with a puzzled expression.

"Problem solved," Captain Miller said, showing his phone screen to Captain Lynch. "Have the men check the area one more time. If nothing happens by three o’clock this afternoon, we can pack it in and head back."

They hadn’t even reported their on-site findings yet, but the Director had already figured out the whole situation.

Captain Miller could only marvel at how well-informed the higher-ups were.

However, considering the workers’ earlier statements, the cigarettes they’d found on the foreman, and the ground littered with cigarette butts in that specific work area...

Captain Miller knew that if they hadn’t been assigned this sudden mission, and the construction crew had been working as usual...

...the probability of a fire breaking out would have been extremely high!

The buildings here were too close together, surrounded by flammable nylon mesh and foam boards. On top of that, the scaffolding was made of bamboo.

If a fire had started, it would have been an absolute catastrophe!

How many people would have died in that fire? Captain Miller didn’t even dare to imagine.

But thankfully, they had eliminated the potential threat. This time, it had been a close call, but they’d made it through.

"Alright, stop wasting time. Do another sweep. I want every single potential hazard found!" Captain Miller clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention before giving out assignments.

Led by the two captains, all the police officers and firefighters inspected all eight buildings one more time.

They found at least five more potential hazards.

By the time they had eliminated every possible risk, it was already 2:50 PM.

It wasn’t just the police and firefighters at the complex; everyone who knew about the situation had it on their minds.

Everyone was watching the clock, praying they had successfully prevented the fire.

Zoe Sawyer stood before the door—the very door that led to where the fire was supposed to have started. It was wide open.

She held a fire extinguisher in her hands, with several more at her feet. Her heart pounded like a drum as the entire office fell silent.

Everyone was on high alert, clutching fire extinguishers of their own.

If a fire did break out, they would be able to put it out immediately.

Ten minutes ticked by in the tense atmosphere. Everyone was startled back to reality by the ringing of an alarm clock on the desk.

"What time is it? What time is it?"

"Three o’clock! On the dot!"

"When was the fire Zoe Sawyer saw? Two fifty-one, right? Does that mean... we did it?!"

Vivian Dunn’s voice was filled with sheer delight.

Her words were like flipping a switch. Everyone dropped their fire extinguishers, high-fiving and cheering with the person next to them.

Yes! They’d done it!

Zoe Sawyer set down her fire extinguisher and slowly moved her stiff limbs, sinking into a chair. Her voice trembled slightly. "We did it. There’s not going to be a fire."

The moment the alarm rang, the panic that had been crushing her finally vanished. It was clear they had truly prevented the fire.

This fire had affected Zoe Sawyer far more profoundly than the two explosions at the Torvin factory.

To determine exactly how long the fire would have burned, she had repeatedly used the door to jump through time, witnessing nothing but a sea of flames, blackened buildings, and the unending, desperate cries of the victims’ families.

She had also seen the residents in the beginning, visible through the windows, choking to death on the thick, toxic smoke.

Now that she had finally saved all those people, the tension that had gripped Zoe Sawyer instantly vanished.

A wave of physical and mental exhaustion washed over her. Drowsiness hit so hard that before Zoe Sawyer could say another word, she slumped forward onto the desk and fell fast asleep.

Heath Hale and Sean Hughes were the first to notice something was wrong with Zoe Sawyer.

They rushed over anxiously, only breathing a sigh of relief when they realized she was truly asleep.

The others, who had been celebrating, noticed that Zoe Sawyer had passed out from exhaustion. They immediately quieted down and tiptoed out of the office, returning to their desks.

"Evan Keller, get that folding cot set up. It’s better for her to sleep here.

Moving her to her dorm now might wake her up." Heath Hale gently lifted the unconscious Zoe Sawyer and gestured for Evan Keller to place the cot in the corner.

Just as they laid Zoe Sawyer on the cot, before they could say another word, Sean Hughes shooed them out. "Alright, alright, you two get out. She needs to rest. Don’t just stand around in here."

With that, Sean Hughes put an arm around Beau’s shoulder and led him out as well.

When the Director came to the office looking for Zoe Sawyer, he was told she had already fallen asleep.

"Never mind. Let her sleep. Have her come to my office when she wakes up." The Director waved a hand dismissively and ambled back to his own office, hands clasped behind his back.

While Zoe Sawyer was still sleeping, he figured he should go ahead and get the paperwork for her reward approved.

He couldn’t let her efforts go unrewarded.

When Zoe Sawyer finally woke up, it was already past seven in the morning the next day. The immense mental strain had caused her to sleep for over a dozen hours.

When she emerged from the office, Evan Keller and the others were already at their desks, handling the remaining work from the drug trafficking case.

"You’re awake? Want to go wash up first?

On second thought, just eat something first. I was worried you’d be starving," Sean Hughes said, looking at Zoe Sawyer as he handed her a packet of wet wipes.

Zoe Sawyer took them and quickly wiped her face. As she grew more alert, she noticed a large box sitting on her desk.

"What’s this?"