this over all night. All of
these blazes have been set in your precinct, on my company’s turf.
It can’t be coincidence.”
She huffed out an irritated breath.
“Yeah, but it’s more likely the torch lives in the area. That’s the
way it usually works.”
“ I don’t
think there’s anything ‘usual’ about this guy,” Nate said slowly,
not wanting to negate her greater experience and distance her even
more. But his gut told him he was right.
This was personal, and too damned coincidental. If this guy was
willing to destroy the livelihood of the buildings’ owners, would
he stop there? Even though she shunned publicity, as Ludington’s
only female arson investigator, Charly was a favorite for the press
whenever she closed a case. She’d quite possibly made herself a
target simply by being herself.
She sighed in response to his words.
“Maybe you’re right, but I have to run this by the book. There’s no
real motive. When we catch him, we’ll need concrete evidence to go
to court, and I can’t afford going off on a tangent based upon your
‘feeling.’” She paused and looked him in the eye. “I’m not
discounting what you said, though. It’s possible, but I can’t
imagine anyone I know being twisted enough to go to these
lengths.”
“ Admirer, maybe? You are the
only female arson investigator on the force; you’re gorgeous, and
you’ve got a stellar closure record. Plus, the press loves
you.”
She smiled in response to his words
and took a sip of coffee from the cup stationed at her elbow, as if
she needed to do something with her hands. “Maybe, and I guess it’s
a possibility, but it’s something we need to look at separately, at
least until something more tangible shows up.”
Nate nodded. He was fine with what
she’d said, and understood her reasons, but it didn’t mean he
wouldn’t investigate a bit on his own. He was off for three more
days, and given the escalation of this guy’s behavior, the next
fire could be right around the corner. This whole scenario smacked
of someone who knew fires, both how they were set and how they were
extinguished, intimately. The blazes were too well set, too
“clean,” for anyone else.
“ Did you alibi the vic’s ex
from last night?” he asked. Maybe last night’s fire was unrelated
to the others.
“ Yeah, he’s clean, at least
when it comes to the torch. As for the restraining order, let’s
just say he got the shit scared out of him last night when two
uniforms showed up. He was at work, on camera the whole time.
Definitely not our perp.”
“ Too bad. That would have
simplified our case. So what are you looking at?”
Her expression went sharp as she
focused on the pictures scattered across her desk. “Pics from the
video store. Looking for a pattern.”
He studied the pictures even though
they were upside down. “When you shoot the scene, do you go in a
particular order? It seems like it.”
“ Oh yeah,” she replied. Her
face lit up in animation; she clearly loved the topic. “It’s like a
puzzle ... you work your way from the outer edges to the
interior.”
Nate smiled inwardly at her words. She
could be describing herself. He watched as she gestured to each
photo and explained what they were seeing, in her element. In that
moment, he vowed he would discover who had tried to intimidate her
into quitting, who had dared to try to put out her inner fire.
Chief Ryan just might hold the information, and Nate was going to
get it.
He waited until she was finished and
then settled against the back of the hard wooden chair. “So where
do you go from here?” He very carefully left himself out of the
picture. In this world, she was in charge. He might never cede
power in the bedroom, but out in the world, he was just fine with
her running the show.
“ They’ve assigned me another
detective to work this; I need the additional body to do legwork.
If someone dies, then it’s a whole different ballgame. Homicide
will take
these blazes have been set in your precinct, on my company’s turf.
It can’t be coincidence.”
She huffed out an irritated breath.
“Yeah, but it’s more likely the torch lives in the area. That’s the
way it usually works.”
“ I don’t
think there’s anything ‘usual’ about this guy,” Nate said slowly,
not wanting to negate her greater experience and distance her even
more. But his gut told him he was right.
This was personal, and too damned coincidental. If this guy was
willing to destroy the livelihood of the buildings’ owners, would
he stop there? Even though she shunned publicity, as Ludington’s
only female arson investigator, Charly was a favorite for the press
whenever she closed a case. She’d quite possibly made herself a
target simply by being herself.
She sighed in response to his words.
“Maybe you’re right, but I have to run this by the book. There’s no
real motive. When we catch him, we’ll need concrete evidence to go
to court, and I can’t afford going off on a tangent based upon your
‘feeling.’” She paused and looked him in the eye. “I’m not
discounting what you said, though. It’s possible, but I can’t
imagine anyone I know being twisted enough to go to these
lengths.”
“ Admirer, maybe? You are the
only female arson investigator on the force; you’re gorgeous, and
you’ve got a stellar closure record. Plus, the press loves
you.”
She smiled in response to his words
and took a sip of coffee from the cup stationed at her elbow, as if
she needed to do something with her hands. “Maybe, and I guess it’s
a possibility, but it’s something we need to look at separately, at
least until something more tangible shows up.”
Nate nodded. He was fine with what
she’d said, and understood her reasons, but it didn’t mean he
wouldn’t investigate a bit on his own. He was off for three more
days, and given the escalation of this guy’s behavior, the next
fire could be right around the corner. This whole scenario smacked
of someone who knew fires, both how they were set and how they were
extinguished, intimately. The blazes were too well set, too
“clean,” for anyone else.
“ Did you alibi the vic’s ex
from last night?” he asked. Maybe last night’s fire was unrelated
to the others.
“ Yeah, he’s clean, at least
when it comes to the torch. As for the restraining order, let’s
just say he got the shit scared out of him last night when two
uniforms showed up. He was at work, on camera the whole time.
Definitely not our perp.”
“ Too bad. That would have
simplified our case. So what are you looking at?”
Her expression went sharp as she
focused on the pictures scattered across her desk. “Pics from the
video store. Looking for a pattern.”
He studied the pictures even though
they were upside down. “When you shoot the scene, do you go in a
particular order? It seems like it.”
“ Oh yeah,” she replied. Her
face lit up in animation; she clearly loved the topic. “It’s like a
puzzle ... you work your way from the outer edges to the
interior.”
Nate smiled inwardly at her words. She
could be describing herself. He watched as she gestured to each
photo and explained what they were seeing, in her element. In that
moment, he vowed he would discover who had tried to intimidate her
into quitting, who had dared to try to put out her inner fire.
Chief Ryan just might hold the information, and Nate was going to
get it.
He waited until she was finished and
then settled against the back of the hard wooden chair. “So where
do you go from here?” He very carefully left himself out of the
picture. In this world, she was in charge. He might never cede
power in the bedroom, but out in the world, he was just fine with
her running the show.
“ They’ve assigned me another
detective to work this; I need the additional body to do legwork.
If someone dies, then it’s a whole different ballgame. Homicide
will take
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