the hospital.” Shaking his head, Jonas grinned.
“Not my finest moment. I did apologize, but my parents raised me better than to go charging after a woman and try to intimidate her. Even if I thought she wasn’t in the right place.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll probably never see her again.” Jonas turned back to the large whiteboard by their desk with each of the six arson cases outlined.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He reached down to pick up a pen, still feeling the soft touch of her hand on his fingers. The idea of not seeing her again settled like a stone in his gut. Shaking that thought away, he looked up at the board as Jonas moved the warehouse notes to the side so they could concentrate on their arson cases.
Two of the other detectives in the Arson Division, Beth Parker and Terrance Wheeler, walked over and leaned against his desk, staring at the board as well. “Warehouse not part of it?” Beth asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Gasoline poured in three places along the wall, probably to mask or confuse the murder. Amateur... not at all like our serial arsonist. I need to call Brock and give him the news.”
“I wonder if our guy is a firebug or a wannabe hero,” Terrance asked.
“I don’t know.” His voice was hard with frustration.
Their division’s open, active cases included several arsons-for-profit with insurance fraud, three arsons of gang initiations as part of vandalism, and an arson-for-hire by a woman who wanted her husband’s business to be destroyed when she found out he was having an affair. And the serial arsonist’s targets.
“Two abandoned houses, two sheds, another empty warehouse, and an empty store. All within a five-mile radius. Nothing to tie the places together. They encompass two different fire battalions and four stations, so no similarity there. No witnesses. Not on any cameras. All occurring between two and four a.m.” Jonas reiterated.
“And not one fuckin’ idea who the asshole is,” Terrance added.
“Carbon disulfide,” Sean murmured. “I’m convinced there’s a key in his accelerant.”
“It’s a common factor,” Beth agreed, “but a key?”
Scrubbing his hand over his face, he stretched his neck, hearing it crack, and sighed. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just something he can get his hands on. It’s used in the manufacture of rayon and cellophane. But it’s also used to fumigate warehouses, ship holds, barges, grain elevators, and railroad boxcars.”
“All of which we have in Hope City, with the exception of a rayon manufacturing plant,” Beth stated.
“Yes, and so far we haven’t been able to figure out where he’s getting it,” Jonas added. He cocked his head to the side and stared at his partner. “So, you think there’s something specific about why he’s using carbon disulfide?”
“It’s the only common denominator we have right now, besides the pile of rocks he leaves as his calling card, so that’s probably why I’m fixated on it,” Sean said.
“So, where the fuck is he getting it from?” Terrence asked.
The afternoon dragged on as they continued to look over the evidence and pitch ideas back and forth.
“Sean? Sean?”
He startled and looked across the desk at Jonas staring back. Shit, I zoned out again. Shaking his head to dislodge the cobwebs, he stood. “Jonas, I’m outta here. I need to crash and then I’ll be fresher in the morning.”
“I hear ya.” Jonas stood and grabbed his jacket also.
The two men walked out together before parting. Sean climbed into his SUV and pulled out of the parking garage. He inhaled deeply, and the fresh scent of Harper wafted by. At the end of a crazy, fucked-up day, thoughts of her lingered. Pale, flawless skin. Shiny, sleek hair. Plump lips. Eyes that hid nothing, giving away all her thoughts. Curves underneath her professional clothes. Overwhelmed with the desire to see her again, he grinned. I can always call and check on her tomorrow.
5
Harper tried not to stare into the rearview mirror as she pulled away from the warehouse, but her gaze was drawn to the retreating image of Sean. Her arm throbbed, but her mind stayed centered on the handsome detective who both caused her to fall and took care of her. When she finally turned the corner and could no longer see him, she felt a strange combination of relief and regret.
Resting her left hand in her lap, she drove with one hand, parking with difficulty outside the independent lab her insurance company used. She grabbed her evidence bag and hurried inside, delivering it