Ryker nodded as he stared at the grotesquely twisted bodies, mouths opened in a charred scream. “It would appear Peña is cleaning house. We need to keep tabs on Clare Edelman. Find out what name they list on her paperwork. If Fenton is on it, remove that fucker and put you, me, and Theron on that sheet. Also, get word to the US Marshals so they can inform whatever marshal has Edelman’s husband’s WitSec case to tell that man to be careful.” Brody scribbled in his notebook as he rattled off actions he wanted his sergeant to ensure happened. Ryker shifted and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. “No way of telling if they died beforehand or died in the fire. Let’s look at the kitchen.”
They carefully retraced their path and headed to the side of the house. From the doorway, they surveyed the area. White powder covered the table. A scale, cellophane, and scrapers littered the tabletop.
“I had the crime scene techs do a drug test kit. This is heroin. I can’t help but think someone interrupted the process of these guys cutting up and processing the H for sale.”
Ryker nodded. “The question is why would Desoto be cutting heroin. He wasn’t a dealer, nor was he a user.”
Brody scratched his chin. “Think maybe he needed quick money and had some of this around as insurance?”
“Maybe.” Ryker shook his head. “He could have been trying to get some quick money to make a run. Or someone was sitting on DeSoto’s place. Someone working for Peña. Desoto comes home, they hold him for the boss.”
“Only the boss isn’t in the mood to talk. He orders a hit and all three die.” Brock’s voice behind them finished the thought.
Ryker shot the detective a sideways glance. “That would be one of many theories.”
“We can work through those ideas when I receive the reports and evidence. Detective McBride is in the back, he’s made the initial call of suspected arson, but he won’t go further until he has all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed. He’s talking to the fire chief. You might want to catch a word with him before he starts to collect his samples.”
“Thanks.” Ryker motioned to the drugs. “Brody, you have this. I’ll talk to the arson investigator, then get going. I’m assuming someone responded with you?” His sergeant was a damn good detective, but he wasn’t letting his people work alone after recent events.
“Yes, sir. I'm here with Patel. She’s getting contact information on the people who reported the fire and is going over their statements. I wanted to know if they’d noticed any unusual traffic around the house lately.” Brody’s head swiveled until he found her. “There, with the older couple in bathrobes.”
“Good. Brock, please keep us up to speed on your case. Brody, I’ll see you at the office later.” He left his sergeant and strolled around the building. The stench of burning materials—and yes, flesh—hung around the structure like a shroud. Sean McBride turned as Ryker approached. McBride’s eyebrows flew up. Ryker got that a lot. Few captains made it a point to come to crime scenes, but JDET was a team, they all worked hard, and he wasn’t a mouthpiece, he was a cop. Although of late, he’d been letting his new lieutenant take half the calls. Thank God Terrence Theron had taken over for Anderson. The man had experience with task forces and also had five years of SWAT under his belt. He was a hell of an asset and flowed into the team perfectly.
McBride snapped off his glove and extended his hand. “Captain.”
Ryker shook the man’s hand. “Detective. I understand you’ve determined this is an arson?”
“Initially, yes sir, that will be our call. Our initial impression is the fire may have started in this corner of the house. We’ve found patterns that would lead us to believe an accelerant started the fire here.” He pointed to the far corner of the structure at a deeply charred area. “The glass in this location fell inward, as you can see by the lay of the shards here and here. Normally, when fire causes windows to blow, the shards will be immediately under the casing or to a degree in an outward arc. There are several shards of broken, melted, colored glass throughout this room, which would lead me to believe the accelerant was in glass containers. I suspect the fire spread from points too because of the extreme speed with