trouble. You let the real guy go. Isaac knows me. I was helping him out.”
Brian felt a moment of uncertainty, but Nick laughed. “You can tell that to the judge.”
“I belong ’round here. You don’t. No one’s gonna listen to you.”
Nick pushed him harder against the stucco. “Keep digging that hole.”
The man must have realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Nick, because he lapsed into sullen silence. Across the pavement, the dumpster flamed high again for an instant, then went dark. Brian aimed his camera at it, filming the sparks dying in the night sky. The smell was awful, but Nick was right. The dumpster was surrounded by pavement, away from the main building, and made of steel. Even if the fire had jumped the rim, the worst it would do was scatter a few sparks on hard ground.
The air was still and windless, the last embers winking out straight above, far from any trees. A few flakes of dead ash fell.
This fire was probably safe. Fire. Safe. Fire-safe. Heh, he was maybe a bit loopy. He clicked off his video and stood there, phone held loosely in his hand.
A siren screamed toward them, the noise pulsing in Brian’s head, as a sheriff’s car pulled around the corner of the building with a squeal of tires. The headlights lit the scene in white brilliance. Brian squinted. An unfamiliar, middle-aged man in uniform jumped out and stayed behind the door, his gun drawn and aimed at Nick. “Nobody move!”
“Minneapolis PD,” Nick said crisply. “Caught this guy firing up the dumpster. Gas can tossed in. Car he brought it in at the edge of the lot. Check the trunk.”
“Put the gun down.” The deputy was still aiming at Nick, not the man they’d caught.
Brian said, “He’s telling the truth. We were driving by and saw that guy do it. Nick’s a cop. Ex-cop.”
“I don’t care if he’s the president. Gun on the ground, slow, then hands in the air.” The deputy added, “And you, wall-guy, don’t move a muscle either, or I’ll shoot you myself.”
Nick squatted slowly, set his gun on the ground and raised his hands as he stood. The sound of more sirens made the deputy’s shoulders less hunched. “We’ll wait a bit.”
The man in black clothes said, “Come on, Jim. My back’s killing me. Let me stand up.”
“Sam Foyle, that you?”
“Yeah, man.” The guy eased straighter, pushing off the wall.
But when he started to turn, the deputy said, “Stay put. Hands back on the wall.”
“Jim.”
“Shut up.” The deputy turned to Brian. “You. Go stand by the wall too. Hands behind your head. Move!”
“Don’t get too close to that other bastard,” Nick said quickly.
The deputy didn’t look at him but added, “Down by the corner. Walk real slow.”
Brian went where he was pointed, keeping as much space between him and the arson guy as possible, and stood with his hands raised. A glance at Nick didn’t help. His face was in shadow, but Brian still read coiled readiness in him.
“Now you, Minneapolis,” the deputy said. “Walk away from the weapon. Face the wall. Hands wide on the bricks.”
As Nick obeyed, a second sheriff’s vehicle pulled up right ahead of a fire truck. Brian couldn’t see much over his shoulder, past all the blinding headlights, but he recognized Gannet’s voice. “Where’s the fire?”
“Dumpster,” the deputy said loudly. “Seems to be mostly out.”
Someone from the fire truck said, “Better let us deal with it.”
“Wait! Handgun on the ground there,” the deputy added.
Nick spoke up over his shoulder. “The arsonist used some kind of accelerant. Smelled like gasoline or diesel. He dropped the can into the bin and then lit it.”
Gannet said, “Rugo. I might’ve guessed. Is that your gun?”
“Yes, ma’am. We spotted that guy getting ready to start the fire as we were driving by.”
She took a couple more steps, until the lights outlined her tall, rangy figure and the gun in her hand. “And you happened to grab a—” she glanced down “—Glock, and came after him?”
“Ex-LEO,” Nick said.
“Law enforcement? Where?”
“Minneapolis.”
She was silent a moment, as if considering that. “Thompson, secure the weapon. Everyone else, don’t move.”
The deputy eased out from behind the door, came and picked up Nick’s gun. Carefully, he backed away and took it to his car.
When he came back, she said, “Now go pat ’em down. Deputy, did you witness any of the arson yourself?”
“No, ma’am.” The deputy went toward Nick first.
The Sam guy in black said, “I was goin’ by and saw something. I