Page 26 of Burn With Me

“And you know I’ll figure out who the arsonist is faster than anyone else. You want the mayor and governor to stop breathing down your neck? Fine, I’ll find this guy, and I’ll make it my sole mission until I do, but you need to give me this, Mitch. Give me this and I will stop asking for anymore favors to do with the case.”

Mitch sighed. “Fine, I’ll sign the form, but Vi…this truly is the last time that I’m going to let you pick at this wound.”

Vi watched Mitch walk away, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, and I’d never been more fucking interested in a woman in my life.

“Why don’t I take you home so you can change, and then we can come back here and go to the apartment? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to sleep much tonight.”

“Sounds good.” Vi grabbed my arm before I could turn to the elevator. “I had fun tonight…before all this.” She waved her hand at the car. “Thanks for the great meal and company. You weren’t as terrible to hang out with as I thought you’d be,” she said and smiled, making me laugh.

Oh, Miss Violet Clarke, you’re in very big trouble.

Whether she was looking for someone like me in her life or not, I planned on convincing her that she did and very soon.

Violet

As Asher and I walked through the small apartment space, the charred debris crunched under our boots. I hadn’t realized how much smaller the units were in this building. Sunlight was pouring through the broken windows, but everything was so black with soot that it was like hell had touched it.

The saving grace that stopped the fire from moving beyond the two neighboring apartments was the concrete between each unit and on the floors.

Moving my flashlight back and forth in a sweeping motion, I picked out something shiny sticking out from under part of the fallen ceiling. I put the flashlight in my mouth, squatted, and carefully lifted a hunk of sheetrock.

Pulling out my small brush, I dusted away the soot and was surprised to find a framed picture still intact. Picking up the cheap silver frame, I wiped at the glass to reveal the image of Sarah and Kim smiling for the camera.

I stared at the image, hoping that it would help explain how a middle-aged, single mother managed to attract the attention of a serial killer. Had she wronged him? Had she insulted him somehow? Had she been dating him? I didn’t know for certain that it was a man, but my gut told me it was. Female serial killers were rare, but one that might be a serial arsonist was like finding a single drop of water in the ocean.

“What do you have?” Asher asked as he stepped into the living room.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was enjoying Asher’s company. His insight as we inspected the car gave me some new ideas. Plus, he seemed to know exactly how I liked my coffee, which was strange since I couldn’t remember having coffee near him since we met.

“It’s a picture.” I held up the frame and put it in an evidence bag to be taken with us. “Are you finding anything?”

“Yes and no. You were right. This fire was smart. Too smart for it not to have help. If I didn’t know that it wasn’t possible, I’d say that the fire had been on a remote control and was chasing Sarah through the apartment as if herding her into the kitchen.”

He stood with his hands on his hips and looked around, but I found myself staring at the way his black T-shirt was hugging his body and showing off his muscled arms.

“It also only started in this apartment…hardly spread yet…I can’t find a starting point, no accelerant, or extra hot spots.”

“So what you’re saying is that I’m not going crazy?”

Asher looked down at me and held out his hand to help me up. “No, you’re definitely not crazy. This is too perfect. Whoever this is, this person is good. Scary good. Come here I want to show you something.”

“I was thinking that as well. It is a little terrifying that this guy has managed to avoid cameras, photographs, or other people. It’s like he’s a ghost,” I said, following Asher into the kitchen.

Everything had been reduced to ash with a few exceptions. Cupboards only had skeletal remains, the dishwasher had collapsed in on itself, and the fridge had bubbled and warped and wouldn’t open. It was the only thing had been permanently sealed shut from the extreme heat.

“And it was so hot, like it burned extra hot, extra fast, and then poof! It burnt out.”

I stared at the broken window that I’d managed to break and pictured what the fire looked like behind Sarah. The image of the way the fire traveled into the room like it was a living, breathing thing rather than a fire. Thinking back, it had struck me as odd at the time, but now…I shivered. There was something we were missing.

“I’m going back to the beginning,” Asher said. “There has to be a trace of what was used to start the fire,”

“At this point, I’d settle for anything useful.” I wandered behind Asher, staring at the receptacles and burn patterns on the walls. “I mean, let’s think about this for a moment. How does someone set this up?”

“Best guess, they had access to the apartment for some reason that was not nefarious. You’d need time to do this.” Asher leaned in close to one of the burned-out walls. “Does the building management chart show any work that needed to be done in here?”

“Ha, we aren’t that lucky.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “There are no reports of anything needing to be done on any of the units for years. From what I can tell by talking to the neighbors if you needed something done, you had to arrange it yourself.”

“At the prices they charge here? That’s highway robbery,” Asher mumbled. “Totally ripping people off.”