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“Captain, I can ex—”
“If you’re going to tell me about how you and de Costa went to arson investigation and asked to do a scene inspection at the warehouse because you had a gut feeling something wasn’t right with the fire, you can save your breath. Nat has already brought me up to speed on your involvement with her team’s investigation.”
“We didn’t break protocol, I swear,” Sam said. He knew persisting would probably piss the captain off further, but he couldn’t get Lucy into trouble again.
To his shock, Bridges nodded. “You’re right. You didn’t.”
“Sir?”
“Why don’t you two have a seat?” Nat gestured to the two chairs facing her and Bridges and Isabella at the table. “This will be easier if we start from the beginning.”
Confusion still swam in Sam’s brain. But since that was nothing new and Bridges hadn’t led with the phrases “formal disciplinary action”, or—worse—“immediate dismissal”, Sam did as he was told and sat down next to Lucy.
“First, I think it’ll help to bring you up to speed on what we found at the warehouse,” Nat said. “Over the past week, we’ve done a thorough investigation of the scene to determine the point of origin of the fire. The damage and burn patterns suggest that the fire started on the first floor and traveled upward from there. However, as the fire marshal noted and you both saw, there was also extensive damage on the second floor, making it another possibility. We had the backpack full of tinder, so we knew we wereprobablylooking at arson, but it wasn’t until we were able to fully examine the second and third floors—at least, what’s left of them—that we were able to prove it by finding multiple points of origin.”
Lucy shook her head, her brow furrowed. “But how did you even do that? The stairs were too dangerous to climb.”
Nat’s smile bordered on a grin. “Well, like I said, after you two found that backpack, we knew we were almost certainly dealing with foul play. So, I looped in the Intelligence Unit.”
Here, Isabella chimed in. “As it turns out, Capelli has a very cool new drone that he was just waiting to use on a case. We mounted a camera to it and were able to get a good look at the entire warehouse. We also captured everything on video, so the evidence can be reviewed as often as the team needs.”
“Okay, thatisvery cool,” Sam couldn’t help but say, and Isabella gave up a wry smile.
“Let’s just say Capelli was very happy to assist.”
Sam had to admit, that tracked. As the Intelligence Unit’s tech and surveillance expert, James Capelli had access to all sorts of hi-tech and very cool gadgetry that only he understood the full capabilities of, and the guy never failed to get excited about using them.
“So, there’s another definite point of origin?” Lucy asked, and Nat tilted her head.
“Actually, no. There are four, all identical to the one on the first floor.”
Sam’s jaw dropped.“Four?”
“We had the same reaction,” Nat said, “but yes. The burn patterns and other evidence are clear. It was just impossible to tell until we got a good look at the upper floors. We also found chromatographic traces of accelerant in all five points of origin, likely thanks to more of the same gasoline-soaked tinder you found in that backpack, so we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that this fire was set on purpose.”
“Okay,” Sam said slowly, trying like mad to make his brain pick a thought and stick with it. Fat fucking chance. “So this was definitely arson. But why would someone try to burn down an abandoned warehouse?”
“Good question,” Isabella said. “So far, we’re pretty thin on motive. We’ve ruled out insurance fraud, and there’s nothing to indicate that the company that owns the warehouse had any involvement in the fire. There’s no evidence of a crime having been committed there, so a cover-up is also unlikely. We’ve pulled a bunch of street cam video from the area surrounding the warehouse to see if anything looks suspicious, but it’s a lengthy process to go through the footage, especially when we’re not quite sure what, or who, we’re looking for. Other than that, we’re honestly not getting very far.”
“Which, actually, is where you two come in,” Nat said brightly, and okay, Sam’s shock was complete.
At least he was in good company, because beside him, Lucy’s eyes widened. “Us?”
Nat nodded, unfazed. “Yes. My team is already at maximum capacity with active cases. Even with clear evidence that this is arson, we’re spread too thin to work another large case right now. We’ve got the Intelligence Unit’s support, of course”—she gestured to Isabella—“but this is a fire-specific crime. They’ll need expert eyes to guide any investigating they do. Obviously, the RFD wants to act on this as quickly as possible, but given the lack of resources, we’ve had to get a little creative with our approach.”
“Creative,” Sam repeated, and wait. No way could she mean—
“We’d like you and Lucy to assist on the case in an official capacity as RFD liaisons,” Nat said, stunning him to his seat. “With Captain Bridges’s approval, of course.”
Lucy’s shoulders hit the back of her chair with a soft thump. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” Nat confirmed. “You have firsthand knowledge of the scene and clear expertise in identifying burn patterns. You’ve clearly proven that you know what you’re doing, and that you work exceptionally well together. You know what to look for, how to preserve evidence…do you really need me to go on, here?”
“There would, of course, be rules in place,” Isabella said, and it wasn’t lost on Sam that she aimed the words directly at him. “You’d be acting strictly under either my guidance or Nat’s. No freelancing.”
“Understood,” Lucy said, and after a beat, Sam nodded, too. This was his ticket to action, and he really, really wanted to catch this son of a bitch.
“No freelancing,” he agreed.
