where staff probably ate meals on their breaks. Then her eyes widened, and she pointed to something with a shaking hand.
“What is this?”
I joined her, peering over her shoulder. Duct-taped to the table was a piece of paper, a letter, maybe. It was typed in all capital letters.
“THIS PLACE OF SIN DESERVES TO BURN. I AM DOING GOD'S WORK. AMEN.”
That was all it said and yet, it was enough to make my hair stand on end.
“Shit,” Madison cursed. “Did the arsonist leave this?”
“If so, it's almost like he was bragging about what he planned to do. But what if the paper burned up in the fire? Then we'd have never seen his message.”
Maybe he wasn't as clever as we thought – or there might be something more to it than that.
She took out a pocket knife and carefully sliced through the tape.
“Shouldn't you be wearing gloves to touch that? I mean, what if the guy left fingerprints?”
“I'll handle it by the corners of the tape.” She peeled it off the table, then flipped the sheet over and blanched. “Oh, no. There's more.”
“MY WORK IS NOT DONE. WILL YOU COME FOR ME NOW? I LIKE GAMES. LET'S PLAY.”
“This guy is a certifiable lunatic,” I muttered. But that wasn't all.
“DRUGS ARE BAD. THEY HURT PEOPLE. I WILL MAKE THEM STOP.”
Madison shivered. “Is he... telling us what he's going to do next?”
“Sounds that way, but it's not much of a clue. There are drugs and dealers all over this town. Lord knows who he plans to target.”
“Or when. He could be out there setting another fire right now.”
Waco and Kingston were neighboring cities, and both had seen their share of deliberately set fires, but none like this. Usually, they were caused by some idiotic high-school kid who wanted to impress his friends.
This was different. The arsonist had methodically planned this out. He'd cut the camera feed, removed his car plates, wore a mask. Did what he could to ensure he wouldn't be identified.
And he planned to strike again. That made him dangerous, an unpredictable wild card. Nobody got hurt in the fire this time. But next time...
Madison pressed the letter between some napkins she'd found on the table. She scanned the area for clues, but there weren't any to be found.
“Now what are we going to do?” I asked her.
“You? You're a firefighter; there's nothing you can do anymore. Not until he does this again, which I pray that he won't.”
“I'm not just going to relax and wait for that to happen.”
Her soft hand curled around my arm. My breathing slowed; the anger left me.
“Your job is to put the blaze out, not track criminals down. That's not your responsibility.”
“Yeah, but I'd like to keep the fires from getting started in the first place. You have no idea how it feels, how much it sucks, when there's an incident and you can't quite get there in time.” Oh, there'd been too many of those. “Houses burned to the ground. Lives destroyed. People get hurt. Killed.”
The sternness on her face faded. She understood, didn't she? The two of us were more alike than she would admit.
“If there's something I can do to stop this bastard, anything, I want to do it.”
“I know you do, but –”
“How many people did Victor assign to this case, huh? You're the only one?”
She hung her head. “Yes, but... I'm sure when he sees this letter, he'll allocate more resources to tracking the guy down. He wanted me to find evidence for or against arson. This, plus all the other things we've learned here, should be enough.”
The tone of her voice told me she didn't quite believe that, though.
We went back outside to our respective cars. Jayce had come with me and he was still inside, so I was stuck here until I rounded him up. Madison was already getting into her cruiser. Her gaze was distant; if she'd been thinking about me, she wasn't anymore.
But I couldn't just let her leave like this. Even now, with this mess unfolding around us, I wanted her. She was too special to give
“What is this?”
I joined her, peering over her shoulder. Duct-taped to the table was a piece of paper, a letter, maybe. It was typed in all capital letters.
“THIS PLACE OF SIN DESERVES TO BURN. I AM DOING GOD'S WORK. AMEN.”
That was all it said and yet, it was enough to make my hair stand on end.
“Shit,” Madison cursed. “Did the arsonist leave this?”
“If so, it's almost like he was bragging about what he planned to do. But what if the paper burned up in the fire? Then we'd have never seen his message.”
Maybe he wasn't as clever as we thought – or there might be something more to it than that.
She took out a pocket knife and carefully sliced through the tape.
“Shouldn't you be wearing gloves to touch that? I mean, what if the guy left fingerprints?”
“I'll handle it by the corners of the tape.” She peeled it off the table, then flipped the sheet over and blanched. “Oh, no. There's more.”
“MY WORK IS NOT DONE. WILL YOU COME FOR ME NOW? I LIKE GAMES. LET'S PLAY.”
“This guy is a certifiable lunatic,” I muttered. But that wasn't all.
“DRUGS ARE BAD. THEY HURT PEOPLE. I WILL MAKE THEM STOP.”
Madison shivered. “Is he... telling us what he's going to do next?”
“Sounds that way, but it's not much of a clue. There are drugs and dealers all over this town. Lord knows who he plans to target.”
“Or when. He could be out there setting another fire right now.”
Waco and Kingston were neighboring cities, and both had seen their share of deliberately set fires, but none like this. Usually, they were caused by some idiotic high-school kid who wanted to impress his friends.
This was different. The arsonist had methodically planned this out. He'd cut the camera feed, removed his car plates, wore a mask. Did what he could to ensure he wouldn't be identified.
And he planned to strike again. That made him dangerous, an unpredictable wild card. Nobody got hurt in the fire this time. But next time...
Madison pressed the letter between some napkins she'd found on the table. She scanned the area for clues, but there weren't any to be found.
“Now what are we going to do?” I asked her.
“You? You're a firefighter; there's nothing you can do anymore. Not until he does this again, which I pray that he won't.”
“I'm not just going to relax and wait for that to happen.”
Her soft hand curled around my arm. My breathing slowed; the anger left me.
“Your job is to put the blaze out, not track criminals down. That's not your responsibility.”
“Yeah, but I'd like to keep the fires from getting started in the first place. You have no idea how it feels, how much it sucks, when there's an incident and you can't quite get there in time.” Oh, there'd been too many of those. “Houses burned to the ground. Lives destroyed. People get hurt. Killed.”
The sternness on her face faded. She understood, didn't she? The two of us were more alike than she would admit.
“If there's something I can do to stop this bastard, anything, I want to do it.”
“I know you do, but –”
“How many people did Victor assign to this case, huh? You're the only one?”
She hung her head. “Yes, but... I'm sure when he sees this letter, he'll allocate more resources to tracking the guy down. He wanted me to find evidence for or against arson. This, plus all the other things we've learned here, should be enough.”
The tone of her voice told me she didn't quite believe that, though.
We went back outside to our respective cars. Jayce had come with me and he was still inside, so I was stuck here until I rounded him up. Madison was already getting into her cruiser. Her gaze was distant; if she'd been thinking about me, she wasn't anymore.
But I couldn't just let her leave like this. Even now, with this mess unfolding around us, I wanted her. She was too special to give
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