ex-con, locksmith, and someone who clearly didn’t want anyone stirring things up in Birch Grove. As long as buildings kept burning he’d keep boarding them up and making money. Extra, if it was in the middle of the night.
After they left, at close to three in the morning, Phin showed up.
Phineas Troutt was a friend of mine, ten years my junior, whom I met in a professional capacity some years ago. I’d arrested him. But even though he tended to operate in the gray areas of the law, we’d somehow managed to become friends. He was smart, and reliable, and I needed someone to watch my back. I could have called Herb, but my absence in Homicide was already putting a strain on the district, and I knew he couldn’t have been spared. Phin was just as good, and in some ways even better.
By then, the fear had grown to the point where I was starting to freak out a little. I didn’t like being threatened, and didn’t like having someone break into my room and shoot at me. The more I dwelled on it, the creepier it became. Having Phin close by eased my mind a lot.
We talked over coffee at the kitchen table. I filled him in on everything that had gone on up to that point, not only to get his insight on the matter, but to set things straight in my own head.
“So you think it was the locksmith,” Phin said. He didn’t look too hot. He’d just done another round of chemo, and he was bald again. Like me, he wore a T-shirt and jeans, and like me, he had a gun tucked into the waistband.
“Could be. He said he could see me. Someone who deals with burglar equipment could also have some night vision goggles. And…” I closed my eyes and pictured the scene. “I think I saw a tiny green light when he was leaving.”
Very tiny, more like a speck. It could have been the after-effects of the muzzle flash. But I knew starlight viewers showed images in luminous green, and maybe his goggles slipped when he was running off.
“So you think the locksmith is starting the fires just so he can get paid to board up the places afterward?”
Phin didn’t sound convinced. Neither was I. But I’d seen stupider motives than that.
“Maybe. Or maybe the arsonist is just someone who likes to watch things burn.”
“So it could be this Beniquez kid.”
“Could be. Or it could be someone else entirely. Some weirdo I haven’t met.”
“What about the owner of this place? No alibi, and you said he’s a nutjob.”
“Possible, I suppose. Maybe this is how he and his wife get their kicks. But the intruder specifically mentioned my testimony. He knew about the trial.”
“Sounds like everyone in town knows about the trial. You said Tony might be involved in gangs. Could it have been one of his crew?”
“Again, possible. But this sounded like an adult. Someone cool-headed.”
“Who else is connected with the trial?”
“The District Attorney, Simon Lebanon, is an odd duck. He really wants to win this case. Maybe he knows something he doesn’t want me to know.”
“Can you see him as the intruder?”
“Not really. But again, it’s possible.”
“Was it a good arrest?”
“You’re thinking the cops? Maybe a frame?”
Phin smiled. “Not all cops are good guys. Present company excepted.”
“Nicholas James and Emmanuel Lewis.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You were threatened by the kid who played Webster?”
“He’s not Webster. But he and his partner both act like jarheads. They’ve got this metrosexual thing going that just doesn’t seem to fit right, though their clothes certainly do. But other than that they seem okay.”
“Lots of suspects,” Phin said. “Hell, maybe it was me. I’m a known criminal.”
I smiled for the first time all night. “If you crept into my bedroom at night, I hope you’d do something more interesting than threaten me.”
I could swear he blushed a little. Phin was too young for me, and not stable at all, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he was attractive, and I was
After they left, at close to three in the morning, Phin showed up.
Phineas Troutt was a friend of mine, ten years my junior, whom I met in a professional capacity some years ago. I’d arrested him. But even though he tended to operate in the gray areas of the law, we’d somehow managed to become friends. He was smart, and reliable, and I needed someone to watch my back. I could have called Herb, but my absence in Homicide was already putting a strain on the district, and I knew he couldn’t have been spared. Phin was just as good, and in some ways even better.
By then, the fear had grown to the point where I was starting to freak out a little. I didn’t like being threatened, and didn’t like having someone break into my room and shoot at me. The more I dwelled on it, the creepier it became. Having Phin close by eased my mind a lot.
We talked over coffee at the kitchen table. I filled him in on everything that had gone on up to that point, not only to get his insight on the matter, but to set things straight in my own head.
“So you think it was the locksmith,” Phin said. He didn’t look too hot. He’d just done another round of chemo, and he was bald again. Like me, he wore a T-shirt and jeans, and like me, he had a gun tucked into the waistband.
“Could be. He said he could see me. Someone who deals with burglar equipment could also have some night vision goggles. And…” I closed my eyes and pictured the scene. “I think I saw a tiny green light when he was leaving.”
Very tiny, more like a speck. It could have been the after-effects of the muzzle flash. But I knew starlight viewers showed images in luminous green, and maybe his goggles slipped when he was running off.
“So you think the locksmith is starting the fires just so he can get paid to board up the places afterward?”
Phin didn’t sound convinced. Neither was I. But I’d seen stupider motives than that.
“Maybe. Or maybe the arsonist is just someone who likes to watch things burn.”
“So it could be this Beniquez kid.”
“Could be. Or it could be someone else entirely. Some weirdo I haven’t met.”
“What about the owner of this place? No alibi, and you said he’s a nutjob.”
“Possible, I suppose. Maybe this is how he and his wife get their kicks. But the intruder specifically mentioned my testimony. He knew about the trial.”
“Sounds like everyone in town knows about the trial. You said Tony might be involved in gangs. Could it have been one of his crew?”
“Again, possible. But this sounded like an adult. Someone cool-headed.”
“Who else is connected with the trial?”
“The District Attorney, Simon Lebanon, is an odd duck. He really wants to win this case. Maybe he knows something he doesn’t want me to know.”
“Can you see him as the intruder?”
“Not really. But again, it’s possible.”
“Was it a good arrest?”
“You’re thinking the cops? Maybe a frame?”
Phin smiled. “Not all cops are good guys. Present company excepted.”
“Nicholas James and Emmanuel Lewis.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You were threatened by the kid who played Webster?”
“He’s not Webster. But he and his partner both act like jarheads. They’ve got this metrosexual thing going that just doesn’t seem to fit right, though their clothes certainly do. But other than that they seem okay.”
“Lots of suspects,” Phin said. “Hell, maybe it was me. I’m a known criminal.”
I smiled for the first time all night. “If you crept into my bedroom at night, I hope you’d do something more interesting than threaten me.”
I could swear he blushed a little. Phin was too young for me, and not stable at all, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he was attractive, and I was
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