Up in Flames [The Heroes of Silver Springs 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Tonya Ramagos

a total imbecile who had written up his findings on the fire as an electrical accident.
    Electrical accident! The mere thought of it still made the Flame Jumper’s blood boil. Her masterpieces were not fucking accidents. They were true brilliance. They were redemption for the chain of events that had destroyed her life so very long ago. Yet, that stupid-ass investigator had dismissed it as a mishap, just like the red-headed bitch’s father had done with the very first fire the Flame Jumper had set.
    Ethan Zimmer was an even bigger stupid ass than the shitty, obviously brain-dead investigator who’d had the nerve to pass her last fire off as an accident. She’d given Ethan Zimmer everything, put all the evidence at his fingertips, and he’d never figured it out. She’d waited years for him to put all the pieces together, and then the fucker retired. He wasn’t even old enough to fucking retire. So what if the man had been diagnosed with acute arthritis. Apparently, these days, the poor sap couldn’t get around any better than he could think.
    The Flame Jumper could only hope the redhead had a better brain in her skull than her father. After all, the Flame Jumper’d had to move her work and create her art in a different freaking state just to bring it to his daughter’s attention. The Flame Jumper’d had to start over, too. Engineering the first wreck and following it up with the first fire hadn’t even lifted a brow on Regina Zimmer’s face. The Flame Jumper couldn’t go on until the connection was made. Each part of the chain had to be reorchestrated in the exact sequence for it all to be clear.
    Provided that bitch can see what’s right in front of her face.
    What was in front of her face now was a glorious piece of art. Oh, the firefighters had extinguished the flames, but the shadows of them remained. The automotive shop wasn’t the pile of rubble the Flame Jumper had hoped for, but the charred frame still painted a superb picture. She should have brought more of her little homemade treat and spread it further before igniting it. She had stood here among the clueless spectators, her insides leaping with excitement, her fingers crossed that the gorgeous flames would spread and spread. She had seen the cars in the garages on the end of the building and had hoped her work of art would live until it reached them. Wouldn’t that have been a fantastical sight?
    It was no matter. Regina Zimmer was here now, and the Flame Jumper would make sure the bitch saw beyond the remains. The Flame Jumper would make certain she earned the investigator’s admiration and undivided attention. This time, the Flame Jumper would make sure she got the recognition she deserved. She would wait to be sure the red-headed bitch put today’s masterpiece in connection with the second wreck the Flame Jumper had initiated. If she didn’t, the Flame Jumper would have to start all over again.
    And if you do, we’ll proceed to the next step and the next until I give you the final piece that will make you understand everything.
    The Flame Jumper had never allowed anyone to see what she knew would be her greatest piece of art. She’d saved it, nurtured it, waiting for the right time to let it out to the world. That time hadn’t come with Ethan Zimmer, but it would come with his daughter. The Flame Jumper understood now how and when it had to be done. She hadn’t yet found the perfect location, but she didn’t doubt it would present itself just as this place had done. Time was of the essence, but, soon, everything would fall into place. The chain would at last be totally complete, and the Flame Jumper’s retribution would be finished with Regina Zimmer.
     
    * * * *
     
    “What a way to start a morning, huh?”
    Dean Wolcott tore his attention from the open bay door of the garage and started to smile at Regina Zimmer before he noted the weary expression on the fire investigator’s face. She looked paler than normal. Her eyes were