Page 24 of Built of Flames
“It’s time I stop wallowing in the past and move on. And I think the best way to do that is to catch the jackass targeting my family.”
Mitch couldn’t immediately see the connections between the fires Isabella had grouped.
The warehouse had been fully engulfed. The fire had been caused by explosions in the ceiling, triggered with a timer. Jammers had been used to hinder communications.
The coffee shop had burned to the ground. An open gas can had been tossed through a broken window and flaming matches tossed in behind.
A bakery with kitchen damage. Potential faulty wiring despite a recent electrical inspection. Sabotage?
A deli in a strip mall. Chairs and tables had been piled together in a bonfire. Rags soaked with gasoline leading from the pile to the back door which had been taken off its hinges. Repairing the damage had closed three businesses for a month.
She had three more individual fires separated from the main group.
An attempted robbery at a bank in the early morning. One man wearing a ski mask. Multiple Molotov cocktails tossed around when he couldn’t get money.
An abandoned bowling alley where all the liquids used to oil the lanes and clean the building had been poured together and set on fire. The owner had gone bankrupt, and the property seized by a bank.
A gym where the back door had been broken open. The office had been trashed, filing cabinets dumped, and the papers set on fire. Damage to the desk and floor along with the destroyed files.
None of the buildings belonged to the Martinez family. As far as he knew, they weren’t investors in them either. The patterns weren’t the same. Not even the accelerants. “I’m not seeing anything, Izzy. What are you thinking?”
She sighed. “I’m thinking I might not have enough perspective on this one.”
He shook his head. “Doubtful. Walk me through it.”
“Okay. Most serial arsonists have a reason. It might not be logical to us, but they follow their own internal logic. They have reasons for what they burn and when. Conversely, a lot of arsonists aren’t that bright. I think this one is different.”
Because of his training, Mitch knew most of what she said, but he wanted more information from her so he didn’t interrupt. That way, he could follow her thinking. He wasn’t seeing any connections at all. He hoped he didn’t have to tell her he didn’t agree with her theory.
She tapped one magnet. “The warehouse fire. Both Christo and I were on shift and worked the fire because Christo was covering someone’s vacation days. But we have no connection to the warehouse itself. This is why I’m not as sure as I’d like.”
She sighed and then tapped another. “This is my dad’s favorite coffee shop. He’s stopped there on his way to every shift. He used to stop there on his off days, but I don’t know if he continued to do so after I left.”
Mitch could help there. “He did.”
“Okay. The bakery was my mom’s favorite. She used to buy from them every Sunday. We bought all of our birthday and celebration desserts from there. Mom was friends with the owner in high school.”
Izzy tapped the deli magnet. “I worked here throughout high school. The owners were casual friends of my parents before Mom died.”
Mitch frowned. Those were pretty tenuous connections. “But they’re all different methods, different patterns. Don’t most arsonists follow their own unique style?”
She nodded and shrugged. “That’s why I’m not confident in my gut feeling. There are a lot of questions.”
He pointed at the board. “Why are these three fires separated?”
Another sigh. He didn’t like seeing her confidence so low, but he wasn’t convinced yet and he wouldn’t be anything other than honest.
“More questions. There aren’t any firm connections I can see. Nothing with the bowling alley. Christo and I used the gym. And the bank. I had a friend who worked there as well, but I haven’t seen him in years. Don’t know if he’s still there.”
Mitch frowned. “The connection to the gym and bank is at least as strong as the bakery and the deli. Why didn’t you group them together?”
“The four fires in the group all happened at the very end of the month. The gym and the bowling alley are earlier.”
“Let me guess, the bank fire is in your time frame?”
She nodded and then shoved her fingers into her hair. “It’s not much to go on, but no matter which way I look at it, that’s the strongest connection I see. I’ve gone through insurance and payouts, time of day, staff and their backgrounds, and more. If you feel there is a serial arsonist, I think this is your best bet.”
Was she wrong? Was he?