Page 51 of Built of Flames
Amy moved to stretch on the mat. “Should we be watching the crowds, searching for those looky-loos they talk about on TV?”
“Good idea.” Mitch nodded.
Mac stood to his full six and a half feet, then slung his towel around his shoulders. “The asshole better hope I don’t find him before the cops do.” Then he strode out the door.
Mitch went with his gut and dropped Mac to the bottom of the list. And a small part of him hoped Mac would find him first.
“Has Isabella figured out anything we should be on the lookout for? Or does she need any help from us? I think everyone would help with whatever she needs.”
When Mitch turned back to respond to Amy, he noticed Kent leering at her. Bella was right. The guy was a creep.
“Thanks, Amy. I’ll ask her. For now, we should be even more careful than normal.”
Kent blew out a breath as he slowed his treadmill and then hopped off. He started to walk away, but Paul cleared his throat and sent a pointed look at the machine.
Kent rolled his eyes, but he picked up the towel and the sanitizer. He cleaned off the handlebars and touch screen before stomping out of the gym without another word.
People switched out while Mitch finished his workout, but no one had any more ideas on how to catch the arsonist. Gino and Bob gave out some weird vibes during the conversations. He couldn’t remember where they fell on Bella’s spreadsheet, but he’d check later.
After he showered and dressed, Mitch headed to the Chief’s office, waving Christo to come along with him.
He knocked on the door frame and Juan Martinez looked up from his paperwork. “What’s up Robinson?”
“Got a minute, Chief? I want to update you both.”
Juan nodded and Mitch closed the door behind him, then sat in one chair in front of the chief’s desk.
Both men looked at him, so Mitch dove right in. “The data analyst arrived at Midnight Lake. She and Isabella have put in several hours on the case. They believe it is highly likely there is a serial arsonist or a pair of them working together.”
Christo swore and the Chief rapped his knuckles on his desk.
Mitch continued. “It gets worse. They believe the guy is or was a firefighter. If there is a partnership at work, one or both is likely one of us.”
Christo shoved to his feet and walked around the office twice before sitting again. The Chief barely moved. His jaw clenched, and a muscle twitched in his cheek. “No proof?”
Mitch shook his head. “Not yet. They’ve created a spreadsheet with more information than I’ve ever seen in one place before. Now, they’re analyzing it, looking for patterns. They’re hoping to eliminate a lot of people from the list and narrow things down.”
The Chief frowned. “How long is that going to take?”
Mitch shook his head. “No idea. If it were me doing it, I’d say weeks or months. With them, I’d say days.”
Christo shook his head. “One of our own? How could we miss that?”
The Chief snorted. “We’ve been known to be dumbasses before.”
After a beat of silence, he and Christo both grinned and then laughed out loud. The Chief wasn’t known for his humor, nor for admitting to mistakes, so this was rare.
They all grinned at each other for a moment before turning serious again.
Christo leaned forward in his chair. “What do we do to find this guy?”
Mitch shrugged. “I came in early, spent some time in the gym, and a few of them talked about the arsonist. I want to eliminate a lot of people because I like them, but there’s no guarantee it’s someone I dislike. But Mac gave off enough pissed-off vibes, I’d be shocked if it was him. Amy and Paul, too.”
“Who else was there?”
“About ten by the time I was done. Gino and Bob seemed awkward about it, but nothing damning.”
The Chief leaned back and looked through the glass wall at someone and nodded, then held up a finger. “Okay. We’ll move on as normal, but keep our eyes and ears open.”