Page 71 of Rest In Pink

“This started it.” Rain indicated the faded scorch marks in the corner. “It got burning hot. Then spread with an accelerant right up the wall, as you can see. Hot enough to burn out the roof in the middle despite the rain during the storm, although the rain saved the rest of the building. Not as sophisticated as the cardboard museum or the Shady Rest but it didn’t need to be. No one really cared here. He set it by hand.”

We did a survey of the rest of the interior but found nothing of interest other than Cleve Blue’s office in the middle on the second floor, behind heavy wood doors. It was in surprisingly good shape with a roof overhead. There were even books lining shelves and the old man’s desk. A layer of dust covered everything.

It was getting late and the shadows were long inside the factory. I could sense the ghosts of Burney inside this place.

“You going back home?” I asked her as we finished.

She nodded. “We both need a good night’s sleep. Then I want to check in with the OCI task force captain. Update him and see what else I can pry out about Mickey and the Iron Wolves.” She shook her head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

I did, too. “We’ve got enough problems here without a psycho running around burning places. But he targeted Thacker.”

“Unless it was somebody else using arson as a cover for murder,” Rain said.

“You think that’s true?”

“No,” she said. “It was Mickey Pitts. But why would Mickey Pitts kill Thacker? Was he mentioned in any of Thacker’s posts?”

I tried to recall. “I think so. Mickey’s thing is fire.”

“Yeah,” Rain said. “Then the carbon monoxide was to knock Thacker out to get into the room to get the laptop. It was supposed to look like an accident once the whole place was in flames. An autopsy would indicate smoke inhalation, which is to be expected. And the fire would have wiped out any other evidence. Your fire department got on scene fast and did a good job putting it out.” She went the next step. “Why would Mickey want Thacker’s laptop and phone?”

“To get the book Thacker was threatening to publish.”

Rain shook her head. “Everybody already knows the worst about Mickey; he has nothing to hide. He took them for some other reason.”

“Listen, Rain. I don’t know what’s going on. We’ve got a shell company called Vermillion Inc. that Cash Porter is fronting, putting offers on property all over the place. Thacker said Senator Wilcox is behind Vermillion. Now, I hear there’s a lawyer going around making counteroffers from a different corporation. The Shady Rest changed ownership two days ago, bought by the second one. ECOmena. That means two big powers are fighting over Burney.” I hesitated. “And I think Cash was bleeding Navy Blue for money.”

“What does that have to do with the fires and Mickey Pitts?” Rain asked.

“Scare people into selling,” I said.

Rain started walking toward the front and I went with her.

Then I said, “I’ve got an even better question.”

Rain paused and looked at me. “Yes?”

“What if Mickey Pitts had something to do with Navy Blue’s death?”

“The suicide?”

I nodded. “Mickey got out of prison right before Navy died. Mighty awful coincidence.”

Rain considered it. “He burned a Blue factory,” she said. “Then he burned a museum to Blue industry. Those connect. Maybe he interacted with Navy Blue. Drove him to suicide. But Thacker doesn’t fit.”

“Not yet,” I said. “But I want to dig and find out what Mickey has against the Blues. Besides his sister marrying the richest one.”

“It’s a start,” Rain agreed as we walked through the gaping hole that had been the front entrance of the factory into the dusk.

“Hear that?” I asked and hustled toward our vehicles. A high-pitched engine that I recognized, coming this way. “It’s Mickey Pitts.”

Rain hurried behind me as best she could.

The dirt bike came up Factory Road and there was Mickey, no helmet, white hair flowing in the wind. He saw us, was startled, and gunned the motorcycle up Factory Road.

Rain leapt into her Mercedes without opening the door, which was pretty impressive, while I clambered up into the Gladiator. She got going first and tore around me and went after him. I was right behind. I turned on the lights and the siren.

My phone rang,Ride of the Valkyries, and I answered via the button on the steering wheel. “Careful, Rain. There’s that hairpin turn up ahead.”