Page 19 of Fire and Bones

“Temperance Brennan.”

We shook. Hickey’s grip could have remolded steel.

“Thacker said you were coming.” Voice deep as an operatic basso. “Glad to have you on board.”

“Burgos told me you’re the man of the hour.”

The man of the hour? Seriously, Brennan?

Hickey shrugged a modest shoulder. “I was the first arriving chief so I’m in command. Burgos ran things down for you?”

“Sort of.”

“Burgos is an ass.”

I couldn’t disagree.

“What’s the current status?” I asked.

“The fire’s out. What remains of the structure has been deemed sound.”

“How many presumed dead?”

“The building was being used as an illegal Airbnb so who the hell knows. I’m told that reports submitted to the DC short-term rental hotline complained of no fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, alarms, or sprinklers. In other words, the place was a death trap.”

“Burgos said you’d interviewed one of the tenants?”

“Yeah. A guy named Billie Norris, an artist who’s rented one of the first-floor apartments for fourteen years. Odd duck. Norris thought there were four people in the upstairs rooms. A young woman from Canada, a gay couple, some guy he’s sure is a spy.”

“Really?”

“That was Norris’s take. Probably because the Harry S Truman is so close.”

I looked confused.

“The headquarters for the State Department. Like I said, the guy’s an odd duck.”

“How did Norris know who was in the building?”

“He gets reduced rent for issuing keys.”

“Who owns the property?”

“Norris says he’s never met the guy, does everything online. Guess title is a question for the cops.”

And the lawyers. I didn’t say it.

“Am I green-lit to go in?”

“Assuming everyone’s wearing proper safety gear.”

“I think the ME team is ready. Where do I suit up?”

“Follow me.”

“You familiar with DC?” Hickey asked as we walked toward a tent several yards up the sidewalk. He walked. I did more of an antelope caper thing to keep pace.

“I know we’re in one of the older parts of the district.”

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