Page 66 of Inferno

“He left the school after the firehouse blew,” Greyson said. “I’m sure he’s planning to go back when he’s done.”

Julio didn’t envy the guy how many hours of overtime he would put in over the next couple of days. “He should forward everything to the taskforce admin so we can get the reports. Start putting them up against the profile the FBI has come up with. See if we can get a suspect list going.”

“That’s part of why I came.” After a second pause, Greyson continued, “He hit us good. That school scene created chaos. Everyone was there. No one left in the house. Until you and Samantha went there.”

“What are you saying?” Julio had his own ideas, but he needed someone else to state them aloud so he’d know he wasn’t reaching.

“He lashed out at us. Created a scenario where he’d get maximum damage but little loss of life. None, in fact. But my guess is, he wouldn’t have minded if you and Detective Jesse had been killed.”

Julio nodded. “He tried to kill us on purpose.”

“Maybe. Depending on when he stashed the explosives. They could’ve been waiting there for any amount of time, and he hits a button, or makes a call, and they go off right when he wants.” Greyson folded his arms across his chest. “But he also crippled the fire department. He took out our house.”

“Now, we’ll be scrambling to house personnel and trucks until it’s rebuilt.”

“He knows us,” Greyson said. “He knows the firehouse we moved from, the relic over on Marsten Street is a museum now. Too far to operate out of. We need to start praying now that no one gets killed because we took too long to respond. Because for the next fewmonths, response times are gonna be longer than anyone likes.”

“The implications might be something our arsonist isn’t even aware of. Maybe this was purely personal, and he’ll realize later he’s put even more lives in jeopardy.” Julio scratched his jaw, feeling the tension in his shoulder as he moved. Not good. He was going to be in pain for awhile.But he and Samantha were alive.

The chief studied him. “What are you thinking?”

“This guy is nothing like your average pyromaniac. He might even not have that psychosis.”

“But he likes to set fires.”

“Seems to me like it’s far more strategic than that.” Julio thought for a moment. “He retraces Sylvana’s history, killing people connected to his case. Now, he’s evolved beyond that, and he’s messing with our attempts to stop him.”

But he didn’t know where the attack on Samantha came into it.

“Explosives? That’s a different tactic.” Julio paused. “This guy has a plan.”

“Any idea what it is?” Greyson asked.

“No, but I get the feeling this is nowhere near over.”

Targeting him and Samantha might be a deviation, but it also might not. Julio had a feeling they were connected to it. Whether they liked it or not.

But it didn’t matter. They were on the taskforce, which meant neither of them would rest until they had this guy in cuffs—or he was dead.

Then again, what if this was happening to thembecausethey were on the taskforce?

It certainly felt personal. But no one else had been targeted, just them.

So what was it about him and Samantha that had set this guy off?

The door to his room opened again, and Captain Tennet stepped in.

Julio said, “Dominic.” The guy might be over the taskforce, but they were the same rank.

Tennet nodded. To Greyson he said, “Chief.”

“Captain.” Greyson nodded back. “What have you got for us?”

The difference between the two men caught Julio’s attention. The stark contrast between the two uniformed, clean-shaven men.

Greyson had been at the scene, getting dirty with the firefighters. Doing his job in a way that would always be hands on—not just because he’d been a firefighter on truck. Until Greyson had been caught in a deadly fire and burned in ways that confined him to desk duty.

Dominic Tennet had worked out of the office his entire career. He pushed paperwork, learned from books and conferences, and rarely got his hands dirty. But to his credit, Tennet had a keen mind for figuring out arson cases.

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