Page 75 of Inferno

He walked toward her, a shadow in the darkness silhouetted by the strip of light where the door was still open a little. Her eyes still pulsed with flashes of light. He thought he was going to set the tone because he was in control.

So Samantha lifted her chin. Whether he could see her or not didn’t matter. She needed to feel at least a smidgen in control of what was happening around her. “Hello, Walter.”

She heard his low chuckle.

A disguise. A plan. “That was a risky move, going into the police station when you already assaulted an officer once.”

“Didn’t you hear? You started that fight. I was just defending myself.”

“Is that what you told Marianne? That she started it.”

In his mind, a guy like him could justify the fact beat he his wife and did who-knew-what to her. Unlike someone with no conscience, he believed he had every right to keep his wife in line—he thought hehadto. And she should respect him and show it with every move she made.

Samantha pulled in her rambling thoughts. “I guess she deserved it.”

“And so do you.” He reached over and ran his finger down her cheek.

She bit the inside of her lip.

Could she get out the open door? She’d have to subdue him, but she was pretty sure she could run afterward. Assuming hedidn’t catch up to her and catch her again. After that, things would probably get worse.

“Did you kill Marianne?” Samantha said, keeping her voice steady. She had to ask—she needed to know what happened to the woman she’d been trying to help.

His low chuckle rumbled in front of her, far too close. She couldn’t see his face, so maybe he couldn’t see hers.

She looked around for something to use to subdue him. She had no gun, no shoes, and no watch. No badge, no backup, no phone or radio. No way out.

A glint on the floor caught her attention, a tiny flash of…something.

“You’ll find out what happened to her.”

When he did the same to Samantha? She needed a different line of questioning, so she could use the time with him talking to figure a way out of this. So she said, “You went to a lot of trouble just to grab me. Maybe you should’ve killed me like you killed my sergeant. That’s what you wanted to do on the street.”

“A moment of weakness that won’t happen again, I assure you.”

So this was going to be cold and calculated? Great. “How did you get into the PD without anyone realizing who you were?”

“An arrangement. Not that I care what he wanted. It was a means to an end.”

“What do you mean?”

He exhaled, which sounded a little like a chuckle. “A favor. He needed something taken in, I needed to take something out. An exchange, like the last time.”

Someone wanted something takenintothe PD. “Did you plant a device?” Was the police department going to explode? She had to warn someone!

“You think there was only one?” He wheezed, as though he thought that was so amusing.

“Who is he?” They’d thought it might be Walter at one point. “You applied to the fire department.” Twelve years ago—that’s what Tennet had told them. “You know him? Is he a firefighter?”

More laughter.

“You know who the arsonist is! Tell me!” She could barely think the desperation rang so loudly in her head. “Where did you meet him? Who is he?”

“You think this is an interrogation? I don’t see why you need to know since there’s nothing you can do about it before you die. He’s allnothing can stop my plan.And,it’s God’s will.” Walter snorted. “Religious nut. Warping his beliefs because he wants to burn it all down.”

“Like a guy who beats his wife and believes it’s justified?” Pride was Walter’s religion.

His hand came out of nowhere. His open palm cracked across her cheek, forcing her head to the side while the pain blasted like a firework. Or a gunshot.

---