Page 46 of Inferno

“Arson is about power, isn’t it?”

“Power over material things. Over life and death, even.” Julio winced. “Maybe she is right that we shouldn’t go anywhere near him. But I don’t want to be taken off this case.”

“Me either, which is why we’re going to do our jobs. We won’t let him get under our skin, no matter how much he tries to get us to screw this whole thing up.”

One wrong thing, and the whole case could be thrown out during the trial. Even the right thing could get a whole case thrown out.

Sometimes there was nothing a cop could do, even if they knew someone was guilty as sin. Without admissible evidence, the person may as well be innocent.

“I’m down for that if you are,” Julio said. “We let it go and do what we can.” He set his elbows on the breakfast bar across from her, leaning down to level his face with hers. “What do you say?”

“We work this together,” Samantha agreed. “And we do it smart.” But why did she get the feeling they were talking about more than just the case?

“No matter what ideas Captain Tennet has about how to resolve the situation,” he muttered, as though he was still mad about the press conference.

“No matter how much I want to slap Romeo up the backside of the head,” she added.

Julio grinned. “He was sitting a reasonable distance from her. They’re watching some funny movie from the nineties I can’t remember the name of, and they both seem to be enjoying themselves.”

She frowned. “Fine.”

Julio took her bowl to the sink. “Grudging acceptance is the first step to being onboard with it.”

“Great. I’m looking forward to the part where I catch them making out.”

Julio tipped his head back and laughed. “Two can play that game. If they’re going to do it to you, then maybe you should try and beat them at their own tactics.”

Maybe it wasn’t going to be that bad, Bristol and Romeo. She did like the idea of her sister being happy with a guy. Samantha just wasn’t sure how she felt about it being a guy she worked with. Someone who had no connections to the deaf community.

But considering her track record of successful relationships, maybe she should let them make their own happiness.

And she would try to find some for herself.

With a good man she’d always loved.

EIGHTEEN

To whom it may concern.

Richard hammered on the backspace key rather than holding it down. That wasn’t going to be how he started this letter.

This manifesto.

They had made this personal, and now he would do the same.

A little kid collided with the edge of the table, sticky fingers, and a wet stain on his T-shirt. Richard stared at the thing.

“Sorry.” A rotund woman with a matching stain on her T-shirt grabbed the kid’s arm. “Come on, Leland.”

He watched them head into the children’s section of the library, the kid racing ahead until it tripped and promptly erupted into wailing. Richard stared as the mother yanked him up and they disappeared into the stacks. The wailing echoed through the library.

He turned back to the computer and searched through the police department’s website long enough to ascertain the format for Benson PD officer emails. Samantha Jesse was a ridiculous name, so it was unlikely there was more than one to be found in a midsize department like the one in this city.

He addressed the email to her.

By now youmay believe you know who I am.

Some have called me a copycat. A replica. A wannabe.

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