Page 56 of Inferno

“Considering he seems angry at you, I’m going to air on the side of believing she left and he doesn’t know where she is. Or never bothered to find her.”

“So why did he attack me?”

“We would have to get him to confess that someone paid him to sucker you into that fight.”

Samantha made a face. “Right. I don’t see him harboring all this anger at me for years and then suddenly making his move.” There were other far more effective ways to do that.

More likely, the arsonist found someone with a grudge against her and used that as leverage for his own ends.

To throw them off his trail.

She lifted a hand to her throat reflexively and touched the bruising she still had there. She swallowed and it was still scratchy. Eventually, the injuries would heal, and she would barely remember the look on his face when he’d been trying to choke her to death.

Deerdan said, “I agree it’s more likely he was paid or convinced to come after you. Possibly by the arsonist. Maybe he’s been following you for a while, or whoever this guy is found someone in your past willing to come after you.”

Samantha recalled how Romeo had been under the impression someone was following them the other day. “Hopefully, he hasn’t convinced more than one person to do that.” Otherwise, she would be constantly looking over her shoulder. Or hiding in her house.

“The officers with Mitchell and Terri report everything is quiet over there, so at least that is taken care of. I’ll get Romeo over to your location so you aren’t without backup.”

“Thanks, Sarge.”

“Keep me updated.” Deerdan hung up.

Samantha studied the crowd, her mind spinning about Marianne Barnes and her fate. She prayed the woman hadfound safety rather than a violent end to her life. Walter probably changed his name so he could skate out from under responsibility, or he’d been finding it difficult to get a job. Or it was all about making it harder for the police or anyone else to figure out who he was? Seemed like he went back and forth, and he might even have more aliases—possibly even one with an outstanding warrant.

She would have just moved to another city if it were her, but people made all kinds of choices when they thought they had no other option.

Like breaking up with Julio because she hadn’t believed that they could possibly have a future with a loss like that between them. All the guilt and shame.

She hadn’t seen another way out.

Samantha wandered through the crowd, making eye contact with as many people as she could. One of the firefighters in uniform, wearing a white shirt but not a high rank, held a video camera. Taking footage of everyone in the crowd so they could watch it later and confirm whether the arsonist was here or not.

It might only be evidence admitted in court after they caught the guy, but as far as she was concerned, every little piece was worth gathering. The more nails in his coffin the better.

She wandered far enough she got to the other end of the high school building. As she got there, she spotted a couple of bystanders running down the side of the building and jogged after them.

She got close enough to see a man with a tire iron attempting to open a side door. He grasped the metal and tried to pry the door away from the lock. Two women stood beside him. All of them looked scared and desperate.

She told them, “If you need to get inside, we can speak with the fire department. They have tools for this.” Never mind that they shouldn’t be trying to get into a burning building.

The man ignored her, his face reddened as he strained to open the door.

Samantha looked at the women. The one with curled blond hair and a round figure said, “Our kids are in there. Their phones are on this side of the building.” She lifted her own cell phone and showed Samantha where a dot-like GPS location blinked on the screen. “We have to get them out.”

“This door won’t budge.” The man looked out the tire iron, and it clattered to the concrete by his feet. “It must be sealed shut somehow.”

Samantha looked at the handle, below which something gray covered the lock. She touched it with her finger. “The firefighters are aware. It’s some kind of dried cement.” She needed to get these people back to where the other spectators were. “They’re getting everybody out to the front door. It’s best that we let them do their jobs.”

The brunette gasped. “Emily is calling me!” She put her phone to her ear. “Honey, are you inside the building? Can you get to a door?”

Samantha pulled out her phone and texted Julio to tell him that these people were trying to get inside

The brunette told her daughter, “We’re trying to get in, but the doors are all locked. Can you break a window?” She lowered the phone a few seconds later. “She said the windows upstairs are all locked as well. The teacher has them in lockdown, huddled in closets. But it’s smoky, and they don’t want to be there.”

“If you can tell the firefighters where they are, it will help them reach the kids faster.” Samantha needed these people to stand down trying to get inside and work with the fire department, not in spite of them. “Let the first responders do their jobs.”

The man swept up the tire iron with a huff. “I’m going to see if I can find a window myself. No one is waiting for the firefighters to get off their butts and get a door open.” He wandered away toward the back of the building.

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