Page 83 of Inferno

“What’s that?”

In the front seat, Romeo glanced in the rearview.

Greyson replied, “Reports of fire and small explosions all over the police department and at least three other buildings on the street.”

“FD Headquarters?” Their building wasn’t far from the police department, and city hall. What else had been targeted?

“Not yet. We’re doing a room-by-room search.”

“Those shoe boxes Walter was leaving all over the PD?” Julio’s stomach knotted.

Romeo hit the gas and sped up, already on the highway that led back into Benson. Meanwhile, a huge crowd of officers were still up the hill, clearing the scene and collecting evidence that would nail Walter Barnes to the wall for what he’d done.

That meant, like the incident at the school, there weren’t as many cops back at the house as there would be otherwise.

Samantha pushed off his leg and sat up. “Put it on speaker.”

Her voice made him wince. She’d screamed herself hoarse. But he did as she requested. “Chief, what’s going on?”

“Chief McCauley and his guys did a room-by-room search of the places Walter went,” Greyson reported. “They counted four devices he left around the building. Things that would ignite on a timer and burn the box, then whatever it was around. Books. Files. A curtain. Each one was left up close and personal to a flammable material.”

“But they removed them,” Julio said.

“Apparently not enough of them.” Greyson paused, and someone spoke in the background. “Get back here, Captain. Weneed everyone working now. Cops. Fire. EMS. Everyone. We’re calling the Bureau of Land Management for the local wildland firefighters. This is big.”

“Look.” Romeo pointed out the front windshield, toward downtown Benson in the distance.

Samantha drew in a sharp breath.

“We have six buildings ablaze,” Greyson said, “including the police department and fire department headquarters, and city hall.”

Samantha covered her hand with her mouth.

Julio touched her knee. “Everyone is responding?”

“And we need all the help we can get. We missed devices. All of them…most of them.”

Romeo said, “Walter needs to tell us who he is.”

Greyson’s response was, “Just as soon as we get these fires put out, you can ask him whatever questions you want. Probably in the park, because that’ll be the only building still standing.”

Just as soon as he said that, a clatter came across the phone line.

A matching boom in the distance made them all flinch. Seconds later, a new plume of smoke rose into the sky.

“Chief?!”

“I’m good.” Greyson gasped. “But Benson won’t be if we don’t get these fires put out. There are just too many of them. We don’t have the personnel.” He paused. “He had to have placed devices all over without us knowing.”

“Then they weren’t all placed by Walter,” Julio said.

Romeo squeezed the steering wheel. “Maybe the arsonist got guys other than Walter in, wearing disguises. People who wanted to get back at the PD, or whoever else, with an axe to grind against them. Doing his dirty work so he could do this.”

“We’ll be there soon.” Julio hung up the phone. “Drive faster, Rome.”

Romeo flipped on his lights and sirens and hit the gas. He got them to Benson as fast as he could safely go, while the freeway going the other direction got steadily more crowded with people fleeing the city.

Julio prayed for all the first responders coming together to help people and try to save buildings. Everyone there would be occupied. A thought which gave him the ability to turn his mental attention to the arsonist who had done this.

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