"Or someone creating confusion by varying the signature." She studies me. "Building owner isn't Brotherhood-connected. I verified property records."
Of course she did. Woman doesn't wait for information to be handed to her. Goes out and finds it herself.
"David Sullivan," I confirm. "Import business, no strong connection to the Brotherhood or previous victims that I know of. Which means either the pattern we thought we saw was wrong, or the arsonist changed targets."
"There's another possibility." Mira crosses her arms, gaze fixed on the smoking building. "What if the Brotherhood connection isn't what we think it is? What if we've been looking at the wrong variable?"
I've been operating on assumptions—someone targeting the Brotherhood or Brotherhood running fraud. But if someone's falsely claiming to be Brotherhood while approaching business owners, that's deliberate misdirection. Using the club as cover.
"Talk to me," I say, turning to face her. "What are you thinking?"
She hesitates, weighing something. When she speaks, her voice is careful.
"Previous fires all involved owners with recent expansion plans or major investments. Financial stress before incidents, followed by insurance payouts allowing fresh starts." She pullsup files on her tablet. "I've been assuming that pattern indicated fraud. But what if it indicates something else?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know yet." She meets my gaze. "But if Sullivan fits that pattern too, maybe the Brotherhood connection is secondary. Maybe something else links these victims."
New angles. New directions. But it means I need information I don't have—details about business dealings and partnership proposals before the fires started.
"I need to talk to Pete, Beth, Danny, Mike," I say. "Ask them directly about business proposals, partnership offers. Anything that establishes a pattern beyond what we've been seeing."
"I can help." Mira meets my gaze. "I have access to financial records for the businesses my company insured. If there's a pattern in how those businesses were approached or targeted, financial records might show it."
We've been adversaries since we met. Each viewing the other as obstacle or threat. But standing here with evidence that doesn't fit either of our theories, maybe forced cooperation makes tactical sense.
Doesn't mean I trust her. Just means she's useful.
"You'd share that information?" I ask, testing boundaries.
"If you share what you know about the victims. Their business operations, personal situations, anything that helps figure out what we're missing." She holds my gaze. "We're both trying to find the truth. Goes faster if we stop fighting each other."
"Or you're trying to get access to my brothers so you can build your fraud case from the inside."
"Or you're trying to control my investigation by feeding me only what makes the Brotherhood look innocent."
Fair point. Neither of us trusts the other, and we're both right not to.
"I know where to find the victims," I say, making the calculation. "Can get you face-to-face with Pete, Beth, Danny, Mike. They'll talk to me. Might talk to you if I vouch for you. But understand something: first sign you're using this access to build a fraud case against innocent people, I end the cooperation. Permanently."
“The moment I see you manipulating evidence or witnesses, I report you to the state fire marshal and the company.”
"Fair enough." I pull out my phone, checking the time. "Pete's at his new storage facility. We start there."
"I'll follow you." She gestures toward her hatchback.
I look at the car, then back at Mira. If we're doing this—if circumstances are forcing cooperation—then she needs to show up right. People talk differently when they think you're on their side, and rolling up in her insurance investigator car won't get honest answers.
"Leave your car, you're riding with me," I say, watching her expression shift. I jerk my chin toward my truck. "We'll swing by my place and get my bike. You show up on a Harley instead of that company sedan, people might actually talk to you."
She blinks. "On your bike?"
"On my bike. You show up in your car, Pete sees an insurance investigator asking questions. You show up on the back of my bike, he sees someone I trust enough to bring around. Big difference in what he'll tell us."
"That's manipulation."
"That's strategy." I meet her gaze directly. "You want honest answers or guarded responses? Your choice."
