But the sun is up, the scene is fresh and this could be my only chance to get some really good intel from a site that’s just been contained.
I can see the smoke crowding out the beautiful morning’s sunrise before I even come around the corner. Thick and dark and threatening.
Just what I don’t need first thing in the morning but then again, neither does Reed and his crew.
Pulling up, I spot his tall, dark figure still in his gear wandering through the scene, his dark eyes sharp and narrowed.
His head barely comes up when I stop beside the burned out hulk with barely a wall standing. Just half of one that’s still smoking.
“I see you made it here.”
“You should have called me last night.”
“You can’t be tromping around on a scene when we haven’t gotten it contained.”
“It’s my job.”
“No. Your job is the aftermath.” His dark head comes up, those lines around his eyes more pronounced thanks to smoke building up in them. His soft lips are compressed and tension radiates from his body like he’s half a second from losing itcompletely. He waves an arm out, huffing. “And here it is. The aftermath. The mess that some asshole has left me to clean up.”
I finally notice a van off to the side with its hazard lights on. “What’s that?”
Reed sighs and his big hand comes up to pull off his helmet. “That is what I’ve been dreading.”
My own heart skips a beat and my eyes lock onto the vehicle, an ache building in my belly that has nothing to do with the gorgeous man in front of me. “What?” I whisper.
“There was a homeless person sleeping in that damn barn.”
My belly free falls and my head drops until my chin sits on my pounding, aching chest.
“Oh shit,” I mutter under my breath.
“Yep. The firebug just claimed his first victim.”
“Do you know who it is?”
“No. He’s homeless that’s all we know. Because it’s not somebody we know and he was sleeping in a barn. It’s a clue. Pretty pointed one actually.”
“Yeah. Okay. Well, I’ll look around and see what I can find.” My chest hurts, pressure building up like a valve about to blow apart.
This is what everyone who’s been cleaning up these disasters has been worried, dreading.
Someone died here last night. And some asshole who barely deserves the term ‘person’ killed them.
With a shuffle and a sigh, I drag out my notebook and begin combing through the mess, not surprised when I find little to no evidence.
There has to be something, dammit! I need to find this guy and slap his ass in jail.
Most arsonists are men. I’m guessing this one is too.
Loud shouts bring my head up and I groan when I see Reed facing off with a camera crew.
I have a feeling he’d like to beat them with their own camera. A thought I’m rapidly deciding sounds pretty damn good to me.
But with another groan, I step out from the still-smoking wreckage and towards the reporter, smiling and waving. She immediately ditches Reed for me.
A fact that seems to tickle him no end. But I ignore him and run through my whole spiel.
There’s nothing to worry about. These properties are isolated and empty. We’re just asking the public to keep their eyes and ears open and call right away if they see something suspicious.
