"They are," Liz said with a note of triumph. "I've spent the last week buried eyeball deep in researching fires along that line, especially where they're more concentrated in Vermont and New Hampshire. I think I've found the first one, from almost a decade ago. It was a private residence, a troubled home," she said in a more subdued tone. "That's not uncommon with arsonists."
"So you know who it is?" Sabrina's voice rose with hope as she handed the phone back to Liz.
The investigator shrugged. "Probably, but he fell off the map years ago. There are no records of his whereabouts in the past six years at all. Knowing who it is and finding them isn't the same thing, unfortunately."
"So it's not…personal."
"Probably not. It's probably just about the location matching up."
Sabrina almost staggered with relief as the implications hit her. Someone wasn't trying to destroy the train station or Virtue's future. Even more importantly, no one was trying to expose Virtue's shifter secret, or force shifters out of town. She took a few steps away, to lean on a pile of building materials, and let out a shaky sigh. "That's…I mean, it's terrible, but it's also really good. And it means…it means you know where to potentially look going forward, right? Are they setting fires ineverytown on this latitude?"
"I'm going to cautiously say yes, but it's clear they're not doing it one after another." Liz gestured at the phone, which still had the image with the broken line visible on it. "They've traveled out west and took advantage of being there, as far as I can tell, but…well, there's only one town west of here on this latitude before you hit the Great Lakes, and?—"
"Oh! They didn't go in to Canada. That's why it skips to Michigan?"
Liz gave her a brief smile. "You're very quick. We've got people in the next town over west of here keeping an eye on abandoned locations and refurbishments, since the arsonist didn't hit the train station until it was undergoing a new build. It gets harder going east because there are more towns out that way, but a number of them seem to have already been hit, sowe're concentrating on places that fit the pattern but have no arson reports."
Sabrina sagged, chin lowered to her chest a moment before she looked up to smile at Liz Rice. "Thank you. I hope you find them before anybody gets hurt."
"Me too. I wanted to thank you for your cooperation. We'll keep a security presence here, of course, but hopefully the worst of this is over for you."
"Thank you," Sabrina said again, heart-felt. "If there's anything else at all you need from me, please let me know? And if you can, let me know when they've been arrested?"
Liz smiled and offered her hand again. "I will. Take care, Sabrina."
She left, and within sixty seconds the entire construction crew, including the boss, swarmed to Sabrina, all of them alert with curiosity. "They found a pattern in some arsons," she reported to them. "Hopefully it means they'll be able to nab the person who did this soon. In the meantime, they're keeping security on here, but we're pretty much good to move forward at speed. No more investigations slowing you down."
Relieved cheers went up, with the crew slapping each other's backs and shaking hands. Sabrina gave Tiffany a suddenly wrung-out-feeling smile. "Maybe I can buy you all a beer at Hold My Bear after work?"
The cheer that went up that time was much louder, and Tiff laughed. "I better not say no after that. Mind if Ollie tags along?"
"All spouses, partners, or ill-defined romantic interests are welcome," Sabrina promised. "Although I'm not buying for the whole town, so don't get too carried away."
"We would never," Tiffany promised without an ounce of sincerity, then made a show of checking her watch. "Well, look at that, if it isn't quittin' time!"
There was an immediate rush to clean up and put equipment away, while Sabrina, feeling hugely relieved, texted Luke and went over to try to secure enough tables at Hold My Bear for an entire construction crew. Fortunately it was both early and mid-week, so it wasn't too hard, and Luke arrived to help her hold down the fort until the crew got there. She caught him up on Liz's investigation, and, like Sabrina herself, he let go a huge, hard sigh of relief before sweeping her into his arms. "I'm glad," he murmured. "I'm really glad. I know what a stress this has been to you."
"It's been less awful than it could have been," she said. "If you hadn't come into my life I think I would have lost my mind entirely."
"Can't have that," Luke said with a smile against her hair. "I like your mind."
Sabrina couldn't stop a genuine laugh as she tilted back in his arms to see him clearly. "Do you really?"
"Of course!" He both sounded and looked honestly surprised. "You're an incredible architect! I've seen your designs! You're smart and kind and funny! What's not to like about your mind?"
"Well, when it's attached to this," Sabrina said, indicating her curves, "a lot of men don't seem to notice it."
"They're fools," he proclaimed. "And I'm the luckiest one in the world."
"The luckiest fool?"
Luke paused, then grinned. "Probably that, too."
The construction crew swept in as she laughed, and the next few hours were spent in a celebratory, happy crowd. Everyone's relief that the arson investigation had been dealt with was palpable, and although the night ended relatively early because everybody had to be up for work the next day, it was a greatly-needed evening. As people split off to head home, Sabrina could see how they were lighter and more comfortable than they'dbeen at the beginning of the day. She felt that way too, to the point that she was almost shining with tears as she and Luke walked back to their apartment.
Luke saw it and tucked her close, murmuring, "You doing okay?"
Sabrina sniffled and nodded. "Yeah. I just…maybe I've been more overwhelmed about this than I thought. And I thought I was pretty overwhelmed!"
