The whispers were back, spreading through the collection of serious faces. A voice raised above the others. “Is it true a body was recovered from the scene?”
“Yes.” There was no point in denying it. He needed as many eyes and ears as he could get to cover the 232 square miles Zion offered. “The Springdale ME won’t have any information for us until the autopsy has been done, but we are running on the assumption the fire was started to destroy evidence of homicide. Thanks to the fire department’s insight, we’ve learned the suspect we are looking for is potentially as familiar with the area as we are.”
He nodded at Aslen, and that nervousness Murray had been able to spot a mile away flooded through her. Her unit cast glances in her direction, and right then, he knew what had to be done. What would get her to stay in Zion. With him. “RangerWoods, what more can you tell us about the arsonist we’re looking for?”
“All right.” Aslen took that step forward, keeping her chin level and her shoulders back as she faced off with her fellow rangers. Danny clapped and shouted her approval while the rest of their unit stared in open shock. As if they couldn’t see anything special about the woman standing next to him. Idiots. “Every arsonist I’ve encountered has one thing in common—they’ve practiced their skill set for years. Mostly during their teens and early adulthood. This arsonist has set fires before today.” She turned that bright gaze onto Murray with an inhuman amount of determination. “That’s how we’re going to find him.”
Chapter Nine
She knew what Murray was doing.
He wasn’t going to convince her to change her mind. She’d stuck with him for the past twenty years, all for the slightest chance of taking their relationship to the next level. But the way he stormed onto that scene this morning had shown her exactly how far Murray Simpson would go to keep her at his side. That just wasn’t where she wanted to be anymore.
The weight of the unit’s attention stalled the air in her chest. She could do this. She was good at this. Out of everyone in fire management, she’d gone the extra mile to study arsonists and the patterns they created with their fires. Nobody else had the qualifications for this investigation. Which was Murray’s point in bringing her in, wasn’t it? To show her she had a reason to stay here in Zion?
“In the past six months, fire management has extinguished and neutralized three fires, including the one started this morning in Lava Point.” Aslen backed up toward the oversize map pinned to the wall behind her. “The first was here.” She pressed her finger into the map, highlighting the location. “Near the West Rim Trail leading to Lava Point. The second farther south, near Orderville Canyon.” She allowed her arm to drop to her side. “During these summer months, lightning is our biggest threat for starting fires, which is the case for the blaze at Orderville Canyon. However, the fire along the West Rim Trailwas investigated and labeled arson due to the chemical odor and burn patterns left behind.”
“So the arsonist used an accelerant.” Murray crossed his arms over his chest, eyes on the map behind her, and damn it, she couldn’t help but admire the view. His expression fought to remain unemotional, almost bored, as he considered the map at their back, but Aslen had studied that face a thousand times over the years. Worry. That was what hounded him in the tightness of his jawline.
“Yes. Started with gasoline, same as this morning’s fire.” She couldn’t help but shift her weight as reality set in. The fire this morning could have very easily gotten out of hand and reached the campground if her team hadn’t been on the ball. What if there was a next time? What if the arsonist used more accelerant or her team couldn’t reach the blaze in time? What if someone else got hurt? Her throat threatened to close as she evened her voice out. “At this point, we can’t discount there’s a possibility the two fires are connected by the same arsonist.”
A hand went up in the back, but she couldn’t get a good look at the ranger several rows behind. “Were there any remains found in that initial fire?”
“Not that we uncovered.” A wave of nerves ratcheted up her spine, and Aslen sought Danny’s gaze for the invisible slap she needed. Her friend gave her a personal thumbs-up with that cock of a smile she’d come to rely on after every shift, but nervousness refused to back down.
“But why that location for both accelerated fires?” Another voice from a few rows over raised above the rest. “Why set fires in a national park? Lava Point isn’t as popular as the main vein of Zion. Why not choose a more populated area if the intent is to cause as much damage as possible?”
Murray shifted his attention to her—as though she was the most important person in this entire room, the one he’d look towhen times got hard and options were limited—and her mouth dried.
Why couldn’t he look at her like that all the time? What was so wrong about her that he’d never even considered seeing her as more than a little sister or obligation? Why didn’t she deserve the secret smiles he’d thrown the women he brought back to his house? And why the hell couldn’t she move on?
A throat cleared from the front row. Danny cut her gaze to Murray and back with a sharp nod.
Aslen risked a glance at the man standing sentinel at her side then forced her head back in the game. “Arsonists initially like to keep to a set boundary for their first fires, especially in terms of an escape route if interrupted. Sometimes, the boundary is around their base of operations like their home, which tends to narrow down potential suspects quite easily, but in this case, I believe whoever started this morning’s fire—and possibly the first accelerated fire six months ago—is as familiar and comfortable with the Lava Point area as his own home.”
Another hand shot up, this one from the front row, but Aslen noted her own team had yet to add to the conversation. Her fellow rangers—all but Danny—were talking amongst themselves. “You saidhishome. You believe we’re looking for a male suspect?”
“Statistically, men commit more external crimes such as arson and homicide whereas women commit internal crimes against themselves, but there is always an exception.” She fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest, to protect herself from the onslaught of prodding and questions. Murray had no right to put her in this position. She could’ve given him all of this information before the meeting, but he’d wanted to make a point. Show her what she was capable of. Only it wasn’t his place. She was supposed to make her own choices, but this little stunt would only backfire in his face. She’d make sureeveryone in this damn room looked to her for this investigation rather than him. Maybe that would knock his arrogance down a peg. “At this point, we cannot definitively say our suspect is a man, but eighty-two percent of arsonists are young white males with below-average intelligence, academic struggles, poor home environments and difficulty building social relationships. There is also the potential of a sexual component when it comes to starting fires. Many arsonists use it as a substitute for physical connection, but we do not have any further information on who might be behind these fires as of right now.”
One of the male firefighters raised his hand, and Aslen sucked in a sharp breath. Her chest shook as she tried to control the tremors working up the backs of her legs. Holy hell, her ass was going to be sore tomorrow from clenching so hard to stop shaking. “What do you suggest we start looking for?”
She…hadn’t expected that. Tension bled from her shoulders as she put together a plan of action. Aslen hadn’t realized how much tightness had restricted her chest—how much she’d needed her team’s approval—until she didn’t have a reason to hold on to it. “The law enforcement division will be taking the lead on investigating the remains recovered at this morning’s blaze, but we can all contribute to preventing the suspect from starting another fire. As our arsonist may be focusing on the area in and around Lava Point, I’d like to first focus our attention there. We need to collect statements from campground visitors to find out if they’ve noticed any unusual behavior. If we are dealing with a serial arsonist, he or she will most likely have a criminal record. We will want to run background checks on annual passholders and campground registrants who have visited the park more than once in the past six months. If neither of those strategies produce a suspect, it’s a matter of monitoring this morning’s scene for return bystanders then attempting to predict where the arsonist might strike next, which will mostlikely be within a two-mile walking distance from their base of operations.”
“What do you mean, monitoring the scene?” Danny leaned forward in her chair, no hint of the lightness or encouragement from a moment ago. This was the firefighter who’d put her life on the line right next to Aslen for the past two years. And Danny had never once let her down.
“Over half of arsonists return to the scene of their crime to relive the feeling they experienced while setting the fire, whether that is sexual in nature or another dose of dopamine they’re after.” It’d been far too long since she’d been able to use the information etched into her head since college. “There’s also a chance our arsonist will try to reignite the fire he started this morning, though we have not had that outcome at the first incident six months ago, which tells me our suspect is more intelligent than most arsonists. He is not following a compulsion. Rather, he is being very deliberate in his choice of locations.”
“Bringing us back to Lava Point.” Silence encapsulated headquarters as Murray edged closer, his boot grazing hers. It was the connection she needed, settling the fire simmering under her skin. The tremors lessened the longer he held that grounding connection, and Aslen eased a calmer breath. “All right. We have a plan. Fire management, I need you back at this morning’s scene. Take note of any repeat faces, unusual behavior or evidence our arsonist might’ve left behind and report to Ranger Woods. Law enforcement, you’re on scouring through campground registrations and annual passholder information for felony and misdemeanor convictions. Any leads, you send them directly to me. As for the rest of you, including information and resources, I want you to stay in touch with any news that would affect this investigation. Tips, smoke sightings—anything. Ranger Woods and I will be interviewing Lava Point campground visitors about this morning’s events.”
And there went her plans for that roll of cookie dough.
Exhaustion stiffened her joints as rangers were dismissed with orders.
A callused hand threaded between her elbow and rib cage, turning her into the mountain of muscle she’d fantasized about climbing like a tree too many times to count. He grazed her side with warmth and another dose of that grounding element Murray constantly gave off. “You did good for your first consultation.”
“You sound surprised.” She couldn’t hide her internal battle against the desire to sag onto one of these chairs or pass out from her voice. She caught Danny’s wave goodbye as her team filed out headquarters’ front door. Everyone had their assignments, and now Aslen would be stuck collecting statements with Murray for the day, and she was just so…tired. From battling that fire, from feeling stuck, from the emotional whiplash Murray gave her.
Heat tunneled through her uniform. He hadn’t removed his hand from her arm, and she was tired enough to lean into him if she wasn’t careful. To hope. Aslen added a few inches of space between them. To prove she could. He didn’t get to avoid her with little to no word from him for two years then suddenly act as though he couldn’t breathe without touching her. Her stupid heart couldn’t take it. “Please continue to bulldoze my participation in this investigation rather than ask for my cooperation, Ranger Simpson. I’m sure it won’t blow up in your face next time.”
