Chapter 11

ELEVEN

S amantha knew exactly what Julio was doing. There was never anything about him that she wasn't aware of, simply because they had known each other for so long. Sure, it might have been a while since they hung out with any regularity, but Julio was the epitome of all those metaphors about oak trees that withstood the test of time.

She'd clung to him for so long that once she became untethered, she'd been forced to find a new anchor.

Her job.

Now it seemed as though he wanted to participate in that with her. And the moment the case was done, she knew he would be full throttle about getting back together with her.

She walked down the hallway of the prison, following one of the uniformed officers. Julio behind her. Samantha didn't dare glance back. If she did, she would only be reminded of exactly how enticing he had always been to her.

The man was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome.

Or, as Bristol put it, fiiiiine . That long drawn-out sign she had made up, mixing the sign for Julio's name with that word. Giving him a designation that was all his own.

Pure Julio.

He was the reason her sister had a complex about romance, waiting for the day she would be swept off her feet. But not by Romeo Alvarez. At least as far as Samantha could make sure that never happened.

Samantha had given up romantic dreams a long time ago.

They were hardly necessary when her job brought her up against the worst of the worst in Benson, crimes that most people wouldn't even be able to handle knowing about. And small dingy interview rooms in jails. Currently occupied by a single table, two chairs, and an older man chained to the floor wearing an orange jumpsuit.

The officer said, "I'll stay out here."

"Thanks." She eased into the room with Julio behind her, wearing his firefighter uniform of thick blue cargoes and a light-blue polo shirt, his radio across from one shoulder to his hip. The bars of his captain rank on his shoulders. Meanwhile, she had on her every day nothing special uniform of suit pants and a blouse.

Her badge on her belt.

Her gun safely locked away with the officer on the front desk, along with her electronics.

She tugged out the chair and sat, while Julio folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "I'm Detective Jesse. This is Captain Espinoza-Vasquez from the fire department."

How would Richard Sylvana react to hearing about a spate of fires recently, deaths and mayhem committed by one person?

Maybe she needed to gently break the news of his mother's passing. Or his lawyer.

"I don't care about fires anymore," he muttered. His saggy cheeks shifted when he spoke, his jowls hanging down on the sides of his face. "I've been receiving treatment, and now I'm cured of my obsession with heat and flames." His flat eyes didn't betray anything other than truth in the words he spoke.

"Your mother's name is Eva, is that correct?"

He flinched, and a little of the fa?ade cracked.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you, but she passed away recently."

"She was old. We all go some point."

Julio said, "Most of us aren't the victims of a fire that's the result of arson."

She studied Richard's response to that, watching for indications he might know something. When she couldn't discern anything specific, she said, "I also have to tell you, unfortunately, that the lawyer who represented you in your trial all those years ago was also the victim of a different fire. But also arson. We believe the two are connected."

Richard looked at Julio, then back at her. "Insulation in the ducting where it shouldn't be? HVAC blockages so that the smoke has nowhere to go?"

"How about weakened structures to aid in the collapse of the building?" Julio said.

"And victims carefully chosen," Samantha added. "Though, this last one had potentially collateral damage. Unless the arsonist intended to kill everyone in that meeting."

Richard sat back in his chair. "How should I know? I've been in here for twenty years."

"Don't worry. We'll see who has been visiting you." She watched his eyes flare, and decided they also needed to check into mail he had received or sent. Everything was opened and checked. Every letter and package the inmate received went through close scrutiny.

If there was something to find, she was going to find it.

"Whoever he is," Julio said, "he's using your tactics. The tricks of your trade that you honed over all those years. Wouldn't you want to know who it is that's trying to steal your thunder?"

Richard shrugged one shoulder. "What's to steal? I have nothing, and like I said, I don't care about fire anymore."

Samantha decided to try a different angle. One that wasn't exactly on the table, but she could work out the details later if necessary.

"This guy knows everything about you," she told him. "Which means you know exactly what kind of person he is. You could have valuable intel that will help us catch him before he kills someone else."

Assuming Richard even cared enough to want to do the right thing.

But she had more leverage than just counting on his goodwill.

"If you provide us with information that leads to his capture, I can speak with the district attorney and find out what kind of concessions you might be able to receive. Rewards for good behavior. Maybe even a reduced sentence so you can see the light of day before you're past being able to enjoy it."

She was aware Julio had shifted. No surprise he didn't like what she was saying, but he also didn't object to it here. He had always trusted her ability to do her job, and she was counting on that trust right now.

This was a negotiation. As much as cops didn't want to make it so, often interviews were nothing but a battle of wills on who could outsmart the other. She had always liked the thrill of figuring out how to persuade a suspect to talk to her.

Becoming a detective might have been at least in part about not being a beat cop anymore. But also, changing the direction of her career trajectory had been more about working cases than responding to calls. Getting her out of walking the beat where she had no idea what she would be responding to on any given day. Like entering a house and seconds later a bomb going off.

Now that she did the job, she knew she had the skills to do it well. She might even go so far as to say that being a detective was what she had been born to do.

Too bad being a cop had cost her everything else that was good in her life.

"And when anyone in here finds out I'm cooperating with the police?" He huffed out a laugh. "What do I care what happens on the outside? The only thing I've got left is me." He thumped a hand on his chest. "And I'm not getting killed for trying to skate out of my sentence."

Some cops, at this juncture, might start to threaten to take away what concessions he had already worked in for himself. The freedoms he had in this place. They might convince him they had the power to throw him in solitary for weeks at a time.

As far as Samantha was concerned, no one deserved inhumane treatment. Not even criminals.

"Then answer me one question before I go."

Richard waited.

"First, your mother dies. Then your lawyer. So who's next?" She paused. "If it was you, who would be next on the list?"

He studied her, probably thinking through his answer. Although if she had to guess she would say he already knew exactly who would be next.

The judge?

The arson investigator who had testified against him years ago, or one of the original investigating detectives, maybe?

Could be this current arsonist was planning on picking off every single member of the jury that had convicted Richard Sylvana twenty years ago.

Richard leaned slightly forward, a predatory smile on his face. "Have fun figuring it out." He sat back in the chair and chuckled to himself.

"Come on." Julio tapped her on the side of her arm. "Let's go."

Samantha stared down Richard for a few more seconds, then pushed the chair back and stood. He didn't need to believe that Julio was in charge. That lowered her in his eyes, diminishing his perception of her authority.

Julio didn't know that. Or didn't consider it to be that big of a deal considering this guy would never be able to even touch her. However, in order for her to get her work done, somebody like Richard had to believe she had all the authority in the room.

"One more thing." She turned back, leaning one fist on the table. "You have a son, don't you?"

She saw the tiny flinch in his eyes.

"I'll tell him you said hi."

She turned and walked to the door, following Julio out into the hall. As soon as the door clicked shut, he said, "What was that about his son?"

"I needed a way to put him off balance, since he felt as if he ended with the upper hand. Now, next time I come in, he won't be so sure of himself."

Before Julio could say anything else, the warden approached them. His dress shoes clicked on the tile floor. Julio shook his hand, then said, "This is Detective Jesse. Samantha, this is Warden Bernstein."

"Nice to meet you." She shook his hand as well. "I'd like to talk about who visited Richard Sylvana over the years and if he has received or sent any mail."

Warden Bernstein nodded. "I have an administrative assistant compiling all of that for you now. He's only had a couple of visitors over the years. His mother, once or twice. A couple of reporters looking for a story, and a psychologist from the local university doing a research paper."

"What about any letters or packages?" Samantha asked.

"We have documentation of everything that was sent and received. But it's his incoming mail you're going to want to take a look at."

Julio said, "You have it?"

Warden Bernstein nodded. "While you had him in the interview room, we went through his cell and retrieved everything."

Samantha wasn't sure that was entirely above board. If Richard got himself a lawyer, he could probably argue an illegal search and seizure. Didn't cell searches have to be pre-announced? She should find out. But if it saved lives? Warden Bernstein would have to be prepared to answer for his actions.

Bernstein led them to an open plan office with several desks. On top of one was a stack of letters. "They appear to be fan mail. For the most part they are one offs, random letters from people reaching out to Richard."

"And the rest?" Samantha was all too aware of Julio standing beside her.

This had to be a test. If Romeo was right that God was doing something in her life, then the only possible thing she could think was that He was determined to test her resolve. To make sure she was really living the way she believed she should.

The warden lifted a letter and handed it to her.

"I'll need to secure all these in evidence bags." But she looked at it without touching the paper, seeing handwritten words on the page.

I have not yet shown you who I am. But one day you will see me. For I will become as you are, and then so much more.

Reborn in the flames.

The arsonist had reached out to Richard, his idol. Now he was killing people connected to Sylvana's case. Those who had failed him, perhaps?

Julio said, "We need to find this guy before he kills someone else."

He was right. At least about this.

They would see what else he was right about. Things she didn't have the bandwidth to worry about when an arsonist was out there, looking for someone else to kill.

Time was running out.