Chapter 12

TWELVE

J ulio had been in the Benson Police Department before, but never in the office of the Intelligence division. It probably wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he much preferred the homey feel of the firehouse. After all, as firefighters he and his colleagues spent so much time in their station that they had to make it feel like a home away from home. Bunk rooms, common room, and a full kitchen.

Then again, cops didn't come to work and spend hours asleep until it was time to go out and respond to a call. The nature of their jobs was different, but in the end they both served the community. Meeting people on the worst day of their life and extending a hand to help them.

He carried the stack of water bottles in his hands from the break room Samantha had pointed out back to their "bullpen," as she'd called it. No bigger than the kitchen and living area at the firehouse, they had packed eight desks in here, most of them back-to-back. File cabinets lining the walls. A huge cork board on wheels.

He was pretty sure that those pictures up there weren't meant for him to see.

A fact he was certain of when he stepped back into the room and saw Romeo turning the board around to face the wall. The top edge obscured the bottom of the TV screen hung at the top of the wall. Playing one of those 24/7 news stations, but this one currently had a local feed being broadcast.

Julio stacked the waters on the table where Samantha had her laptop open and sat in front of it speaking with a blonde on the screen. FBI special agent Addie Franklin, the niece of the police commissioner, was at home. Or so he figured, since she had blurred out her background.

"This is going to be a rough one, I can tell you that much," Addie said.

"I appreciate you taking a look at the letters. There isn't anyone else in Benson who is trained in behavioral analysis the way you are." Samantha took one of the waters and shot him a grateful smile.

Julio was too antsy to sit after all the driving they'd done to the jail and back, so he wandered to the windows and looked out through the vertical blinds.

The afternoon sun bounced off the glass windows of the building across the street, creating a glare that made him wince. Below them, traffic streamed in both directions. He didn't come downtown to headquarters that much. He had once entertained the thought of living in a high-rise and biking to work. Now, he knew that would never fit him.

Did Samantha even know where he lived?

Maybe showing her would be a point on his scorecard.

Through the laptop speakers, Addie said, "I will need to keep studying them to get a truly full picture of the type of guy this is. And I may send one of my agents to you if you need a hand. Don't hesitate to ask."

Did that mean she thought this was serious?

"So you think this guy will turn even deadlier than he already is?" Samantha asked.

Julio smiled at the window.

"What you have is some serious pathology," Addie replied. "There are religious undertones to these letters. Which indicates he likely is someone who had a conservative upbringing."

Julio made a sound low in his throat.

Addie continued, "But then he's also delusional and dangerous. It's almost as if he sees himself as connected to Richard. Maybe bonded in some way? And then in some of these, it almost seems like he thinks he is him."

Julio turned from the window. Samantha looked at him, and he signed, What does that mean?

To Addie she said, "Any idea what that means?" The corners of her lips curled up slightly.

Romeo wandered back over from tidying, all so Julio didn't see anything sensitive connected to an Intelligence Division or Major Crimes case.

"Give me some more time with this," Addie said. "Let me unpack it a little, and I'll get back to you first thing tomorrow." In the background of the connection, a baby started to cry. "Good timing."

"Thank you, Special Agent Franklin."

"No problem, Detective." They ended the video call, and Samantha closed her laptop. She let out a breath, smoothing back her hair and tucking it behind her ears. She'd left it down, but he knew she liked to put in a ponytail when it started to irritate her. She had a hair tie on one wrist. Probably for later, just in case.

Romeo pulled out a chair and sat across from her. He glanced at Julio while he did the same. "Let me guess, you have a thing about ‘conservative' upbringings?"

Right. He'd made that noise in his throat. "I just don't like people who give other people a bad name. The last thing the world needs is criminals who are crazy religious when faith is supposed to make you a better person. It's not supposed to justify your psychosis."

"Hmm." Romeo reached for a bottled water. "You might have a point."

Julio said, "Seems to me like it doesn't depend on the values themselves. It depends on the nature of the person instilling it in you. A narcissist and a nun might believe the same things, but they will teach the lesson in two very different ways."

Samantha studied him. "It's not the sword. It's the one who wields it."

Romeo said, "What was it like having two deaf parents? If it's okay for me to ask."

Julio nodded. "From my earliest memories, I can recall having to interpret the world for them. Relaying communication back and forth between them and the hearing world. Like a bridge between the two."

"Might not be too different from a child of immigrants brought up in a different country than the culture their parents belong to."

"I think it's probably similar. Especially if their native language is different and they aren't able to learn the language of the culture they live in." At least a hearing person could make the attempt to assimilate and learn a new language. But if they didn't, it might have no bearing on how they felt about the place where they lived.

"That's a lot to put on a kid." Romeo looked at him with a little bit of something like respect.

Julio shrugged. His upbringing had never given him a high opinion of himself. He just had an inbuilt need to slow down and make sure everyone around him understood what was being said. "It was all I knew. And you don't resent things until you understand what isn't right about a situation. Or what you don't have, but maybe should."

He had let go of it—if he'd ever had any frustration in the first place.

He looked at Samantha. "I've had to learn how to let go of a lot of things. Life has taught me what's worth holding on to and what wasn't."

Samantha cleared her throat. "How are your parents?"

"Really good," he said. "The community where they live in Florida is great for them."

Romeo snorted. "Shame about the hurricanes and the alligators."

Julio smiled.

Romeo's attention caught on something behind Julio's back, and he pushed his chair back and stood. So fast that the chair toppled over behind him. The look on his face…

Samantha said under her breath, "Oh, no."

Julio twisted around in the seat and spotted the young woman coming up the stairs into the department carrying a cardboard drink tray with four coffees in it. He jumped out of his seat and headed for her, signing as he moved to her. Bristol, it's so good to see you.

She grinned and handed over the tray of coffees, so she had her hands free. In the next second, Samantha took the coffee from Julio.

That meant both their hands were free. He held his arms wide, and she slammed into him. Julio gave Samantha's little sister a big hug, then stepped back grinning. It's been way too long.

I know , she signed back. I miss you. She added her sign for his name on the end.

Julio slung his arm around her and turned her to the room. Romeo still looked like he had been frozen in place.

Julio looked down at Bristol and saw her looking at her sister's partner in a similar way, with a whole lot of pink-cheek shyness. Hence Samantha's reaction to her sister's arrival. She probably realized that Bristol had come here precisely to see Romeo.

"Romeo, come here." He motioned with his head toward Samantha's sister.

The detective slowly walked toward them, but not his usual easy gait. This meant something to him.

At the table, Sam drank her water and didn't look at them. So she didn't want to be involved with this? At least Julio could get over the hitch of introducing them to each other for her.

He turned slightly so Bristol would be able to see his hands and his face. This is police detective Romeo Alvarez. He signed each letter one by one, figuring Bristol would come up with her own sign for his name. If their relationship progressed that far.

Maybe Samantha was hoping it wasn't going to.

Far as Julio knew, Romeo was a good guy. If he got the chance, Julio was going to tell her to let them figure it out themselves—although maybe that's what she was doing right now. On the side, he planned to warn Romeo what might happen if he hurt Bristol.

Bristol waived at Romeo, a soft little movement. All nerves and cuteness. Romeo was in serious trouble.

He turned to the guy, but not so far Bristol wouldn't be able to see what he said. He signed, and spoke aloud at the same time, "This is Samantha's sister, Bristol."

Romeo tentatively lifted his hands and signed back, Hi.

Okay, then. Apparently, the guy was in the process of doing his homework.

"You can say it out loud as well. She can hear a little if you stand close to her, but not if there's a lot of background noise. She'll learn to read your lips. If you get hung up figuring out how to talk, just exchange numbers and text each other." Julio turned to Bristol, touched her cheeks, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then he signed, Thanks for the coffee.

She waved him away, and he got the message, going over to where her sister sat. He set one of the drinks in front of Samantha.

She didn't look up. "Is this your doing?"

Julio tugged out a chair and sat beside her, turning to face her so she was his whole focus. "I haven't done anything." He glanced over at Romeo and Bristol, now sitting on two waiting area chairs. He was trying to sign something, and she was adjusting his hands. Both of them were laughing. Romeo pulled out his phone. "You have to admit, it's pretty adorable."

Samantha groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

Julio didn't think about it, he just lifted his hand and ran it down a strand of her hair. He stopped his hand at the back of her shoulder, caressing with his fingers. Trying to impart some peace into her. Or at least a sense of solidarity. "It'll be okay."

"Unless all goes horribly wrong, and then I'm the one who has to pick up the pieces on both sides. I'll have to see them every day. And they will end up blaming me for the whole disaster."

"But it might not go wrong at all," Julio said. "It just might be very, very right."

She flinched.

Then frowned.

Before he could ask what was going on, she said, "Why is Captain Tennet on TV?"

Julio glanced over. At the bottom of the screen it said his name, scrolling with the words Arson Investigator . Then the words LIVE and Breaking News flashed across the screen. He grabbed the remote from the middle of the table and turned up the volume until he could hear Tennet address the reporters, hands gripping the edges of a podium at a press conference.

"…that we are currently dealing with a copycat of the notorious arsonist Richard Sylvan. We advise the public to go about their lives but do so with caution. It is our belief that this man is extremely dangerous."