Chapter 20

TWENTY

S amantha didn't look at Julio, even though he'd sat himself to her left, in her line of sight. Romeo was beside her, which only meant she could see that he was texting Bristol and wasn't aware of the turmoil going on in Samantha. Julio, however, constantly glanced at her. As if anyone in the room wouldn't realize that he needed to know how she was reacting to this.

At the head of the table to the right, FBI Special Agent Addie Franklin stood wearing a pantsuit and white shirt. She had her hair pulled back, and her makeup was understated. The telltale tiredness of having little kids at home was evident on her face.

"…and that's why we believe he is connected to some kind of religious organization." Addie was about to continue when she was cut off.

"Like some kind of cult?" The question came from the mayor's chief of staff.

"We don't know what church or group it is, or if he even belongs to any kind of organized religion."

The chief of staff said, "How do you know for sure it's a man?"

Romeo looked up from his phone. "We arrested him two days ago."

"And yet he's already back on the streets." The chief of staff shot Romeo a look.

"That's how the justice system works," Romeo said. "We don't keep people detained just because we don't like them. You of all people should know how much it costs the city to keep the jail running."

Samantha shifted in her seat. They didn't need to get into a debate about funding for municipal services. Even if it would be a good distraction.

She had fought constantly through this entire briefing to keep her thoughts from becoming overwhelming. Just the idea that the arsonist was now fixated on her, or at least even minutely focused, was pretty much terrifying as a concept. Any more than that would threaten her sanity.

But having Julio here, clearly concerned about how she was handling the whole thing, helped her keep a handle on herself. If only so that no one knew the extent to which she was spiraling.

Lord, maybe I need Your help to hold it together.

It wasn't entirely comfortable yet for her to pray, but she was willing to test the theory that the God she knew was up there might be inclined to act on her behalf. She and Bristol had a long conversation about the whole thing yesterday.

Her sister attended a Bible study for the deaf, and always went to Sunday services. She'd been eager to share what she knew about what Samantha was supposed to do next—a mishmash of things. Right now, it was all mostly confusing—but in a way also seemed intriguing.

The idea that she could draw strength from something other than herself sounded good when Samantha had no reserves left. When things were out of control.

Still, it felt like trying to do your taxes in the middle of a shootout. There was entirely too much going on, your life was in danger, and at the same time you were supposed to do math? Okay, so the concept of Christianity wasn't exactly like an equation that needed solving in the middle of a life-and-death situation, but it also kind of was. Not just that, but she didn't have time for self-reflection right now.

"Speaking of the man that was arrested. Bill Morrison is on record as having applied to the Benson Fire Department twelve years ago."

Everyone looked at Addie.

The FBI agent in charge continued, "It's one of the few things we could find out about him. He seems to do construction and get paid under the table, which he uses to pay his rent with cash. There is little electronic record of him."

Captain Tennet said, "But you found the application?"

Addie nodded. "He was interviewed once as part of the application process and dismissed following that. I have the names of the officers who conducted the interview if you'd like to follow up with them."

"I'll do that," Tennet said. "It could prove fruitful."

Samantha spoke up. "Do we have any other suspects if it shakes out that the man who attacked me on the street isn't our arsonist?"

Addie looked at her. "All I can do is put together a comprehensive profile of the type of person you're going to find. It will confirm what we suspect after the arrest has been made. What it doesn't do is single out a likely suspect."

Samantha's phone buzzed.

She jerked so hard the phone hit her coffee cup and some of the liquid sloshed out onto the table. She winced. So much for keeping her attention to herself. But if this was an email from the arsonist?

She braced and looked at the screen.

"What is it?" Julio asked.

Thankfully, not another manifesto in her email. Samantha was actually glad she hadn't been the one to open the email. Deerdan hadn't beat around the bush. She'd explained it in a way that allowed Samantha to absorb the blow with no one else around. As far as Deerdan was concerned, a threat directed at one officer in the department meant it was directed at every single officer who served.

She might be the target, but that kind of all-for-one thinking did help.

"It's the girlfriend of Mitchell Sylvana," Samantha replied. "She said he's awake enough we can go talk to him. Apparently, he has something to tell us."

Julio pushed back his chair. "Let's go."

As if she wasn't going to take Romeo with her and conduct a police interview. No, Julio had decided that the two of them were going to team up. She nearly smiled.

Samantha wished she had a good reason to tell him it was a terrible idea. But the problem was, given the way he'd been with her the last few days, she didn't have any reasons left to push him away.

She had a whole lot of reasons to hold on tight.

Captain Tennet cleared his throat.

Before he could start, Special Agent Franklin said, "This morning I spoke with the commissioners over both the fire department and the police department. I will be taking command of this taskforce until such time as the arsonist is arrested."

Everyone in the room shifted and glanced at her. Tennet stiffened in his seat, a pinched look on his face. Samantha didn't know what was going on, but it did seem like this taskforce needed more focus. Better leadership. If that came from an FBI expert in profiling, she was all for it.

Julio seemed to think it was a good idea as well, given the expression on his face. Something else they were on the same page about. Which only got her thinking about him kissing her goodbye two nights ago. How had his shift been that he'd worked between then and now? He didn't look tired, but then again he never seemed to feel the effects of tough work.

Addie said, "All reports will be sent directly to me. Tasks will be assigned by me, and no one is to give out any information without my express permission." She looked around the room. "Is that understood by everyone?"

Samantha said, "Understood."

Several of the others agreed, but Captain Tennet just sat stoically in his seat.

Addie said, "Captain Tennet, you and I will go over all of the fire scenes."

Julio lifted a finger. "I have some photos from this morning I'll send over."

"Very good," Addie said. "Captain Espinoza-Vasquez and Detective Jesse, go speak with Mitchell Sylvana. Find out what he has to say. Detective Alvarez, where are you at?"

"Two more interviews of warehouse staff to go. But they aren't giving me very much. Apparently, the parent company told them not to reveal anything about the class action suit. At least not until we can prove it's relevant."

"Stick with it. Report to me when you're done." She gave out a couple of other assignments to personnel in the room and then said, "You are all dismissed."

Samantha met up with Julio in the hallway, and they walked together to the elevator. Inside, he said, "Do I need to ask how you're doing with all this?"

"Let's just work the case and keep moving forward."

"As long as we keep our eyes open as well."

She glanced over at him.

"You know I have your back, right?"

"I know." She squeezed his arm.

Julio drove to the hospital, while Samantha scrolled through emails and chatted with Bristol over texts. But distracting herself would only serve a purpose for so long. Eventually, she had to actually pay attention to what was going on around her, mostly so she didn't get blindsided again like she had with that man. Was he out there, watching her?

Waiting to attack her again?

Her throat closed reflexively, and she had to swallow against the sensation. All she could think was that eventually she would be healed. The guy would be in cuffs and the case closed. The only thing left of it would be this thing between her and Julio that seemed to have flared back to life.

As they walked through the hospital lobby to the elevator, she felt his fingers brush hers, but he didn't take her hand.

On the floor where Mitchell's room was, Julio motioned ahead of them. "That's her."

The woman had dark hair and a few inches of stomach visible below her cropped T-shirt. Her slightly rounded abdomen made Samantha wonder if she was pregnant. Had she and Mitchell made a baby together?

She'd known enough about religion at the time to know what she and Julio had done was wrong. Or at least, not in the right order—not blessed by God. But all that had done was pile shame and guilt on top of the grief she'd already been forced to carry. So that her strength buckled under the load.

Instead of finding comfort in what she knew to be true, she'd fallen apart in a mess of condemnation.

Something else she was going to have to figure out as she got to know God like a close friend, or a loving Father. Something she'd never quite grasped before. He always had seemed more like a distant figure in the sky, ready to smite her for the slightest infraction.

Julio said, "This is Terri." He gestured at Sam. "This is Detective Jesse. She's on the arson taskforce with me."

She stuck her hand out. "You can call me Samantha."

The other woman grasped her hand for a second, then let go. "He really wanted to talk to you, so thanks for coming."

Julio said, "Of course."

He went in first, and Samantha let Terri go ahead of her, closing the door behind her just in case anyone was loitering in the hallway. She'd worked a case once where a reporter snuck around behind her everywhere and tried to listen in on all kinds of conversations to get an exclusive.

Mitchell Sylvana looked a whole lot better than the last time she'd seen him. Not just because she'd thought at first glance that he was dead, and right now with his eyes open and more color in his cheeks than before, he was most definitely alive.

The other woman went to the side of the bed and placed her fingers in Mitchell's, standing beside him.

Mitchell looked at Samantha. "Thanks for coming, both of you."

She nodded.

Julio said, "We're hoping you can provide us with information about the man who attacked you."

Samantha tugged out her phone, where she had a photo of the man who had attacked her on the street. But she didn't show it to him yet. "Do you believe you're still in danger from him?"

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Mitchell said. "While he beat me, he told me everything."