Chapter 21

TWENTY-ONE

J ulio studied the man lying in the hospital bed. And the body language between him and Terri—most likely his girlfriend. That made him wonder if anyone thought the same about him and Samantha. Whether someone could tell from looking at them how they felt about each other.

He wasn't sure anyone else could tell how much strain she was under. Samantha kept a tight lid on her true feelings, refusing to let anyone know how she really felt. But even without the bruising on her neck, he would have been confident she needed someone with her. Just for support.

Whether she really was the target of this arsonist, or someone else looking to get payback—or simply an unfortunate set of circumstances and mistaken intentions—didn't matter.

He was here for her.

Samantha showed Mitchell the screen of her phone. "First of all, could you tell me, is this the man who attacked you?"

Probably a photo of the guy that also attacked her. Bill Morrison. The one Julio had put cuffs on, something far more satisfying than he'd expected. Then again, it wasn't more satisfying than putting out a fire or being there to save someone's life. The fact it involved Samantha and keeping her safe probably made a difference.

Mitchell shook his head. "No, that's not him. I don't know that guy."

"You're certain?" She asked. "He wasn't wearing a mask, or some other kind of face covering?"

"I saw his face. I know exactly what he looks like, and that's not him." He stiffened, shifting on the bed. Whether the pain was a result of his injuries or remembering what happened to him didn't much matter. Either way, he'd have to deal with it until it healed and the memories faded.

Samantha slid her phone back into her pocket. "He said he told you everything?"

"Most of it was crazy ranting." Mitchell winced. "It's hard to piece it all together, but I'll tell you what I can."

"It doesn't matter if it's disjointed," Julio said. "We just need to know as much as you can recall."

Samantha nodded. "Just start with what stuck out to you the most and fill in the gaps as you go."

"The guy's crazy ranting is what stuck out to me the most." Mitchell made a face. "A whole lot of stuff that sounded like it came from the Bible." His gaze took on a faraway expression, his dark eyes shadowed. "He told me I had to call him Richard. Can you believe that? Like he really believes he is my old man. He kept calling me Son , but then he was also saying how we were brothers, but he was superior."

"To your knowledge, are you related to him?" Samantha asked.

Mitchell shook his head. "I'd never seen the guy before. I don't think I have any uncles or siblings. Not on my dad's side."

Julio figured that the taskforce should dig into any possibilities Mitchell wasn't aware of. Just in case their arsonist really was related to Sylvana.

Mitchell continued, "He just sounded crazy. That's all I can think of. How crazy it was. He said he was Richard, then he said he was the ‘son of promise.' He was calling me Ishmael, like that was some kind of demerit. Or insult."

Samantha glanced over. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"From Genesis. Ishmael was the son of the servant, from when Abraham was trying to bring God's promise to fruition in his own strength. Using his own plan to achieve the same end. The son of promise was the true heir."

Julio didn't recall much more specifics than that. There were some names he couldn't remember, as it had been a long time since he read the Bible. More than two years in fact. He really needed to start getting back into that again, considering how far he'd come the last few days. Managing to let go of a lot of his anger.

If God really had brought him and Samantha back together for a reason, then he needed to get back into the Bible.

He and Samantha needed to do things differently this time, living out their faith. Not just saying they believed and then going about their life in a way that made them effectively hypocrites. At the least they hadn't acted in accordance with what they said they believed last time.

There were a lot of things he had to get straight in his head or figure out how to deal with. But he knew two things: God was real, and Samantha was the only woman he had ever loved.

He figured the rest of it would work itself out in time.

Mitchell said, "There's something you guys need to know." He glanced at Terri. "Something he found out when he was looking around my house. After he tied me up, he knocked me out, and when I came around, he was looking at papers. He found an invoice from a doctor in the house."

Terri paled. She reached out and held Mitchell's hand.

"Terri is having a baby. My baby. He started asking about the baby, and then ranting about how it wasn't supposed to go down like that. How he was the one who was supposed to have the heir."

"It seems like he might be mixed up about a whole lot of things." Julio couldn't even begin to decipher what Mitchell was saying this man believed. Added to the manifesto that had been emailed to Samantha, with its religious connotations, their arsonist came off like a true believer.

In something very scary.

Samantha nodded. "Did he mention anything about what his plans are next?"

Now that they were fairly sure her attacker wasn't the same man who had hurt Mitchell, that meant they were looking for someone else. The police detail watching that man might as well go home. Although, if he contacted the arsonist, they would need to know. Especially if he met the person face-to-face.

Could Bill Morrison have been paid to attack Samantha like that?

"I can't help but think that he might try and hurt Terri," Mitchell said. "He was so angry, ranting about her. He even asked me where she lived and where she worked. But I didn't tell him. That's when he went too far and left me for dead."

Terri sucked in a breath. Fighting tears, which were completely understandable in the circumstances.

Samantha said, "What else can you remember of what he said?"

"He just kept talking about how he was going to become the father. As if I was supposed to know what that meant. But then he was telling me to call him Richard, or Dad, like he believes he's my father. He started ranting about becoming even more. Like…I can't remember what word he used."

So far, the arsonist had been targeting people who were connected to Richard Sylvana's original case. Then he had come after the man's son.

Julio was going to worry about himself and do what he could to protect the innocent from those who hurt them. Generally that was centered around fires, but he was leaning into this taskforce thing, and helping Samantha with her police department duties. People like Terri and her baby would be safe because they were working this case.

Mitchell looked at Terri. "When I get released from the hospital, I want to be in protective custody. I know no one is going to want to keep Richard Sylvana's son safe, but with the baby, maybe someone will be inclined to help us. I don't want to have to face that guy again, and if he comes after us both…?" He turned to Samantha.

She nodded. "I'll contact my sergeant and get someone assigned to you. Who your father is doesn't have any bearing on who you are, and it certainly doesn't make you less worthy of our help."

"Thank you." Mitchell's voice sounded choked.

"Do you think you could look through some images and see if you can point out the man who attacked you?"

Mitchell gave a little shrug. "Maybe, I mean…it's worth a try at least."

"Thank you," Samantha said. "An officer will come over with a computer so you can look at mugshots. We could really use your help trying to identify this man."

Terri shifted in her seat, looking a little more relieved than she had minutes ago.

"I'm going to make that call now, so we don't leave you here unprotected." Samantha moved to the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Julio knew that hospitals had decent security, and Mitchell could be transferred to a floor that was only accessible through a locked door. They could involve hospital security in keeping Mitchell and Terri safe.

Julio turned to the mother-to-be. "Are you okay to stay here?" They could drive her to her home so she could get some of her things if necessary. But he also wanted to get out there and keep trying to figure out who the arsonist was.

Terri gestured at a backpack in the corner. "I have some things with me. Just in case."

"Okay." To Mitchell he said, "Did the man who attacked you say anything about the fires that he set? Or any that he might be planning to set in the future?"

The other man frowned, thinking it through. "It was just a lot of ranting. I was in and out, and he kept hitting me."

"Because he was angry at you?"

"I think he's mad that I'm Richard's son and he isn't. But then, he thinks he is Richard and he's planning on becoming something else." Mitchell's expression shifted, total confusion on his face. "Maybe he mentioned some of the fires, but I was so out of it that I don't really remember."

"Will you tell the police if you remember anything else?"

Mitchell nodded. "I can do that. I really hope you guys find him."

"Me, too."

Samantha stepped back in the room. "Security is coming up. They'll stay in the hall until two police officers get here. Your room is going to be constantly under guard until this man is caught."

Terri said, "Thank you both."

They all shook hands, and Julio and Samantha stepped into the hall. He checked his phone, since he had silenced it before they stepped inside the room. The sight of all the notifications made him stop walking in the middle of the hallway.

Samantha leaned in, close to his side. Her hand on his arm. "What is it?"

"There's another fire in progress. A summer sports event at a school, so there are multiple kids trapped inside a gym."

She squeezed his arm. "Let's go."

"There isn't anything we can do without gear. And you're not a firefighter." He wasn't going to let her put her life in danger more than it already was. She'd already been a target of this guy once—or so he figured. Whatever the reason Bill Morrison attacked her.

"Maybe not, but we can help outside, and we might see him hanging around."

He figured he could keep her from doing a lot of helping. Considering she was still recovering from being attacked, she needed to take it easy. "Fine. Let's go. But you're going to stay back."

He'd rather she was as far from this guy as possible, but that wouldn't help them take him down.

Just as soon as they figured out who he was.