Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

" I 'm not going to go in there and leave you alone out here, unprotected."

Samantha stared up at Julio, and the concern in his features. "There are a lot of people here, and they could probably use your help."

She wasn't going to remind him that she had a gun and was able to take care of herself. Considering how quickly she had been subdued by that guy, and the fact he could have easily killed her if it wasn't for Julio showing up, she wasn't going to argue the point.

But he had a job to do.

The parking lot in front of the school was an ocean of people and vehicles, flashing red and blue lights. They had called in on the way over, and one of the fire chiefs told Julio that all thirty-five of the kids were trapped inside, smoke pouring out of the windows, and the firefighters were having trouble gaining access to the building.

Who knew what the situation was inside.

As for what they did know, this was most likely the work of their arsonist, considering the way the building had been secured. Trapping all the victims inside. The chief had told them that the doors looked like liquid cement had been squeezed into the locks to set like rock. The doorframes were sealed tight with something, so they were having to break through exterior walls.

Samantha couldn't see any flames in the building, from the fire no doubt blazing inside. But then again, she was a cop and not a firefighter, so it could be out of sight. Julio hadn't said anything about the visible smoke or the fact there was no fire.

"Go be a captain." She squeezed his arms. "That's what they need you to do right now."

Julio leaned down and kissed her quickly, then raced toward the building. He disappeared between two vehicles. Past a fire truck and what seemed like an ocean of people.

Samantha looked around, aware of being alone even with all these people. No wonder he hadn't wanted to leave her. The truth was, she would rather go with him. But in this situation, she would only be in the way.

Right now, she wanted to see if she could recognize any of the spectators and bystanders.

She skirted the edge of the crowd and spotted a police officer she knew working crowd control. He lifted his chin, and she did the same in return. Before she could ask him how things were going, her cell phone rang.

Sergeant Deerdan's name flashed on the screen.

Samantha slid her thumb across and put it to her ear. "Jesse."

"I did some more digging, figured you would want an update. Are you at the school?"

"Yes. Is Alvarez finished with his interviews? I might need some backup." Samantha figured Romeo might want to be here as well, and she could use someone with her as she looked around. No sense going face-to-face with this guy on her own when she didn't have to because she had the backing of somebody she trusted.

Meanwhile, Julio was free to do his fire captain duties without having to worry about her.

The sergeant said, "I'll text him and tell him to get over there. I think he's wrapping up."

"Thanks."

"As for my update, I looked into the man who attacked you, Bill Morrison." She said that as if she never would have believed that Samantha had started the fight. "He actually changed his name a few years ago, so we didn't have completely accurate information on him."

Samantha gripped the phone and tried to keep at least part of her attention on the people around her so she didn't get blindsided again. "Who is he?"

"Four years ago, he was Walter Barnes. You interviewed him, but you spent more time with his wife."

"Marianne Barnes."

And yet, Bill Morrison had attempted to join the FD twelve years ago? Now he was back to using that name again.

"That's right," Deerdan said. "She was a domestic violence victim. Walter was the perpetrator, and I believe you counseled her to leave since she wasn't prepared to press charges."

"I remember straight up telling her if she stayed, he would end up killing her."

"Seems like she left." Deerdan paused. "Or completely dropped off the radar, at least."

"How do we know he didn't kill her and hide the body?"

"We won't until the two detectives I assigned to investigate confirm for sure that she is safe, or manage to find enough evidence for an arrest warrant."

Samantha winced. "I'm going to pray she got herself together and managed to escape rather than that he might have killed her."

"Considering he seems angry at you, I'm going to air on the side of believing she left and he doesn't know where she is. Or never bothered to find her."

"So why did he attack me?"

"We would have to get him to confess that someone paid him to sucker you into that fight."

Samantha made a face. "Right. I don't see him harboring all this anger at me for years and then suddenly making his move." There were other far more effective ways to do that.

More likely, the arsonist found someone with a grudge against her and used that as leverage for his own ends.

To throw them off his trail.

She lifted a hand to her throat reflexively and touched the bruising she still had there. She swallowed and it was still scratchy. Eventually, the injuries would heal, and she would barely remember the look on his face when he'd been trying to choke her to death.

Deerdan said, "I agree it's more likely he was paid or convinced to come after you. Possibly by the arsonist. Maybe he's been following you for a while, or whoever this guy is found someone in your past willing to come after you."

Samantha recalled how Romeo had been under the impression someone was following them the other day. "Hopefully, he hasn't convinced more than one person to do that." Otherwise, she would be constantly looking over her shoulder. Or hiding in her house.

"The officers with Mitchell and Terri report everything is quiet over there, so at least that is taken care of. I'll get Romeo over to your location so you aren't without backup."

"Thanks, Sarge."

"Keep me updated." Deerdan hung up.

Samantha studied the crowd, her mind spinning about Marianne Barnes and her fate. She prayed the woman had found safety rather than a violent end to her life. Walter probably changed his name so he could skate out from under responsibility, or he'd been finding it difficult to get a job. Or it was all about making it harder for the police or anyone else to figure out who he was? Seemed like he went back and forth, and he might even have more aliases—possibly even one with an outstanding warrant.

She would have just moved to another city if it were her, but people made all kinds of choices when they thought they had no other option.

Like breaking up with Julio because she hadn't believed that they could possibly have a future with a loss like that between them. All the guilt and shame.

She hadn't seen another way out.

Samantha wandered through the crowd, making eye contact with as many people as she could. One of the firefighters in uniform, wearing a white shirt but not a high rank, held a video camera. Taking footage of everyone in the crowd so they could watch it later and confirm whether the arsonist was here or not.

It might only be evidence admitted in court after they caught the guy, but as far as she was concerned, every little piece was worth gathering. The more nails in his coffin the better.

She wandered far enough she got to the other end of the high school building. As she got there, she spotted a couple of bystanders running down the side of the building and jogged after them.

She got close enough to see a man with a tire iron attempting to open a side door. He grasped the metal and tried to pry the door away from the lock. Two women stood beside him. All of them looked scared and desperate.

She told them, "If you need to get inside, we can speak with the fire department. They have tools for this." Never mind that they shouldn't be trying to get into a burning building.

The man ignored her, his face reddened as he strained to open the door.

Samantha looked at the women. The one with curled blond hair and a round figure said, "Our kids are in there. Their phones are on this side of the building." She lifted her own cell phone and showed Samantha where a dot-like GPS location blinked on the screen. "We have to get them out."

"This door won't budge." The man looked out the tire iron, and it clattered to the concrete by his feet. "It must be sealed shut somehow."

Samantha looked at the handle, below which something gray covered the lock. She touched it with her finger. "The firefighters are aware. It's some kind of dried cement." She needed to get these people back to where the other spectators were. "They're getting everybody out to the front door. It's best that we let them do their jobs."

The brunette gasped. "Emily is calling me!" She put her phone to her ear. "Honey, are you inside the building? Can you get to a door?"

Samantha pulled out her phone and texted Julio to tell him that these people were trying to get inside

The brunette told her daughter, "We're trying to get in, but the doors are all locked. Can you break a window?" She lowered the phone a few seconds later. "She said the windows upstairs are all locked as well. The teacher has them in lockdown, huddled in closets. But it's smoky, and they don't want to be there."

"If you can tell the firefighters where they are, it will help them reach the kids faster." Samantha needed these people to stand down trying to get inside and work with the fire department, not in spite of them. "Let the first responders do their jobs."

The man swept up the tire iron with a huff. "I'm going to see if I can find a window myself. No one is waiting for the firefighters to get off their butts and get a door open." He wandered away toward the back of the building.

Samantha looked back at the two women. "Can you go tell the firefighters where the kids are?"

The blonde looked where the man had gone, then raced off after him.

The brunette on the phone seemed locked in indecision. She shifted the phone back in front of her mouth. "I know, honey. Someone is coming to get you out soon."

Samantha's phone buzzed, and she saw the message from Julio. Her eyes widened.

"What is it?" the brunette asked. "What just happened?"

"There isn't any fire in the building, just smoke."

"What does that mean? What's happening?"

"I don't know," Samantha said, "but I'm going to try and find out." She headed for the front of the building, figuring this was the best way of getting at least one of these parents to the right area.

The other woman came with her, talking to her daughter on the phone. The first firefighter Samantha saw, she directed to the woman. "This lady is speaking with one of the students inside."

"Thanks." He nodded. "Ma'am, this way!"

Samantha left them and continued walking, headed for the center of a cluster of firefighters who looked like the ones in charge. Scanning the area for Julio, she spotted him speaking with another man—a chief—and Captain Tennet, as well as a few others.

Instinct felt like cold fingers on her spine. Samantha glanced around, aware she felt as if she were being watched.

Walter Barnes wasn't in police custody anymore.

Was he here, watching her?

Or was it the arsonist?

She didn't understand why she was the target. How could she be a threat to the arsonist's plans? The only thing that had changed in her life recently was the fact Julio was back in it. Could that be the change which triggered the attention?

Perhaps this was about distracting Julio so that he didn't see the truth.

Samantha was going to figure it out, whatever the answer was.

Hopefully before someone else got hurt.