Chapter 7

SEVEN

J ulio sipped on the tea he was going to tell no one he had in his coffee cup. It tasted slightly of coffee, the way hotel coffeemakers did when someone tried to simply heat water in them. So he was probably getting some coffee molecules. The tea was one his mom had told him would ease his throat.

He'd spent an hour on his day off on video chat with them, while they sat on a bench in the park at the retirement community where they lived in Florida. A place that had full services for deaf residents.

The front doors slid open, and he ducked into the foyer of the Benson Fire Department's main office, two buildings down from the brick building that housed the PD headquarters with the feds squatting in their lobby. This place was newer and had a lot more cool features. The police department had some kind of old-world flare—now it just looked old.

Julio signed in at reception, went through the scanner, and headed up to the conference room where the meeting would start in a few minutes. Sure, he wasn't technically supposed to be back on shift until tomorrow. But what harm would there be in getting information? Listening. Finding out what the latest was on the warehouse fire.

It definitely beat sitting at home in his empty house, trying not to think about Samantha.

Not just because the house was supposed to be theirs and she'd never even lived in it.

Julio stepped out of the elevator, spotted the department's lead arson investigator, and lifted his chin. "Dominic."

Captain Tennet lifted his chin back at Julio. "Meeting is about to start."

The older man looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes and the lines on his face more pronounced than usual. He should have shifted to more of a desk job years ago, but who would give up field work if they didn't have to? Julio didn't plan to quit going out on calls anytime soon. Even if he got reprimanded for entering the building.

As if he'd leave his men without someone to aid them getting out.

The fact he'd wound up one of the victims but saved the life of an employee—a civilian—managed to cancel each other out, thankfully.

Maybe Tennet would let Julio help with the case.

At least, that was what he was going to try to get out of this briefing.

He stepped in and saw that half the chairs had been stacked against the wall. Four long rectangular tables had been arranged facing each other, a line of chairs around them. He chose the east side, preferring a corner close to the coffee pot. He could smell it. When he was done with this tea, he needed at least three cups of coffee.

Then he'd feel like he could get going with his day.

Samantha turned from the coffee pot, a paper cup in her hand. Stirring it with a little wooden stirrer which was cuter than it should be. One sugar, no milk or cream.

Did she still remember how he took his?

She spotted him, and the rhythm of her stirring hiccupped. He watched her survey him, assessing his condition? Taking stock of how he looked two days after he nearly died, trapped in that room. After he couldn't talk and they had to sign to each other.

After he kissed her.

No matter that no one had answered his questions. The guys on his truck hadn't quit texting him since, asking about his parents being deaf. Checking he was all right. Asking about the kiss—at least those who didn't know he had dated Samantha, or that they'd broken up two years ago.

Work was way better than sitting at home.

Or trying to burn some energy when he had little to spare to start with. He felt like he needed a nap, which was seriously unhelpful.

She signed, How are you? As if she didn't know the answer.

He signed back, How are you ? Emphasizing you like he was issuing a challenge. She wanted to talk to him? That was going to go both ways.

"Hey." Romeo Alvarez slapped Julio on the back, jostling him. "How's it going?"

It had been going okay. Now, not so much.

Julio just lifted his chin and took a seat.

Romeo went around the table and sat on the side where Samantha had her stuff out. But she'd done that thing where she put her backpack on the chair beside her, so they weren't right next to each other.

He liked Romeo just fine. The guy was a good guy, a solid believer and a cop, but his history with women? It wasn't that Julio didn't trust him to do the right thing. It was that he didn't trust anyone to treat Samantha right. He wondered if that meant they were destined to be alone forever. Was he resigning her to singleness for the rest of her life just because things hadn't worked out for them?

It wasn't like there had ever been anyone else for him.

Mostly they were at an impasse as far as he was concerned.

Tennet sat down from him, flipping open a paper file. Greyson and a few others had arrived, personnel from the fire department mostly. So why were Samantha and her partner here? Did it have something to do with why they'd been at the scene the other night?

"Okay, let's get started," Greyson said, still standing at one end of the table. "For the sake of those of us who need to be brought up to speed, I'll reiterate the basics. So far we have confirmed three fires are the work of a single assailant, an arsonist. At the second fire, which took place at a residence, a body was discovered shut up in a basement closet."

A woman to Julio's right shuddered. He was pretty sure she did admin for the arson department but hadn't met her before.

Greyson said, "Detective Jesse?"

Samantha nodded. "The woman has been identified as Eva Bronswich, eighty-four years old. A lifetime resident of Benson. No living relatives listed. We're digging more into her life, but it appears she was renting the house where she died."

Romeo leaned back in his chair. "Neighbors said she was quiet, never really had visitors. They hadn't seen her for a few days before her house caught on fire. The couple next door who usually try to regularly check on her were out of town that week. They're pretty cut up about not being around."

"Investigation of the warehouse fire scene is ongoing," Greyson said, then passed it over to Captain Tennet.

Tennet peered at the papers in front of him. "We have gone through about fifty percent of the structure so far. The team is at work on it now, contractors who understand evidence cleanup procedures. But early yesterday morning when we first walked the scene?—"

"You secured it?" Julio asked.

Tennet nodded. "It's safe."

Julio nodded. That was good. He wanted to walk through the scene where he'd almost lost his life. It was something he'd been taught to do as a rookie. Memories lived in your head, and in a tense situation that turned to a nightmare quickly, they could build and build in the mind of a firefighter. Until the memory of an incident became more powerful than what had actually happened.

If he walked through the debris in the light of day, his fear would diminish.

Julio said, "Thanks."

Tennet knew why. They came from the same training school, similar eras of firefighting. Even if they'd gone two different directions as captains in the Benson Fire Department. "Yesterday, we found a deceased person in a back room at the warehouse."

Julio frowned. "I thought we got everyone out?"

"We did as well," Greyson said. The chief would take responsibility, but only because Julio had broken protocol and gone inside, forcing him to take command of the scene.

"The deceased was discovered in a back room," the captain continued. "Apparently, the staff were present for a meeting, and this guy is the lawyer. They actually said they weren't aware he'd arrived yet."

Someone only just got there when the fire started. Didn't that mean there would have been indications of smoke, or heat. They'd have had time to get out, surely?

"Accelerant?" Julio asked.

"We're running tests. I'll pass on the results."

That was new. Arson didn't usually invite outside help in their cases. In fact, they played things extremely close to the vest. What were Samantha and her partner doing here? He wanted to lift his hands, sign to her and ask, but he was already looking at possible suspension.

Samantha said, "Did any of the employees indicate why they were meeting after hours?"

Tennet shook his head. "We couldn't get them to say, but we're still working through initial interviews. The parent company had no idea why they were meeting."

Samantha picked up her pen and made a note on the pad in front of her. "I'll add that to my list to find out, after we connect the dots on the lawyer."

"Could be something fishy," Romeo said. "The arsonist knew what the meeting was going to be about, set everything up, and timed it so they'd be there."

Julio figured it was a decent theory. "Are you taking the case?"

Greyson cleared his throat. "Actually, you all are."

A taskforce. Seriously? But the chance to work with Samantha… Even if Romeo was there, it was more contact than he'd had with her in months. Years, even. Would it change anything for them to be colleagues for a while?

"As of now, the people in this room comprise our newest interagency taskforce." Greyson glanced at Samantha and Romeo. "We know you have other cases. Most of the personnel in here will be doing double duty…"

Samantha picked it up. "But with two deaths now, and lives at risk, it needs to be priority." She paused. "Maybe someone in the fire department brass can speak with the police commissioner. Get at least myself reassigned for the duration. Detective Alvarez can float back and forth as needed."

Greyson nodded. "I like that idea." He looked at Julio, a question on his face.

Julio didn't have a problem with it, so he said nothing. Working with Samantha on a case? He wanted the people in this city to feel safe, but he also wanted to see her more. Hang out. Spend time together. All those expressions that basically meant the same thing.

The chance at giving it another shot.

Or, at least being able to talk about the idea.

He tried to gauge if she agreed but couldn't tell. She'd always been able to keep her emotions below the surface, until she started to sign and her face lit up with expression.

"I'll go speak with my sergeant." She gathered her things and stood.

The meeting was breaking up, so Julio timed it so he went to the door at the same time she did. Her partner right behind her.

"You look a lot better than the last time we saw you," Romeo said.

Julio held his hand out, and Romeo shook it. "Thanks. I feel a whole lot better."

"You really think there's an arsonist out there?"

"Guess it's our job to find out. Shut him down."

Samantha turned, in the hall now. "Like that guy…what was it, twenty years ago? I remember watching a TV special on it."

He knew exactly what she was talking about. "Wanna meet up later. Compare notes?"

Samantha lifted her chin, just a fraction, but he knew what it meant before she said, "I'm not sure there's anything to say."

Romeo wandered off down the hall. Probably sensing the tension in the air and wanting nothing to do with something that had already turned personal.

"Sam—"

She shook her head. "I believe you already made your point loud and clear."

Then she walked away.