It might even be true that none of them were connected to the killer.
But the only way to know was to solve the case. And maybe what I was doing would help.
But it was hard to dedicate myself to something that might not mean anything. Given the state of my non-relationship—to which I’d dedicated a hell of a lot—it was ironic that I couldn’t make myself focus on matching the patterns of tire treads.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to.
Chief Ziemer pushed open the door to the room that passed as our shared sort-of-lab office.
I looked up. “Chief. What brings you here?”
“You, pup.”
I blinked, still uncertain if I wanted him to call me that. But he scared me a little, so I also didn’t want to correct him and risk making him angry. Or even just annoyed. “Me?”
“Yep,” he confirmed, coming over to lean against the corporate-style table that was passing as my desk. Well,adesk. We didn’t really have space that was ours—we all shared the long tables, which were usually stacked with equipment and evidence and on which we cleared just enough space for tablets when working, which is exactly what I’d done that day.
“What can I do for you?” I asked, trying to sound cheerful, but genuinely curious. Maybe he had some sort of chemical test he wanted me to run. Hopefully he didn’t want me to do another round of chemical sniff-testing, although I didn’t think that was likely.
“You seemed pretty interested in how we went about things yesterday,” he observed.
I blinked at him, confused. “I was,” I agreed.
“You interested in arson?” he asked me.
“Um. Not in committing it,” I told him.
He huffed out a laugh that rumbled in his chest. “Investigation, pup. Would you like to join my team? We’d train you, leave you here so that there’s someone in Shawano so I don’t have to drive all the way the hell from Peshtigo.”
“Where’s Peshtigo?” I asked him.
“An hour away, on the bay.”
“You drove an hour to get here?” I frowned. “But it only took you twenty minutes yesterday,” I pointed out.
“I was already in Bonduel for a suspicious barn fire,” he replied. “But if you were here, it would be your tail going to Bonduel, instead.”
“I—” I was conflicted. I’d found the fire investigation yesterday fascinating, and I was very much interested inlearning more—but I’d also just started this job, and I felt like it was very bad form to just quit less than a week in.
Ziemer raised his eyebrows. “You what, pup?”
I felt my neck color. “I just started here,” I said.
“And you’d need to stay here,” he replied firmly. “This is a plus-and sort of gig.” He nodded at the microscope on the end of my desk-table. “I bet you having an arson guy on the team would get you a nice little salary bonus.”
“So there’s no one here now who does arson investigations?”
“Nope. Rupert retired in May so he could keep his one remaining eyebrow.”
I stared at him, trying to decide if he was kidding or not. It didn’t look like it, and the idea that I might not get to keep both my eyebrows if I accepted his offer was mildly alarming.
He chuckled, then smirked. “Don’t worry, pup. You’ve got enough fur on that face of yours that you’ll be okay if you singe off a whisker or two.”
I couldn’t tell if he actually didn’t like the beard or if he was just making a point. Being around Ziemer was unsettling—I still felt like I had to be deferential, but I also wasn’t sure what he thought of me or why he had decided to try to… recruit me?
“I, uh… Like my face unsinged?” I said.
“Think about it, pup.” He stepped closer, then handed me a business card. “And give me a call when you decide.”
