Adam and Lyla followed behind in the bus. We were all silent, listening to dispatch and Owen communicate, hoping it wasn't our arsonist starting up again. Even I was getting tired of his shit, and I'd only been dealing with it since I’d moved to Half Moon Lake in April. These guys had been dealing with it since January.
We’d all breathed a sigh of relief when it stopped after Logan's garage was set on fire. But now tension hung in the air as we made our way to another fire that might have been set intentionally.
Once on scene, Owen dished out commands, sending Jay and me in for the primary search and leaving Logan and Zack to start getting water on the fire.
The farmhouse was a small two-story home and the fire had moved quickly, making visibility difficult.After quickly searching the ground level, Jay radioed back.
“First floor clear, heading up to second.”
We finished our search, finding no one, and made our way back downstairs. By then, two more trucks from neighboring towns had pulled up to assist.
I didn't want to voice what was going through my head, but I knew I had to. Owen needed to know what we were dealing with. We still needed to complete the overhaul process, making sure there was no burning inside the walls of the farmhouse that could rekindle and create additional issues. But I'd been doing this for almost eight years now—since becoming a firefighter at twenty-one—working in a busy station, and I'd dealt with my fair share of intentionally set fires.
During the primary search of the farmhouse, the first thing I noticed was some of the burning was happening along the floor rather than the ceiling. In my experience, that pattern was typically seen when an accelerant was used. And an accelerant in an abandoned home was rarely, if ever, accidental or natural.
Although I was sure I wasn't, I prayed I was wrong.
Chapter Two
VIOLET
It had been two months.Two months of quiet. But now the arsonist was back at it? Why?
I shook my head and looked around at the guys starting their overhaul process. The Half Moon Lake Police Department had been working jointly with the state fire investigators to help catch the arsonist. So far, with no luck. Being the PD's only crime scene tech, I was pulled in to assist after Logan found a matchbook at one of the scenes. And since the state wasn’t sending anyone to help until we had more evidence to provide them, I was the only one responsible for collecting and examining evidence found at the scenes, as well as viewing anyvideo footage collected. Yay for job security, but it was a lot for one person to manage. That was small-town life.
“That's bullshit.” Logan glared at Dylan, who was not only a detective with Half Moon Lake PD but also Logan's neighbor and friend.
I understood why Logan was pissed. I wasn’t happy either when the guy we were looking at alibied out of one of the fires. And he hadn't tried settingmyhouse on fire. Okay, technically it was Logan's garage, but still. It was close enough to his house that he deserved to be pissed.
“I agree.” Dylan crossed his arms over his chest. “But there's not much we can do about it right now. We're working on trying to piece everything together. Maybe it's him, maybe it's someone else. Maybe he's working with someone.”
We were all sure it was the kid they pulled from a fire seven years ago. Motive was easy to pinpoint—he blamed the Half Moon Lake FD for the death of his father. But without hard evidence, and considering he technically had an alibi for one of the fires, possibly a second we were still looking into, there was literally nothing we could do to him. Granted, the time on ring cameras could be easily altered if you knew what you were doing, so I wasn’t sure how airtight that alibi would be. But until we could prove otherwise, that alibi stuck.
I'd already looked around the two rooms that faced the front of the house. I noted burn patterns similar to those in the other fires that would indicate an accelerant was poured. I'd also collected remnants from one spot that was likely from a book of matches, just like in the other fires.
I made my way to the entryway that led to the kitchen, letting the guys continue to talk about our suspect, or technically, our lack of one.
“Oh.” I stumbled back as a large body stepped into the doorway, blocking my path.
I smiled.Mountain Man.I'd bestowed that nickname on Seth Davis the first time I’d met him. Rugged, burly, bearded, with long reddish-brown hair to match. He even lived up on the mountain, rarely seen by anyone. Almost mythical, like Bigfoot or Paul Bunyan. Truthfully, I wasn't even sure if he talked.
“Sorry,” I said when he made no attempt to move. “Need to look around the kitchen.”
He dipped his head and grunted, stepping to the side and letting me pass through the archway. Without another word, he exited the same way I came in.
He was strange, but people thought I was strange too, and I was perfectly normal. I had an affinity for the color black and preferred to decorate with skulls. What was wrong with that? I was also a firm believer that a really good pair of fishnets went with any outfit.
That, paired with my white and black hair and piercings, had definitely given me a label around town. Back in Asheville, where I lived post-graduation before taking the job here, no one batted an eye. People complimented me on my unique style. Here in Half Moon Lake? Not so much.
I popped in my other earbud and tapped it, cueing up my dark pop playlist.
Finished in the kitchen, I carefully made my way upstairs. I doubted I would find anything on the second floor, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't inspect as much as I could.
I finished in the second bedroom and spun, ready to move on, but froze suddenly as the smell of smoke hit my nose. Not ash or the smell of char. Smoke. Like from an active fire.
As I stepped back into the hallway, I immediately began coughing. Thick smoke wafted up the staircase and filled the space around me. Crap. That wasn't good.
I coughed again before turning and going back into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. There was nothing in thisroom for me to put under the door to prevent the smoke from seeping in, and of course the windows had to be boarded up. No escape there.
