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Chapter 8
It didn’t matter how many ways Hollie Brennan looked at the information on her laptop screen—the same pattern emerged every time. Only too aware of the problems the evidence posed, she had reviewed it over and over. Her faith in the computer program should have been absolute. She had been the person to devise it, and she had done it with just this sort of scenario in mind. It was used by fire investigators all over the country. Now she was doubting the information it was giving her. Instead of trusting it, she had gone back to basics. As she drank her early-morning coffee, the table in her small apartment was littered with maps, scribbled notes and scrawled diagrams.
She had even woken with a start at three in the morning, tearing herself away from her dreams of enchantment and mystery, before jumping out of bed to double-check one of the locations. But no. She had been right all along...which meant, no matter how crazy it sounded, she had to take this to her boss.
You have to listen to what the data is telling you, even if it appears bizarre. It was part of her introductory talk to trainee fire investigators. On this occasion, she was finding it increasingly difficult to take her own advice.
The streets were clear as she drove toward the office. This was one advantage of being up and about so early. She was half listening to the radio, her mind tuning in and out of the news stories, when the first bars of a rock ballad caught her full attention. It was the latest release from Beast, one of the biggest bands in the world. It was also, on this particular morning, the ultimate irony. After listening for a few moments, Hollie switched the radio off.
On arriving at the office, she was pleased to see her boss’s car was already in its designated parking space. There was a joke among the agents at the Newark Division of the FBI that, since no one ever saw her come or go, Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Melissa McLain might actually spend the night there.
Hollie didn’t subscribe to the same view as her colleagues. ASAC McLain was a professional, but she wasn’t an automaton. Maybe it was because of Hollie’s unique role within the Bureau, but she had been granted occasional glances beneath the steely mask. They had even, now and then, gone out and gotten mildly tipsy together. No, McLain was human, and she was mightily pissed about their inability to catch one of the most prolific and deadly arsonists to come the Bureau’s way.
On reaching the third floor, Hollie knocked on McLain’s office door and waited for the abrupt instruction to enter.
“I come bearing caffeine.” She held up the carton from her boss’s favorite coffee shop. She knew from experience that stopping on the way into work to purchase the strongest, largest espresso worked well in two ways. It softened McLain’s mood slightly, and it meant she was forced to look up from her desk and focus on Hollie while they talked.
“It’s never good if you have to bribe me.” McLain removed the lid from the carton and closed her eyes as she inhaled.
“Not only is it not good—” Hollie sighed as she sipped her peppermint tea; the coffee had been tempting, but she needed a clear head for this conversation “—it’s so weird I don’t know where to start.”
“How about the beginning?” McLain’s direct gaze didn’t allow for hesitation.
Okay. Deep breath. “You know I like rock music?”
A corner of McLain’s mouth lifted. “I’m more of a classical fan myself, but I won’t hold your musical preferences against you. Is this going anywhere?”
“Bear with me. About a week ago, I was looking at dates, hoping to get a ticket for Beast’s next tour. They’re like gold dust.” The facts. Stick with the facts. “Anyway, there was a sidebar on the webpage, showing all the places they’d toured in the last few years. And it got my attention.”
“Because?”
Hollie reached for her file of paperwork. “Because, in the last four years, the places Beast has toured are the towns the Incinerator has targeted. Our random arsonist is not so random, after all.”
McLain’s brows snapped together. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You’re saying our arsonist set his fires in the same towns that this rock band tours? Does he do it at the same time?”
“Typically, the fires take place the day after a Beast concert. Sometimes two days,” Hollie said. “But there’s more. Once I found the link, I did some checking into Beast’s international tours. Guess what?”
McLain took a gulp of her coffee, some of her customary poise deserting her. “Our guy has a passport?”
“It looks that way. In the four years we have been hunting the Incinerator, Beast has traveled to Europe, Australia and Asia. I checked with the police in each of those countries, and during each Beast tour, there were classic Incinerator fires in every location. Generally, the intervals between the international concerts and the fires were longer. Often they were weeks apart. But they always happened.”
