“You’re pretty damn sharp,” he said. “You know that?”
“You sound like you’re surprised.” She was getting angry again.
“Not at all.” He gave her a half-hearted grin. “I love your brains. And you really hit the nail on the head. Let me tell you what I’m working on and it fits right in with what you’ve got.”
She sat there and listened while he laid out his own research for her, and explained where the threads he’d tugged had led him.
“These people are dangerous, Randi,” he told her when he finished. “They don’t mind killing people to get what they want.”
“But no one died in the fires,” she reminded him.
“Because they chose empty buildings. None of these apartments complexes was fully leased.”
“There were people in the secondary buildings that partially burned,” she reminded him.
“An unfortunate situation,” he told her. “Luckily for them, they got out in time. But I don’t think these greedy bastards would have cared one way or another.”
“The accelerants used had very low flashpoints. Ignition would have been instantaneous.”
They just looked at each other for a very long minute.
“I have to tell someone,” she said at last.
“No.” He shook his head. “No, you can’t do that. My source tells me a cop is involved.”
“God.” Randi felt sudden nausea. Was it anyone she knew? She couldn’t imagine that as a possibility. Still, she guessed it couldn’t be eliminated.
“I need your help,” Noah said, crouching down before her. “Will you give it to me?”
“Noah, I have to talk to my boss. My partner. I can’t keep this to myself.” She could see him straining for control at her words.
“You can’t tell anyone yet. We have no idea who’s involved. Which is why I need your help.”
“But what can I do?” She twisted her hands together. Her simple fire investigation had apparently reached its flashpoint.
“I need copies of your reports on this. Jeff is getting me copies of Dan Kessler’s reports but I need both sets.” He squeezed her hands. “Please, Randi. I really need you to do this.”
“And you don’t think Jeff should take this to his lieutenant? Or better yet, how about if I bring Dan in on this. It’s his case, after all. And mine. You can ask him for the reports himself.”
“I’d rather not.” He looked away from her.
“You don’t think Dan is involved, do you? Damn, Noah, I’ve worked with the man for two years. I’d know if anything was going on.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Will you please just this once do what I ask and not argue?”
She glared at him, anger twisting inside her. “I suppose the next thing you’re going to say is I should ask off the case.”
She steeled herself for his answer, trying to ignore the anguish in his eyes. “If I thought you’d do it I would. It scares me shitless that you ever put yourself in harm’s way.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or punch him a good one.
“Noah, I could take a job as an admin and break my neck falling down a flight of stairs. I could work with computers, get in my care to go home and get killed on the Interstate. Everything has inherent danger. So you think I like it when you go haring off around the world in places no sane person would be found in? And if you say that’s different I really will punch you.”
“Randi,” he began helplessly.
“Please, Noah. Show me that you respect not only my job but my ability to do it safely. Can you do that?”
She could see in his eyes, now the color of dark bitter chocolate, the battle he was waging with himself. Finally the fight seemed to go out of him. “Okay. But you can’t stop me from worrying about you.”
“Same goes. And I promise to always be ultra careful. Now give Jeff a call and let’s get this show on the road.
Chapter 7
Randi insisted she go back to the firehouse right then to copy her reports onto thumb drive.
“I really want to go with you,” he said, “but I know how odd that would look. Just get back here fast and safe.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I’ll get on Jeff as soon as you’re gone.”
“I wish you’d at least let me bring Captain MacNeill in on this,” she told him. “If he’s crooked I really will quit my job.”
“I totally understand, but no. Not yet.” Noah shook his head. “Just us for the moment.”
“Whatever you say, although I don’t necessarily like it.”
“Understood.” He looked at his watch. “How long will it take you?”
She wrinkled her forehead in thought. “It shouldn’t take me long. If I don’t get waylaid for anything I’ll be back here in two hours.”
“I’ll let Jeff know. And if you see your partner, make up some kind of excuse why you have to take a few hours off. Can you do that?”
“I’ll think of something.”
It bothered her that he was suspicious of Dan but she chalked that up to plain old jealousy. Male penis envy, even when there was no basis for it. That had to be it. She’d worked with Dan for two years. Outside of the fact that he kept hitting on her now and then, something she figured had become habit by now, he’d never given her a reason to distract him.
There weren’t too many people around when she got to her desk. Good. She slid a thumb drive into the port on her computer and began copying the files. She had just finished and slipped it into her purse when her cell rang. She flinched when she saw Dan’s name on the screen.
