Burning Truth (Lost and Found Columbus #3)

Chapter 2

2

S evern knew in his gut that Columbus had an arsonist at large.

The guy wasn’t moving quickly. For the past few months, there had been a slew of little incidents. Fires in random places, pieces of IEDs and pipe bombs found in obscure places, criminal trespass complaints in abandoned buildings. If he didn’t have the access he did to certain police reports, he wasn’t sure anybody would even notice to connect the dots.

It all added up to a growing firebug, to him, though, and he was about ready to take it all to his boss.

Parker called him into his office the next morning, and Severn grabbed the folder of firebug info and his tablet.

Parker gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “What is this?”

“A hunch.”

Parker flipped through the paperwork, then rocked back in his chair. “I have a meeting in thirty minutes with the police, and I think you’d better be involved.”

Severn scowled. “Why do I have to be involved?”

“Because, my friend. They think you’re the firebug.”

Severn barked out a laugh, squinting at his boss in incredulity. “Are you fucking serious?”

Parker handed over a photo. It was of Severn himself, standing and looking up at the blazing building on Pike Street with a haunted look on his face. That had been several weeks ago, at the coffee shop he used to frequent. That was where he had seen the newswoman, and she’d tried to talk to him.

That was where they’d eventually found three people fried to a crisp.

Severn scowled. “This is a few blocks from my apartment, and I heard the explosion. I ran to see what happened, and the building was already engulfed. I had a flashback when I looked up at it, and that was when the news crew filmed me.”

Parker surveyed him carefully and gave him a nod. Then he handed over another picture. It was in a long shot, obviously focused in on Addie, her voluptuous curves on display in a short blue dress. She was walking toward the camera on a sidewalk downtown, talking, but way in the background, beyond her right shoulder, he could see himself walking along the same sidewalk, dark head down as he looked at a manilla folder in his hands.

Severn frowned. “Is that in front of the courthouse?”

Parker nodded.

“I was down there like, a month ago, to testify in the Hampton case. I didn’t even realize she was there.”

“Right after that, they had a bomb threat in the building, and it was completely evacuated.”

Severn shrugged. “I remember hearing about it. I also made note of it in there,” he motioned to the folder.

Parker glanced down at the information, flipping through a few papers to confirm what he said. Severn chafed at the thought that his boss had to confirm anything with him.

“I’m not the firebug, Parker,” he ground out. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that. I can’t stand to be around fire, let alone set them. I’ve gone in to train the bomb squad guys. Hell, I’ve helped them on a couple of calls.”

“I know,” Parker sighed, rocking back in the chair again, “but if they’re coming in here looking for someone to pin this shit on, I need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt it’s not you.”

Yeah, he could understand that. “Well, if it’s connected, you can confirm this. I was out of town when that garage went up in flames two months ago.”

A local tow yard with a contract with the police department had been broken into and an IED had blasted through it about eight weeks ago. He’d been in Florida tracking down a lead on a possible abduction case when it happened.

All the fires seemed to have something to do with local government. The bar in Short North catered to trendy lawyer types who liked to be seen. The garage regularly worked on county vehicles. The fabric warehouse with the coffee shop in the bottom had catered to a lot of cops and first responders. It wasn’t until that most recent bombing, though, the coffeeshop, that people had died. Severn had tracked back on the calendar the dates on the incidents, and they were getting closer together. “By my estimation, he’ll be doing something else soon.”

Parker scowled, leaning forward. “Any idea what’s coming next?”

Severn shook his head. “But it should be any day.”

Parker’s cell phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. “The detective is here. Let’s fill him in on what you’ve accumulated.”

The lead detective was a tall Black woman, not a man. There was a calculating look in her dark eyes. She was followed by a shorter, middle-aged Hispanic man, with dark eyes and dark hair, and a chip on his shoulder the size of Ohio.

“I thank you for seeing us, Mr. Quinn,” the woman said, smiling, stepping forward with her hand out. “I’m Detective Johnson and this is Detective Rodrigo.”

Parker shook her hand, then Rodrigo’s hand. He motioned to Severn. “This is my director of field operations, Severn Moran.”

Severn shook their hands, but he saw the subtle glance the two detectives shared. They hadn’t expected him to be here, and they thought they’d just met their arsonist. He also let them look their fill of his scars, though it made him chafe like wet wool.

Parker waved them to the chairs in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat. We’ve just been talking about the new arsonist Columbus has.”

“It’s still under investigation,” Detective Johnson said, frowning, but she took the seat. Rodrigo sat as well, and Severn moved to the side of the room to lean on the buffet where Parker kept his liquor stash. He crossed his legs in front of himself, staying relaxed.

“There have been a few things brought to our attention,” Rodrigo began, but Parker held up a hand.

“A few? You told me of two instances.”

The man shifted in his chair. “Yes, two instances.”

“Your words have weight, detective,” Parker admonished softly. “Be precise.”

Johnson lifted a brow at Rodrigo, and he sat back in the chair, looking pissed. “My partner is anxious to investigate this situation.”

“We all are, Detective. We don’t want anyone else to die or be hurt.”

Her eyes flicked to Severn, and he knew what she was thinking. “I’m not your firebug, detective,” he said. “I’ve been tracking what he’s doing, though, and I know you need to figure out who it is pretty quick, because he’s going to burn again.”

She cocked her head at him. “Why do you say that, Mr. Moran?”

“Because it’s the psychology of the arsonist. In general, they escalate, and in the last fire, he actually killed someone. Three someones. That’s going to be a high he’s looking for again. The terror he caused and the reaction later. It’s all feeding his ego.”

“When do you think he’ll strike?” she asked carefully.

“I don’t know exactly, but within the next few days.”

She stared at him for a long moment, before glancing away, back at Parker.

“I think I can remove some of your suspicion from Severn. Do you believe the Miller tow yard was done by the same man?”

The two detectives shared a glance, and Severn could see the debate going on in their silence. “Yes,” Detective Johnson admitted somewhat reluctantly.

“Severn was in Florida that week. All week.”

Johnson glanced at him. “And you can document that?”

Severn fought not to roll his eyes. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his phone and scrolled through a couple of screens. He settled on one. “That’s my app to document my expenses for the company. You can see I was there for five days. I used the company credit card every day.”

Rodrigo took his cell phone out and snapped pictures of Severn’s phone screen. “You don’t mind if we confirm this, do you?”

The question was rhetorical, but he shrugged. “Have fun. Hopefully, nobody dies while you’re doing that.”

Severn knew it wasn’t fair, but he was getting aggravated.

“A lot of arsonists have burns,” Johnson said, her eyes drifting over his face and down his neck, settling on his hands. Severn knew he looked monstrous, but he’d gotten used to the looks. Kind of.

“Yes, they do. But I earned mine in Afghanistan at the hands of a thirteen-year-old suicide bomber. Again, completely documented. Would you like to see the pictures from where they dug me out of the burning rubble?”

The woman blinked, and he thought he saw a glimmer of compassion. “That won’t be necessary.”

Again, she stared at him for several seconds, as if trying to dig into his brain to see his truth. “Do you have social media, Mr. Moran?”

“I do. I’m not on it much unless I’m investigating a case.”

“Can you pull up your accounts?”

Severn sent a look toward Parker. His boss shrugged lightly.

“If you don’t have anything to hide, it shouldn’t be an issue,” Rodrigo said, voice snide.

Severn was really growing to dislike the little man. “I’m going to be watching for extra charges on my account. I know cops don’t make much.”

Rodrigo moved to lunge up out of the chair at Severn, but Johnson stopped him.

Severn scrolled through his phone again. “Which platform?”

“Facebook and Instagram.”

He scrolled to each of the accounts and showed Detective Johnson. Taking his phone, she swiped around in his profile. It looked like she was searching for other accounts.

“Can I ask what you’re looking for?”

“Do you follow Addie Kingston on any of the platforms?”

Severn frowned. “No, I watch her on TV sometimes at night when I get home.”

Actually, every night, but he wasn’t going to tell them that. And he certainly wasn’t going to tell her about the recordings he had of her in another file.

Johnson handed his phone back and sighed. “I was really hoping you were my guy, Mr. Moran. It would have made my life easier.”

“I’m not apologizing for not being an arsonist,” he growled.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. But it’s not just an arson issue, anymore,” she said.

“Johnson,” Rodrigo snapped, but she held up her hand again, obviously expecting him to be quiet. He sank back into his chair, expression mulish.

“We believe that Addison Kingston is being stalked by the man setting the fires.”

Severn blinked. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” she said, nodding. “It was only on her social media. Just little comments about what she was wearing that day, noting the tennis shoes that were out of camera range didn’t match her dress. Comments that she needed to do better, that kind of thing. Then, yesterday, he left a burned bone, we think human, in her parking spot at the news station. We’ve looked at the footage around the station, but we can’t see anyone delivering it.”

Severn’s mind was racing. He’d known a few guys that had a proclivity for burning things, but they were in it for the adrenalin rush. None of them had been trying to impress a woman.

“He’s going to be a churning mass of emotion, then,” he said, thinking out loud. “His need to impress her will be fighting with his own need for satisfaction. The problem with arsonists is that they have a mental disability, but it ties in with so many other mental disabilities that it’s hard to differentiate just the arson aspect.”

Johnson nodded, the starch in her spine easing a little. “That’s basically what our psych guy said as well.”

“More than likely, she’s met the man,” Parker said, sitting forward in his chair. “There’s some connection. She’s a beautiful woman. Maybe somebody asked her out and she turned them down. A spurned suitor would definitely want to burn things. His leaving the bone was probably a warning.” He held Johnson’s gaze. “So, she thinks I’m stalking her,” Severn asked.

Johnson shrugged lightly. “She gave us the footage,” she said, motioning to Parker’s desk.

Severn scowled. Though people reacted to his scars like he was a serial killer sometimes, he didn’t like the thought of a woman being fearful of him. Especially not Addie Kingston. “I feel like I should talk to her.”

Parker winced. “Not sure that’s a good idea, buddy.”

Johnson cocked her head, obviously thinking. “Well, let’s talk about that a minute. The guy is targeting cops and county workers, it seems like. Or affiliates of the county. What if we brought in a face he didn’t know? Somebody not affiliated with the county in any way.”

“You have got to be joking,” Rodrigo hissed at her. “There’s no way the captain would go for this!”

Johnson lifted a brow at him. “Let me deal with the captain.” She looked back at Severn. “Would you consider going undercover to help us out? With your connections to the prosecutor’s office,” her glance flicked to Parker, “I have a feeling we can get approval for anything to catch this guy.”

Yeah, it helped that Parker’s significant other, Andromeda, was one of the bigwigs that ran the show at the prosecutor’s office.

“I would,” he said immediately. If it meant he had a chance to catch the fucker doing this, he would be all in.

For the first time, Detective Johnson’s expression lightened. “Excellent. I’ll talk to the station and see if they can come up with a job for you to explain your being with her.”

“Or, he could pose as her significant other,” Parker said, rocking back in his chair. There was a gleam in his grey eyes that Severn wasn’t sure he appreciated. “An overprotective boyfriend. Our team has had to do that a few times recently.”

Johnson nodded thoughtfully, her eyes shining. “I think if you pose as Addison’s new beau, it will explain your presence away beautifully. You’re concerned for her safety, so you stick with her at all times to protect her. I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

Severn knew his face had to be giving away how incredulous he thought this was, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t one of the grunts on the street for a reason. He didn’t go in for subterfuge like this, because his fucked up mug was so memorable. Between his height and his looks, it was hard for him to fade into the background. And the woman certainly wouldn’t go for it, not with the way she looked. “Or it could be just enough to anger this guy more and put her in immediate danger.”

Johnson shook her head. “At this point, I think it’s a matter of time before he attacks her. He’s building up to it.”

Severn crossed his arms over his chest, not liking the direction this meeting had gone. He glanced at Parker for back-up, but his boss had a slight smile on his face. He’d always told Severn that he needed to break out of his self-imposed exile and get out into the world, for real, not just observe it. And this was his chance to push him out of the nest, so to speak. “You’d better clear this with her, then.”

Detective Johnson stood. “We’re going to the station now to talk to her. She’s already said she’ll do anything to catch the guy. I’ll call you with the details.”

Severn watched as the detectives left the office, then he turned his head to Parker. “Thanks for having my back, buddy,” he said, sarcasm heavy.

Parker grinned. “Oh, whatever. I know you. If I hadn’t presented the boyfriend option, you really would have been stalking her in the hopes of catching the guy. Now you can be at her side at all times, legitimately.”

Yeah, he supposed Parker was right. Severn heaved a sigh. “Guess I’ll go get my go-bag.”