Consumed

“I don’t want you calling Sister ever again,” he repeated. “Not about me. Are we clear?”

After a moment, Moose looked away. “Yeah. Fine.”

“Good, now, you want a cig?” Danny asked. “I just opened this pack.”

As he held out the Marlboros out, he knew Moose was going to take one. And the guy did, but not before he made Danny wait there for a while.

Danny shared his Bic. “So we gonna light this place on fire or what.”

“Chief’s not going to let you work this drill.”

“He’ll get over it.”

Right on cue, Tom Ashburn’s SUV pulled up behind the truck and the Charger, and Anne’s brother got out of it like he was prepared to hop into an octagon and break someone’s head.

Oooooor maybe he won’t get over it, Danny thought.

* * *

“I can explain,” Anne said as she got to her feet. “I, ah . . .”

Don came in and walked around the desk. As he looked down, Soot shrunk back into the crate, ducking his head and letting out a soft growl—which might have been threatening if the dog hadn’t been shaking like a leaf.

“Poor kid,” Don murmured. “Poor damn thing.”

“Look, I didn’t mean this to happen. This morning. I mean.” She cleared her throat. “What I’m trying to say is that I called the vet to check on him, but they’d let him go to the city pound and I was worried he was going to be put down. I had to go on the way here or risk—”

“What’s his name?”

“Soot. You know, ’cuz he’s gray.”

Don backed away. “So about those emails you sent last night.”

Anne looked at dog. Looked at her boss.

Don’s face was utterly composed. And when she seemed confused, he raised an eyebrow. “The three emails you sent. At ten p.m.? Or were you sleep-typing.”

“Right.” She pushed her hair back. “So, ah, yes, you have to agree that there’s a pattern. Six fires in the last two years. All in that same zip code with an unusual amount of office equipment at the scenes. It’s an arson cluster.”

“Or it’s a bunch of abandoned buildings in a bad area of the city known for drug deals and gang territory disputes. I’m not sure we need to call 60 Minutes yet,” he said dryly.

“Did you read my report?”

“Twice. While I was on the StairMaster this morning.”

“There was too much plastic noted in three of the reports on those other scenes.”

“So?”

“If the buildings were abandoned, what’s all that office equipment doing in them?” She shrugged. “Looters are not picky and very thorough. They take everything that isn’t nailed down, but in half of those sites, there is forensic evidence suggesting things like cell phones and computers were in those buildings. Why?”

“Previous use. Recent abandonment.”

She shook her head. “The blaze I was in last November? There were old cubicles and office stuff on the first floor, granted. But when the collapse happened, I remember getting hit with a laptop from above—and it was MacBook. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I’m beginning to wonder, though, given what I observed yesterday—especially in light of the debris noted on those reports. What if someone’s using these fires as a way of disposing of the goods? Or the information in computers? Or for some other reason.”

Don shrugged. “You hear hooves, don’t think zebras. But keep digging.”

“I intend to.”

Her boss turned away. “Departmental meeting in an hour.”

Anne hustled around the desk. “Wait, I’m sorry, I have to be clear here. I’m not fired for bringing him in? I mean, Soot?”

“I just told you about a departmental meeting. You think I’d can you in front of the whole team?”

“Well, it might be a good way to reinforce—or establish—a no-dogs policy.”

Don looked over her shoulder, in Soot’s direction. “If it were a cat, it’d be different. I don’t like cats.”

“So . . . I can keep bringing him? During this adjustment period.”

“Do you always push the limits?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

Don crossed his arms and stared off into the hall, his lips flattening, but not because he was angry. He was trying not to smile. “You are going to drive me nuts. But you stay on task, I’ll turn a blind eye on the damn dog, deal?”

Anne started to smile. “Have you ever watched The Office?”

“Why?”

“No reason.” She glanced at Soot and gave him a thumbs-up. “Thanks.”

Chapter 18

On the way home from work, Anne stopped by Petco. She wanted to take Soot in with her, but she didn’t know how he would react to the stimulation and it was a very cool day, so she rolled the dice and left him alone in her car. Inside the store, she was quick as she could be, grabbing dog food, treats, a seat belt restraint for him, a dog bed and a second crate for her home. When she came out, she half expected to have a fire engine by her old Subaru, one of the teams breaking the windows of her Outback to free the dog as he went crazy and chewed everything to shreds.

Nope.

As she came up to the car, she found him curled in her seat, and he lifted his head and wagged at her. “Good boy!”

She picked up a salad on the way home, from the Greens-R-We drive-in, and she talked to Soot the whole time, telling him about the departmental meeting, her investigation, that cluster. The fact that her mother had called and left a message about something or another. Pulling into her driveway, she—

Slammed on the brakes. As Soot did a quick scramble so he didn’t hit the dash, she cursed. Danny Maguire was sitting on her front stoop, his black hair and his big body bathed in the setting sun’s orange rays and taking up every inch of concrete step there was. He was smoking, but he pinched the ash off the tip of the cigarette and put the butt into his jeans as he got to his feet.

“Shit,” she muttered as she put the car in park.

Getting out, she shut the door so Soot didn’t get any ideas about eating the guy.

“Hey.” Danny came across her lawn. “You need help carrying stuff in?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize. For last night.”

“Which part?” She shook her head. “Never mind. Apology accepted, now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go inside—”

“You got a dog?” As he leaned in, Soot sank back against the driver’s-side seat and Danny nodded. “He’s a rescue. Good deal. What’s his name?”

Anne looked away to the clear blue autumn sky. Him asking about her dog, carrying pet supplies in, walking through her house felt all wrong. Like they were entering a time warp with this day-to-day normalcy. A time warp that tried to pretend Everything Hadn’t Happened.

“Danny, we’re not doing this.”

“Let him out so we can be properly introduced.”

“He doesn’t like strangers. Especially men.”

“He’ll like me.”

“Your ego can be exhausting.” When Danny just stood there, like he was prepared to wait until Christmas, she shrugged. “Fine. He bites you, it’s on you.”

She opened the door and took the leash. “Come on, Soot. Let’s get you into the back so you can meet your yard.”

Anne gave a tug, and the dog resisted, his caramel eyes on Danny. “Don’t worry about him. He’s not going to hurt you. Come on.”

Soot’s head tilted to the side and then he skulked across the seat. As he jumped onto the ground, she turned to Danny and—

Danny wasn’t standing behind her. He was on the grass, flat on his back, his arms stretched out, his feet crossed at the ankles, his eyes closed.

“What are you doing?”

When he didn’t speak or move, Soot sniffed the air. Took a step forward. And another. Danny stayed perfectly still except for breathing, his big chest inhaling and exhaling slowly.

He stayed just like that as Soot closed in, the dog’s weight as far back into his butt as he could make it, his tail a flagpole of alarm.