“You’ll find traces of the accelerant and the glue,” Barlow said. “If there’s any ash or dirt still mixed in with the adhesive, we’ll be able to match the composition to what we found here, so we can place them at the scene. The dog tracked the accelerant trail across the construction yard to that cut in the fence.” He pointed to one of the three slices in the fence that Micki had told them about, the one closest to the road.
“So they escaped by the road,” Kane said, frowning. “Not by the lake. Henry Weems’s killer shot him while standing between Henry and the lake.”
“I thought of that. The handler took the arson dog around the condo, including the area on the other side of the building where Henry Weems was shot. No accelerant on the ground, anywhere. His shooter might have left by the lake, but it’s equally possible he walked back around the building to join the others, escaping by the road.”
“So,” Olivia said, “whoever shot Henry didn’t step in the adhesive or was never in the condo to begin with.”
“Could have shot Henry, then gone into the condo to set the fire,” Kane theorized.
“If Weems inhaled no smoke, that’s a possibility,” Barlow said. “But if Ian finds smoke in his lungs, it would have to be after.”
“Ian’s doing the cut this afternoon,” Olivia said. “If Weems was killed after the fire started, and there were two arsonists inside, then we have at least three arsonists. The question is, were Tracey and her sex partner involved with them?”
“And is her sex partner still alive?” Barlow added.
“And if the arsonists came out through that side door,” Kane continued, “did they go in the same way? How did Tracey Mullen get in?”
“The side door lock hadn’t been tampered with,” Barlow said, “but that doesn’t mean anything. On a construction site, people prop doors open all the time.”
“That should have been something the guard checked, right?” Olivia asked.
“It was on his route. First stop would have been the camera console in the construction trailer, then a check of all the doors from the outside, then a walk around the perimeter. But Weems was struck as he exited the back door. He never got a chance.”
Olivia looked at Kane. “We gotta check him out,” she said. “Weems.”
Kane nodded. “I know. We can’t ignore that he might have known they were coming and they killed him to keep him quiet. Let’s pull his financials. But discreetly.”
“No need to add any more grief to the family unless we have to,” Barlow murmured. “Did you catch Weems’s daughter on the news?”
In his eyes Olivia saw the compassion she’d seen so often in the past. Except when I needed him most, and then he was an arrogant bastard. “What did she say?”
For a bittersweet moment it was like they were still friends. “She sang our praises, Liv.” He met her eyes then, held them. “She was stronger than I might have been, considering she’d just lost her father. I wouldn’t want to do anything I’d… regret.”
Olivia nodded. She’d lost her own father the same night her friendship with Micah Barlow had crumbled into pieces. Because Barlow had been an arrogant, meddling bastard. Today, his words might be an apology, or the start of one. She’d have to see.
“We’ll be careful,” she said. “We just want to rule him out as an… accomplice.”
She could see he got her double meaning, just as she’d gotten his.
“Good enough.” Barlow looked away. “It’ll take Brie’s dog a while to cover the whole structure. I’ve got the personnel files for Rankin and Sons’ construction personnel in my car. We can go over them while we’re waiting. Maybe something will pop.”
Monday, September 20, 2:40 p.m.
“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Dent.” Mr. Oaks, the principal, signed to his mother, then threw Austin a harsh look. All three of them were deaf and their signing flew fast and in his mother’s case, very furious. “Your mother drove a long way.”
“Three hours,” his mother signed. “But this is a mistake. Austin doesn’t smoke.”
“The dorm RA smelled smoke this morning,” Oaks signed, “after the smoke alarm started flashing. When he went in Austin ’s room, Austin had the lit cigarette in his hand.”
His mother’s face went pale. “Why, Austin? Just tell me why.”
Because I took Tracey to that condo. I wanted to take care of her.
Now she’s dead. And it’s my fault. The stairwell had been full of smoke. She was behind me. I know she was behind me. He’d made it outside, but Tracey hadn’t.
“Sorry,” Austin signed. But it wouldn’t bring Tracey back. She was gone.
Oaks frowned. “ Austin is suspended for five days. He can return next Monday.”
Austin closed his eyes. He hated this, lying to his mother. But if he told her… He remembered the man in the boat. He’d shot that guard. If he knew I saw…
Austin had been ready to tell the truth so many times. But as the shock over losing Tracey had worn off, he started remembering the way the guard’s face looked as he fell. And the way the shooter’s teeth had gleamed in the moonlight as he’d smiled.
And every detail of the shooter’s face when he’d pulled off his ski mask.
He’d been ready to tell. But if he did, the man might kill him, too.
People who get involved, who tell the truth, get hurt. What do I do?
His mother stood up, her back hunched over. “Get your backpack,” she signed.
His backpack. He’d left it behind, in the fire. It had some of his books, his papers. Tracey’s things. My hearing aid. He only hoped the fire had been hot enough to burn all the papers up. He didn’t want anyone to know he’d been there. But he needed his hearing aid. His mom didn’t have the money to buy a new one and they’d lost their insurance a long time ago. What am I going to do? For now, nothing.
He stood. “Lost it,” he signed back carelessly.
His mother looked at him, defeated. Not again. He knew she wanted to say it, to scream it. But she just shook her head, her signing weary. “Let’s go home.”
Monday, September 20, 3:25 p.m.
Brie stopped at Barlow’s car where Olivia, Barlow, and Kane read personnel files. “He must have escaped,” Brie said. “There were no human remains in the structure.”
“Then we have a witness to the fire at least,” Olivia said. It was more than they had after reading through Rankin’s personnel files. There were a few performance reviews. One or two drug tests. Nothing popped. So knowing Tracey’s partner hadn’t died with her was the best news they’d had all day.
Barlow handed Brie the bag containing Tracey’s clothing. “Can we track the girl?”
“Of course,” Brie said formally.
Olivia put the file she’d been reading in the box in Barlow’s car. “Can I watch?”
Brie smiled at her. “Of course,” she said, her voice substantially warmer.
Kane dropped his file in the box. “I’m in.”
Brie pulled Tracey’s shirt from the bag and let GusGus sniff it. “GusGus, it’s time to work.” The two set out, the dog’s nose to the ground.
Olivia and Kane followed, Barlow a few paces behind them, video camera in his hand. GusGus led them to the other side of the condo, where Weems’s body had been found. He picked up the scent, winding through the trees, stopping at the chain-link fence. It was another one of the three slices in the chain link that CSU had found.
“We can keep going,” Brie said.
“Please do,” Barlow said. “I’d like to see how they accessed the property. From here, you can’t get to the dock. Lots of thorns.”
Brie nodded. “If you pull back the fence, Liv, we can move through.”
Olivia did and GusGus and Brie kept going and they followed. A few times the dog lost the scent, but Brie would let him sniff the shirt again. Finally the dog sat, abruptly.
They stood on a bank of the lake. A deep crease in the mud ran into the water.
“They had a boat,” Kane said, crouching to examine the track in the mud. “Small. Wider than a canoe. Probably a small rowboat.”