Chapter 10
TEN
Seeing the trouble he was having moving, Jesslyn had almost offered to help him get dressed but figured that might take things way past awkward. If he needed help, the hospital had workers for that.
He emerged from the room ten minutes later and bypassed the “mandatory” wheelchair. His face was pale and his limp pronounced, but at least he was walking. She waved to Andrew, who was texting, to join them.
He’d live. Thank you, Lord.
Three female hospital workers—two nurses and a doctor—spotted him, and their eyes went wide in unison. One pointed and said, “That’s him.” Jesslyn wasn’t a professional lip-reader by any stretch, but caught the words. One of the nurses giggled and the other rolled her eyes but stole another look over her shoulder while walking away.
Another female worker approached them. “Excuse me, you’re the agent who jumped the building, right?”
Nathan stopped. “I am. Not the smartest move in my career.”
“Could I have your autograph?”
Jesslyn couldn’t quite cover up her slight snort. He glared at her but smiled at the woman. “I don’t think I’m going to be giving out autographs.”
“Oh, right. Okay. Well, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks. I am too.”
She hurried off, her cheeks pink, and Jesslyn felt sorry for her. Andrew smothered a laugh with a coughing fit, and Nathan transferred his glare to his partner. This time Jesslyn couldn’t stop a soft chuckle from slipping out.
“Jess...”
The low growl almost sent her into peals of laughter, and only the sight of his sister and parents waiting anxiously doused her humor.
“We’ll let you say goodbye to your mom and dad,” she said and pulled Andrew to the side.
As soon as he was free, his parents rushed over to hug him gently, and while it took some doing, he finally convinced them to go home, that he was fine and not about to take it easy while he had a suspect in the interrogation room.
Once Carly had ushered them out the door with a fierce scowl at Nathan, he turned to Jesslyn and Andrew. “Anyone wanna give me a lift to the station? I’m very anxious to question this guy.”
“Well,” Andrew said, “you risked your life to save him, I guess you should have the opportunity to try and get him to talk. I’m sure there will be some officers there who’ll have seen the footage. You might have to sign autographs for your adoring fans.”
“Shut up.”
Jesslyn bit her lip on yet another grin, and Andrew looked like he was doing the same.
“Guys,” Nathan said, narrowing his eyes, “just remember I have a long memory.”
Jesslyn cleared her throat. “I’ll follow in my car. I need to check in on the status of the fire. I can do that on the way.”
Twenty minutes later, after watching her mirrors and determining she wasn’t followed, she pulled into the station and joined Andrew and Nathan as they climbed out. Nathan grimaced.
“Stiff?” she asked.
“Yeah. I can tell it’s going to be a fun few weeks ahead.”
“What made you do that?” she asked. “I can’t imagine how scary that was.”
He shivered and grimaced. “It was either jump or let him die. There’s no way someone would have gotten up there in time to grab him.”
“True. How long before you heal up?”
“Two to four weeks, the doc said. I’m aiming for one and a half.”
“You’re such an overachiever.”
He gave a light snort and this time she smiled. Why was it she always felt like smiling when he was around? She needed to stop that. It was weird. And disconcerting.
But ... nice too.
Good grief.
Andrew led the way into the station, down the hall, and to the interrogation rooms. An officer met them and eyed Nathan. “You’re the one who went after this guy?”
“I’m the one.”
“Glad you’re okay, Superman.”
Jesslyn snorted. Andrew coughed again.
“Oh for the love of—” Nathan sighed and chose to ignore the comment. “Does he have a name?”
“Not that he’s sharing. Maybe you can get it out of him. He’s in room three. He’s also changed his mind about a lawyer and medical attention. I had him sign a statement to that effect.”
“He say why the change of heart about the lawyer?”
“Nope. Good luck.”
Nathan nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the room with only a slight limp, but his face was two shades paler than normal.
Jesslyn watched from behind the mirror. The room had a rectangular table and two chairs facing each other. The prisoner sat in one, hands resting on the table in front of him, cuffed.
Andrew stood next to her. “All right, partner,” he said, “scratch your nose to signal you can hear me.”
Nathan complied, then after identifying himself, took a seat opposite the man. Jesslyn could tell it took a lot for him not to grimace in pain. He leaned back, hands gripping the seat on either side of his thighs. His pose said he was relaxed and had all the time in the world.
The prisoner sat silent, eyes downcast, his face made of stone.
“He’s so young,” Jesslyn said. “He doesn’t look older than seventeen or eighteen.”
He had a lean and agile build and was about five feet ten. His short, dark brown hair matched the scruffy beard that needed a good trim. His green eyes darted to Nathan, then back to his clasped hands. Hands that were rough with calluses and chapped from the cold weather. He wore an older watch on his left wrist that had a cracked face. She wondered if that happened when he jumped from the building.
She also noted the faded scar that ran from the corner of his left eye and disappeared under the mustache and was curious where he’d acquired that. He wore a faded black T-shirt under the worn-out green jacket, jeans that had seen better days, and scuffed boots.
“You’re welcome, John,” Nathan said.
The man blinked. “Um ... what?”
“You won’t tell us your name, so it’s John Doe until we learn otherwise. And I saved your life, so, you’re welcome.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
Nathan rubbed his lips. A sure sign he was holding back certain words and searching for substitutes. He finally lowered his hand. “What’s your name, kid? Don’t you think you owe me that?”
The young man shook his head. “I can’t.”
“You mean you won’t?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me. I mean, we’re going to find out eventually. We have your DNA, your prints, your face. When we put you on the six o’clock news asking for an ID, how long do you think it’s going to take for the phone to ring with your name, age, and address?”
The prisoner groaned and dropped his forehead into his palms. “Kenny,” he mumbled.
“Kenny?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah.”
“Kenny what?”
“Davies.” More mumbling, but she caught the name.
Nathan closed his eyes for a short second as though gathering the shredded remnants of his patience—or trying to push past the pain he had to be in. “You asked for your lawyer but refused to call him. Or her. Would you like to do that now?”
Kenny shook his head.
“Let the record show,” Nathan said, “the suspect responded with a nonverbal no.” Nathan leaned forward. Carefully. “If you don’t want a lawyer, that’s your choice, but do you think you could look up and tell me how you know Jesslyn McCormick?”
The kid looked up as requested, but the blank stare was convincing. “Who?”
Jesslyn frowned and glanced at Andrew, who answered her with a frown of his own.
Nathan repeated her name and Kenny shrugged. “I’ve never heard of her.”
“Then maybe it’s all just a coincidence?” Jesslyn said to Andrew. “The fires with the personal connection, the attack at the church, and so on.”
“You really believe that?”
She frowned. “No, not really. I mean, what are the odds?”
“Exactly. I think you’re being targeted. It’s just going to take some digging to figure out why.”
The interrogation room door opened, and an officer entered with a soda and a bag of takeout food that he set next to Nathan. Then left without a word.
“Is this Kenny guy the one who snatched you from the restaurant?” Andrew asked her.
“I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d say no. His voice is different and I think he’s shorter.”
“Then he’s working with someone?”
“Maybe.” But why? “I’ve racked my brain about all of my cases. There were a few that could be angry enough to come after me for exposing their crimes, I suppose.”
“Then we need to investigate them.”
“Let me keep thinking and I’ll give you some names later.”
Nathan had pushed the soda in front of the young man, who licked his lips and eyed the bag.
“Drink up,” Nathan said. Kenny obeyed and took a few sips, then set the can aside. “All right, Kenny,” Nathan said, “here’s where we are. As you may have noticed, no one’s arrested you yet.”
“I noticed.”
“Wanna tell me why you asked for a lawyer, then changed your mind?”
“No.”
“Okay, then how about you tell me who you’re working with?”
Kenny blinked and straightened, his jaw dropping a fraction before he snapped it shut and dropped his gaze to his hands again. “No one. I’m not working with anyone. I mean I was just there to watch them put out the fire and then you guys were chasing me and here I am.”
“He’s lying,” Jesslyn said.
Andrew shifted and crossed his arms. “Definitely.”
“So, we’re looking for two people? The question is”—she pointed to the suspect—“did he set the fires or was it the guy from the restaurant?”
“Or someone else altogether,” Andrew said.
“Right.” She rubbed her temples, a headache beginning to form behind her eyes. What a mess. And she still had a fire scene to assess. She dropped her hand. “What’ll happen with our friend Kenny, there?”
“We’ll hold him for forty-eight hours, and if we don’t have enough to charge him, then we’ll have to let him go.”
“What if you just let him go anyway?” she asked.
“Sorry?”
“Let him go and follow him. See where he goes, who he talks to, and so on. Can you get a wiretap order for his phone?”
Andrew sighed. “That might be a long shot.”
“He’s burning buildings, Andrew. Mr. Christie still isn’t stable enough to come out of a coma yet. I can’t believe no one was hurt at the fitness center. But if he—or whoever he’s working with—starts another fire, someone else could get hurt. Or die.”
Andrew rubbed the back of his neck, but nodded. “All right. Let’s talk to Nathan and see what we can do.”
“Good. Thank you. Because I’m not just worried about innocent people caught in those flames, I’m also thinking about the people who fight them. My people risking their lives when they shouldn’t have to. We need to stop him. Now.”
NATHAN STUDIED KENNY, taking in every detail. The kid was nervous but not overly jittery. He didn’t want to be here but was keeping his cool. Nathan wanted to keep pressing to see if he could break him. But he’d heard Jesslyn’s idea through the comms and it also held merit. He cleared his throat. “Do you have a job? Go to school? What do you do with your days besides start fires?”
“I didn’t start that fire!” Kenny shifted, twisting his fingers together. “I go to school.”
“Where?”
“At the community college.”
“Major?”
“Math.”
“GPA?”
“3.9.”
“Smart guy.”
A smug smile crossed Kenny’s lips. “I am.”
“So why are you at L Cubed?” The nickname for Lake City Community College. LCCC was just too hard to say. “Why not Lake City University or UNC?” Nathan had no problem with students who went to the community college, but some people felt like it was “less than” the bigger universities. A lot of students complained about the stigma, but most in Lake City knew it was a good school. He wondered what Kenny thought.
Kenny’s smile slipped. “That’s none of your business.”
“Come on, now. I’m not dissing community college. You can get a great education there. But you look like more of a university guy to me.”
Nathan refused to look at the mirror. Andrew would be all over this new information and getting the details, including the class schedule and who Kenny hung out with.
“Mainly because of the shoelaces you’re wearing. Lake City Bears? I mean, you could be a fan, I guess, but seems to me like you’d be a Cougar fan if you were at the community college.”
“Shut up, man! Just shut up! Stop it!” Kenny lurched to his feet.
Nathan raised a brow. “Why don’t you stop it? Sit down. Now.” His voice, louder than normal but not quite a yell, had the desired effect.
Kenny sat, shuffled his feet, and rested his head on his hands.
“Stop playing games with me,” Nathan said. “Quit lying and tell me why you ran.”
Kenny’s head snapped up. “Because you chased me!”
“Actually, the fire marshal just wanted to talk to you. So, technically, we were just walking toward you. We didn’t chase until you ran.” Nathan leaned in once again. “Look, man, I can do this all day and night. This is my job. I get paid to sit here. But I’ll be honest. I’m hungry.” He nodded to the unopened bag of food. “I’m guessing you are too.”
“So you think you can bribe me. Withhold food until I tell you what you want to know? That’ll really hold up in court.”
“Oh? You’re picturing this going to court? I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, but okay.”
Kenny let out a low groan. “No, I just ... no.” He gathered himself and shook his head. Then jerked at his shackled wrists. “Unless I sue you for false imprisonment. Then yeah, I guess we’ll wind up in court.”
Nathan shoved the food in front of the guy. “Eat.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Nothing, man. Just eat.” And hopefully talk. “Are you sure you don’t know Jesslyn?”
“I’m sure.” The kid grabbed the bag, opened it, and took out the burger.
“But you were at the fire.”
“Yeah, I saw it from the street and went to watch with the other gawkers.” He paused, took a bite, chewed, then swallowed. “What made you single me out anyway?”
“Instinct.”
“Well, I can’t say much for that. You got the wrong dude.”
“We’ll see. You didn’t want a lawyer. Do you want to call your parents?”
“No!” The shout echoed and Nathan raised a brow.
That question had touched a nerve. “Why not?”
Kenny swiped a hand over his eyes. “I can’t tell them about this. They’ll cut off my school funds and I’ll be forced to go home. No way. I’ll deal with this myself.”
“Let me guess. The reason you changed your mind about the lawyer is because he or she is actually your parents’ lawyer and would tell them why you called?”
“Yeah.” The answer was subdued.
“Eat,” Nathan said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Nathan left the guy scarfing the food and stepped out of the room. Andrew and Jesslyn appeared seconds later. “Well, that was a bust,” Nathan said.
Andrew waved his phone at him. “Not necessarily. As soon as you picked up on the shoelaces, I called Lake City U. His name is Kenneth Davies like he said.”
“Guess he didn’t want his face splashed across the evening news,” Nathan muttered. “He’s scared to death his parents are going to find out about this. That’s what all the lies were about. Stupid.” He huffed. “Do people really think they can lie and we’ll just buy it? They don’t think we’re going to check on their story?”
Andrew shook his head. “I know, man. They always hope they’re going to get away with it. As for the other stuff, he’s a junior and majoring in math—again, like he said. The school is sending over his file—the warrant was provided quickly, thank goodness—but said he hung out with several other math major students. They’re on the competition team. Got their names along with a couple of the professors’ who travel with them to their competitions.”
“Great,” Nathan said. “Looks like we’ve got some old-fashioned footwork to do. Let’s go knock on some doors and see if we can find out what Mr. Kenneth Davies is up to these days.”
“And if he likes to play with matches,” Andrew murmured. “And has access to pool supplies.”
Nathan nodded. “Does he live on campus?”
“Yep.”
“Excellent.”
Jesslyn ran a hand over her hair, tucking stray strands behind her ear. “Right. Excellent. Good place to start.”
Nathan’s phone rang. “It’s Lindsay.” He tapped the screen. “Hey.”
“Sending you some footage from George Harlow’s business.”
“That was fast.”
“I asked nicely. But I don’t think it’s going to help you. Looks like the guy left his car unlocked. He simply walked up to the car and opened the door. The thief’s got a beanie hat on, along with sunglasses and a heavy coat. He’s just shy of six feet and probably in the hundred ninety, two hundred pounds range.”
“Thanks.” He hung up and the phone buzzed with the incoming footage. “Hold on, let me take a look at this and then we can go.” He hit play. It lasted all of ten seconds. The guy was in and out. She was right. “That tells us nothing.”
“Tells us the gun was stolen when Harlow said it was,” Jesslyn said.
“True.”
“Play it one more time and let me watch?”
“Sure.”
Jesslyn watched again, brow furrowed. “I’m not saying it is, but it could very well be the guy from the restaurant. He has on the same beanie-type hat and his height is right.”
“All right,” Andrew said, “George reported it stolen that very day, said it had to be someone who had access to his key fob—to use it or clone it. He knows he locked the vehicle. He said he’s super careful with the weapon, and this is his nightmare come true. Someone stealing his gun from his car. So while I recommend we don’t waste time investigating that all over again, we can see if we can get some help digging into who would have access to the key fob. And have someone show this video to Harlow and his coworkers to see if any of them recognize this guy.”
“That works,” Nathan said. “You take care of that, then we’ll go to the school and see what we can find.” He cleared his throat and looked at Jesslyn. “I’m assuming you’re headed back to the scene?”
Jesslyn checked her phone. “Not yet. The blaze is under control, but not ready for me yet. Do you mind if I tag along?”
“Don’t mind at all,” Nathan said. With someone targeting her, the closer he kept her, the better he felt.
He ignored the little voice that said he liked keeping her close for more personal reasons.