42. Chapter 35
Dashiell
Mila Chaudhary’s Subaru Outback pulls up to the triplex in Excelsior twenty minutes after my text. She parks half on the sidewalk and jumps out of the car while Nick and I walk up to her.
“What’ve we got?” she asks, tying her dark hair into a ponytail.
Nick and I lead her inside to the second-floor apartment and show her the scorch mark near the remains of the space heater. She takes her time examining it from every angle.
“It’s so close to the original source,” I say. “That’s what caught my eye.”
She nods but doesn’t answer, pulling a small flashlight from her jacket and angling it low across the floor before finally sitting back on her heels.
“Not what we’re looking for,” she says.
I’m not sure if I feel disappointed or relieved. “How do you know?”
“Look.”
I follow her pointed finger to a floor lamp I didn’t notice before, lying on its side near the wall. Its cord is still plugged into an outlet just a few feet from the space heater.
“Old cord, cracked insulation. It shorted out. That’s your second scorch mark.”
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter. “I thought I was onto something.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says, pushing herself to her feet. “You did the right thing, letting me know. I’d rather chase a red herring than miss something that’s real.”
Nick’s radio crackles and he steps out of the unit to listen. When he pokes his head back in, he says, “Team, we’ve got another fire. Crocker-. We’ve been called because we’re the closest available truck.”
Mila’s head snaps in his direction. “What’s the situation?”
“Structure fire, commercial building. Neighbors reporting smoke from a warehouse loading dock,” Nick says.
The fire marshal gathers her things. “I’m coming with you. This might be what we’re looking for.”
With Charlie driving us, it takes only a few minutes for us to get to the warehouse in Crocker-. Mila, sitting next to me in the truck, types constantly on her phone, looking something up.
“I’m pulling the property records,” she says when she catches me looking.
“And?”
“One sec.” Her thumb keeps scrolling, and then her expression tightens. “Got it. Owner of the record is a…fuck, let me cross-reference here.”
“What are y’all doing?” Vinnie asks, straining to see her phone screen.
“Super-secret detective work,” I quip.
“Basically,” Mila says. “Buzz off.” She turns her phone to me. “We’re right. It’s owned by Saturn Industrial Holdings.”
“Want to fill us in?” Nick calls. “I might not be your captain anymore, Mila, but I’m still nosy as hell.”
Mila locks her phone as we pull up to the warehouse. “You boys do your thing. I’ll fill you in after you’ve knocked the fire down.”
The building is a combination office and warehouse, with the flames coming from the warehouse portion. We clear the workers, and then it takes us about twenty minutes to get the fire fully knocked down.
Overhaul confirms what we already feared: two points of origin, undeniable this time. There are two pour patterns that are exactly like the ones in Dogpatch, exactly like the ones in the Diamantes’ house.
Mila crouches over one of the pour patterns, photographing it methodically. “This is it,” she says quietly. “Definitely the same signature.”
“Y’all ready to fill us in?” Vinnie asks.
Mila explains the signature we’ve been tracking, the connection to the shell company. I tell them how Lorenzo’s agreed to look into Saturn for Mila.
“Well, maybe your boyfriend isn’t such a bad guy,” Vinnie says with a smile.
“He’s not a bad guy,” I find myself saying. I realize that I care more about what my friends think of my fake relationship than I probably should. Though I don’t know how fake it is anymore.
“Have you heard anything from him about that, by the way?” Mila asks.
I hunt for my phone in my turnout gear. “I think he was looking into that today, actually.” I fire off a text to Lorenzo (whose contact I’ve finally updated from “Yes sir” to his actual name).
Only a few seconds later, his reply comes in.
Lorenzo: Just finished meeting with Carlo. He gave me the full list of Saturn properties.
Me: Is one of them Granger-Morris Packaging Company in Crocker-?
Lorenzo: How did you know?
Me: I’m there right now. There was a fire.
Lorenzo: Carlo also told me something I didn’t know. The motive is coming together for Giovanni. We need to talk after your shift.
I look up at Mila and the others, who are all watching me expectantly. “He got the list of properties,” I say quietly. I just wonder what else he needs to tell me, what else it is that confirms Giovanni’s motive.