As the last word echoed through the room, a man in the uniform of an officer appeared in the doorway.
“Glover. In my office. Now.”
*
The position of arson investigation captain was mostly bureaucratic. Often the arson investigation captain hadn’t been on an engine truck in years. A few had never fought a fire. Administrative all the way. Such was the case with Captain Jillian. He’d come to them from the Fire Prevention Bureau, where he’d been a commercial sprinkler and underground pipes inspector. His background made him good at dealing with city hall and city commissioners, pressing the flesh and negotiating the budget for the department. But that meant he didn’t know anything about what it took to do the job of the men and women he supervised. The best captains, from morale point of view, consulted with the experienced men and women who went out on the job on a daily basis. The arson investigators preferred it what way, too. But Captain Jillian wasn’t one of those. He wanted to be in charge of every case that had any potential for recognition. Not too surprisingly, he and Glover had bumped heads a few times since he’d joined the department sixteen months ago.
Captain Jillian was big man, tall with wide shoulders and military bearing. But at age fifty-three his middle had spread, and he’d grayed so that his thick mustache had a steel-wool quality to it. Right now he was staring at Glover with undisguised dislike.
“Where have you been all morning?”
“Working a case.” Noah met his superior’s gaze squarely. He wasn’t going to let the man get to him. He could afford a little scrutiny. Because he’d solved a lot of cases since becoming an arson investigator, he’d had a lot of autonomy about where he was at any given time. But he could see in the man’s expression that his superior was about to give him some cheap grief.
“I don’t much like you, Glover. But you clear cases, so I haven’t said anything.”
Noah kept his mouth shut. The captain had said plenty over the past six months since they tangled about a case that the captain had insisted on running, over Noah’s objections. The fact that it didn’t turn out well had sealed their relationship as one of mutual bad feeling. It just hadn’t affected much, so far.
“But now I have a problem with you in front of me I can’t and won’t ignore. I received an odd text from you at one o’clock this morning. Now I’m told you started a fire last night with the intent of killing yourself.”
“No, sir. Someone tried to murder me last night.”
Jillian looked more surprised than he should have. “That’s quite an accusation.”
“Less wild, sir, than an arson investigator unaccountably deciding to take his life by fire instead of using the weapon he carries daily.”
Jillian blinked. “Yes, well, men with disordered minds aren’t usually thinking in such terms.”
Noah felt himself getting pissed off. “And yet, I am.”
“You have a point. According to investigator Durvan, the circumstantial evidence is compelling but not yet probable. Until then, we will continue to behave as though nothing has occurred. But I wanted you to hear it from me. If and when Durvan gets probable cause, I won’t jeopardize the reputation of the unit to shield your ungrateful ass.”
“Ungrateful.” That was the key word. If he wanted to grovel … Yeah. Sure. If it would speed this up.
Noah looked down, staring at his boot tips as if he’d never seen them before. “I appreciate all you do for the arson unit, Captain. And for me. Any help you can give, under the circumstances, will be greatly appreciated.”
“It’s damn little. The media, so far, haven’t caught a whiff of this. But I expect that to change swiftly. As of now, you are not to have any part in this case. I would put you on inactive duty, but I need every man working. Besides, it won’t look good for the fire department and the administration if…” If it turns out we are in error. Jillian let the thought die. But they both knew this was now as much about managing damage as it was about the truth. As Durvan had already warned him, the administration would do whatever necessary to shift the blame onto his shoulders, if it came to that.
Jillian reached out to move a pen on his desk that had been lying there minding its own business. “But if I get whiff of you interfering in any way with this investigation, I’ll put you on leave without pay.” He looked up to make certain Noah was listening. “Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Noah made it into the hall without cussing. But when he looked up he whispered, “Fuck.” His father and his son were talking with Crissie at the front door.
“Hey, son.” His father lifted a hand, face eased into smile lines and crow’s feet around identical blue eyes. Father and son were amazingly alike, same height and coloring, though Shiloh Glover’s wavy hair was heavily salted with gray. And his waist wasn’t as trim.