Diana (17 page)

Diana leaned on the edge of the table. She didn't want to do this, but it was exactly the way Luke wanted things to go down.

"Who was in the room with you to witness this so-called confession by Brian Pellino?"

Luke's eyes widened.

"Well?"

"No one."

She took a deep breath. She could just imagine what was being said behind the mirrors.

"None of this proves I'm the killer."

"It's incriminating enough for us to get a search warrant for your home."

"To look for what? Copies of the reports? I have every right to keep copies for my records."

"Forensic evidence, actually."

Before he could respond, she moved on with her questioning. “Where were you last night around 1:00 a.m.?” She wanted to yell out the answer and put a stop to all this.

"Home. Sleeping."

"Can anyone validate that?"

"No."

The questioning went on. Diana was certain to be thorough. She brought up the past, Luke's fixation with Stewart Howard, and how the killer was calling himself by the same name. She brought up his self-incriminating words from the recordings of his therapy session.

When it was over, she felt the exhaustion that Luke expressed on his face.

They released him two hours later. They didn't have enough to arrest him or hold him.

Diana felt terrible as she headed to the lab. Jerry had called, claiming he had some new information.

Her cell phone rang, and she answered the call as she maneuvered through traffic.

"Hey, Dee, it's Brian."

"Hi, Brian. How are you?"

"Better, now that I'm off probation."

"That was fast."

"Thanks to you and your interrogation of Fontella."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard that you interrogated the shit out of him. The fire chief said there didn't seem to be enough valid evidence to prove that myself or the other firefighters did anything wrong. He let us all off."

"He shouldn't be discussing the interrogation or what went down. This is an ongoing investigation."

"I can't believe that Fontella could be the killer, never mind be Stewart Howard."

"Where the hell did you hear that?"

"About Stewart Howard? It's all over the television."

"Shit."

"You got yourself an intense case there, sis. I'm sure you'll do fine. I just wanted to call and give you the good news. I'll talk to you later."

She felt sick. It appeared Luke was already being blamed for the murders, the fires, and now even past arsons. This information was bound to do him in. She recalled his emotional state when he talked about losing his friends. She had to move fast, to find out who was really responsible.

Diana pulled into the parking lot at the lab and hurried inside.

"So, what did you find out?"

Jake smiled as he sat down by the computer.

"I can't believe you guys think Fontella is the killer. He was right here."

Diana didn't hide her annoyance. “What do you got, Jake?"

"Okay, okay. The evidence found on your second victim's neck is the same material found on your first victim."

Her eyes widened. If the material was the same, then this would indicate a link in the crimes.

"I believe it's a special material called genuine Nash Clarino. It's a special design for extrication gloves. As I broke down the material's components fully, I found armortex and traces of Kevlar."

"Extrication gloves?"

"The gloves firefighters use when they have to extricate victims from car accidents and things like that."

Diana's mouth dropped open. “Does every firefighter have these?"

"I don't think so. This particular type is pretty expensive."

She thought about the evidence. The reality that the killer was a firefighter.

"What else did you find?"

"This, you're going to love.” Jake began typing information into the computer. “Those flares we spoke about last week? I found out that the military supply store that provides a lot of firefighters and police officers with their gear ordered the flares from one particular company."

"So, what's so interesting about that?"

"Each flare has a serial number on the metal bridge. The first four numbers give the company information code."

"The metal I found at the crime scene wasn't fully intact. Besides, there are a number of supply companies in the city. Any number of them could supply the flares from this particular company."

"Actually, only the one store on Willington Avenue gets supplies from this company."

"What about the number to confirm?"

"I was able to confirm the first three digits. They're identical to the company I mentioned. Therefore, the flares had to have been bought at the military supply store on Willington."

Diana's heart drummed. Her mind jumped from one conclusion to the other. Her brothers all bought their supplies from that particular store. The firefighters from her brother's company bought supplies from that store, even Jerry and she did. Now that she thought about it, the boxes at Luke's house had the name of the store on the side.

Jake thought the evidence would help narrow down the search for the real killer, but Diana realized it just increased their suspect list.

"So do you think that Fontella is the one?"

She was deep in thought, pondering how to figure out who was responsible. “I'm not sure. What about the fire from the other night? Did the killer use a flare again to start that one?"

"I ran the samples through the system and they matched up. I'm certain the powder was from a flare."

"There was no sign of the metal holder, though."

"Fontella was here in the lab. He knows that the metal holder was left over. He wouldn't make that mistake again."

"Damn it."

The more evidence she uncovered, the more it pointed to Luke as the killer. Once again, her motive of doing a good deed was backfiring on her. At the rate she went, she'd be placing her lover behind bars for murder in no time.

She sat in her car, trying to think of what she missed. She had to do something to prove Luke's innocence, and to identify the real killer.

She glanced at her notes. Who responded to the fire from the other night?

As she read the report, she saw it was her brother's company. She knew Luke was with her. She thought about who was at the scene. Her brother Brian was on probation, but he was there. Jerry was there, too.

She swallowed hard as her mind incriminated everyone she knew.

Jerry had been acting funny for a while. His lack of compassion for the victims was apparent, from the proclamation Barbara's death as random. He had nothing but negative comments about Lee, her friend's apartment, the lack of security, and his attitude was bad that day. He often went to the supply store on Willington, as well. Maybe he'd planned for his girlfriend, that whore, to find the email so she'd run and tell Daddy. Chief Spencer was gung ho about prosecuting Luke, plus he disliked the commander because Paul Fontella wasn't interested in his daughter. Jerry knew all this.

But Jerry was with her outside the fire at Lee's apartment, and he didn't have access to the room or the body without her presence. He couldn't have removed the metal holder, but maybe Luke's theory was correct. When the firefighters entered the scene, they stomped over it.

At the second fire, he already knew about the metal holder, and somehow propped the flare up with a material that would burn away.

All of this was theory.

She needed to start ruling people out, and the only way to do that was to eliminate them by proving they couldn't have done it.

Luke was free, but out of a job. He wasn't under any surveillance, so the real killer would probably attempt to start another fire. If he were from Brian's ladder company, he would be sure they'd respond to the fire he set. She needed proof, a way to trap the killer, so she could first rule out the firefighters in Brian's ladder company, then rule out Jerry and Luke, and take it from there.

Diana thought hard. Finally, it hit her. It would take guts and some serious sneaking around, but she could pull it off. The first thing she needed was a warrant and legal approval to catch their guy.

She called Jake to get some info, then she called the judge. She needed someone neutral to assist her. Someone she could trust and someone willing to entertain her off-the-wall idea.

Her brother Vinny met her a half hour later.

"You're freaking crazy, sis. Do you know that?” Vinny paced back and forth in front of her as he listened to her plan.

"You said you would help me."

"You don't think Brian is involved? Tell me you don't think our brother's involved."

"This will prove he's innocent. I'm hoping it will also identify the real killer."

"Why can't you just run it by the fire chief? Get his permission?"

"Are you kidding me? Number one, he believes that Luke is the killer. Number two, I'm messing with the lives of his crew, his firefighters, basically telling him that there's a killer among them. Three, your words, brother: ‘Firefighters are close, like family. They don't look kindly to accusations against the family.’”

"How do you know Luke Fontella is innocent?"

Diana swallowed hard. “Take my word for it, Vinny, he's innocent."

Vinny gently took her by her arm to make her look him in the eye. “Does this have something to do with you being involved with his dad?"

"I told you, that was a lie, a rumor started by Leslie to get back at the commander."

Diana told him about Jerry and Leslie, as well as the possibility Jerry could be a suspect, too.

"Still, how can you be sure that Luke isn't the killer?"

"He has an alibi for the night of the last fire."

"What alibi? I heard he didn't have one."

"Me. I'm his alibi."

"What?"

"Luke was at my apartment the night of the fire."

Vinny's facial expression told her she was in for some serious reprimanding.

"This is bad, Diana. This is really bad. You're involved with both of them?"

"No, damn it. Luke and I were together. I'm involved with Luke. He isn't the killer."

Her brother ran a shaky hand through his hair. “This keeps getting worse and worse. I'm not sure we should do this."

"I need you, Vinny. You told me you had my back. You're the only neutral person I can trust with this. The judge okayed it. I have the warrant, if the evidence reveals itself. It's simple."

"Breaking into a firehouse in the middle of the night, after calling in a bogus fire, so that you can spray some invisible, magic forensics shit on every firefighter's gear, while not getting busted, isn't what I call simple."

"I'm not going to spray everyone's gear with the stuff, just the flares. The killer uses flares to start the fires. It has become his signature."

"I can't believe I'm doing this. How will it work?"

"Whoever starts the fire will take flares from the department supplies. The tracing fluid will get on their hands, their clothes, on everything. They can't even wash it off, and it will last for at least 48 hours. Even when the fire is set and the flare dwindles down to nothing, forensics will find the fluid at the scene.

"Then we come back here, and we use an ultraviolet light to illuminate the boots, the gear, everything. We identify the firefighter when we use the light on him. That firefighter will light up like a Christmas tree."

"It's insane, yet it may actually work. But what if the killer gets the flare from somewhere else?"

"He hasn't. There is a serial number on the metal stand of the flares. It indicates the company where the flares were made. That supply store on Willington Avenue. That's where everyone around here gets their flares."

"It's a long shot, but it kind of makes sense. Forensic technicians have pretty cool shit."

"You're not kidding. Let's go over the plan and move on it. I'm just following my gut here, but I think if our killer is going to strike again, then it will be in the next 48 hours."

"911. What's your emergency?"

Vinny took a deep breath. He couldn't help the guilty feeling he had. He would never think of making a bogus call about a fire. He swallowed hard, then gave the address and the information Diana told him to give. He had no idea how his sister knew where to send the trucks, but he trusted she knew what she was doing.

He quickly hung up the phone. He was sure to cover his tracks, as well. The phone he used was untraceable. He used it a lot doing undercover work for the narcotics division. Now that he thought about it, they could use his sister. She was resourceful.

He quickly got to the firehouse, just as the crew left the bays. The sirens blared and the firehouse cleared out.

Vinny glanced around. There was no sign of his sister anywhere. Either she was invisible, like the shit she was about to plant, or something went wrong. He went on with his side of the plan and headed inside. As he walked through the door, he noted only two guys were left and he knew them both. They greeted him and he talked non-stop about everything he could think of. He spoke so damn long that he was still there when the trucks returned.

An hour later, he headed out of the firehouse.

Diana's cell rang while she sat in her car.

"Well?"

"What the hell took you so long in there? You were enjoying that, huh, Vinny?"

"I wasn't enjoying it. I was nervous for you. Did you get it done?"

"I sure did. Thanks again."

"Where are you headed now?"

"Home."

"Call me for Phase Two."

"If I need ya, I'll call ya. Don't worry about it. We just sit tight and wait."

Diana listened to her messages. There were five from Luke and he sounded concerned.

She headed upstairs to her apartment. When she arrived on her floor, Luke was leaning against the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?” She took out her keys and scanned the hallway. She hurried inside, pulling him along with her. “What if someone saw you? Surely they'd ask where my priorities lie."