Chapter 1

“Stay put, okay?”

“Mom…” Nine-year-old Mikey whimpered.

“Hush, baby. Please be quiet. Mommy won’t be far away. You watch out for baby Danny, all right?”

Mikey nodded, gazing down at his baby brother, who was wrapped in his blanket, still fast asleep despite being taken from his crib to be hidden with his brother inside the wardrobe.

“Where’s Daddy?” Mikey asked before his mother closed the wardrobe.

She stammered on her answer. “He…he’s here, too, sweetheart.” The truth was, she didn’t know where Andy was. The last time she’d seen him he was talking to Dave, their pool boy, in the study. But something was wrong with that young man. She just knew it. Her suspicion had mounted when Dave closed the door to the study and she heard raised voices. But she didn’t dare confront him. Her priority was to make sure that her children were safe.

She shut the door to the wardrobe and backed away from it. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s going to be okay.” She fumbled in the pocket of her pants for her cellphone. Her hand shaking, she was trying to press 9-1-1 when she turned around and—

Dave was standing before her, his grin showing his teeth and his mouth stretched so wide it looked inhuman.

The cellphone slipped out of her hand and she screamed. 1: Miles

The car moved forward steadily. Neither of them had spoken a word for the last ten minutes. Miles could feel Blake’s eyes on him, but he ignored it. Blake was not the type to stay silent for long though.

“You sure you’re okay?” Blake threw another glance at him.

Miles shrugged. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

But it wasn’t like Blake to be shut down that easily. “Erica is all right with you going on this job?”

“Doesn’t matter. Nothing’s right with her lately. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s not like she’ll tell me how she feels.”

“That’s awful, man.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You ever think about changing jobs?”

Miles turned to look at his partner in disbelief. “Are you joking?” This wasn’t just a job. Being a fire investigator had been his aspiration since he was a kid. And unlike the other kids who wanted to be firefighters, Miles had never really wanted to put out fires.

Fires were so powerful. It was their majesty, their mystery, that Miles had always wanted to learn about. He wanted to read them, not put them out. When he was still very young, Miles hadn’t known what he would like to do with his fascination. But he’d talked with his father and brother and they had steered Miles in the right direction, until finally he had become an investigator at the Arson Bureau of San Antonio Fire Department. He was proud of his achievement; being one of five successful candidates from more than a hundred applicants.

He would not let his girlfriend, Erica, get in the way of his career. He loved her, she’d been good for him ever since his last boyfriend left him for a loser slash actor, but she’d known what a relationship with him would be like. Take this latest assignment: Miles often spent days, sometimes weeks, out of town when he was working on an investigation.

Blake fixed his eyes back on the road ahead and sighed. “Sometimes, Miles, you just have to choose.”

“And I’m choosing this, okay?” Miles snapped, and cleared his throat in apology. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

Blake grinned at him. “Guess I’m the one who should apologize for being nosy.”

“Nah. You’re my best friend. I know you want the best for me.”

“Aww,” Blake cut him off sarcastically. “Should we hug or something?”

Miles cuffed his partner’s arm playfully. “Now, shut up and drive.”

The rest of the four hour drive felt easier to Miles. His heart was no longer heavy with thoughts of Erica. He didn’t think of her at all.

* * * *

They decided to go straight to the scene of the fire, even before checking into their hotel. The fire had happened two days before in a small town four hours from San Antonio. The report had come into the office the previous day, and Blake and Miles had left first thing this morning. There had been a strong suspicion of arson and a loss of lives. It was Miles’ second major case as a lead investigator in the two years since he’d joined the squad. The report, especially the mention of the victims, troubled him a great deal.

Back at the office, he and Blake had studied the photos of the fire scene. Some of them showed moments when flames were still engulfing the mansion-sized house in the Crescent Hill area. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky from several windows and a chimney, its menacing shadow clear against the night sky. Another picture showed how a window had been broken from inside. The conclusion was made easier by a perfect shot of broken glass sprinkled on the ground outside the house. Miles saw Blake jotting some notes in his casebook.