Light Me Up

THEO

I’d spentthe morning at the station, chasing down any lead we could find, which wasn’t many. The streets were quiet at the time the fire started, so the traffic cameras had been a bust. Not a single person—or car for that matter—had passed by any of the traffic lights located around Sara’s house. But that was a clue in itself. It meant the person who’d set the fire hadn’t come from downtown.

I sat at my desk reviewing the reports from the other fires. None of this made sense. If the perp was a part of the Coastal League like I thought, why target Sara? And if I was wrong about that, then what the hell was the connection between all the victims? I was missing something. And I hated missing things.

My cell phone rang and I picked it up right away.

“Baldwin.”

“Hey Theo, I’m here at the hospital with your girlfriend.” Ellie.

“How’s she doing?”

“Good. Still sore, but in good spirits and the doctor was happy with her oxygen levels.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“They’re sending her home. But, well, she can’t really go home, right?”

“No, it’ll be a while before that happens.”

“You want us to take her to Sam and Alex’s? Or your place?”

“Mine. I’ll meet you there.”

“Are you sure?” She lowered her voice. “I think she’s worried about distracting you.”

“She’s not a distraction. I’ll meet you there and get her settled. ETA?”

“We’re just waiting for discharge papers. Maybe a half hour?”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

“See ya.”

I ended the call, but before I got into anything else, Miller stuck his head in my office.

“Sheriff. We got a call from one of Sara’s neighbors, a few houses down. They have a video doorbell set up and are emailing us the footage.”

“Did they review it yet?”

“Yep. He thinks they caught something. Timestamp checks out.”

“Fuck yes. He’s sending it now?”

“Yep, they’re pulling it up in the bullpen.”

I slapped my hand on my desk. This might be the lead we needed. I ran out to join the others. One of the rookies, Trish, sat at Miller’s desk. When he gave her the go-ahead, she pulled up the file. It took a second to download. I bounced on the balls of my feet.

“Here it is,” Trish said.

We gathered around to watch the footage. The time in the corner read “4:21.” Nothing happened for a few minutes. But then, a person appeared in the frame.

“Sonofabitch.” I said. My heart rate doubled.

He was walking on the far side of the street, in the direction of Sara’s backyard. It looked like he wore a backpack, and in one hand was a container—a jug—of something.

“That has to be him, look, the time is now 4:29.” Trish pointed at the corner of the screen.

“According to dispatch, Sara’s call came in at 4:41. Dane said it probably only took a few minutes for the fire to get big enough to trigger the smoke alarm.” Miller said. “He worked fast, few minutes to set it, then got out of there. Who is this fucker.”

“I know who it is.” Everyone turned to look at me. The footage wasn’t bad quality, but it was by no means detailed enough to get a view of the person’s face from all the way across the street. But I didn’t need a close up.

I’d only ever seen one man that tall.

* * *

The Lucky Lucy Motel sat on a strip of land west of the main part of Moon Harbor. It was a cheap, no-thrills kind of place. Popular with people down on their luck, or travelers who got tired of camping, due to its proximity to the state forest. It was also the kind of place that someone might go if they were trying to avoid being noticed. Add in the fact that it was the only lodging in town that one could get to from Sara’s house while avoiding all traffic cameras, and I had a pretty good inkling that our perp was here.

The Lucky Lucy was lucky for me, because I happened to know the owner. I pulled up to the back of the building, two squad cars behind me. Rod met me outside.

“He’s in room 109,” he said, handing me a room key. “Just don’t break the door down, please. I just replaced them last year.”

“Right. Thanks. I owe ya one.”

I signaled to my team, and we walked around the side of the motel, to the front walkway. Staying close to the wall to not be seen through a window, I strode forward to room 109 as quickly as I could.

I settled myself on the right side of the doorway, put the key in the door, then called out.

“Police! Put your hands up! We’re coming in!” I nodded at Miller, who was on the left side.

I turned the key, Miller pushed the door open, and I walked in, weapon first.

“Get on your knees, hands behind your head,” I yelled. It was all rather anticlimactic. The man obeyed and dropped to the ground. My team came up from behind, Miller cuffing him and reading his rights.

I walked over, lifting the man’s chin up to look at me.

“Hello, Lucas.”

* * *