Beneath The Embers.

turned into a steady downpour, streaking the glass with thin, glowing rivers beneath the streetlight. She sat there for a mom

grabbed it, expecting a message from Anita, maybe a

wasn'

ct line. No sender nam

ed, tappe

ing in the

s aren't

rco tak

more than walls sh

eath f

rc

ag

ew he'd been circling her investigation for weeks. But no one else had ev

t was empty. Just rain and shadows. But the

d backed it up to her encrypted drive. Years of investigating

her coat tight against the rain, an

e couch, half-asleep, a sports

in, his eyes flicking to her

happ

toeing off her boots.

fer more. That was their quiet agreem

ouch in Anita's guest room, Helena pul

co

s architectural designs had been partially or completely destroyed in fires over the last two years. The buildings were scatte

owntown library Marco had helped restore before

details, like marks etched in shadows. Red thread-like not

oof. But it

ropped a ma

e from the sam

u need in the archi

He's not w

sat up

beneath

them but they knew too much to ignore. And the mentio

d. Her mind raced

into her journal befo

s. He's part of something. An

Studio, two-story building framed in steel

onsultant ID she'd made years ago for situations jus

I was told to pull schemati

service elevator. "Basement level.

thin card withou

ed her and m

stepped into a dim, concrete hallway lined with locked door

allic. The room stretched wider than she expected, full of rolling shelves

ning until she found th

Montrose.

overed over t

lled t

st glance-but tucked in the margin was a line of

't structu

unfolded the full sheet an

densities, airflow patterns-ways to ensure a fire

blueprint

d Marco Leo'

napped photos quickly, careful to retu

saw somet

der tucked beh

a single word

BE

arred rooms, fire paths, c

lena

. Notes on her patterns, her

from las

nearly knocking o

re watc

behind he

rned s

in the doorway

you're going to chase the fire, yo

move. "Wh

ity burns fast. But obsession

ith rage. "You've been orchestrating the

ead. "You think