Page 96 of The Burning

I skim the particulars, making note of the dates. “Cases are pretty cold,” I murmur.

“Not to mention a long shot in terms of a connection.”

I give him a pointed look. “If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”

“I don’t.”

Sighing, I turn my attention back to the papers and take in the preliminaries of a case out of Pennsylvania. “Which signatures did you query?”

“Amish.” He shrugs. “Rural. Farm. Field. Wooded. Homicide by fire. Ritual.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

“Keep your chin up, Chief. We’ll get through.” Smiling tightly, he rises. “I need to get out to your brother’s farm.”

I stand, too. “Make sure they treat him right.”

“You know it.” He comes around my desk. “You?”

“I’ll take a quick look at these cases, then head home.” I try for a smile, but don’t pull it off. “Maybe break the seal on something strong.”

“Do me a favor?” he says as he bends to me.

“Well, since you came through with that ViCAP report…”

“Wait for me.”

He brushes his mouth against mine.

And then he’s gone.

The first case included in the ViCAP summary is from July of 2012 out of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The victim, twenty-six-year-old Amish female, Lena Stoltzfus, was found facedown in a farm pond. Initially, her death was ruled a suicide. But after a second autopsy, the manner of death was revised to homicide. There aren’t many details included, and I need more information before I can proceed, so I highlight the particulars and move on to the next.

The second case is out of Cashton, Wisconsin, from 2005. A forty-two-year-old Amish male, Daniel Miller, perished in a barn fire. Initially, the fire was thought to be accidental, but the presence of an accelerant proved it to be an arson and a homicide investigation was opened. No further details available.

I’ve moved on to the third case, from all the way back in 1999, when I hear a tap at my door. I glance up to see my dispatcher Margaret standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in her hand. “Coffee, Chief?” she asks. “Just made it.”

We both know that when it comes to coffee here at the station, the freshness point is moot. But her effort makes me smile. “I’d love some.”

She enters, sets the cup on my desk. “Agency delivered your rental car earlier.”

“Thank you.”

Stepping back, she puts her hands on her hips. “Tomasetti told me they put you on administrative duty.”

“I have a personal connection to the case, so that is the protocol.” I do my best to keep my explanation vague and professional. It’s not easy.

“Excuse me if I’m overstepping, Chief, but everyone here thinks it’s bullshit,” she says. “Tomasetti’s word, not mine.”

I feel my brows go up. “Well…”

She motions to the ViCAP report on my desk. “He asked me to print that for you earlier. He said you might be on administrative duty, so you can damn well still administer. I thought that was a good call.”

“Tomasetti said that?”

She nods. “You did good,” she tells me. “Marrying him, I mean. I like him.”

“I do, too.” It’s a dumb response, but my brain is focused on other things.