She was ten feet away when another uniform turned around. “You can’t-”

She bolted forward and shoved him aside. And stopped short.

Everything froze. “Oh God. Oh God.” She could hear her voice saying it.

It was him. It was Kane. Lying on the ground. Blood on his white shirt. Too much blood on his shirt. Paramedics hovered over him, one on each side, lifting him to the gurney. One of them turned around, met her eyes.

And shook his head.

“No.” It was a howl, the same howl of pain she’d heard countless times before from the families. All those families. But it came from her. Her mouth. Her heart.

She stumbled forward, making her feet carry her alongside the paramedics as they lifted him into the ambulance. “I’m going with him.”

The two medics glanced at each other. “Okay,” one said. “Stay out of the way.”

She climbed in beside them, numb. Sat where the attending medic pointed as the driver pulled away from the scene. Olivia glanced back through the rear window, saw the uniforms watching them. Saw Kane’s hat on the ground.

“His hat,” she whispered.

The medic looked up. “They’ll keep it for you,” he said kindly.

For you. Not for him. “Oh God.” Olivia pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to hold it back, this wave of pain that was ripping her in two. “I need to call my captain.”

The medic nodded. “He needs to get the family in.”

Numbly Olivia nodded. Her fingers seemed to belong to someone else’s hand as she dialed Abbott’s home phone. He answered on the first ring. “What’s happening?”

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t form a word.

“Olivia? Olivia, are you there?” Abbott demanded.

“Bruce.” It was all she could say. It came out a whimper.

There was a moment of dead silence on the line, then a barely audible, “Oh God.”

She looked at Kane, there on the gurney and she knew. He wasn’t moving. Wasn’t breathing. His face was already gray. Despite the medic’s steady efforts, there was only a flat line on the heart monitor. She looked up at the medic who looked so damn sad.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

She bit her lips hard, made herself breathe. “Kane’s gone,” she said to Abbott.

“I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’ll bring Jennie.”

How can I face Jennie? “I was too late,” she whispered. “Ten minutes too late.”

“Do you know what happened?” he asked thickly.

“No. When I got here… it was done. He…” The words trailed away.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She shook her head, watching the medic. All so slowly. Everything moving so slowly. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” She put her phone away. “Can I hold his hand?”

“Sure. Detective, I’m so sorry. There was nothing we could do.”

She nodded dully. “I know. You’re sorry for my loss.”

The medic looked away, a muscle twitching in his cheek. “Goddammit.”

She took Kane’s big hand in both of hers and just held on. “I know.”

Wednesday, September 22, 1:10 a.m.

He pulled into an all-night convenience store. Scrolling Kenny’s texts, he smiled.

Where r u? Why haven’t u txtd? Did u mail it?

It was sent from ‘austin.’ Mail what? He scrolled farther and muttered an oath. Austin had dictated a letter to Kenny. It was a description of what he’d done at the condo. It’s a description of me. He saw me.

If Kenny mailed this letter and the cops got their hands on Austin… Well, it just didn’t make sense to leave people lying around who could identify you in a lineup. Austin had to go. Where was he? If he’s in that dorm, I’m gonna shoot myself.

He scrolled back farther and sighed with relief.

What happened w Oaks? Kenny had texted Monday afternoon.

Sent home. Suspended. Don’t tell. Please. Back Monday.

Austin was at home, which would be where? He went to Kenny’s contacts and bingo. Austin Dent. Lived in Duluth. He plugged the address into his GPS. Excellent. He had just enough time to get up there and back before opening the shop at seven.

Wednesday, September 22, 1:20 a.m.

David got out of the rescue squad that had brought him and Jeff Zoellner from the firehouse to the fire. Scanning the landscape, he tried to take it in. Mother of God.

The damage was already enormous in scale. Six houses smoldered, three on either side of a blank space that had been two more houses. Nothing remained but scraps of paper and wood.

Behind the three smoldering houses on the left were the charred remains of a small copse of trees. And beyond the trees, a six-story apartment complex still burned.

“Holy fuck,” Jeff breathed. “Let’s find Casey. He’s probably with the truck.”

Their truck was a hundred yards away, the bucket high in the air. B shift was pulling residents out of windows. He could see more people at more open windows, waving frantically. He could see their mouths open, screaming.

But all he could hear was the rumble of emergency vehicles and the roar of the fire.

Captain Casey waved them over. “ Dalton and Myers are in the bucket. Relieve them. Station Forty-two is around the corner working the other side. Dalton and Myers will relieve them when they’ve rested. We’ll work rotation until we’re done.”

Their pumper was parked nearby and David could see the lines extended into the building. He pulled an oxygen can from the truck’s storage locker. “Who’s inside?”

“Perry and Jacobs from B shift. Station Forty-two’s also got a team in there with nozzles and Thirty-eight’s doing a search on the inner units.”

Jeff pulled his hood over his head. “Can we get support from out east?”

Casey shook his head. “Bomb threat at a residential school.”

David stiffened. “The university?” Where Tom was.

“No, a deaf school. Kindergarten through high school.”

The girl he’d pulled from the condo was deaf. No coincidence. “Was this fire here set?” he asked tightly, already knowing the answer.

Casey nodded. “Yeah. We’ve already transported half a dozen residents and two firefighters from this fire. ERs out here are strained, but the hospital out east is waiting for possible casualties from the school. Move out. Be careful.”

David jerked a nod, fury rising in him as he rushed to the bucket. He thought of the condo, of the dead girl’s face. Tracey Mullen. These monsters had murdered her, just as if they’d shot her in the heart like the guard. In his mind he could see the faceless body of Barney Tomlinson. But this… this was devastation. How many would die tonight? How many were already dead?

Hundreds of kids went to the deaf school. What was so damn important that endangering hundreds of lives with a goddamn bomb was okay? He drew a steadying breath. The family coming down in the bucket was alive and they were his priority. Focus, he told himself sternly. You can be angry later.

When the bucket reached the ground, David helped a terrified woman and her three children to the ground and into the care of the paramedics. The woman grabbed his coat.

“My husband is still in there. Please get him out.” Her eyes were glassy with shock.

David nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He and Jeff traded places with Dalton and Myers.

“We were going to search the place for the husband on our next pass,” Myers said. “Living room to the left, bedrooms to the right. These are all three-bedroom units.”

“Thanks.” David hooked on the belt, fixed his mask in place, and sucked in a hard breath to get the oxygen flowing. Jeff did the same and jabbed his thumb upward.

They rose to the fourth floor and David got an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu, remembering how his legs had dangled into nothingness when the floor gave way. Brushing it aside, he followed Jeff through the window, his ax handle extended, checking for soft spots in the floor.

It was a child’s bedroom. Mothers always went to their children’s rooms before seeking safety themselves. Okay, dad, where are you? Left living area, right bedrooms. There was fire in the hall, licking at the walls from the inside out.