One Step Ahead

Everyone Else's Misery

1:21 AM

      Sanger inched along the street until he spotted an unclaimed space in someone's driveway. Nosing his Jeep into the spot, he turned off the ignition and stepped out, observing the buzz of activity going on around him. The fire at the Suarez house had spread to an adjacent building, and the firefighters were making a concerted effort to prevent it from going any further, while frightened and confused residents milled around on the sidewalk, muttering amongst themselves. Uniformed officers swarmed the scene, either searching the grounds for potential evidence, or questioning the neighborhood residents.

      Scanning the area, he noticed Sharon Clavell standing a few feet away, and pushed his way through the crowd to join her. "What have we got here, Detective?" he inquired.

      "We think there are at least two people still in the house, presumably Ignacio Suarez and his sister, Beatriz Maldonado, but nobody can get in yet to confirm," Clavell responded. "Two kids escaped the fire, a seven-year-old girl and her sixteen-month-old brother, and one of our Spanish-speaking patrol officers says that the girl reported hearing sounds of a struggle. A driver found the kids wandering the street, and also saw your Pacer. Said she almost hit it, in fact. The first officers on scene asked her to stick around so we could talk to her, and when I got here I decided to wait for you."

      Sanger looked curiously at the other detective. "Any particular reason for that?" he inquired. He was unprepared for the reply he received.

      "Yeah, there is. It's the girl you were talking to at Lena's memorial, so I assumed you knew her. Figured she might be more comfortable talking to you."

      "You've got to be friggin' kidding me, Share!" he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off the headache he could feel beginning to develop. "What the fuck is she doing here, especially this late at night?"

      "Well, I guess I'll find out the answer to that when you do, since I haven't spoken to her yet," she replied, as she directed him toward the Dodge Charger parked further up the street. "Why? Who is she, anyway?"

      "She's the cousin of one of this asshole's earlier victims," he informed her as they walked. "She's the one who got Lena started looking into these murders. Apparently, she called in while I was in Colorado, trying to get some information, and Lena caught the call. It was one of Keith and Irv's cases, and it seems that Irv was his usual charming self when he talked to her before, so Lena said she's check into it."

      "I swear to God, one of these days that man is gonna get us sued so hard that whatever's left of our operating budget will be lucky to cover a pup tent and a couple of skateboards," Clavell growled. "Tell me again, when does he retire?"

      "Not soon enough. Unfortunately, he always stops just short of giving me enough to suspend him, let alone recommend termination."

      As they neared the Charger, Sanger saw Briar seated in the driver's seat, with her legs dangling out of the open door, gazing toward the fire. She looked up as they approached, offering a faint, strained smile. "Hey, Lieutenant," she greeted him. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

      "Same here," he replied. He introduced Sharon Clavell, and then inquired, "What in the world are you doing in this neighborhood in the middle of the night, Briar? I thought the two of you agreed to be careful!"

      "I gave one of our catering people a ride home, because his bike crapped out on him. When I dropped him off, he told me I should go down the block and turn around in that vacant lot. I was headed there when the ass-monkey in the crappy Pacer shot out in front of me, and then I saw the little girl. Kids that age shouldn't be out this late, especially by themselves, so I stopped to talk to her. I couldn't really understand her, but then I saw the fire, so I called 911."