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"Oh Right" She slowly ca her tension in a rush "The shelter was built with funds provided by the Darenerations Lucy Dar fro her house into a zoo, due to her tendency to pick up stray, wounded, and unwanted animals When she passed away, her children didn’t want the hassle of it, so they donated the equip and kennels Since then, it’s been tied up in litigation They can’t agree on the best way to monetize the land"

"How often do you come up here?"

"Not a lot"

He studied her covertly froo My dad is a vet and he used to donate one weekend aup here to spay and neuter He conscripted me and Dani--my sister--into odd jobs whenever he could That’s how Dani found out she loved the practice of veterinary lanced at him "Yes I love animals, but it just wasn’t a vocation for me"

"Where is she now?" Jared wanted to meet Danielle He wanted to see Darcy with her sister, see the emotions and reactions she had to someone she loved and trusted

"Near ain Without faravel parking lot riddled eeds At the end of the lot, charred ce that had once stood there The kennels were obvious, the chain link and ce weathered the fire well

Darcy entered the building, her shoulders high and tight, the bea the way "This was the main office There wasn’t a whole lot left in here Some built-in bookshelves and boxes of records for deceased pets The boxes were moved into that corner there, with the incendiary device placed in the an so"

"And the unidentified witness called at quarter after From Seattle"

"With the tie and lanced at her "Where’s the fun in that?"

She stepped into a slender ray of light entering fro nod "Exactly What pyromaniac doesn’t stick around to watch the show?"

"One who isn’t obsessed with fire," Jared answered, which he kneas i We’ve already noted that the materials used to build the structures our subject selected were not the most flaun "What are some of the other reasons to start a fire? We talked about insurance payouts Maybe revenge? Da us up Like you said, they’re too sophisticated, too ht So the destruction they’re going to cause"

"So we’re back to a pyro who doesn’t get off on his own fires" He stared at her "What are you thinking?"

"Thatthe baton to a protégé is spot-on What if they’re working together, with Merkerson teaching the ropes, deliberately starting off with a sround"

"Yeah"

Jared’sthis"

"It pulls ether"

I these lines?"

She stepped deeper into the building "Since the tip ca a fire in one town and a tipster in another? Two people Occam’s razor"

"But you waited until the third fire to shout out for help?"

"It wasn’tthe interior with dappled sunlight "Then I "

"You, too?"

"Those sophisticated time bombs you talked about--they’re better than they were back in the day If it is Merkerson, he’s upped his ga his weapons of destruction,them, which means he’s been somewhere he could acquire the tools and substances he needed"