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Police Chief Truman Daly slammed the door of his Tahoe and raised a hand to protect his face fro into his vehicle Flaainst the night’s black sky

A total loss

He’d believed he’d parked a safe distance frohts

He pulled down on the bri ed toward the two Deschutes County sheriff patrol vehicles that’d arrived before hi on their radios, eyeing the towering flames

There was nothing they could do A faint siren sounded in the distance, but Truoal would be to keep the fire fro ranches

“Hey, Chief,” one of the deputies shouted over the roar of the fire as he approached

Tru He didn’t know the other one

“Did you see anyone here?” Tru there was no way to check inside the barn

“No one,” said Ralph “We’ve been here fifteen seconds, and there was no chance in hell we’d try to look inside” The young deputy next to him nodded emphatically

“Let’s walk the perimeter,” said Truman

“You go around to the right, and we’ll head left,” suggested Ralph

Tru barn, putting plenty of space between hi the crisp Noveer in the few seconds I’ve been here In the last teeks, three other fires had popped up around his son He and the fire departht the serial arsonist, and none of the previous arsons had been on the scale of this one The first had been an abandoned car Then someone’s trash The last had been a small shed

He’s escalating

Sweat ran down his back, and it wasn’t solely froebrush and rocks, the ground well lit as he scanned for any signs of victims or a possible fire starter Ponderosa pines towered about fifty yards away, and Truman was thankful to see the immediate area around the barn was clear of fuel for the fire At one ti pens, but nearly all the fence rails had collapsed and rotted away He doubted the old barn had been used in the last decade

This fourth fire was several miles outside his city’s limits, but as soon as he’d received word about it, he’d rolled out of bed and gotten dressed The arsonist had pissed him off, and Truine the asshole’s glee as he sent police and fire crews scra to put out his handiwork

One of these ti to hurt someone

The fire engine sirens grew louder, and two gunshots cracked over the sounds of the flames

Truman dropped to his stomach and rolled behind a rock, his weapon in hand Who’s shooting? He froze and listened, trying to hear past the roar in his ears

Two more shots

Was that a scream?

His heart pounding, he called 911, reported shots fired, and advised the dispatcher to i fire trucks know He ended the call and slowlyplace behind the rock, his eyes peeled for the shooter Who fired?

Eagle’s Nest officers had never found anyone at the scene of the previous fires Why is this time different?

Truman resumed his circular path around the barn, his weapon ready, his focus on the shadows of the terrain beyond the barn The light cast by the flames extended several yards into the dark, but beyond that the landscape was pitch-black Anyone could be lurking just out of sight He widened his circle to use the shadows for cover

His shirt soaked with sweat and his senses on high alert, he rounded the back side of the barn and spotted two figures on the ground Motionless

In the flickering light, he recognized the Deschutes County uniforms

Please, dear Lord, no

He sank deeper into the dark and strained his vision, searching everywhere for the shooter The flaaze shot from falsehe needed to check the officers even through it would expose him

“Fuck it” He dashed across the cleared area, feeling the heat singe his shirt, and landed on his knees next to the closest body He shook Ralph’s shoulder, shouted, and then felt for a pulse in his neck The officer had been shot in the head, and Tru exit wound in his cheek