"That's a good move." She paused, seeing her older sister approaching. "Hey, there's Annie."
"Kate," Annie said, surprise flashing across her face. "I thought you weren't coming until Wednesday."
"I got in a little earlier." She gave Annie a hug. Her sister was three years older than her with dark red hair and green eyes like their mother. But today those eyes looked a little tired, and Kate wondered why. "How are you doing, Annie?"
"I've been working a lot."
"Your company must be doing well."
"It is. I just wish there were more people in my company than just an assistant and me. But I can't complain." Annie's eyes drifted to Devin. "We haven't met."
"Devin Scott."
"Annie Callaway." Annie's gaze moved from Devin to Kate. "Is Devin a friend of yours?"
"I'm her boyfriend," Devin said with a grin.
Annie's jaw dropped. "Really? Well, isn't that a piece of news?"
Devin was enjoying his fake boyfriend status a little too much, Kate thought. "It's very recent," she told her sister.
"What do you do, Devin?" Annie asked.
"I'm a private investigator."
"That sounds interesting and a little dangerous. How did you and Kate meet?"
"On a job."
"He used to be FBI," Kate said. "Anyway, what is up with you? Are you bringing a guy to the wedding?"
"Nope. Flying solo," Annie said, more shadows filling her eyes.
"I thought Mom said you were seeing someone."
"That ended."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. It's fine." She paused. "It's good to see you, Kate. You do not keep in touch very well. I miss you."
"I promise to be better. It's been a crazy year."
"I know you need to get your feet on the ground in your new job as a special agent, but don't forget your family, especially your sisters."
"Never."
"Good. I'm going to make the rounds." She started to leave, then stopped. "Did you know that Hunter is planning to climb to Base Camp on Mount Everest in a few months?"
"What?" she asked in astonishment. Her daredevil brother had done some adventures in his life, but he hadn't gone that high or that far.
"Yes. He's training for it right now. He loves a challenge." Annie glanced at Devin. "Kate got the Callaway adventure gene like our brothers. Mia and I did not."
Devin smiled. "Adventure is the spice of life."
Annie groaned. "You're a thrill-seeker, too, aren't you?"
"I haven't climbed Mount Everest yet, but it sounds like a fun challenge."
Annie shook her head in bemusement. "Not to me. But I have a feeling Kate would join you."
"I don't know about that," she said. "It sounds like a lot of work."
"I'll see you two later," Annie said, heading off to visit with some of her other relatives in the living room.
"Annie looks like your mom," Devin commented.
"She takes after her, too. She's very protective when it comes to family, especially her younger sisters." Kate leaned across the table and grabbed a bite-sized egg salad sandwich off a tray and popped it into her mouth. "My aunt Lynda makes the best egg salad. Did you try these?"
"Yeah, I had about six of them," he said with a laugh.
"I'm glad you weren't being shy."
"Emma told me it wasn't allowed."
"You were fast to tell Annie that we were in a relationship."
"Just trying to do my part," he said with a smile.
"Well, my dad already guessed that I'm working with you."
"Will he tell your mother?"
"Eventually, but I asked him to wait a couple of days. So you still have to be my fake boyfriend for a while longer."
He heaved a mock sigh. "I guess if I have to, I have to."
She punched him in the arm. "It's not that bad."
"How would you know?"
"Because I'm a catch."
He laughed. "You are that, Kate. Just promise me one thing … you'll tell your mother the truth before she starts planning our wedding."
"I promise. But she'll be disappointed. She already likes you."
"She doesn't know me."
"She has a good instinct about people. Her gut is never wrong."
"Well, I like her, too. She stood up for us to your uncle, and he's not an easy man to confront. I like your family, Kate." He waved his hand toward the clusters of family members talking and laughing together. "You're lucky to have so many people in your life who love you. Don't ever take that for granted. Don't let the job become your whole life. It's easy to do-but this-this is what's really important."
She nodded, thinking that it wasn't only the people surrounding her who were important; it was also the man in front of her.
Nineteen
They got back to Devin's apartment around three and immediately dug back into the fire data, going through each historical structure fire in as much detail as they could. They were trying to find any small patterns that they could tie together, any detail that would help them narrow down the list of potential targets, which was next on the To-Do list.
At six, they stopped long enough to make some eggs for dinner and then got back on to their computers. It was after nine when Kate's eyes started to blur.
She sat back in her seat at the kitchen table and looked over her computer at Devin. He was still focused on whatever file he was reading, and she was once again impressed with his concentration. Tonight she saw the Devin who had made an excellent FBI agent.
He looked up and met her gaze. "Are you done?"
"I don't know about done, but I am tired. We've narrowed down the list to six structures, four of which have an obvious tie to Gerilyn Connors's firm. The fifth one was owned by a former St. Bernadette's teacher; I don't quite know what to make of that. The sixth one is down the street from where Marty Price lives, but we haven't really talked about Marty lately."
"I know. He's fallen lower on the list."
"He was at several crime scenes," Kate reminded Devin. "He also wanted to be a firefighter but couldn't get into the academy. But he's three years younger than Baines and Jenkins, and he did not go to school at St. Bernadette's."
"My gut is leaning away from Price. I don't think he's smart enough to pull all this off. I also don't see a motive nor a connection to Baines or any of the structures, except that he was at a couple of fires."
"I agree. The fire pattern is too precise. This person is acting in a very deliberate manner. They're not just setting fires; they're following a specific plan, and I think it's all tied to anger, resentment, and revenge. It feels emotional to me."
"I want to talk to Gerilyn tomorrow," Devin said. "If we go to her office and catch her away from Brad, we may get additional information. We can also talk to Eileen. She might be willing to provide more insight on Gerilyn and Brad's renewed relationship."
She nodded. "The big problem with Brad is that he also doesn't tie to Rick Baines in any way, which makes it harder to connect him to the fire at St. Bernadette's." With a sigh, she added, "I feel like we're going around in circles."
He gave her a faint smile. "I've been doing that so long I live in a perpetual state of dizziness. Looking away from Brad for a minute, I think I've found a phone number and address for Kristina Strem, one of the females in Baines's yearbook."
"Well, that's exciting." She sat up straighter. "Way to bury the lead, Devin. Why didn't you say that before?"
He laughed. "I just pulled it up. She lives in San Jose."
"So, in the area … that's good. Let's give her a call."
"Why don't you do the honors, Special Agent Callaway?"
"Happy to."
She dialed the number he gave her, then put the phone on speaker. A moment later, a female voice came over the line.
"Is this Kristina Strem?" she asked.
"Yes. Who's this?"
"I'm Special Agent Kate Callaway with the FBI. We're investigating a fire that killed one of your former classmates last year-Rick Baines."
There was silence for a moment, and then the woman said, "I heard about that on the news, but I don't know why you're calling me. I don't know anything about the fire."
"But you did know Rick?"
"I went to school with him for a few years," Kristina said. "I thought that Rick was the one who set the fire, and he died, so what are you investigating?"
"We're just reviewing the case," she said, being deliberately vague. "Did you see Rick after high school, perhaps in the last few years?"
"I saw him once or twice when I was out with my friends. But that was like two years ago now. That was pretty much it."
"Was that at a bar called Rebel, Rebel?"
"Yes, I think it was. We went there a couple of times."