Page 44 (1/2)

1

Most people don't stare at the scars They'll look, of course, then do the eye slide You know, the quick look, then drop the gaze, then just have to have that second look But they make it quick The wounds aren't like freak show bad, but they are interesting Captain Pete McKinnon, firefighter and arson investigator, sat across frolass of iced tea that our secretary, Mary, had brought in for hi at my arms Not the placeat the scars and didn't seem a bit embarrassed about it

My right arm had been sliced open twice by a knife One scar hite and old The second was still pink and new My left arm orse A mound of white scar tissue sat at the bend of hts for the rest of my life or the scars would stiffen and I'd lose mobility in the arm, or so my physical therapist had said There was a cross-shaped burn ed claw iven me There were one or two other scars hidden under my blouse, but the arm really is the worst

Bert, -sleeved blouses in the office He said that some clients had expressed reservations about my ahoccupationally acquired wounds I hadn't worn a long-sleeved blouse since he made the request He'd turned the air conditioner up a little colder every day It was so cold today I had goose bu sweaters to work I was shopping for midriff tops to show off my back scars

McKinnon had been recoeant Rudolph Storr, cop and friend They'd played football in college together, and been friends ever since Dolph didn't use the word "friend" lightly, so I knew they were close

"What happened to your arm?" McKinnon asked finally

"I'et pesky" I took a sip of coffee

"Pesky," he said and smiled

He sat his glass on the desk and slipped off his suit jacket He was nearly as wide through the shoulders as I was tall He was a few inches short of Dolph's six foot eight, but he didn't miss it by much He was only in his forties, but his hair was co at the teuished It made him look tired

He had me beat on scars Burn scars crawled up his arms from his hands to disappear under the short sleeves of his white dress shirt The skin was e shade of tan like the skin of soularly

"That must have hurt," I said

"It did" He sat theresteady look "You saw the inside of a hospital on some of that"

"Yeah" I pushed the sleeve up on razed me His eyes widened just a bit "Now that we've proven we're big tough he-men, can you just cut to the chase? Why are you here, Captain McKinnon?"

He smiled and draped his jacket over the back of his chair He took the tea offsized up"

"I don't like passing inspections"

"How do you know you passed?"

It was my turn to smile "Women's intuition Nohat do you want?"

"Do you knohat the ter means?"

"An arsonist," I said

He looked expectantly at me

"A pyrokinetic, someone who can call fire psychically"

He nodded "You ever seen a real pyro?"

"I saw films of Ophelia Ryan," I said

"The old black-and-white ones?" he asked

"Yeah"

"She's dead now, you know"

"No, I didn't know"

"Burned to death in her bed, spontaneous coo up that way, as if when they're old they lose control of it You ever see one of them in person?"

"Nope"

"Where'd you see the films?"

"Two semesters of Psychic Studies We had a lot of psychics come in and talk to us, demonstrate their abilities, but pyrokinetics is such a rare ability, I don't think the prof could find one"

He nodded and drained the rest of his tea in one long s "I met Ophelia Ryan once before she died Nice lady" He started to turn the ice-filled glass round and round in his large hands He stared at the glass and not at , in his twenties He'd started by setting empty houses on fire, like a lot of pyros with people in theot out Then he did a tenement, a real firetrap He set every exit on fire Killed over sixty people, mostly women and children"

McKinnon stared up at est body count I've ever seen at a fire He did an office building the same way, but missed a couple of exits Twenty-three dead"

"How'd you catch him?"