Free Fahrenheit by Capri Montgomery Page B

her. The fact that she was being ditched for no apparent reason was a fact that Mitch wouldn’t let her forget. She was sure Adam had a reason. Even if it was a reason she was hoping it wouldn’t be, he had one. When he was ready he would either call and tell her why he would call to reschedule, or he would just vanish from her life.
    “What was his name? Adam Carson…Carpenter…Casper…”
    Eve rolled her eyes, something she hoped the mayor hadn’t noticed while he was so busy pretending not to know the name of the firefighter on the front page of their paper. “Carrington,” she provided because if she had to listen to Townsend spout out one more incorrect name she just might scream.
    “Why is the focus on him and not the fires?”
    “It’s all relevant to the situation. Somebody starts the fire, somebody puts it out.” She shrugged. “I somehow don’t think the arsonist is willing to pose for a photo.”
    “No. I wouldn’t think so either, but he’s probably on the sidelines at some of the fires. Maybe shooting the crowd would help.”
    What crowd? This fire wasn’t exactly in their neighborhood. Other than reporters getting a shot here or there, there wasn’t a crowd standing around to watch everything burn. Besides, “he’s too smart for that,” she shot another photo of the mayor.
    “You glorify him?”
    “I don’t think—”
    “No. I want to hear her, not you.” Townsend cut Mitch’s sentence in two, which shifted things considerably. If Mitch thought he was in charge of this interview, that his status as a journalist could unnerve the mayor, he was wrong.
    “I don’t glorify him. What he’s doing is wrong. But to underestimate his genius would be stupid on our part. I don’t have the lay of the land on all things Palm Coast so I don’t always know what the fire lingo is, but what I do know is that a fire burns uphill. Now Florida’s not exactly Wyoming, but there are some inclined areas—small as they may be on this coast—and all of the fires so far seem to have been started in areas where they’ll do the most damage quickly. He’s made sure to start the fires in spots that aren’t going to be extinguished before the fire has spread to an uncontainable level. He’s not your typical idiot arsonist. He’s on a mission and until we figure out what that mission is and stop him, he’ll stay on it.”
    “We? Has your job status changed without my knowing it?”
    She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been spending too much time with firefighters I guess. I meant until they stop him.”
    “Well, perhaps, young lady, you understand him better than we do.”
    Was that a compliment, an accusation, or just some snide remark about her intuition? She would have him know that she has always been capable of analytical thinking. She and Thomas seemed to have that in common. They both had a way of figuring out the psychology of the truth. Of course she looked more at discovering the why, while Thomas just wanted to know who the bad guy was so he could stop him. Her natural curiosity had her always asking; why? Even now she knew there had to be something more behind these fires than just a love of seeing things burn. There had to be something deeper and she wanted to know what that something was. Maybe if they figured out why, then they could figure out who was behind this crime. Yes, she was well aware this wasn’t her job, and she wasn’t trying to make it her job, but the mayor had asked a question and so she answered him. If he was going to get his shorts in a wad over the answer then perhaps he shouldn’t have asked.
    “Right now I think the firefighters have bigger concerns than figuring out the psychology of this arsonist, but I would imagine that since you’re so involved Mr. Mayor, that you’ve been in touch with local authorities to piece this mystery together.” She saw the upward curve on Mitch’s lips. He was proud of her for getting back on focus, and once she had he took