Free Wake the Devil by Robert Daniels Page B

distracted by a waitress walking by in a short skirt. He tracked her progress for a moment, then asked Jack what his next move was.
    “Detective Sturgis collected some samples at Rachel Lawrence’s office that we’ll be taking a look at later. We’re also waiting for a call from the fire department.”
    “I don’t follow.”
    “Double checking. Apparently one of their people came out earlier to inspect the wiring. Given what happened at the church yesterday, we just want to make sure it was legitimate. Then I need to finish reviewing the Sandman files. Everything was pretty hectic yesterday.”
    “I can be of some help there,” Janet said. “We received more information from German police this morning.”
    “Do that when I leave,” Donofrio said. “What about this evidence you found?”
    “Well . . . we’re not sure it is evidence yet,” Jack said.
    “You’re confusing me, Dr. Kale.”
    “It all depends on whether a real fire marshal was there or not. Hopefully one was. The general rule is at the beginning of a case you gather a lot of data and samples. Usually you don’t know what will fit and what won’t until somewhere down the road. Examining everything takes time, but I don’t think we can be too cautious here.”
    Donofrio still didn’t get what Jack was talking about and turned to Beth for clarification. Jack noticed his eyes had strayed to the top button of her blouse, which was undone. Clearly, the man was a pig.
    Beth informed him, “Assuming we’re not jumping at shadows, most of what I found are what we call trace items. There was also a shoeprint, which we might be able to match against the one I found at the church yesterday, along with a couple of threads that could have come from the priest’s clothing. What I’m interested in are some red grains I picked up. According to Ben Furman—that’s the crime lab technician who worked the Stone Mountain scene—similar grainswere taken into evidence from the tram’s control room on the loading dock. I saw them at the church, and again at Dr. Lawrence’s office. That makes three times. No way it can be an accident.”
    Donofrio nodded.
    Beth continued. “I agree with Jack. It’s way too early to reach any conclusions.” She added for Janet Newton’s benefit, “We’ll be sending them to your people for further analysis. If the fire marshal really was the Sandman, those grains might give us some clue as to where he’s hiding. By the way, any idea where Todd Milner is? We haven’t seen him today.”
    “I’ll check,” the deputy director said, taking out her phone. Her thumbs moved rapidly over the keypad as she sent him a message.
    “I suppose what I’m really asking,” Donofrio said, “is whether you have a plan for nailing this bastard. It’s obvious traditional methods haven’t worked in the past . . . no offense, Janet.”
    She glanced up from her typing, gave him a frozen smile, and continued.
    “You’re correct,” Jack said. “This man is extremely smart and apparently quite resourceful. He’s been a general pain in the ass to a number of law enforcement agencies for a while now, which makes him unique. I see no reason why that will change. My thinking is if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad will have to go to it.”
    “A trap?” Donofrio asked.
    “At this point, it’s just a preliminary thought. We know what his goal is, and we know he’s operating under a short time frame because the grand jury is scheduled to meet soon. I believe this gives us an advantage. What we don’t know is how he’ll strike. Fortunately we can control where, and possibly lure him out into the open.”
    Beth glanced at Janet Newton, who was listening to the exchange, sat back in her seat with a satisfied smile. Beth was used to Jack developing strategy on the fly. Pappas had once compared him to a fighter coming off the ropes. It was mystifying and occasionally satisfying to observe, but at the moment it