Chapter 27

Jim watched the house burn with a sick feeling in his stomach. The fire itself wasn't bad. The firefighters had it under control quickly. It was what the fire had been intended to hide that bothered him.

They'd found Dave Collins lying face up in the center of his living room. He'd been beaten to death. Anti-gay graffiti covered the walls. Anything that could be smashed lay in pieces. The reek of dead flesh and wet ash filled his nose.

"They tried to start the fire over there," the fire chief pointed down the hall. "They didn't do much in terms of accelerant. Just put some burning paper on the bed and left it. The neighbour saw the flames through the window. I was nearby and drove straight over. I have a mask in the trunk so I entered the home to look for survivors. I found this." He waved his hand at the destruction around them. "The rest of the team arrived shortly after and we were able to keep the fire mostly to the far end of the house."