Page 27 of Devil's Hour
Royce’s brow furrowed. “You mean…”
“Her family values aren’t as solid as she’d have us believe.”
Royce looked up and down the hallway. “This is the only fire?”
“Someone broke in while the mayor was asleep or otherwise engaged and wrote out the message with an accelerant, then set fire to it. The smoke alarms went off, and the company who monitors the mayor’s security systems dialed 911 without calling the mayor first.”
“Where is she now?”
Blue tipped his head, gesturing for Royce to follow him into the living room where the mayor had gathered with both Rigby and Fire Chief Winegard. He almost didn’t recognize Lynette Goodwin with her mussed, long hair cascading around her shoulders. He’d never seen the woman with her hair down or dressed in anything as casual as the sweatpants and SSU shirt she wore now. Mayor Goodwin raised her head and met his gaze. She looked stunned, scared, and defiant.
In the opposite corner of the room sat Ryan Tedrick looking every bit as disheveled. He looked up when Royce and Blue entered the room, then quickly averted his gaze as a telltale flush crept up his neck and cheeks.Holy shit.Mayor Goodwin was having an affair with her sister-in-law’s stepson, a man she’d known since he was a kid.
Chief Rigby looked up too, then did a slight double take when she noticed Royce’s shirt. He inwardly groaned because there was no way in hell she didn’t recognize it from the night Sawyer arrested Carl Hanover for killing The Putz. Rigby’s left brow rose before she shifted her attention back to the mayor, who was speaking softly and wildly gesturing while tears streaked down her face.
“Over here,” Blue said, standing next to a gold table with curved legs. He handed Royce a pair of gloves. “Our perp left this behind.”
After snapping the nitrile gloves in place, Royce accepted the clear evidence bag from Blue, then stepped closer to the tall floor lamp with the crystals and tassels hanging from the shade so he could see it better. The letter was an identical style to the one the mayor brought to the precinct, but the message was vastly different.
Dear Dishonorable Mayor,
You’ve made vows you haven’t kept—both as a public servant and to your husband and children. Let’s start with the way you betrayed your family first. Tell me, Lyn, does your husband know you’re sleeping with his sister’s stepson? This should make for some exciting family reunions. You ran on a campaign that preached family values but look at the way you shamed yours.
As for cleaning up crime, what have you done? Nothing! You’ve attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies and meaningless celebrations. Name one campaign promise you’ve kept. You can’t, can you?
We got tired of waiting for you to step up and do your job and took things in our own hands. The city has allowed vacant houses to become drug dens, but we’re taking care of that. Thanks to us, there are three less of them.
We’re giving you the chance to step up and do what’s right by resigning as mayor. If you don’t, we’ll expose you as the predatory whore you are, and we’ll cleanse this city in the purest way—with fire.
Sincerely,
The Purists
“Detectives,” Chief Rigby called.
Royce returned the evidence bag to the desk and faced Rigby. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Mayor Goodwin has had quite an ordeal this morning. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to conduct the interviews now so she can try to get some sleep. Sergeant Locke, I’ll ask you to take Mr. Tedrick home on your way to the station.”
“Of course, ma’am,” Royce said, but he was groaning inwardly.
“Ryan is completely innocent of this,” the mayor said. “Leave him be. I’ll answer any questions you have, but please leave him alone.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Chief Rigby said. “Whoever threatened you also knows his identity, which puts his safety at risk. We need to get to the bottom of this before someone gets seriously hurt or killed in the fires, Lynette.” The mayor glanced at Ryan while worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
Ryan met her gaze with confidence and calm. “I’ll be fine, Lyn.”
“Do you think they’re telling the truth about the fires?” the mayor asked.
“I do. It matches information our investigation uncovered today. This is a serious situation. I cannot and will not sweep this under a rug.”
She stared at Ryan for a few moments longer before looking back at Chief Rigby. “Okay, Ellie. I trust you and your detectives.”
“They’re two of my best, Lynette,” Chief assured her.
Royce could bask in her praise later; right now, he needed to keep his brain sharp, which was hard to do with little sleep and no caffeine. “Let’s go someplace where we can speak to you individually.”
The mayor’s nerves returned with his remark, and she needed additional assurances from Rigby before agreeing. Mayor Goodwin chose her home office, which was a continuation of elegant fabrics and furniture that was borderline tacky with all the gold brocade trim and gilded legs.