The peacock looked pretty displeased with the sight before him if Mac was any kind of reader of facial expressions. He glanced back to Brenna and was happy to see her still looking stormy but as he watched she put on her professional face.

"How can I help you Detective Brewster? Did we have an appointment this morning that I forgot?" Her clipped tone was all business.

The name took all the fun out of Mac's train of thought. He took a closer look at the peacock now knowing that before him stood physical representation of his morning's irritation.

Pete's assessment of Brewster had been pretty spot on. He looked like the type of guy who didn't like anything that included dirt, sweat or effort. His hair was styled stiff with gel, his hands pale with perfectly square pink nails, his suit pants were of a good quality as had his shirt been before it had been coated in coffee. He looked like a model.

Brewster glanced at Mac for a moment and placed both his hands on his hips before answering. He clearly hadn't imagined this conversation occurring in front of an audience.

"No appointment but I was concerned when you didn't call me back. I came by last night and your car was here but you weren't. It worried me." He glanced at Mac again uncomfortably.

"I must confess I only listened to one of your voicemails. I didn't hear anything work related. I have already made my stance quite clear on any relationship of a more personal nature between us. I didn't feel it was necessary to listen to the others."

"Can we talk about this in private?" he looked at Mac again. "Can you give us a minute Tullman?"

Mac was surprised to hear himself addressed by name. He didn't recall have met Brewster before. He looked at Brenna who shook her head. He could see she had this well in hand and needed nothing from him.

"No Mark. Nothing has changed since last time. You said you understood." She softened a little. "You are a good guy and I'm flattered but my feelings have not changed. I am not interested in you in that manner." Brenna felt bad having to be so harsh but he'd backed her into a corner just showing up like he had. She hoped he'd take his pride and call it quits.

A muscled twitched in Brewster's clenched jaw. He swept his hand toward Mac. "Why him? Why is he given a chance and I'm simply discarded as unsuitable?"

Brenna sighed. No such luck. "I never said that you were unsuitable. There is nothing wrong with you. I can't help who I am attracted to or not. Just stop this." She picked up her files and a canvas bag. "We've got to get going. Mark, I'll email you any updates to the case and would prefer you keep all correspondence business related in the future."

She brushed by him and turned left towards the rear of the building. Reego followed hot on her heels. Mac didn't want to add insult to injury but shoving his way past the beaten man but failed to see any way around it if he didn't step aside. Mac took a couple steps but Brewster stayed put.

Mac cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He motioned with his hand for Mark to move aside. The other man fixed him with an angry glare.

"F*ck you if I'll move aside!" he spat venomously. "You are no better than me. She's on some bad boy kick. Every girl goes through one, but when she's done she'll want someone with a future and then she'll come looking for me. Don't get too comfortable Mac."

"You presume to know a lot about me. I can't recall ever having met you." Despite the other man's agitation and insults Mac felt as if he were examining an interesting new species of bug.

"I've seen you at trainings and in the field, always the arrogant guy charging in and taking down the bad guy, getting your back pat by the big wigs." He finished with a sneer.

"Look, I don't know you. I don't have anything against you. Just leave Brenna be. It's obviously what she wants. If you don't, then we will have a problem." He let that sink in for a moment then brushed past the man and followed the hall in the direction he'd last seen Brenna. The silence behind him made him question whether Mark had taken his warning seriously or not.

***********

Mac eventually ended up in a large garage where a red Ford Expedition sat idling. He approached and saw Brenna sitting behind the wheel so he got in. After he buckled his belt she put the truck in drive and pulled onto the road.

They drove in silence for a few tense moments before she spoke.

"You guys didn't have some weird angry male machismo moment did you? There wasn't any violence right?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her tone and the way she was partially hunched over the big steering wheel.

"No, no violence. He said his piece and I told him all I wanted was for him to honor your wishes. Simple as that."

She relaxed visibly. "Ok. Thank you."

"Brenna, I know you are smart and capable. It was clear you had that taken care of. Had you needed me all you would have had to do is ask." She gave him a grateful smile. "Had me made any attempt to move toward you or acted aggressively; then I would have beateny chest, tore my shirt open and torn him limb from limb."

This earned him a loud laugh. He loved it when she laughed; it was a warm, throaty, unadulterated sound of happiness.

The weather was great. Fall was settling into the area with mild temperatures by day and cool crisp nights. The trees had all begun their transition from green to gold and a layer of leaves already graced the sides of the road.

Neither of them were hungry yet so they continued on and arrived in a quiet residential neighborhood by midday. The lots were widely spaced as they turned into the subdivision and became more so as they traveled up a sloping hillside. The parcels here had to be 5 or more acres Mac estimated. Many of the residents had planted trees or other foliage in addition to building barns or sheds to screen themselves and provide privacy.

After a quick consultation of her map Brenna turned into a long winding driveway that eventually ended at the burned out ruin of a house. Police line tape cordoned off the area. A small tan passenger car was parked under the shade of a tree; the man behind the wheel appeared to be taking an afternoon siesta and did not appear to have heard their approach.

"I'll go check in with that guy." Brenna put the truck in park and got out. Mac got as out as well and stretched his limbs before letting Reego free.

Brenna approached. "He's a rent-a-cop provided by the insurance company. I showed him my credentials and he said to wake him up if we need anything." She chuckled and shrugged before opening the back of the truck. She retrieved a digital camera and a stack of small yellow cones.

"Just try to keep Reego from charging about. I don't want him to step on anything and get hurt." They ducked under the tape. She started at the southeast corner of the house and worked her way back and forth across the ruin.

"Watch your step. It used to be a two story house. There might be pockets where it hasn't settled completely and they could collapse on you." She herself seemed to be feeling out each step as she went. Here and there she placed a cone and took a picture.

The owners had planted a wall of poplar trees that all but shielded them from view. To the west was a large detached garage that showed signs of scorching to its HardiePlank siding but still stood. The lawn looked as if it had been landscaped and well kept before hundreds of feet had trampled it trying to put out the fire.

Mac and Reego paced the property around the outskirts of the wreckage. Mac didn't want to disturb any evidence she might find. After a while he sat on the grass and simply watched her work. She was graceful and methodical as she stepped carefully through the mess. Occasionally she would lean back as if she were trying to take in a bigger picture or a different angle.

She stopped at a particular spot and pulled a pair of leather gloves from her pocket. Carefully she pawed through the charred material then stood up with a smile. She removed one glove and fished the digital camera from her pocket. After several photos she looked up and searched for Mac. She spotted him on the grass watching her.

"Could you do me a favor? Can you grab me an evidence bag from the truck?" Mac stood up and made his way to the truck, retrieved the bag and picked his way carefully to her.

"Find something?" he handed her the bag.

She put her glove back on and lifted the unburnt end of a road flare. She held it up for a moment. "I always suspected it was flare but there has never been a piece left behind before." She dropped it into the bag and sealed it. "I've only got about 15 more minutes here max. I'm sorry." She gave him an apologetic look.

"I knew we were coming here primarily for you to work. I'm fine. Plus, I like watching you." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "We'll be sacked out on the grass over there."

Brenna finally finished up and stowed the bags and cones away in the truck. "Now we can stop by the sheriff's office and see if anything came of their inquiries." They waved at the security guard as they left.

The neighborhood was still quiet. Soon the school buses would be rolling in to drop off their cargo. Brenna tensed when she saw the large white truck with its big metal trailer pulled up in front of one of the larger homes.

The pickup was a large white Dodge with "Herrick's Terrascaping" emblazoned in green along the side. Tony himself stood on a small ladder pruning the lower limbs of a tree. Brenna tore her eyes from her suspect and kept moving.

"Pretty balsey if he's the guy." Mac commented as they pulled out of the subdivision and headed toward Trentwood, the seat of Brown County.

Brenna just nodded and kept driving into town. The Sheriff's Office was a large brown utilitarian looking building. It was smaller than Bennett County where Mac worked but then again Brown County itself was smaller.

A records keeper stared at them behind bullet proof glass and a long counter. Brenna greeted her with a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Fire Investigator Malloy with Reston city fire. This is Deputy Tullman. Is Detective Hardin available?"

The receptionist buzzed them through a security door. A deputy met them on the other side and showed them through the building to a large shared office.

"Hey Hardin, inspector from Reston and a deputy to talk to you." A salt and pepper haired man with a bushy mustache looked up and motioned them over. He stood to shake their hands.

"How can I help you?"

"I'm investigator Malloy. You sent me the file on the house out in Hidden Haven."

"Yes, I remember. Thanks for coming out. I was going to call you this afternoon on the results of your inquiries."

"Great. This is Bennett Co. Deputy Tullman and his partner Reego, friends who came along for the ride."

"Glad to meet you." He settled back into his seat and rummaged around on the desk. Finally he came up with a brown folder and flicked it open.

"None of the neighbors saw the pickup you sent the picture of, however, Herrick has several clients in the subdivision and was seen in the area the same day as the fire. We haven't had any contact with Kahn that I was able to locate."

"We saw Herrick as we were heading out," Mac commented.

Brenna nodded. It was what she had expected to hear. "I poked around and located a piece of flare." She put the bag on his desk. "I took several pictures of it before moving it."

The detective picked up the bag. "I can send it out but it isn't a priority case right now you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." They passed a few more moments of pleasantries before shaking hands and parting ways. Brenna did a double take on seeing the landscaping truck parked across the street. Mac ground to a halt beside her.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence." she said for the benefit of them both once they were in the truck.

"Hmmph" was Mac's distracted reply. He had a lot of things running through his mind but few of them chalked things up to mere coincidence.