Cutting Edge by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t her FBI training that told her this; it was her childhood. “The biggest being the cloth wick fizzles out and never ignites the alcohol inside, or the air is too cold.”
    “Bingo! You win!”
    “Quin—”
    “Right, stay serious. Grain alcohol has a higher flash point, and naturally retains cold. If the alcohol is cooler than fifty-five degrees, it won’t ignite.” She fanned herself. “Obviously, no problem here. Another major miscalculation is how long it takes for the explosion. I had an idiot standing over a similar device to ‘make sure’ it ignited. He’s dead.” Quin shook her head. “The fire spread from this room into Dr. Payne’s office because there was plenty of fuel. The door was ajar—”
    “How can you tell?”
    Quin walked over to the opening. Keith Coffey said, “I’m ready to move him when you are.”
    “Great, five minutes.” Quin gestured at the door. “The door wasn’t axed or rammed down. It was ajar or open when the fire started. Now, I need to do some more tests, but I don’t think there were any accelerants in Payne’s office. They saturated the lab, but the fire in Payne’s office was simply papers and wood catching sparks and burning. The fire didn’t burn as hot, which is why his body is in such good shape.”
    Nora didn’t think Payne’s body was in good shape, but from an arson investigator’s standpoint she could see that the body being intact was a huge plus.
    “You’re incredible, as usual, but you still haven’t explained why you think the arsonists took the research animals.”
    “A cage is missing. Maybe more than one. And I could find no animal remains in the lab.”
    Nora looked at the wall — what was left of it — and all she saw was a mess of melted steel and ash. Some of the metal could have been cages, but she didn’t see — wait. “There’s a gap.”
    “Bingo! You win!”
    “We need to get the staff in here and find out if the animals were, indeed, birds and what kind. And if there had been cages here prior to the fire.” Nora almost jumped out of her boots. “Wait, don’t researchers mark their test animals? With tattoos or bands around their leg or something?”
    “Makes sense to me.”
    If the animals were marked — and the arsonists had kept one or more in their possession — that was hard physical evidence. Enough to get a warrant at the very least. “Quin, you’re incredible.”
    “That’s what Devon said after the show last night.”
    It was Nora’s turn to roll her eyes. “I’m calling on Payne’s staff. We may have our biggest break yet. I just wish we’d had it before someone died.” She glanced around. “By the way, where’s your friend, the county arson investigator — Ulysses, right?”
    Quin grinned. “I tasked him with an assignment outside the building. I couldn’t stand him hovering, and one thing I’ve learned is that if you give someone something productive to do, they leave you alone.”
    “So is that why you sent me out to defuse Sanger with the reporter?”
    “Of course not. I wanted you to see the hunk Sanger was talking to.” She paused a beat. “Though I get more done when no one is asking questions.”
    “I get the hint. Be available, Quin. No out-of-town dates for the next few days.”
    “Never in the middle of a job.”
     
     
    Professor Leif Cole had just sat down at his desk with a stack of papers and his morning coffee when his phone rang. It was early, the department secretary hadn’t come in, and all calls rolled over to his direct line. All he had wanted was a few moments of peace, but technology thwarted him again.
    He considered letting the call go to voice mail, then he noticed that it was his direct line flashing. He picked up the receiver.
    “Professor Cole.”
    “Hi, Professor, Rich Belham from the
Bee
. I’m in Auburn right now, outside—”
    Leif didn’t care for Rich, but the reporter had given the college and Leif’s demonstrations fair coverage, so he