Kristi took a sip of beer and leaned back in her chair. She was seated at one of the big round tables at McNally's with several of the guys from her shift plus Patrick, Keith, and two other cops from their precinct. The topic, as it had been for the past few nights, was the rash of fires in their area.

"Dan Varney's all over this one," Brad Hawkins said.

Kenny MacMillan, another firefighter from her shift, nodded.

"He's one of the best arson investigators in the ...