IN THE HUNT

PROLOGUE

SPRING 2002

When the fire engines had rolled up to the scene, most of what was observed was a run-of-the-mill hotshot callout for a structure fire. The time it had taken for them to arrive, also very standard. Their prompt arrival, with flashing lights and blaring sirens, mirrored countless other emergencies. Within moments, the raging inferno that had consumed the residence was tamed, its greedy flames smothered by a torrent of water and extinguishing foam. The fire had been doused almost immediately. It was the puzzling factors that came next.

Amidst the dissipating smoke and lingering scent of charred debris, a chilling discovery awaited the first responders. A woman was found hanging from a large oak tree in the backyard, her body still seizing, her life not quite fully extinguished like the flames that had been alive only moments before.

With haste fueled by adrenaline, the emergency team swiftly intervened, the victim was pulled from the tree and freed from her bindings. The combined sirens of approaching paramedics and police cruisers screamed toward their destination. Two medics exited the rescue ambulance and began working seamlessly to save another life. Their actions synchronized, engaging in a desperate battle against time. Chest compressions began and oxygen was reintroduced into the woman’s restricted airways. After several minutes of lifesaving measures, the medics had achieved their intended purpose. A pulse.

The perplexities continued, as once inside the now-smoldering structure, signs began to point heavily to the use of an accelerant. The work of an arsonist at play had been established. Stranger still was that once inside the residence, the first responders found a luggage bag full of cash, its contents mostly char and ash by that point.

In the close-knit embrace of a small town, this tragedy would etch itself deeply into the collective memory of the community for years to come. However, in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, a population of nearly four million and growing, what would be years of remembrance bled down and condensed into a single day before it was forgotten from the memories of the masses – an act such as this too commonplace to be held with much regard or significance.

( In the Hunt by Timothy Dalton. Available on Amazon)