The fire chief’s report read: Cause: accidental. Old wiring.
But Laura disagreed. The pattern felt wrong. Accidental fires are chaotic, stupid. These fires felt… surgical. She needed two things: proof of how the fires were set, and understanding of why someone would burn beauty to the ground.
“No,” Marco said. “That’s the lazy conclusion. Look at the victimology . The first two fires happened at midnight—empty buildings. El Molino burned at 10 PM—the watchman was inside. Why change the time?”
Marco continued, “He killed Gerardo by accident. That’s why he changed the time—panic, guilt, or arrogance? No. He changed the time because he was angry. The court rejected his final appeal that morning. The fire at 10 PM was emotional , not strategic. He’s a white male, 40-55, a former architect or preservationist, with a history of obsessive letters to the city council.” criminologia y criminalistica
She called two experts to a meeting in her cramped office.
He tapped a psychological profile. “The arsonist isn’t an owner committing fraud. He’s a true believer . He loves old buildings. He sees the condos as a desecration. But he’s not a hero—he’s a purist . In his mind, if he can’t save the buildings, no one will enjoy the land. He’ll burn them as a funeral pyre.”
At the trial, the prosecutor summed it up perfectly: “Criminalística told us the truth of the flame—where it started, what fed it, and who held the match. Criminología told us the truth of the mind—why he struck the match, why he chose these buildings, and why he stopped caring if someone was inside. The fire chief’s report read: Cause: accidental
In two hours, they had a name: . A 48-year-old former architectural historian. He had written seventeen angry letters to the city council. He lived three blocks from the first fire. And his hobby? Restoring antique furniture using… industrial paint thinner.
That was criminologia —the soul of the monster, not just his footprints.
Laura leaned in. “And? What’s the why ?” The pattern felt wrong
Laura looked at both reports. Ana told her where to look for the killer. Marco told her who to look for.
Detective Laura Mora hated two things: an unsolved case and a lazy conclusion.
“I visited Gerardo’s widow,” Marco said, sitting down. “I also interviewed the owner of El Molino , a man named Silvio Herrera. And I pulled the records from the first two fires.”
“So he burned his own building for insurance?” Laura asked.
Marco arrived late, smelling of coffee and old books. He didn’t look at the evidence photos. He looked at the people .