Title: Heart Burns

Author: Griffyn612

Rating: PG-13+

Canon: Book

Spoilers: Spoilers through Turn Coat, with mild reference to subject matter from Cold Days.

Warnings: Contains mild violence and language

Setting: A fan story of the Dresdenverse. Most characters are new, with a few known characters interspersed.

Disclaimer: The Dresden Files is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction.

Summary: As a licensed arson investigator, Woody Hayes knows that the legends of spontaneous human combustion are just that: stories and fictions. But when people in Chicago start witnessing the stuff of legend first hand, Woody will find himself caught between merciless killers and cold blooded clients. It will fall to him to put out the human fires spreading across the city — or the mortal world itself might end up catching fire.

Chapter 1

A light spring rain started as the flashing blue and red lights came into view.

It was nothing more than a drizzle, but it was an inconvenience for me as I idled on my motorcycle. Half the street ahead was blocked off by emergency response vehicles, and an officer was directing traffic by. When I refused to follow the other civilians, he started to give me attitude. I flashed him my consultant's badge, and he grudgingly waved me through the barricade.

The collection of vehicles outside the office building included several patrol cars, a firetruck, two ambulances, and a number of unmarked sedans. I weaved my motorcycle through them all to pop up on to the curb, where an overhang off the side of the building would offer a little protection for the leather seat on my '42 Harley-Davidson WLA.

As I cut the engine, a pretty girl with honey-blond hair made her way toward me. She was wrapped up in a raincoat, and sported a double-wide umbrella. I stepped off the bike as she came to a stop beside me, lifting the umbrella up so that it would cover me as well. I kept my leather messenger bag tight at my side to keep it out of the rain as much as possible.

"Hey Woody. Thanks for coming out so late," Penny Wells said, her hazel eyes taking on a bluish-gray tone in the shadows of the umbrella.

Penny was the personal assistant and secretary to Deputy Chief Inspector Tobiah Robbins. The two worked for the Chicago Fire Prevention Bureau, and were usually my number one source of income. As a private arson investigator, I typically got work from building inspections and investigations for private citizens and corporations. But over the years, the C.F.P.B. had provided me with a steady work load.

Most of their investigations were handled by the arson investigators they have on-staff at the different fire houses. But every once in a while, something comes up that's outside what science and reason can explain. When it does, Robbins will bring me in, and I have the enviable task of explaining away the unexplainable.

But as far as I could recall, no case had been strange enough to drag the Deputy Chief Inspector out this late.

I glanced at the large watch I wore on my left wrist. "What gets you and Robbins out on a call after nine o'clock?"

"Highly irregular case," Penny explained while I removed my half-helmet, tucking it into a side saddle bag over my rear tire. "We were actually here before things really got rolling. S.I. is here, too."

"No shit?" I said, surprised. Penny just nodded, and the two of us started heading for the front door.

Special Investigations was the Chicago Police Department's version of yours truly. They got all the crazy calls, from murderers claiming they were possessed when they killed their spouse, to college kids swearing up and down that they saw a Bigfoot on campus. The more inane the case, the more likely it was to end up with S.I.

But despite being labeled by some as a dead-end when it came to careers, S.I. did a damn good job with what they had. They were even respected in certain circles. It was just their luck that those same circles had to disavow any knowledge of the supernatural, as well as the need for a department to handle such things. Lieutenant Stallings' people got little in the way of thanks for their service, but that didn't change the fact that said service was critical to keeping the peace in Chicago. Some departments handled thugs and gangsters; S.I. handled trolls and goblins. Even if some of their own members were in denial about the things they saw.

D.C.I. Robbins was one of a few officials that knew that magic was real, even if he didn't really want to know the particulars. If S.I. got a case that crossed interests with the fire department, he was usually brought in. I'd worked with the department several times, providing Jekyll and Hyde files; one file would consist of reasonable lies, while the other would contain the grim truth that would put all of us in the loony bin if they ever went public.

"So what's got everyone worked up?" I asked as we entered the building. I glanced at the sign, and noted the polished silver logo for Argent Industries.

"A few calls came in over the last couple of hours reporting some odd sightings," Penny said as she closed up her umbrella. The company had set out a stand with plastic bags to try and keep the floor dry, and she slipped her umbrella into one before we continued on into the lobby. They were clearly concerned with keeping the white marble floor as pristine as possible. The beautiful stonework continued up the walls as a veneer reaching the ceiling, and marble columns were spaced here in there. I was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense sense of wealth and power. It was like walking into a museum or mansion instead of an office building in downtown Chicago.

"They were directed to S.I., who looped Robbins in," Penny continued as I looked over the multi-story lobby. "When he heard about the calls, he decided to join Lieutenant Stallings here. Of course, when they got here, they were stone-walled by the company."

"Why?" I asked, turning back to her. "What was reported?"

"Spontaneous human combustion," Penny said, stopping me in my tracks.

"Get out."

"There were over a dozen calls," Penny replied, shaking her head. "Several came from Argent Industries, while others were around town. When patrol cars were sent out, they either encountered Argent personnel on the scene, or saw them leaving. So Stallings and Robbins decided to pay them a visit."

"What did Argent say?" I asked, resuming our journey through the lobby. As we continued, I saw over a dozen police officers and investigators standing with an equal number of private security guards and corporate suits. A stench filled the air, and I sniffed at an unpleasant odor.

"They denied everything, of course," Penny said with a roll of her eyes. "Right up until one of their representatives burst into flames in front of us."

As she said it, we walked past a police line, and I got my first look at the still smoking remains of a human being.

The body was almost unrecognizable, with every inch of its skin and tissues blackened and charred. Its spine was twisted, warped by the heat of an intense fire. The arms were shriveled and malformed, the fingers curled as they grasped in desperation.

Parts of the form had already broken away, the torso and muscles crumbling to ash. The dark soot made a stark contrast with the white marble of the floors, and I briefly wondered what poor soul would be tasked with polishing the stone until there was no trace of the horrific death.

"You said you saw it?" I asked softly as I looked down at the body. The other investigators had already made room, and I knelt down to take a closer look, pushing my bag around to my back to keep it from swinging too close to the remains.

"He and a few others had come down to insist they knew nothing about the reports," Penny said, averting her eyes. I couldn't blame her. To me, the body was almost inhuman in its decay; but she'd seen the man only moments before he was burned alive, no doubt screaming in agony as he passed.

"Guess that changed their tune," I said as I looked over the remains.

Most of the man's clothes had burned along with him, but I could make out bits and pieces here and there that hadn't gone up with the rest. The fabric was a light gray, likely similar to what I was seeing on some of the other business men and women across the way. That which had touched the man was nothing more than ash, but the looser sections had escaped the flames.

Which was curious. Usually when someone caught fire, it was from exposure to hot flame or an accelerant being spread on their clothes or person. Previous reports of spontaneous human combustion had been debunked by the discovery of body oils that had exacerbated the spread of the fire. Others were fueled by alcohols spilled on clothing, and in a few rare cases of homicide, a murderer would coat the victim in nearly undetectable accelerants.

But in any of those cases, the clothing itself would always act as a fuel for the fire that burned the victim. Not all cases were fatal, and very rarely would anyone be burned so completely.

With clothing still intact, and the body all but incinerated, I was at a loss. Nothing could do this. Nothing could burn someone to the bone like this without any visible source.

Not even magic.

"Hayes," Deputy Chief Inspector Tobiah Robbins said as he walked up. I stood and nodded grimly in greeting as we both looked down at what was left of the man.

"You're telling me that he just went up in flames in front of you?" I asked them both, finally tearing my eyes away to look between them. "That there was no fire-starter involved? No attack?"

"There was nothing," Robbins said with a shake of his head. The man's dark eyes were steady, but there was a tension around them that told me just how unnerved he was by what he'd seen. "The man had spoken to us not two minutes before he bent over in pain. The next thing we knew, his skin was bubbling as if he were exposed to intense heat, and then he was engulfed."

"No odors? No sign of accelerant?"

"Nothing," he confirmed. "He was as crisp and clean as the rest of them." He nodded back toward the suits, who I took a moment to observe.

The corporate contingent to the crowd looked like they belonged on a film set or photo shoot rather than an office lobby late at night. There were a handful of them that looked fairly normal, as far as lawyers and businesswomen went, but a couple of them were nearly breathtaking in their appearance.

One woman in particular stood out from the rest. Dressed in a white pantsuit, her hair hung about her in loose curls, framing a pale face that Hollywood would be envious of. Her curves were subtle beneath the fabrics, but there was a sensuality to her posture that drew the eye. I felt my pulse quicken even across the room from her. And when her gaze drifted over me, I quickly looked away, a school-boy embarrassment creeping into my cheeks.

"You said something about other reports?" I asked, clearing my throat and attempting to concentrate on something other than the striking woman.

"Two that we know of," Penny confirmed. "First responders arrived to see black SUVs leaving the scene. They ran plates, which they linked back to Argent Industries. An hour later, at the second scene, officers encountered another pair of Suburbans. Private security was busy loading something into the trunk of one vehicle, and the police ordered them to stand down."

"What happened?" I asked, sneaking a glance at the woman across the way before focusing on Penny again. "Did they not seize the evidence?"

"No," she said with slight shake of her head. "A… representative of Argent Industries spoke with the officers. When backup arrived, the first responders were at a loss to explain why they'd let them go."

"Ah," I said, nodding. "Sounds like Argent Industries might be tied up in the hanky-panky."

Robbins arched an eyebrow, and I cleared my throat. "So the callers described something like this?" I said, gesturing toward the body.

"Yes," Penny replied. "And there were calls for another instance, which actually came in earlier than the others. Those calls originated here at Argent, but so far they've refused to tell us anything. Even after seeing it happen to one of their people."

"Why aren't they cooperating?" I asked, frowning as I looked over at the others. Their little meeting was breaking up, and a familiar face glanced our way.

"Apparently they don't want to work with the police," Robbins said. There was a certain emphasis on the last word that drew my attention, but I didn't have time to question him on it. The man I'd seen broke away from the stunning woman's entourage and headed our way.

"Why aren't you guys all over them?" I asked Lieutenant John Stallings as he joined us.

"Hello to you too, Hayes," the man said calmly.

Stallings and I had met years earlier. Our first encounter was actually back when he was second in command over at S.I., when he'd been dispatched to investigate my involvement in some mysterious fires in town. I'd proven my innocence, but the detectives over at Special Investigations smelled a rat. Robbins had clued in their former commander about my role in his more questionable cases, and the department had decided to keep me on retainer.

Since then, I'd worked with Stallings and the demoted Detective Sergeant Murphy quite a few times. We had a good respect for each other, even if the Lieutenant didn't go all-in on the supernatural. He was too good of a cop to ignore it, but too sane to accept it whole-heartedly.

"You're telling me your guys haven't crawled all over these suits?" I asked him. "Why don't you sick Murphy on them? She worries thing down to the bone."

"That's the last thing she needs," Stallings said with a somewhat tired tone to his voice. "She's already got enough people looking to boot her from the force; if she gets on the wrong side of this, there's nothing I can do. These Argent people seem to have some clout in City Hall. I've already gotten three calls since we arrived. Two from City Council members, and another from the mayor's office, telling me to back off."

"Damn," I said, shooting another glance at the corporate types. The knockout was looking our way, and a chill crept up my spine.

For just a second, I thought I saw a smirk at the corner of her mouth, as if she knew we were talking about them. But that was impossible, seeing as they were a few dozen yards away.

"They've already got their lawyers out, trying to push non-disclosure agreements on us," Stalling said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Regardless," Robbins said, turning back to me. "We've got at least one confirmed death, and reasonable concern for three others. But without their cooperation, we're not going to get anywhere."

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked him, glancing down at the body.

"One of the first calls from Argent said something about a hit-list," Stalling said softly. I turned back to him, my eyes widening as he explained. "They said that Argent employees were being targeted, and that they would be taken out one by one."

"These are assassinations," I said softly.

"So it seems," Robbins said. "Based on the calls, it appears that there's been one every hour, on the hour, for the last four hours. And there's every likelihood that there will be another at ten o'clock."

I checked my watch, and whistled softly when I saw the time. "We don't have long then."

"No," Robbins said. "So I need you to find whoever's doing this."

"Chief…" I said softly, trailing off as I looked at him in mild surprise. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but this is a bit beyond me."

"You've found three suspects in record time in the last six months," he said, his thick eyebrows furrowing. "Suspects no-one else could find a trace of. And all you had was some personal items."

I gaped at the man. "Look, I brushed up on some tricks, but nothing that'll help with this."

Which was true. Months earlier, I'd been involved in an investigation back in my hometown of Lake Providence, Michigan. An amateur demon summoner had been causing havoc, and half a dozen kids were dead before I managed to put an end to things.

But it had largely been luck that had led me to him. I'd had some exposure to tracking spells over the years, but I had no talent for them myself. In the world of magic, I was a nobody. Everything I could do was based on using magically crafted items that were enchanted with spells. Casting anything on my own, with my own power, was nearly impossible. So I hadn't really tried.

After the Lake Providence case, I'd realized that was a mistake. Had I known how to do a simple tracking spell, I could have found the suspect a lot sooner. So I'd made an effort to learn some very fundamental magics, mostly using crafted items for just such purposes.

I glanced at my new watch, and then shook my head.

"Chief, even with what I can do, there's nothing here from the perpetrator." I gestured at the body. "You said yourself that no-one attacked him. So unless we find something on him that they used to target him, or one of the other—"

I cut myself off as a thought crossed my mind. Robbins' eyebrow arched again. Stallings had the same stoic look he always did whenever anyone talked about magic in front of him, and Penny was carefully looking away. She'd only recently been clued in on the magical community, and hadn't quite come to terms with it yet.

"You look like you thought of something," Robbins said.

"Well…" I said, hesitating. "There was something…"

"What is it?"

I sighed, and glanced around to make sure no-one was close enough to hear us. I noted the beautiful woman across the way was still present, and seemed to have a concerning tilt to her head.

I spoke softly, just in case. Because you never know.

"There was a spell," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "It's one I came across during my studies."

"And it might help?" Robbins pressed.

"It was supposed to track a spell back to the spell-caster," I explained.

"If this was magic, that would be exactly what we need," Stalling said softly as he looked to the remains.

I wanted to ask him what else could incinerate a man like that if not magic, but I let it go. "The problem is, I never got it to work."

"Could you try?" Robbins asked.

"If I had samples," I said, nodding toward the body. "I'd need something from the individual targeted. If there's any magical residue left from what hit that guy, it might work. But more would be better."

"More?" Robbins asked with a frown. "We can probably get as much as needed, in this case."

"No, not from him," I explained. "The closest we got to succeeding was when we used multiple items from the same caster."

"We?" Penny asked, arching an eyebrow. She did it a lot better than Robbins. Or maybe it was just that her hazel eyes were a lot more pleasant to look at.

"My lab assistant," I lied, not wanting to get into it.

"You're talking about items from multiple spells," Stallings clarified. I nodded. "So if we had samples from the other purported victims, you might be able to do it," Stallings said with a shake of his head. "Which is the one thing we can't get with Argent stonewalling us."

Robbins turned to look at the suits, who all seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves. I found the dark haired woman staring at me, her eyes large and intense.

And I had a sinking suspicion that my concern about being overheard had been all too accurate.

"They have as much interest in finding who's responsible as we do," Robbins said. As he spoke, the woman and several of those with her started our way. "Maybe we can work something out."

"I don't know—" I began, but stopped as the others arrived.

"You are Mr. Hayes?" a man said, his dark suit matching the scowl he directed my way.

"Maybe," I said, as alarm bells started ringing in my head.

"You are a private arson investigator?" he continued.

"On occasion," I replied, caught off guard at their identification of me. Had the others said something about me before I arrived? Or had they looked into me only after I'd approached with Penny?

Were their resources really that good?

"We would like to hire you to consult on this matter," the man said, not bothering to glance at the body he'd walked past.

"I'm already consult—" I began.

"Something can be worked out," Robbins said, cutting me off with a warning look. "Mr. Hayes has already been brought in by my department, but I don't see where we can't work together. As long as information is shared both ways."

"Unacceptable," the man replied immediately. "We require confidentiality agreements for all of our consultants, and Mr. Hayes will not be at liberty to discuss anything with other parties."

"Well, I guess that's that—" I said, only to be cut off again.

"I believe we can come to an agreement," the raven-haired beauty said. I turned to her, and found eyes like storm clouds focused on me.

"Full disclosure," Robbins insisted.

"That will be impossible," she replied smoothly, her gaze not leaving mine. "There are trade secrets to be considered, but we will agree to status updates from Mr. Hayes as he works with our security detail to investigate."

Robbins hesitated, clearly not used to having terms dictated. But Stallings had said the corporation had significant pull, and I could tell that the Deputy Chief Inspector was weighing his options.

"I want someone with him—" he began.

"We will allow Mr. Hayes to provide hourly updates," she countered, finally turning to him. The tall man flinched under the look she gave him, something I'd never seen before. Nor had I ever seen a private citizen dictate anything to the police. Not without getting tossed into the back of a squad car for interfering with an investigation.

"Um, what about—"

"My people would like to know just what yours have been up to," Stallings said, taking his turn at cutting me off.

"To an extent," the woman said with a slight nod. "I will have Robert here provide our statement, along with everything we can share."

"But—"

"And any leads will be shared immediately," Robbins insisted. The woman turned back to him, allowing a long pause to grow before finally giving a slight nod.

"As Mr. Hayes sees fit," she replied.

"But—"

"Woody," Robbins said, cutting me off. My mouth opened and closed as he took my arm and led me a few steps away. "This is the only way we're going to learn anything. It's the reason I brought you in."

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. I thought back to what he'd said about them not working with the cops, and realized just what he'd meant.

"They don't want to work with us, and we can't trust them," he explained quietly. "You can be a middleman. And if your spell thingy works, maybe we can even save a few lives in the process, despite their interference."

I gaped like a fish for another moment as my brain rebooted. Robbins helped by taking my arm and leading me back over. "I think time is of the essence?" Robbins said suggestively, letting the Argent people know that he was aware of the time schedule the killer seemed to be keeping.

"Of course," the woman said with a slight nod. "If Mr. Hayes will come with us?" She gestured toward the far bank of elevators.

"Um," I said, trying to delay. "My bike is out front."

"We can have someone bring it around," the woman assured me.

"I'll need some things from it."

"Of course," she replied, her smile tightening somewhat.

"Touch base as soon as you have something," Robbins said to me, before leading Penny away. The girl's eyes were large as she walked toward the front, clearly just as surprised at the turn of events as I was.

"Hayes," Stallings said, handing me a card. I glanced at it, and saw that it had contact numbers. I already had them in my phone, but he knew that I'd replaced a few over the last year, and didn't have his number memorized. He'd prepared accordingly.

Clearly everyone had known what was happening except for me.

The Lieutenant was led away by Robert the Lawyer, leaving me with the beauty and her retinue. The woman gestured again toward the elevators.

A large part of me wanted to walk away. The alarm bells were still ringing, and they'd only gotten louder the closer I'd gotten to the woman. Getting in deep with a corporation that had allegedly covered up three deaths already that night didn't seem like a good idea.

But I cast a glance at the body still lying on the floor.

Spontaneous human combustion. A legend for as long as humanity had used fire. Debunked countless times, and yet still a fixture in society's consciousness. And now apparently proven to be real, to some extent.

"Alright," I said softly, sealing my fate.

"Thank you, Mr. Hayes," the woman said, her voice dripping with an alluring gratitude that made my knees weak. "You won't regret this."

I silently cursed the woman as we started forward. Hadn't she ever seen a movie or read a book? Whenever anyone said, 'you won't regret this', it was all but assured that it would be the most God-awful decision they'd ever made in their life.

But if things were as they seemed, someone out there was killing others in an incredible and unbelievable way. Despite the obvious danger of hunting a killer, I was intrigued. And between self-preservation and curiosity, curiosity won.

I just hoped I fared better than the cat.