Backstrom

Lieutenant, fire department says you can't smoke here.

Tell the smoking house behind me.

Are you gonna catch the bad man who burnt down my house?

What?

No, I'm not, kid. I'm a cop.

Talk to a fireman. Get out of here.

Your cigar stinks!

Yeah, well, your house stinks.

Did you find a murdered body in the ashes?

No, the family got out safely, thank God.

We're here because it's arson.

The fire department has their own arson investigators.

Yes, and the arson-investigation unit called us for help.

This is the work of a serial firebug.

They want fresh eyes on the case.

That's not what they want.

Firemen hate cops, and we hate them.

This arson investigator is lying through his teeth.

Her teeth.

And not lying, but otherwise, you nailed it.

Lieutenant, this is Arson Investigator Samantha Orland.

The fires the arsonist is setting are getting bigger, more frequent.

New wrinkle... this fire was set

with people in the house... kids.

That makes it attempted murder.

Time to ask for help.

I've arranged to have the case file sent over.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I don't trust her.

Why, because she puts public welfare before her own ego?

I wasn't asking you, Gravely.

I was seeking the opinion of a full-grown cop.

I feel like she's on the up-and-up.

No, Moto, I'm talking about Almond.

God.

She wants us on the case because she doesn't think

we can catch the arsonist either.

Spread the blame... makes her look good.

That's dark.

The truth is always dark, Moto.

That's how you know it's the truth.

Neverett!

Neverett!

Lieutenant, firefighter's calling you.

Neverett!

What brings you slummin' around a fire?

Take these back to the truck, probie.

Probie.

Nick D'Agostino.

My brother Sam.

- How you doing? - Moto.

- You work for Neverett? - Well, I call him lieutenant.

Well, we call him Neverett 'cause he's so negative.

Known him since we were kids.

- Yeah? Cooch county boys! - That's right.

Okay.

I'm gonna take a look inside the house.

Make sure they don't follow me.

Why would we? Fire's out. Our work here is done.

Come around and visit us down at the firehouse, Neverett.

Yeah, we'll put you in the calendar.

Tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing.

Tell me you were not drinking liquor

stolen from an active crime scene.

We're gonna catch these arsonists.

Okay, great.

But I literally need you to tell me

I'm not seeing what I'm seeing so that when I am deposed by the defense

I can tell them exactly what you say to me right now.

This is water that I brought because fires make me thirsty.

Arsonists? Like, more than one.

There are two.

Ugh.

Ah, good morning, lieutenant. Talk.

The arson unit refers to the arsonist

as "the green flame."

17 fires in the last 18 months, 7 in the last 9 weeks.

Now, today's fire is the first time the arsonist targeted humans.

- He's upping his ante to murder. - "Green flame"? What's that about?

Striation and oval residue marks indicate the use

of naphthenate and boric acids as accelerants.

They both burn with a distinctive, vivid green hue.

The fires are ignited by jury-rigged, time-delayed devices.

You plug them into the outlet.

They're basically just fuses that are rigged to fail after a few hours.

Lieutenant, I can't help but notice that you're actually listening to me,

which I find both heartening and disturbing.

Don't get used to it.

We've got uniforms canvassing the neighbors

of the previous two fires... ooh!

Didn't the arson unit do that?

We're cops. We're better.

Boom.

I found that where you caught me drinking water.

Okay.

Why would a cabinet contain one broken ceramic bird?

It's a lovebird.

There should be two.

- Yeah. - Lovebirds come in pairs.

Do you think one lovebird killed its mate,

started the fire to cover its tracks,

- and then escaped? - Avian domestic abuse.

Okay. Okay.

Firefighters are setting fires and then stealing from the houses.

Whoa, did you pull a groin muscle leaping to that conclusion, lieutenant?

Two ringleaders, Nick and Sam D'Agostino,

never took off their heavy jackets.

Why do you think that is? Because they were filled with loot.

Uh, okay, forgive me, sir.

Inductive-reasoning flaw... just because a firefighter

is a thief doesn't make him an arsonist.

D'Agostino stole something from me when I was 12 years old.

They are typical firefighters... glory hogs and thieves.

Niedermayer's point still stands.

Glory hogs and arsonists are different things.

People! Get out of my way on this, okay?

We find the thieves, we find the arsonists.

You inductive flaws can follow your arson leads,

I'll follow the thief leads,

and I guarantee you that when we meet,

the D'Agostino brothers will be standing between us.

Whoa.

S01E02 Bella

It is not protocol splitting an investigation in two.

It's a matter of perception.

How?

We're chasing an arsonist, and Backstrom is chasing thieves...

if they are even thieves. We don't even know if they're thieves.

You know what I think?

I think that those handsome firemen

were mean to poor, pudgy, little Backstrom when they were kids.

Classic bullying scenario?

Can you call it that if the person deserved it?

Don't answer that.

I'm an awful person.

Tell me about this person we're going to question.

She's a fire sculptor.

- That's a thing? - Yes.

Perhaps the most ephemeral form of sculpture.

Okay, and you found her how?

The fire department has used her several times as an expert.

And, like our arsonist, she specializes in green flames.

Is she a suspect?

Mm, when I spoke to her on the phone,

she was definitely... She really likes fire.

You want to "good cop, bad cop" her?

I'll lead by being very interested in green flames. And you?

I'll ask her where she was when the fire was set.

I also think that we'll get a sense from her

as to what kind of person gets off on fire

and what our next step might be to catch that person.

Okay.

When you say "gets off"...

Sexually... that's what motivates most arsonists.

Oh, God.

Hope I'm not building up the weirdness factor too much.

- You're a fence. - I deal in collectibles.

I steal something valuable... how long before it hits the black market?

That depends.

High-end electronics,

you file off the serial numbers and sell them immediately.

Fine china, you want to wait about six months.

Custom jewelry, at least a year,

and you probably want to head for another country.

Serious art, you need a private collector.

Why? What do you got?

Insurance reports...

stuff supposedly destroyed in the fire.

I think firemen stole them.

All right.

I mean, I can ask around, see if any of this has hit the streets.

Thanks. You hit the fences, I'll hit the thieves.

Well, I got 100 bucks says I'll get the goods before you.

Done.

So, these D'Agostino brothers...

what are they, like, childhood enemies?

They lived across the street. They tortured me every day.

Mm, torture...

like, literally, with a blowtorch and pliers,

or metaphorically, where they called you names

and belittled your accomplishments?

Torture is torture, Valentine.

Put some pants on.

That's disgusting.

As an art form, fire is evanescent and fleeting.

- Like an orgasm. - We're looking for an arsonist.

- I am an arsonist. - Oh, well, that was easy.

I got it.

Ms. Norburg, we have a couple of questions we'd like to ask you.

Where were you yesterday morning at 5:30?

In my bed.

Sex and fires have much in common.

Passions are ignited.

Our loins burn like fire. We are consumed by love.

And when it's over, we taste ashes.

And both can be stopped by a blast of cold water.

Stake out the fire.

Pyrophiliacs love flames, but we also like the aftermath.

Okay, thank you.

Huh.