Susan Sleeman - Explosive Alliance

“So.” Skyler’s no-nonsense tone brought Cash’s attention back to the group. Her focus traveled around the table. “Give me your thoughts.”

Archer sat forward. “Though this is a real stereotype, being Caucasian makes the bomber less likely to be a terrorist.”

Skyler nodded. “But terrorists can be Caucasian, too. Especially ecoterrorists in a green state like Oregon. Still, they rarely resort to bombing, and I can’t see an environmental reason for bombing the stadium.”

Jake shifted on the edge of the table, a frown drawing down his face. “If he is a terrorist, he’ll take credit for his work in the next twenty-four hours or so.”

“Can’t you just look up who bought the ticket for the suspect’s seat number?” Darcie asked. “Wouldn’t you then have his identity?”

Jake shook his head. “Someone who plants a bomb won’t buy a ticket under his real name.”

“Plus, the heavy rain kept people away, leaving tons of empty seats in the covered area,” Cash added. “The bomber might have simply taken advantage of an empty seat.”

“What about the bomb itself?” Skyler asked. “Does it give you any thoughts on who we might be looking for?”

Cash nodded. “The bomb was rudimentary, but it did have an antiremoval device, so that speaks to some experience with explosives. Also, he used blocks of Semtex, which aren’t easy to come by.” Cash shifted on his feet. “The question I think we need to be asking is, what did he hope to accomplish with the bomb? The backpack was placed by the stanchion holding up the roof. Maybe he wanted to take it down, but without tamping the bomb, it wouldn’t likely happen.”

“Tamping?” Darcie asked.

“In layman’s terms it means aiming the force of the blast in the direction you want it to go to make the explosion more effective.”

“Which tells us what exactly?” Jake asked.

“Either he’s not very knowledgeable about bombs, or his intent was simply to kill someone in the seating area rather than damage the stadium. Of course, if he had a specific target, then he might’ve thought to add shrapnel to inflict the most damage, but he didn’t.”

Brady looked up from a small piece of wood and a knife in his hands. A hyper guy, he often whittled to keep calm. “Setting a bomb is a pretty drastic action just to kill one or two people. I can think of many less risky ways to kill someone.”

Jake faced Skyler. “I’m assuming you’ll look at security videos and request street cam, business and MAX footage. Not just for today but earlier on.”

She nodded. “Though I’d rather not involve the media in this, I’ll also have them issue a plea to the public for any pictures or videos taken of the targeted seating section for our review. And we’ll get a team on interviewing ticket holders.” She grabbed her pen. “What about potential suspects?”

“The obvious one is a stadium employee,” Archer said, his intense focus on Skyler. “And event crews or even concessions company staff. They’d have access and if they were unhappy with their work they’d have a motive, too.”

“Same with delivery people,” Jake tossed out. “Or recycling company employees who pick up green products.”

Skyler’s pen raced across the paper.

Cash grinned. “And despite what Otto may think, we also can’t rule out the players and coaches. Though I suspect Otto wouldn’t mind if we limited our inquiries to the opposing team.”

Brady cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. “Don’t forget to add Ms. Curry and Otto.”

“Are you honestly liking them for this?” Cash asked. “I mean, we have no motive for her wanting to do this.”

Brady met Cash’s gaze. “You haven’t been in law enforcement all that long, but we all know—”

“The person who reports the crime—” Skyler finished writing and looked up “—is always a suspect until we can prove otherwise. And that includes finding the motive you’re speaking of.”

“I’m not sure this counts on the motive thing,” Darcie said, “but Krista’s wearing designer clothes. Not something she could afford on a preschool teacher’s salary. And I didn’t see a wedding ring so there’s not likely a spouse to pay for the clothes.”

“She still could be married,” Archer said.

The thought left Cash more unsettled than he wanted to think about.

“Or divorced. Or widowed,” Jake added.

“Easy enough to find out. I’ll ask.” Skyler stepped outside. Cash saw Krista’s shoulders go up in a defensive posture at the question.

Was she hiding an involvement in the bombing, or did she simply hate personal questions?

Skyler returned. “Widowed. Four years ago.”

Cash sighed, drawing Jake’s attention so Cash quickly moved on. “If we’re looking at Krista for this, then we should also look into the woman who incited the crowd. I can check a stadium diagram for her seat number. It may not lead anywhere if she was dodging the rain, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Once you locate the number, I’ll make it a priority to find her.” Skyler looked around the group. “Any other suggestions or ideas?”

No one spoke.

“Okay, then.” Skyler tucked her notebook in her backpack. “As Jake said, I’ll be teaming up with the city. We’ll both assign considerable resources to the investigation, but with the number of people to be interviewed, it would be great if everyone volunteered time to help.”

“I’m game.” Brady hopped to his feet.

The others added their agreement.

“Great,” Skyler said. “If you’ll email your schedules to me, I’ll work you in the rotation. And thanks for the help.”

“That all?” Brady was clearly itching to get moving. Cash was surprised it had taken him this long to ask.

Jake nodded. “We’re good to go.”

Brady shot for the door.

“I’ll go tell Krista and Otto they’re free to leave.” Cash headed outside before anyone tried to stop him, especially Skyler, who was coming his way. He stepped into the cold, damp air and zipped his jacket as he approached the pair.

The scent of popcorn lingering in the air spoke of fun and enjoyment, contradicting Otto’s fatigued expression. He looked plumb worn-out and still had a long train ride.

Cash met Otto’s gaze. “You two look like you could use a ride home instead of taking MAX.”

“No,” Krista said.

“That is most generous,” Otto said at the same time.

She frowned at him. “It’s not necessary, Deputy Dixon.”

“It’s Cash,” he said, not liking the formality of her tone for reasons he chose not to analyze. “Necessary or not, I want to help.”

“Thank you.” Otto smiled. “We will be glad to accept your offer. Might I use the restroom before we go?”

Cash ignored Krista’s stare and nodded. “There’s one in the restaurant.”

“I’ll go with you.” Krista helped Otto rise and move back into the restaurant.

Skyler eyed the pair as they strolled by. After the door closed, she joined Cash. “What’s going on?”

“With what?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“You and Ms. Curry know each other?”

“No.”

“But you find her attractive.”

“What red-blooded male wouldn’t?” He held up a hand to stop Skyler from continuing. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan to do anything about it.”

“Please don’t be offended that I asked about this.” She took a step closer. “You haven’t been a deputy all that long, and I want to make sure you understand your role here.”

He smiled. “You mean other than the red-blooded-male thing?”

She frowned at him. “I’m serious here, Cash.”

So was he. He wasn’t uncomfortable disagreeing with others on the team. That was the norm for him, but he was uncomfortable with his reason for disagreeing today. He couldn’t clear Krista from suspicion just because she was pretty and kind to her grandfather. He needed to take a step back. To focus on the evidence in front of him as he’d been taught. To remember Brady spoke the truth—suspect the person who reported the crime until they were ruled out.