Chapter Four
Thayne felt good under his body.
Jarrett kissed him harder, loving the taste of his lover more than just about anything.
He loved topping Thayne and in fact, he was generally more comfortable as a top.
Jarrett didn’t know what it was about remaining in control all the time but it was working for him now, that was for sure.
Sometimes he needed this.
Sometimes he needed to take hold of a lover’s hands, hold him down, and feel his lover submit to him.
Sometimes he wanted to be the one on the bottom, but after what he’d been dwelling on today, he needed to take control of his emotions the only way he knew how.
He needed Thayne to submit to him.
Jarrett reached for Thayne’s hands, lacing their fingers together as he slowly dragged them up the bed.
Once he had them over Thayne’s head, he broke their kiss and looked down at him.
“I need you too, Thayne.
I need ya like this.
You understand?”
Thayne’s bright blue eyes shone in the dim light of the room and he blinked.
“You need me to submit to you, don’t you, Jarrett? Is that what you need from me tonight?”
Jarrett squeezed his eyes tight, feeling the well of tears behind his lids as he ducked his head, nodding jerkily.
“Then take what you need from me, baby,”
Thayne whispered against his lips.
“I’m here, Jarrett.
I’ll be anything you need me to be, sweetheart.”
Jarrett sucked in a breath, opening his eyes, allowing himself to stare at Thayne for just a second before he was forced to look away.
He abruptly sat back, letting go of Thayne’s hands.
He couldn’t let Thayne see what he knew was in his eyes at the moment.
Opening that door wasn’t one he wanted to open tonight.
“Turn over for me, will ya?”
The words came out graveled as his throat tightened.
He moved off Thayne and waited until Thayne had flipped to his stomach.
Without asking, Thayne raised his arms over his head and laced his fingers together as he pushed his ass up in the air.
Jarrett felt his breathing stutter in his chest as everything about Thayne relaxed and went submissive on the bed.
Jarrett’s heart swelled in his chest but he managed to scoot backward off the bed and grab his duffel, removing his shaving kit where he’d packed lube and condoms for them.
A moment later he climbed back on the bed and moved into place between Thayne’s spread knees.
He leaned down and whispered in Thayne’s ear.
“Don’t say… just don’t say nothin’, okay?”
Thayne nodded and gratitude washed over Jarrett.
He picked up the lube and squirted some on his hand before grabbing onto Thayne’s gorgeous bubble butt, spreading him wide as he sank the fingers of his other hand into his crack.
He immediately found the tight hole and began rubbing over it, twirling his large middle finger around the rim and thrusting the tip of it inside before pulling it out again.
Thayne let out a breathless moan as Jarrett repeated the action, rubbing, thrusting, digging, dragging his fingers along his insides as he loosened him for his cock.
Thayne remained motionless and silent except for the shudders Jarrett could feel as tremors began rolling through Thayne.
The more Jarrett worked his ass, the harder Thayne’s body trembled but true to his word, his usually verbose lover remained silent.
It was incredible to Jarrett that Thayne cared about him enough to do this for him.
He’d always known Thayne was a thoughtful lover, but this brought that fact to a whole new level and it was what Jarrett desperately needed.
He abruptly removed his fingers and tore open a condom, rolling it on and slicking himself up, unable to dwell on that anymore.
Jarrett moved into place behind Thayne, grasping both of his hips and pulling him up until Thayne was on his hands and knees with his legs spread.
Jarrett grasped his cock with one hand, setting the other on Thayne’s lower back, and guided himself in.
Thayne said nothing but his harsh intake of breath could be heard as Jarrett advanced, pushing past the tight ring of muscle inside Thayne and sinking deeply.
Thayne’s rippling muscles gripped his cock like a tight fist and it felt so good Jarrett felt as though he could die from the pleasure it gave him.
He pushed in deeply and then pulled out again as Thayne merely huffed.
“That’s good, darlin’,”
he groaned.
“So damned tight.
Ya gotta nice ass, Thayne.”
He fucked him harder, loving the way it felt to have Thayne under him, completely at his will, completely his to do whatever he wanted to do with him.
The only sounds in the large hotel room were the slap of their bodies and the grunts and groans of Thayne beneath him as Jarrett fucked him.
He sped his movements, hanging on to Thayne’s hips for dear life as the sweat began to roll down his body.
His own hard breaths came out in strangled pants.
Jarrett leaned over Thayne as his hips continued to thrust.
“Take yourself in hand, Thayne.
Get yourself off and come with me, darlin’.”
Thayne whimpered but he did as he was told and Jarrett watched him reach for his own cock and begin to stroke it.
“That’s right, come on, Thayne,”
Jarrett grunted as he continued to pound inside him.
The sight of Thayne’s arm moving and Jarrett’s cock disappearing inside Thayne’s body was incredible.
The way Thayne’s ass squeezed his dick was amazing.
Everything about him was submissive and Jarrett’s entire body broke out into chills as he realized how much he must care about him to do this for him.
It was exactly what Jarrett needed.
He felt his control returning.
He felt a wave of confidence flood through him like he hadn’t felt in years.
Only when he had a target in his gun sights did he ever feel this much in control and Thayne was the one who had given this to him.
Thayne suddenly threw back his head and groaned.
“Come for me, Thayne. Come on.”
Jarrett grunted as he slammed inside Thayne’s tight ass, feeling his own orgasm approaching.
“Jarrett…,”
Thayne whispered.
“So good, Thayne… you’re perfect, darlin’.”
Jarrett felt Thayne’s ass spasm as he whimpered and his lover’s climax triggered his own.
“God, Thayne!”
Jarrett shuddered and came, convulsing into his orgasm as he thrust in hard, once, twice, and then again, holding Thayne’s beautiful ass in a death grip.
He filled the condom buried so deeply inside Thayne that he felt as though no two people could get any closer than they were right now.
Jarrett set his forehead on Thayne’s trembling back as he felt the last of his orgasm wash over him.
Love you, baby.
The thought came unbidden into Jarrett’s mind but for the first time in his life, he didn’t shy away from what those thoughts could possibly mean to their future.
Thayne had given everything to him tonight.
With his simple act of trust and submission, Thayne had become his whole world; all the pain and horror of finding that tiny rag doll on the cold ground was washed away, swept out of Jarrett’s heart and replaced with the frightening feelings of love instead of loss.
****
Thayne shuddered beneath Jarrett, soaking in the feeling of having him in his bed, not letting his fears chase them away for the first time since they’d been together.
He knew something had changed between them… suddenly gotten more serious and intense and oddly, he was okay with it.
As Jarrett clung to him, Thayne relaxed his arms and carried him down to the bed with him as Jarrett remained buried deeply.
He could still feel Jarrett throbbing inside him, still feel his heavy cock as he pushed in and out slowly.
He knew that he’d done whatever Jarrett needed from him tonight, and that alone meant everything to Thayne.
As Jarrett’s large body settled down on him from behind, Thayne felt him press a kiss to the side of his neck and he remained still, turning his head to capture Jarrett’s soft lips with his own.
Jarrett grunted and broke the kiss a few moments later, pulling out and rolling to the side.
Thayne instantly missed his lover’s weight and wanted it back.
He rolled to the side and caught sight of Jarrett’s angelic smile as he sat up and dealt with the condom and then lay down again, reaching out for him.
Thayne rolled closer and moved into Jarrett’s strong arms, bringing their mouths together for another hot kiss.
They stayed that way, clinging to each other, saying nothing, but just kissing for long moments.
Jarrett’s mouth wasn’t frantic; he was slow and deliberate as he explored Thayne’s mouth with his own tongue.
He kissed him back, needing this as much as Jarrett did, trying not to think about the feelings that had been growing between them for the longest time.
He was beginning to think he was falling in love with this man and Thayne was suddenly struck dumb, terrified that he was alone in this journey.
Jarrett had never professed his love to him and he’d always made sure that Thayne knew he was in this relationship for sex and the comfort that brought.
The last thing Thayne had expected when he’d met Jarrett was that he would fall for him.
He’d tried to keep his distance, especially when they’d been separated for months after the trial for Mills Lang.
He’d hoped they could keep their distance when Jarrett returned from his training but Jarrett must have been feeling something for him to climb into bed with him again.
Thayne hadn’t expected or wanted that to happen.
He told himself that they could remain emotionally distant from each other and that was the way they worked best together, but he couldn’t… especially now.
They kissed for a long time before Jarrett finally pulled back and when Jarrett reached up and ran his fingers through Thayne’s hair, he could see how hard he was fighting his own emotions.
He’d been wearing them on his sleeve all goddamned day.
Jarrett met his gaze with the ice-blue eyes that Thayne loved so much and then he closed them, shuttering his feelings and emotions as he dropped his hand and pulled Thayne tightly against him.
Thayne relaxed into his hold, throwing an arm over Jarrett’s waist as he closed his own eyes and drifted off.
****
Two hours after Thayne had fallen asleep in Jarrett’s arms, he opened his eyes and looked over at him.
Jarrett had relinquished his hold on Thayne when he’d fallen asleep and he was lying on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes as he snored gently.
Thayne moved slowly as he put his legs over the side of the bed.
He glanced at the table where he’d hastily dropped the file Ada had given him when they were out at the base.
He stood up and padded into the bathroom, closing the door as he flipped on the light.
In the bright glow of the halogen can lights, he faced the mirror, noting the ugly scar which ran down the center of his chest right between his pecs.
It had faded over time, no longer red or even pink, lightening to a silvery white but he still hated it.
Some days, he felt relief to just be alive when he looked at it, and some days it filled him with so much anger, he could think of nothing else.
The handcuff scars on his wrists were different.
They filled him with an entirely different kind of emotion.
He kept them covered, wearing long-sleeved Henleys and suit jackets to try to forget the struggle he’d put up to save Noah Watkins so long ago.
Those scars hurt like hell… but the pain was on the inside, not the outside.
Thayne had never understood why Lang had left him alive after killing Noah but he suspected it had been Lang’s attempt at torturing Thayne for sleeping with Noah first.
Lang was a sadist in the most textbook sense so it would make sense that he’d gotten off on beating Noah to death in front of Thayne, only to let him live with it afterward.
He’d lived with the knowledge that he had been weak and helpless for months and months before they’d busted Lang.
After spending almost two years gathering evidence while working undercover in Mills Lang’s crew, he thought they’d have enough to convict the arms dealer, but apparently not every juror had been convinced of his guilt.
Even more disturbing than the mistrial that resulted in Lang’s release from jail, was the fact that the State’s Attorney still hadn’t decided whether he was going to retry him.
Thayne had nearly died and Jarrett had been badly wounded all because Lang decided to hire someone to kill them and the fucking prosecutor couldn’t decide what to do.
Thayne had talked to the prosecutor shortly after the trial and the man had almost seemed embarrassed by the jury’s inability to come to a unanimous decision.
He’d been unwilling to commit to a retrial but Thayne had been convinced he’d eventually come to his senses.
He hadn’t yet.
The more time that went by, the less Thayne was convinced Mills Lang would ever be brought to justice.
Then there was the very real possibility that there was still a price on Thayne’s head.
When he’d first come back to work after the trial, he and Stanger had discussed whether he should be allowed to go back to his normal life without protection.
He knew Jarrett would continue to protect him if Stanger insisted, but Thayne had firmly decided that he was going to live his life the only way he saw fit to do so.
He was going to carry on and go to work and the gym and whatever else he needed to do.
If Mills Lang still wanted him dead, Thayne had decided that he would deal with that when the time came.
From what the ATF could tell, Lang had dropped his desire for vengeance and no new contract hit men had been hired to take Virgil’s place.
After nearly seven months, Thayne was pretty sure he wasn’t in any more danger but he was always on the lookout for a way to get more evidence on Mills Lang—perhaps open a new case on him.
Thayne wouldn’t be through with Lang until the bastard was rotting behind bars for the rest of his life.
Thayne used the bathroom and washed his hands, stopping to shut off the light before he opened the bathroom door so he wouldn’t wake up Jarrett.
When he stepped out of the bathroom and smack dab into a wide chest, Thayne nearly jumped out of his skin.
Jarrett’s sinewy arms tightened around him and pulled him close.
“Jesus, Jarrett.
You scared the ever loving crap out of me!”
Thayne grunted.
He swatted Jarrett’s ass.
“I know you do that on purpose.”
Jarrett chuckled into his neck.
“I’m sorry, darlin’.”
He kissed the side of his neck.
His three-day-old beard tickled.
Thayne couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his arms around Jarrett.
He held on tight until his heart stopped pounding in his chest and then he turned his head and caught Jarrett’s mouth in a kiss.
Jarrett groaned as Thayne thoroughly reminded him of what had transpired in the room only a few hours before and when he finally pulled back, Jarrett chased his lips without success.
“Come on, Thayne.
I weren’t done with ya,”
he drawled.
Thayne loved it when Jarrett lapsed into the West Virginia twang he tried to downplay most of the time.
He only really let it come through when he was making a conscious effort to play it up for some reason or was very stressed or tired.
Thayne suspected he was very tired.
He reached up and ran his fingers through the short white hair he loved so much.
“I’m sorry I woke you.”
Jarrett let go of him and stepped back, out of Thayne’s reach.
“S’okay.
I never sleep very well.
Three, four hours a night is all I need.”
Thayne stepped close and cupped his jaw with a palm.
“I think it’s more than that, Jarrett.
You have a lot on your mind.
You have been off ever since we went out to that scene today.”
Jarrett stared at him for a few seconds and then frowned before looking away.
“Yeah, I was just reminded of stuff out there,”
he drawled.
“Stuff you can tell me about?”
Thayne asked.
Jarrett sighed deeply and then shook his head before meeting Thayne’s worried gaze.
“It’s one of those things I absolutely can’t talk to ya about, darlin’.
I wish I could tell you but I can’t.”
Jarrett reached for Thayne’s hand, pressing it against his own cheek as he stared into his eyes again.
His gaze looked far away and Thayne could have kicked himself for bringing up all those painful emotions again.
“I know, Jarrett.”
They embraced for a minute or so and then Thayne let go of Jarrett, walking back into the bedroom where he went for his duffel bag and pulled out a pair of sleeping pants and a sleeveless T-shirt which he liked to use in the gym.
It was full of tiny holes from being washed a million times but it was so soft, Thayne loved it.
He pulled it over his head and climbed into the soft pants before walking over to the small table in the room and flipping on a light.
He opened his laptop and called up a website before reaching over and opening the file folder Ada had copied for him.
When Jarrett came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, he was surfing the web and taking notes on a small pad of paper.
“You just couldn’t resist that file, could ya?”
Jarrett asked.
Thayne looked up.
Jarrett had pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an olive-green T-shirt.
His hair was damp.
He’d obviously showered and he looked sexy as hell with the black stubble on his cheeks.
He turned the laptop to show Jarrett what he’d found.
“Something bothered me about the note that was sent to the base operations office.
It sounded almost familiar.
Look at this.”
Thayne pointed to a page open on his computer.
Isaiah 30:33 "The breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." “It’s part of a Bible passage from the book of Isaiah.
I thought I’d heard that somewhere before.
It must have been in Sunday school or something.”
Jarrett stared at the laptop and then ran his finger over the photocopy of the note in the file folder before meeting Thayne’s gaze.
He pulled out a chair and thumped down into it, stretching out his long legs and crossing them at the ankles.
“So we have a religious nut, just like I said.”
Thayne nodded as he pointed at the laptop.
“There’s a lot about fire and brimstone here. Look.”
Revelation 19:20 “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
Jarrett picked up the file folder and began flipping through pages as if looking for something.
“What?”
“Any reports from the medical examiner?”
Jarrett asked, squinting at the file.
Thayne shook his head.
“No, because the only fatality so far was Gregory Mason.”
Jarrett blew out a breath and rubbed his eyes.
“Yeah, of course.
There wouldn’t be one yet.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know.
If we’re dealing with a religious nutjob, it might make sense that Mason himself was targeted.
Maybe he had the ‘mark of the beast’ on him or something.”
Thayne smiled.
“Like the kid in The Omen?”
Jarrett’s whole face lit up.
“Yeah! Like that.”
Thayne snorted.
“I suppose you want us to ask the medical examiner to shave Mason’s head.”
Jarrett nodded.
“Sounds good to me.”
Thayne laughed.
“You slay me, man.”
“Hey, that’s why ya keep me around… for the little things.”
Thayne shook his head and returned his attention to the laptop, where he studied the Wikipedia page for fire and brimstone references in the bible.
Something occurred to him and he began typing.
“What? You think of something else?”
Jarrett asked.
Thayne squinted at the laptop, scrolling through web pages.
“Here.
Check this out.”
He turned the laptop so Jarrett could read it with him.
He’d opened a page dedicated to San Diego’s climate, topography, and ecology.
“This states that the Torrey Pines region of San Diego, which is very close to Miramar, has a lagoon, which you could probably call a lake… you know as in “lake of fire”
and look at this,”
he pointed triumphantly.
“In 2003, San Diego was the site of the largest wildfire in California over the past century.
It killed 15 people, destroyed 2,200 homes, and burned over 280,000 acres.”
“The lake… of fire?”
Jarrett said, meeting his gaze with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s a bit of a stretch, Thayne, but you may be on to something.
If the killer blew up this firework display as a result of them being a religious fanatic, there could be more of these crimes somewhere.”
“We need to do some more research, Jarrett.
If someone connected to this pyrotechnic crew is doing this, they would be traveling all over.
They set up these shows in other places.
What do you want to bet there are other fireworks explosions somewhere else besides the LA region?”
Thayne said.
“We need to find out whether there are more of these.
And as much as I hate to say it, we might need to bring the FBI in on this.
If something happened somewhere else using the same MO, we might be dealing with a serial.”
“But if it was a fireworks explosion, it would have landed on our radar not the FBI’s,”
Thayne said.
“Unless the police department investigated it as an accident,”
Jarrett said.
Thayne’s eyes widened.
“You’re right.
I’m gonna call Sarah and see if she can do a little research.”
He reached for his phone when Jarrett stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
“Dude, it’s 4:25 in the morning,”
Jarrett said with a laugh.
“Oh, shit.
I just got caught up in all this,”
Thayne said, putting down his phone.
He threw Jarrett his best leer as he closed his laptop.
“I guess this will have to wait a few hours.
Then we can call Sarah to ask for her help in checking out the other regions from the office, call Stanger to update him, call Ada and get into the medical examiner’s office, and hit up the local FBI.”
He stood up and leaned down, putting both hands on Jarrett’s shoulders, giving Jarrett his sexiest come hither smile.
“I suppose we’ll have to find something else to do until we wake everyone up.”
Jarrett smirked at him as he stood up, reaching for Thayne.
“I guess so, darlin’.”
Jarrett leaned down and kissed Thayne, letting his tongue slide into his mouth as Thayne opened for it.
Jarrett backed him toward the bed, reaching down and pulling at the hem of his T-shirt.
Thayne stepped back and laughed.
“Don’t rip it.
I know how you are when you get urgent about things.”
Jarrett ignored him and pulled the T-shirt up and over Thayne’s head, throwing it into the corner as he backed Thayne toward the bed.
The dimples in his cheeks reappeared as he stalked him backward, pushing him onto the bed and following him down.
“You’re the one who rips shirts, remember?”
Thayne chuckled against Jarrett’s lips as he felt his lover’s hard erection grind down on his body.
“You’re impossible.”
“Shut up and kiss me, Wolfe,”
Jarrett said, going for his lips.
Thayne, always obedient when Jarrett got that growl in his voice, did just that.
Whenever Jarrett let that dominant warrior out into the open, he knew he had no choice but to back down and he loved it.
****
Jarrett was apologetic when they met up with Ada for coffee later that morning.
He explained that he’d been having a tough day and she smiled sweetly, telling him that she understood completely, letting the subject drop.
He was really grateful for that.
He’d hoped that being married to a Marine who probably had his own memories of what he’d done over there, would make her sympathetic.
Besides, Jarrett was just enough of an asshole that he really didn’t care if she understood or not.
He just wanted out of San Diego, the sooner, the better.
They began running their theory by her and she looked more than a little disturbed to think that Greg Mason could have been killed by someone that she had cleared for licensing, someone she knew.
“You’ll probably want to talk to the crew first and then afterward, I’ll get you into the medical examiner’s office to talk to the coroner about her findings in Mason’s death.
I haven’t even had a chance to talk to his wife, Mary, yet,” Ada said.
“Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone,”
Thayne said, “I think she was on the crew, right? Maybe she can add some insight to the new people they hired as well.”
Ada nodded.
“Yes, she always tried to work the shows with him.
Their home isn’t here in San Diego.
It’s up in LA somewhere but they traveled a lot.”
She shook her head.
“I bet she’s just devastated.”
“Okay, let’s finish up here and try and talk to her and the others, then we need to go see the M.E.”
Jarrett picked up his black coffee and downed the rest of it.
He was still tired from the workout he and Thayne put themselves through after Thayne shut down his computer early that morning.
They’d never gotten back to sleep before getting up and hitting a 24 Hour Fitness center just before meeting Ada for coffee.
As it turned out, when Ada called Mary Mason, she learned that she was at the medical examiner’s office and had been all morning, waiting for the coroner to complete the autopsy on her husband so that she could have his body released to the funeral director she’d hired.
She told Ada that she would be willing to answer any questions they had if they’d meet her downtown.
They piled into Jarrett’s Jeep for the short ride to the coroner and when they walked into the office, they were directed to a small waiting room.
Jarrett was slightly surprised to find a thin older woman, easily at least sixty years old, with long graying hair drawn back into a braid, wearing a sweater over a T-shirt and a pair of jeans covered in soot.
She looked as though she’d been crawling around in a chimney with black smudges on her teary face.
Is it possible she hasn’t changed since the explosion?
She rose to greet them and after introductions, she explained that indeed, she hadn’t left her husband’s side since the explosion, following him from the scene to the hospital, and now to the M.E.’s office.
Jarrett had to wonder if she was in denial that he was actually dead.
“Thank you for meeting with us, Mary,”
Ada said.
“I know this must be hard on you.”
Mary Mason nodded.
“Yes.
I was there when it happened.
I just can’t believe Greg’s gone.”
“Can you tell us what happened, ma’am?”
Thayne asked quietly.
Mrs.
Mason turned to his partner and nodded.
“We finished the setup like we always do.
I was doing my final check of the launching system while Greg checked the e-match connections to the pinboard.”
“So you would have noticed if any of the launch tubes were pointed toward the spectators?”
Jarrett asked.
Mary Mason blinked and shook her head, looking quite shocked that she’d actually been asked the question.
“Well, yes, I would have noticed.
We’d never let that happen.
That could hurt someone if a shell were launched toward the crowd.”
“What is your theory as to why the explosion happened, Mrs. Mason?”
Thayne asked.
“Theory?”
She seemed to stutter and pause before continuing.
“I have no idea.
We’ve been doing this for over twenty years.
We’ve always been careful.
I can’t understand what went wrong.
Greg was a professional.
That’s why Miramar asked us back every year.
We worked that show for a dozen years in a row.
It always came off without a hitch.
This was just an accident but I’ve been sitting here since it happened, turning it over in my mind, and I honestly can’t understand what happened.
It makes no sense.”
“So you and your husband, Greg, were the last two people who went through the setup once it was completed? What was the rest of the crew doing?”
Jarrett asked.
“We had Beth and Anthony with us that day.
They are the two new interns we’ve been using since we hired them in December.
We’d used them on two jobs before this.
One in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles.
Anthony was going over the delivery manifest with Beth and the big rig driver.
I was checking the launching system shortly before the explosion happened.
I’d just walked outside the fencing to answer questions for curious folks in the crowd and was about fifty yards away when suddenly everything went crazy.
Greg was still inside the barrier we had set up to keep the crowd at bay when it happened so he got the worst of the burns.
The rest of us were pelted with burning debris.
“I guess I was knocked on the head by something when it happened.
I must have passed out for a couple of minutes.
When I woke up, Anthony was dragging me further away from the explosion.
The paramedics looked me over and then told me that they were transporting Greg and some other spectators to the hospital and then stuck me in an ambulance as well.
They treated me for a concussion and then released me.
When I found out Greg was in grave condition, I just waited out in the corridor with Beth and Anthony until the doctor told me Greg died.”
“But that was hours after he was taken in, right?”
Ada asked.
Jarrett noticed how she put her hand on Mary’s forearm, probably to comfort the crying woman.
Mrs.
Mason looked up into Investigator Carrillo’s face and gave her a nod, wiping away tears that streaked down her sooty face.
“Yes, about twelve hours.
I sent Beth and Anthony home and I waited until the doctors let me into Greg’s room.”
She shook her gray head.
“He never regained consciousness.”
“Can you think of anyone who held a grudge against Greg or your company?”
Thayne asked.
“A grudge? No,”
Mary said.
“No one would want to kill Greg.
He was a good man and doing pyrotechnics shows was his passion.
After he retired, it’s all we did.
We enjoyed the travel and working with different people but we were a tight group.
I just can’t believe anyone would ever really want to hurt or kill Greg or any of the spectators either.”
“So you never noticed the launch tubes being tampered with or set in weird angles?”
Jarrett asked to clarify.
Mary seemed to blink at Jarrett, incomprehensibly.
“Oh, absolutely not.
We never left the site unsupervised.
No one but the four of us were allowed into the launch setup area and no one but the four of us handled the shells.
We were the only ones ever licensed to touch anything.
Greg is—was—very serious about that.
Safety was his primary concern always,”
Mrs.
Mason said through tears.
Ada looked over at Jarrett and Thayne.
“I think that about covers our questions unless there’s something more you’d like to ask?”
she said to them.
Thayne shook his head but Jarrett stepped forward.
“One last thing, ma’am.
Was anyone on the crew particularly religious?”
She looked at him strangely, shaking her head slowly.
“Religious? No.
Greg and I are Presbyterian and I know nothing about Anthony and Beth.”
She reached up and fingered a chain at her neck, pulling a cross out of her shirt.
She ran her fingers over it absently as she began speaking again.
“Like I said, we’d only worked with them since December so we hadn’t gotten a lot of chance to know them personally.”
“I see.
Thank you, ma’am,”
Jarrett said.
The door opened and a young woman wearing a white lab coat came out.
She had a face mask tied around her neck but it was hanging free, down the front of her coat.
“I’m Clara Cornwall, the county coroner.
If the ATF would like to come in, I’m ready for you.”
Jarrett nodded and he watched as Thayne turned toward Mary Mason, reaching out to take her hand.
“Thank you for your time today, Mrs.
Mason.
I know this must be hard on you,”
his partner said.
“Yes.
Just please, catch the person responsible for doing this to my Greg,” she said.
Jarrett’s heart went out to her and he reached out, taking her hand to shake.
“If you think of anything else you need us to know, please give us a call.”
He reached inside his suit coat and pulled out a card, handing it to her.
She nodded. “Okay.”
Jarrett glanced over to the coroner who waited patiently.
“Let’s go,”
he said to no one in particular.
The religious angle didn’t sound promising and he really hoped the guy had 666 somewhere under the hair on his head.
He bit his lip to keep from smiling and followed Ada and Thayne into the medical examiner’s office, leaving a distraught and still crying Mary Mason alone in the corridor.