Chapter 6
Twenty-six-year-old Cody Rivers worked for a local solar power outfit and lived in a house that looked like it should belong to his grandmother.
The whitewashed, wood-sided house sat in an older part of town, gray shutters framing the windows and a detached garage tucked off to one side.
While it was clearly old, he’d made some upgrades—most conspicuously the solar panels on the roof.
The concrete driveway, sidewalk, and front steps were stained and cracked, and the grass was spotty.
However, inviting shade trees graced both the narrow front and back yards, promising relief from the summer heat.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” Bach asked as he walked up to Athena, who stood on the sidewalk surveying the property.
“You looked it up,” she answered. “Young fellow, single … this appears to be in his price range. See the energy-efficient windows and solar panels, the electric car plugged into the garage?”
His eyes followed her hand as she motioned toward the items. “OK. I’ll knock on the door.
You stay behind me in case he has a bad reaction to law enforcement.
Not that you aren’t perfectly capable of subduing a suspect, but it’d cost a mint to get blood out of your nice suit, while mine came from Sears. ”
Athena regarded him coolly. Nice save. “If you insist.” Not everything was worth fighting over.
Bach knocked firmly, badge in hand, ready to display it, while Athena peered over his shoulder.
He’d had a smoke in his car, as the sharp odor clung to his cheap suit.
A young man opened the door, curly acorn hair tousled above stubble halfway to a beard.
He wore a rainbow tie-dyed T-shirt and sweats.
His amber-brown eyes widened at the sight of the badge.
“May I help you?” he asked warily.
“Mr. Rivers?” Bach asked. “Cody Rivers?”
“That’s me.” The suspicion in his tone deepened. “What’s this about?”
Athena stepped up beside Bach, offering Cody a friendly expression. “Mr. Rivers, I’m ASAC Bouvier of the FBI, and this is Detective Bach of HPD. If it isn’t any trouble, we’d like to come in and ask you a few questions.”
His brows drew together. “You mean you want to accuse me of something?” He huffed and stepped away from the door, leaving it open. “Come in,” he grumbled. “But I reserve the right to remain silent.”
Bach held the door for Athena, and she followed Cody inside.
Potted plants and herbs abounded, as did bold colors and mixed-media art.
A vibrant stained-glass lamp sat on an end table made from an old barrel, along with an Alexa.
“Decrease volume by fifty percent,” Cody ordered, and the ambient electronic music with a thrumming beat quieted.
“Make yourselves at home. Whatever it is, I didn’t do it. ”
“Mr. Rivers,” Athena said with curiosity, “why do you think we wish to blame you for something?”
“Because that’s what you people do.” He plopped into a patchwork-stuffed chair beneath wall shelves made from uniquely painted skateboards, a philodendron’s leafy vine dangling down to his shoulder.
Book titles such as An Inconvenient Truth, Atomic Habits, The Sixth Extinction, and 1984 caught Athena’s eye.
She sat on the sofa, strewn with Art Déco pillows, and listened as Bach took the lead.
She appreciated that he didn’t crowd her.
“And what do you think is the reason for that?” Bach asked. He sounded a little smug, but even cops don’t enjoy having unfounded accusations hurled at them.
“Look, I lead a peaceful, ecology-minded group of young people who don’t just want to change the world—we hope to save it so maybe our grandchildren won’t end up in some dystopian nightmare.
Do we draw attention to polluters? Hell, yes.
Do we protest their greed and indifference?
Somebody has to. Agitators, they call us.
Freeloaders. Tree-huggers. All great social revolutionaries were despised and dismissed by the powerful elite they sought to expose. Now, why are you here?”
“The Green Resistance has protested against Gulf Allied Chemicals Company on various occasions, correct?” Athena began. “Disparaged them on talk radio and podcasts, sent them threatening messages?”
“Damn straight! That old plant is a disaster waiting to happen. They leak toxic chemicals into the soil that grows our food, the water table we drink from, and poison the fish we eat. They should have been shut down years ago, but the government is always overly lenient with billionaire CEOs and their companies, and overly harsh on anyone who stands up to them. It’s all part of the broken system.
It’s like how everyone turned their backs on the AIDS epidemic.
Until enough ‘important’ people die, nothing will change. ”
“Is that what you had in mind?” Bach asked. “Make sure some important people die? Because the general manager of Gulf Allied Houston assures us he isn’t important enough to be targeted.”
Cody’s righteous indignation faded into confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“The attack on the Gulf Allied Chemicals plant yesterday.” Bach’s tone sharpened with the righteous anger Cody had carried a moment before. “Four people were killed, none of whom were billionaires. They were regular working-class men and women, just doing their jobs.”
“Attack?” Cody paled, his features tightening. “What kind of attack?”
“Don’t you watch the news?” Bach barked. “If the fire hadn’t been contained in time, toxic chemicals could have drifted over a quarter of the city. Why wait for pollution to destroy the Earth? You could have killed thousands in one blow.”
“I don’t watch the news,” he answered, as if nobody who was anybody engaged in such behavior. “It’s just full of lies and propaganda.”
Unlike talk radio and podcasts, Athena thought. She said, “Yesterday, someone detonated an explosive device that damaged the plant’s office building. That’s the kind of thing a group wishing to make a statement and draw attention to their cause might do.”
“Not the Green Resistance,” Cody countered.
“We’re dedicated to peaceful demonstrations only.
We might use harsh words to get people to listen, and any threats were meant as warnings of what legal measures we will take if they don’t clean that place up.
We’ve almost got enough signatures for a class-action suit.
We’ve also been talking to a state representative and several members of the city government.
They promised to send another inspector over there and not let them buy their way out this time. ”
Athena and Bach exchanged a glance. Then she said, “That’s good, Mr. Rivers.
I know change can seem painfully slow to someone your age, but going about it the right way leads to progress.
Still, I could see why someone in your group, maybe without your education or a job they’re proud of, might think speeding up the process is the answer. ”
Cody pressed his lips tight and shook his head. “No. I know everyone in the Green Resistance. We’re a small, dedicated group, fewer than a hundred.”
“Dedicated,” Bach repeated. “Maybe dedicated enough to risk prison to shut down that dangerous, leaky chemical plant.”
“For protesting on their property, maybe.” Cody’s eyes flashed as the bite returned to his voice.
“Not for setting off a bomb. That’s not who we are.
God, just thinking that those chemicals could have showered a section of Houston, making people sick or worse?
That’s way more pollution than they’re producing now.
We would never risk such a thing! I’m sorry to learn people died, but we didn’t do it, and you won’t find evidence to back up your accusation. ”
“That may be,” Athena said, “but we owe it to those families to conduct a thorough investigation. We need a roster of Green Resistance members. It’s possible one isn’t as nonviolent as he or she led you to believe.”
Cody leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I can’t give you that. It’s my job to protect my followers.”
“We can get a warrant,” Bach said.
“Then get one. Of course, you’ll have to find the membership records, and … gee,” Cody said in a pretentious voice, “I can’t remember where I put them.”
Bach pushed to his feet. “We’ll be back with that warrant, and if you destroy evidence pertinent to this case I’ll arrest you for obstruction of justice.” He jabbed a finger in Cody’s direction. The young man didn’t even blink.
Athena rose, regarding Cody with an intuitive gaze. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Rivers. You have a charming home and a noble cause, but, as Detective Bach said, don’t play games with us. You’d be surprised how fully the FBI can infiltrate your life if we have a reason to.”
“Yeah,” he huffed, standing to usher them out. “Just as George Orwell predicted.”
Athena didn’t speak until they reached their parked cars. “Why, Detective Bach,” she said casually, “you have a temper.”
“I’m just a multifaceted guy,” he retorted and lit a cigarette. After inhaling his first puff, he asked, “What do you think?”
“I don’t think Cody Rivers planted that bomb,” she answered thoughtfully.
“Yet it’s possible someone in the Green Resistance did.
He wants to protect his members, but I hope he won’t destroy the records.
That would be a shame. He has a good job doing something he believes in.
If he gets himself arrested, he’s likely to lose it.
I’ll bet he calls up his shadiest members this afternoon to ask if they know anything about the bombing. ”
“Damn. Can you put a tap on his phone?”
“If we can get a warrant before it’s too late to matter,” she said. “I also want to talk to both CEOs—Whitmore and Kerrington. I doubt either will see us on a weekend, but I’ll try to set something up when we return to headquarters. Are you coming?”
“Are you kidding? And miss watching Agent Shoops blush?” he laughed. “Meet you there.”
Athena put in a request for two warrants on her drive back to the FBI building. Then she told her car to phone Flash. “Hey you, hunka hunka burnin’ love,” she greeted when Flash answered.
“Like I’ve never heard that one before,” Flash laughed. “Are you done now? Where should I meet you? I’ll tell you, Snuffles has her nose out of joint because she wasn’t invited.”
“I can’t help it that indoor restaurants and movie theaters don’t allow pets,” Athena countered. “I’m not done yet, but getting close.”
“Are you wearing those sexy little silks that always get my blood pumping?”
“Not at the moment,” Athena said. She shouldn’t be shocked at Flash’s teasing anymore, but she felt the heat rush into her cheeks. “I’m at work. Later. Just for you, not Detective Bach.”
“Detective Bach?” Alarm and jealousy rang in Flash’s voice. It warmed Athena to sense Flash’s protectiveness even after months of dating. Rather than growing old, Athena found it reassuring. “Who is this Detective Bach? Have you spent the whole day with her?”
A laugh bubbled out. “He’s with Houston Police, and the brass wants a joint investigation. You don’t have to rush to the rescue or fight him off with a stick. I only have eyes for you.”
“Uh-huh,” Flash uttered dubiously. “And what about your hands, lips, tongue, and other assorted body parts?”
“All yours too. Let’s say seven at my apartment. Be thinking about which movie you want to see—nine or the nine-thirty showing. I want us to take our time at dinner. If I’m not there yet, just let yourself in.”
They had exchanged keys a couple months ago.
It was a real milestone for Athena, as she’d never had a key to someone else’s place before.
She and her late husband, Timothy, hadn’t done that.
They dated, had a socially proper engagement period, and then moved in together after their wedding.
She’d been sophomore-silly when Flash gave her the key. Naturally, she reciprocated.
“Sounds good,” Flash replied. “I want us to take our time when we get home. In fact, I wouldn’t mind skipping the movie and getting on with the main attraction. It’s up to you.”
A dopey curve spread across Athena’s lips. She re-gripped the steering wheel and checked her mirrors to stay grounded. “Main attraction it is.”