Chapter 15
“He could have used a different entrance,” Bach proposed as they sat in the bullpen with Athena’s agents.
“It’s more likely someone on his payroll took care of the problem for him,” Athena grumbled, drumming her fingers on the nearest desk. “Campbell, what about the computers and records from the burnt-out office? Could the tech department get anything?”
The ruddy agent, properly dressed on a Monday, shook his head.
“Too much damage, and nothing was backed up to the cloud. Poof. Any evidence of blatant neglect, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, gone.” He scratched his elbow.
“Maybe Paulson can get something. He’s better than the guys down in tech. ”
“Mr. Smith promised we’d get him and Howard back tomorrow,” Athena said.
A notification signal sounded, and Bach glanced down at his phone with a worried expression.
“What is it?” Karen asked, peering at him anxiously, her fingers still hovering over her keyboard.
He grimaced. “Nothing. Just another weather alert for a severe winter storm warning. Now they’re saying ice, snow, wind, and temperatures dropping below thirty degrees. Prepare for power outages. Prepare to shelter in place.”
“Perfect timing,” Athena grumbled, still hoping it was more hype than substance.
“At least I’ve got a Jeep Rubicon,” said Agent Ice. “So, if anyone needs to go somewhere, I can get you there.”
“Does it say if or when school will be canceled?” Hernandez asked. “I’ve got kids,” he added to Bach by way of explanation.
“My weather alert doesn’t say,” the detective answered, “but I’m sure they will. Kids will be so excited to have a snow day or two.”
Athena remembered the rare snow days she had as a kid in southern Louisiana.
As a child, it had been magical. Not only did she get out of school for a day or two, but she and her mom built a snowman once.
She remembered sticking out her tongue to catch the falling flakes.
As an adult, it had become an infrequent nuisance to be worked around.
She just hoped it wouldn’t slow down their investigation.
“Back to the case,” Athena stated authoritatively.
A desk phone rang. Campbell answered it. He caught her gaze and held it, then said, “OK, thanks.” Hanging up the call, he announced, “The lab has some new findings to add to its report. Check your email.”
Athena clicked open the report, her pulse quickening. Maybe this was the break they’d been waiting for. “The lab has identified the murder weapon.”
Silently, the others in the room read the report as she hit the highlights aloud.
“They found iron particulates embedded in the bone. Through comparative testing of various blunt instruments, the tool most consistent with the fracture pattern is a standard-sized pipe wrench.” She cast a questioning glance at Detective Bach.
“Did anyone find a pipe wrench on scene?”
Bach rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “Nope. Odd,” he said. “That’s a plumber’s tool—certainly not something you find lying around in an office. The killer must have brought it with him.”
“Maybe he used it getting into the generator to plant the bomb,” Hernandez suggested.
Ice frowned. “Wrong tool. Screwdrivers and sockets, measured wrenches, maybe bolt cutters if he had to get past a lock. There’s no place in a generator to use a pipe wrench.”
“Well, it’s heavy,” Campbell said, “and most people have one in their homes in case their sink drain gets clogged. Plenty of brands, all just about the same. It would be hard to pinpoint unless we found the actual wrench and matched Nolan’s blood to it.”
“And the killer didn’t leave it behind,” Athena said. “Did he keep it? Risky. Throw it away?”
“I’d soak it in bleach and toss it in the bayou,” Bach said. “If this was a professional hit, we’ll never find that wrench.”
A sinking feeling settled in Athena’s gut. “It’s still more information,” she said, “another piece of the puzzle.”
Karen tentatively raised her hand. Athena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. While the junior agent had made progress, she was still so insecure that Athena wanted to scream. At least no one will accuse her of being too pushy, she thought. “Yes, Agent Shoops? Speak up.”
“I found something probative while running deeper backgrounds on Gulf Allied employees.” Shoops paused to push up her glasses and swallow.
“There’s a young administrative assistant who’s been employed for eighteen months in the office—Keaton Walsh.
No criminal or red flags in his records, but, when I looked into family relations, I discovered he’s Lone Star attorney Claire Buchanan’s nephew.
I thought, since we’re looking for ‘little birdies,’ that might be relevant. ”
Athena straightened with interest. “Indeed, Shoops. You keep running family backgrounds on employees. Ice, Hernandez, go find Keaton Walsh and bring him in for an interview. Let’s see what kinds of information he’s been passing to his aunt, and if he’s involved in corporate espionage or something bigger. ”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ice said as he shot out of his desk chair, clearly eager for some action. Hernandez followed.
“And Agent Ice?” Athena added in a clipped tone. “Try not to frighten the fellow to death.”
He presented an innocent look. “Me? Intimidate a suspect? Never.”
Athena shifted her gaze to a folder she’d picked up to hide her amusement.
Then, lifting her chin, she instructed, “Back to work, everyone. Get Gulf Allied’s bank records, Lone Star’s, and look for any link between Whitmore and Kerrington to a bomb maker or hitman.
Campbell, it’s a long shot, but check out SinoFine Chemical I don’t know.
I just know that at the end of the day, Mr. Booker made sure we were taken care of, from assistant manager right down to the janitor.
Her interest piqued, Athena thumbed through until she came across Tyson Ellis’s interview and pulled it.
This one had been conducted by a different officer—Romero.
She skimmed through, looking for questions about the company’s finances, but he never asked any.
Athena silently fumed. Why didn’t he ask about the money?
“Bach, you need to teach a class to your officers on how to conduct an interview,” she said, irritation in her voice. “We need to call in this bookkeeper, Tyson Ellis. The records might be gone, but surely he remembers most of what was in them, seeing how he entered the information.”
The detective glanced at her with confusion. “Sure, but what does that have to do with my officers’ interviews?”
“Officer Bell asks the purchasing manager pertinent questions about discrepancies in spending-to-profit ratio, and the witness says the bookkeeper, Ellis, would know. But Officer Romero never broached the subject during his interview with Ellis.”
“They were instructed to ask the witnesses about the explosion and the fire, where everyone was,” Bach said. “Nobody was thinking it might be an inside job in the first hour after the incident. I’ll have him brought in now.”
Athena sighed. He was right. Still. “Thank you. So we’ll have Walsh and Ellis this afternoon. What I really want to find is a big, solid arrow pointing to Charles Whitmore.”
“Who knows?” Bach posed brightly. “Maybe when we obtain a search warrant for Redstone Ranch, we’ll find he’s missing a pipe wrench.”
“You hear that, team?” Athena announced. “Get me probable cause to search Redstone Ranch.”