Chapter 32
“No clue is the clue,” I repeated to myself. “No clue is nothing. Nothing is—“
“Zero,” Henrik said. “Null. Ground state.”
“Zero Ocean Way,” I said, putting it all together. “The Aquarium.”
It was as good a guess as any at this point.
I called the sheriff and filled him in, then texted the recording of the call to Thompson.
I told Jack to take Henrik back to the boat. Jack called for a rideshare, and so did I. They piled into the silver four-door when it pulled to the curb, and I waited another moment for my driver to arrive.
He pulled up in a black BMW 3 series and zipped me to the Coconut Key Aquarium. The driver pulled to the curb, and I hopped out.
The place was packed with tourists. People flooded in and out.
They had done away with the ticketing booth. Everything was app-driven. No cash. You had to purchase tickets online, then you would receive an access code to be scanned.
I jumped the turnstile and ran into the building.
Massive glass walls gave a glimpse into the aquatic life of sea lions. They swam around without a care in the world, oblivious to the danger. The blue glow from the tank illuminated the awestruck faces of children and adults.
I finally found a female staff member wearing a blue polo shirt and white shorts. With a flash of the badge, I said, “I need to speak with the manager. There’s been a threat, and we need to quietly and calmly evacuate the building.”
The pretty blonde went stiff, and her blue eyes became saucers. The recent bombing at Sonic Temple was on everyone’s mind. “What kind of threat?”
“Just get the manager.”
She nodded and scurried to find him.
I followed.
We caught up with him by the shark tank, and I explained the situation.
Steve was a bald guy in his early 40s with oval glasses, a narrow face, and a bushy brown mustache. Fear bathed his brown eyes. “When is this thing supposed to go off?”
“At any time,” I said.
He swallowed hard.
Curious patrons eavesdropped.
I spoke in a hushed voice. “Announce that the aquarium is closing for an unexpected maintenance issue and tickets will automatically be refunded.”
He nodded.
I followed as he hurried to the office and made an announcement over the loudspeaker. His voice echoed through the damp, dark passages as he urged everyone to move in an orderly fashion to the exits.
By that time, the sheriff had arrived with several patrol units. The FBI and ATF weren’t far behind.
Deputies set up a perimeter and kept people out of the area. They hurried patrons away from the building as they exited. It didn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to realize this wasn’t a maintenance issue.
News crews arrived, and choppers circled overhead.
We managed to get everybody out of the building without a mass panic.
The FBI and the bomb squad went in with dogs and handheld ETD sniffers. We searched every inch of the place. The aquarium was a massive facility with dozens of large tanks that housed all kinds of aquatic life.
Nothing turned up.
We searched offices, storerooms, trash cans, the cafe, the kitchen, everything.
No bomb.
That sense of dread affected us all. Nervous anticipation slicked skin and elevated heartbeats. A ticking bomb on an unreliable timeline. The explosive device could go off at any moment.
We all regrouped near the main entrance. Looks of frustration abounded.
Emily had arrived and joined the party.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I thought I might be able to help.”
I noticed the ring on her finger. It looked like she had accepted Ashton’s proposal. I’m sure he played up the traumatic experience in the jewelry store. It certainly would make a hell of a story to tell their kids someday. I felt torn and really wanted to tell her what a douchebag he was.
"Are you sure this is the location, Wild?" Thompson asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure about anything. If you can tell me what no clue is the clue means, be my guest.”
Thompson's mouth tensed with frustration. "We've searched the premises, but we haven't searched the tanks. What if he planted the device underwater?”
It was something we hadn't considered.
"Underwater shock waves travel more efficiently," I said. "But we have no way of knowing how this might affect a quantum pulse bomb.”
“It could amplify it," Emily said.
That was not what Thompson wanted to hear.
The aquariums were built to look like natural habitats. If the bomber was smart, he could have designed this device to resemble a rock at the bottom of the sea floor. It would be almost impossible to find.
Thompson looked at his watch. We had a little over four hours left, if the bomber had been truthful.
"Even if you discover the bomb in the water, it makes it that much harder to deactivate," I said. "Based on past experience, this guy likes to use mercury switches. He may use some other type of mobility sensor. If we can find the device, I doubt we'll be able to remove it without setting it off.”
Thompson's face tightened. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he knew I was right.
“There's no way we can image it underwater,” I continued. “No way to identify the trigger logic to disarm it. We also run the risk of the wildlife bumping into it and triggering a motion sensor.”
“Cut all power and electricity to the building,” Thompson said. “I want this entire block cleared. I also want to interrogate every employee of the aquarium, and everyone who's had access over the last several weeks. This thing could have been sitting dormant in there for God knows how long.”
"Have all the neighboring buildings been evacuated?" I asked.
"Yes," Daniels said.
“Good.”
I surveyed the area, then spotted something that made me second-guess myself.