Chapter 47
Amid the debris, the Vrilkristall remained unscathed. Its glowing pulse illuminated the area.
The distant sound of sirens warbled as they drew near. Soon, this place would be flooded with first responders.
Gunshots rang out, echoing a few blocks away down Industry Avenue.
My head snapped in the direction of the sound.
The street was empty.
I knelt down and reached for the crystal. My hand hovered over it, trying to gauge the heat. I figured it might be hotter than the sun after the massive energy it had channeled. To my surprise, it didn’t seem to radiate more heat than usual. I tapped it carefully before picking it up.
It was still as hypnotic as ever.
I slipped it back into my pocket, then left the area and climbed down the loading dock to the parking lot. I rejoined Giselle, and she gave me a hug, still sobbing about her grandfather. I tried to comfort her as best I could.
Footsteps slapped against concrete. A moment later, JD rounded the corner, running toward us. His eyes filled with relief when he saw us alive. “What happened? Is everybody okay? Where’s Henrik?”
I frowned and shook my head.
Jack’s wide eyes took in the destruction as he approached.
I caught him up to speed.
It wasn’t long after that when several black SUVs screeched onto the scene.
Men in suits hopped out and approached, led by Officer Novak.
They had all kinds of gadgets and meters.
Her team began sifting through the rubble while she joined us.
“You were supposed to keep me in the loop. Want to tell me what happened here?”
“Things got a little out of hand.”
“I’ll say. Where’s Henrik?”
I shook my head.
“Klaus?”
I shook my head again.
“Don’t tell me they…?”
“No.”
She looked relieved. “Where’s the Vrilkristall?”
“Destroyed in the explosion.”
Her eyes narrowed at me, uncertain.
“Feel free to look around.” After a beat, I said, “There’s no such thing as time travel. Klaus wasn’t from the past.” I didn’t know what to believe, but that was my story. I stuck to it.
Novak eyed her team as they sifted through the debris. She started to say something, then stopped herself. After a pause, she said, “I guess some things will remain out of our reach. Maybe that’s for the best.” Then she said to Giselle, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Giselle nodded.
“Where the hell did that crystal come from anyway?” I asked Novak.
Her eyes narrowed at me, debating. Finally, she said, “That’s classified, Deputy.” Novak started toward the warehouse, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “By the way, there are two dead guys on Industry you might want to look into.”
Jack raised his hand. “That would be my doing.” He shrugged innocently. “They shot first.”
Novak joined her crew.
Sirens drew near. Red and blue lights flickered as patrol units screeched to the scene. An ambulance and a fire truck weren’t far behind. Soon the place crawled with first responders.
I asked Jack, “What time do you have?”
“A quarter past midnight.”
I looked at my watch. It was running a few minutes slow. That seemed odd. Maybe it stopped for a few minutes during the blast. But it seemed to be working now.
Sheriff Daniels arrived, and I filled him in on the situation. He thought this was related to the other bombings at first. Understandable.
Paris Delaney and her news crew showed up. She had plenty of questions. I made a brief statement, playing it off as an industrial explosion, but assuring there was no cause for alarm.
We wrapped up at the scene and headed back to the station.
We filled out after-action reports in the conference room, then I took Giselle to her apartment.
I parked in the visitor lot, then escorted her into the lobby and up to her fourth-floor apartment.
At her door, I said, "Are you going to be okay? "
She nodded, her eyes misting up again. "I'm just glad I got as much time with him as I did. He was the only family I had left.”
A sympathetic frown tugged my lips. "You’ve got us. You know how to get in touch with me if you need anything. I didn’t know him long, but he was a good man. We’ll miss him.”
Giselle nodded again. "Thank you for everything." She gave me a hug. When we broke apart, she said, "What are you going to do with the crystal?”
"I don't think that's something anybody needs to fool with, wouldn't you agree?"
She nodded. "You think it really could have worked?”
I shrugged. "I guess we'll never know.”
We said our goodbyes, then I made my way back down to the parking lot and hopped into the Porsche. On the way home, I stopped by James’s house to check on the status of the repairs.