Chapter Thirteen #3
The warning seemed ridiculous. The kids who were small enough to enjoy these rides were likely too young to read, impervious to safety warnings and accompanied by a parent who wouldn’t think twice about jumping off if their kid didn’t like the ride. He was about to turn away when he spotted it.
It was thumbtacked to the llama’s rear like someone’s funny idea of a pin-the-tail game. Jake took a step closer, squinting to be certain he was processing what he saw correctly.
The clock hands were both directed at the twelve.
If their theory held true, any explosive on the ride would have already detonated, or wouldn’t for hours.
He scanned the area again, taking in all the other rides and booths they needed to search, and huffed out a sigh.
Clicking his tongue to signal Max, he pushed the button to take up the slack in the retractable leash.
The shepherd turned to him, looking mildly annoyed to have his inspection interrupted.
“Not here.” When the dog hesitated, he gave his fingers a snap. Max countered with an impatient whine, Jake rolled his eyes, taking note there were only two more mini motorbikes to be checked out. “Fine. But make it quick.”
Figuring they could cover the area faster, Jake released the breakaway on Max’s lead as they approached the hot-air balloon ride. “No funny business at the petting zoo,” he warned his partner.
Max bounded through the aluminum fencing and went straight to the base of the ride.
He watched as Max moved under the arms holding each basket-shaped gondola two feet off the ground.
Satisfied his partner was focused on his due diligence, Jake circled the ride, checking for the familiar clock signs.
This one was tacked to the front of the operator’s control panel with a magnet.
Also set to twelve o’clock.
Jake skipped ahead to a similar setup featuring brightly colored propeller planes.
Same sign, same time. He spotted Max trotting across the cable-strewn lane between rides.
The fairgrounds were oddly quiet. Sure, every once in a while, a helicopter swooped overhead.
And there were more than the usual number of blaring horns up on Roosevelt Road.
But the teams were quiet. Only the occasional chirp of radio static cracked the silence on the channel to break the monotony.
The search was on in earnest.
Jake had no doubt his fellow officers were as sick of this game as he and Cass were. They’d been at it all afternoon, and the sense they were looking for what could be a needle-size bit of plastic explosive in a carnival-colored haystack was not lost on anyone.
By the time he approached the twirling apple ride, his dog was giving a bench near a miniature roller coaster with cars painted to look like the segments of a caterpillar a thorough sniff.
Jake made a mental note to check the signs posted near each of those rides on their way back to the center of the action.
He and Max made it all the way through the toddler rides and were working through the line of less-challenging arcade games when a crackle of static undercut the song Jake had been whistling tunelessly.
“Ten minutes until five. Fall back,” Aronson ordered.
Jake turned away from the last two booths, muttering as he reattached Max’s leash. “We’re getting forty minutes out of every hour. Less, with informational meetings.”
“You’d have more time to work if you spent less time ‘checking’ on Ms. Walker,” Colonel Aronson chastised. “And move your mic lower on your vest and turn your radio up. You keep unintentionally keying in.”
Heat rose in Jake’s cheeks. “Ten-four. Sorry, sir. Didn’t realize it was me.”
Aronson’s response was brusque. “Come up here. I want to run something past you.”
Jake yanked the radio clip from his vest and glared at it as if it had purposefully set out to make him look the fool. But as he reattached it to one of the loops, he looked down and found his partner staring up at him.
The dog’s sympathy was more than he could stand.
Jake narrowed his eyes at the dog. “No, don’t look at me like that. If you wanna give me a hard time like the rest of the guys, cool. But don’t go all pity puppy on me.”
The colonel’s jibe and previous admonitions played in a loop in the back of his mind, but they couldn’t stop his feet from veering in the direction of the carousel.
He and Max approached, skirting the fencing outside the spinning Round-Up ride and cutting across the area set up below the Ferris wheel.
Any trepidation he might have felt about taking the detour dissipated when Cass lifted a hand in greeting. He smiled as she spun away from him. He picked up his pace, determined to have a few words with her before he retreated up the hill to the arena.
Jake was almost past the ride’s waiting area when he caught sight of something familiar. Tacked to a red-and-black warning sign listing the rules Ferris wheel riders were expected to adhere to was a Be Back Soon sign.
It’s clock hands were set to five o’clock.