Chapter 100
TOM OWENS WASN’T certain of what he’d been trying to achieve by running toward the house. Maybe he just wanted to be near Kimmy. But it hadn’t worked out. The small Asian woman had tackled him when he was still about eight steps from the front door.
Owens had recognized Michael Bennett as soon as he stepped out of the car.
The detective was much taller than he’d expected him to be.
Once Ellis Warrenton ran, Owens figured that might be a good idea too.
Now, as the woman police officer wrenched his arms behind his back and handcuffed him, he wasn’t so sure.
“Mr. Owens, my name is Maggie Chin. I’m an agent with the ATF. You’re under arrest. Do you know why?” The woman pushed him from one side to the other on the ground and searched him roughly.
“My association with Leonard Barr?”
“So you’re not one of those supersmart guys who doesn’t pay attention to your own liabilities. You nailed that answer on your first try.”
The woman proceeded to read Owens his rights.
He listened carefully to hear if he could find a mistake in her procedure, or if she tripped up some other way.
When the ATF agent finished flawlessly, Owens conceded this was not the first time she’d made an arrest. She was a pro who knew what she was doing.
“Can I get up?” he asked.
“I think it’s better if we stay here in the front yard until we get some assistance.
I made a call to the local police. They should be showing up anytime.
” She helped Owens sit up straight, but his hands remained securely handcuffed behind him.
He blew a couple blades of dead grass off of his face.
The ATF agent kindly assisted by brushing off the rest.
She asked, “Do you have any idea where your partner was running to? Do you guys have another house in the neighborhood?”
“Ellis is not my partner. He’s not my friend. He’s not even my associate anymore. And he’ll be very disappointed if he tries to detonate the bomb in that satchel.”
“What bomb?” There was urgency in her voice.
Owens glanced over the ATF agent’s shoulder and saw Kimmy slip through the back of the house and out the fence gate in the rear of the yard.
He started to smile. One of the first genuine smiles he had felt in months.
Then he tamped it down. He didn’t want the ATF agent to notice he was smiling and ask why.
He wanted Kimmy to be free of this mess.
The ATF agent repeated, “Tell me about the satchel bomb.”
“I used up the rest of our C-4 and packed it with steel nuts and bolts.”
As Owens said it, he realized he probably shouldn’t be saying anything at all. He was probably already in trouble. It was best to sit quietly and see what developed.