Chain Reaction (6 page)

Jake hoped that some of his agents were about to walk out. He was disappointed when two men emerged in black ATF windbreakers, then relieved when they were followed by four FBI agents in suits and ties.

Jake tried not to smile as Connelly ranted. ‘Two? That’s it? Two agents?’ He heard soft murmurs from the men with Connelly but could not discern the words. Then he saw Connelly throw up his hands. ‘OK, OK,’ Connelly said. ‘When? When? When will they be here?’ Another response, too quiet for Jake to hear, followed by Connelly’s irritated exclamation: ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

A
fter Lucinda and Audrey reached a tentative agreement on how to proceed, Audrey insisted on changing into a fresh laboratory coat and repairing the damage to her deteriorating upswept hair. Lucinda waited impatiently until Audrey finished and was ready to accompany her. Then they walked side by side to the double doors. Through the glass, she saw a fuming Connelly, a relieved Jake and a large mix of uniformed and plain-clothes officers and agents.

Audrey started to insert her key into the lock but stopped. She stretched up on tiptoes to whisper to Lucinda who bent down to hear what she had to say. Lucinda nodded and shouted through the door. ‘Everyone get away from the front entrance – at least twenty feet back.’

The policemen instantly obeyed her order. Jake started to comply, then stepped forward to lay a hand on Connelly’s upper arm. The ATF agent shrugged him off. Jake pointed at the four FBI agents standing behind him and signaled for them to step back. Then he touched Connelly on the forearm. Connelly shoved him.

‘Are you really ready for an ATF–FBI war?’ Jake hissed at Connelly. ‘You’re outmanned and outgunned. How do you think this is going to end?’

Connelly turned and looked at the two men remaining at his back.

‘Really, guys,’ Jake said. ‘You want to have this confrontation here and now? You really think inter-agency politics is more important than solving this case?’

The ATF agents looked down at the floor. First one, then the other took a step backward. They kept walking back until they were beside their FBI counterparts at the proscribed distance.

‘C’mon, Connelly. You’re the chief reason that Dr Ringo doesn’t want to unlock that door.’

Connelly stomped away from the doors, joining the other two ATF agents. Jake, too, stepped back. Audrey unlocked the door and after she and Lucinda entered the hallway, she turned and locked it again.

‘Here’s the deal,’ Lucinda said and turned to look at the three whispering ATF men. ‘Connelly, are you ready to listen?’

The ATF agents took three steps toward the door before the FBI men stepped in their path and blocked their progress.

Audrey turned away toward the doors. Lucinda reached out a hand to restrain her. ‘Wait, Dr Ringo.’ Facing the agents, Lucinda said, ‘If you all would just back up to where you were, we can talk this out like adults.’

The FBI agents moved towards the ATF men. Connelly snarled Jake’s name. ‘Not now, Connelly,’ Jake said. ‘Let’s resolve this disagreement here so we can get back to the investigation.’

Outnumbered, Connelly and his agents backed up.

‘Dr Ringo has a reasonable offer. She will maintain control of the evidence—’

‘This is getting us nowhere,’ Connelly objected.

‘Hear me out first, sir,’ Lucinda demanded. ‘This is workable. There are no questions about the professional conduct of this lab during Dr Ringo’s tenure here. There have been no successful judicial disputes over her results. She will be allowed to do the work without interference and the ATF and FBI will accept that. In return, Dr Ringo agrees that all reports will be distributed simultaneously to our homicide department, the regional ATF office and the field office of the FBI.’

‘So we have to trust her?’ Connelly said.

‘Not exactly. In addition, Dr Ringo agrees that, upon completion of the testing, she will provide samples, wherever possible, for additional testing. She will present these samples to representatives of both the ATF and the FBI, when there is sufficient quantity remaining to do so. And the material will be released following strict chain-of-custody protocols.’

‘I don’t like it,’ Connelly said.

‘All I want to do,’ Jake said, ‘is get back to the investigation and stop playing these games. If you want to fight me on that point, Connelly, I will file an immediate complaint and the FBI will seek a court order to stop you in your tracks. Now, do you want to get back to what we are all supposed to be doing here or do you want to continue being a jerk?’

A sharp knock on the glass drew everyone’s attention back to the lab. Beth Ann said, ‘I have identified the victim.’

‘Open the doors, Dr Ringo,’ Lucinda ordered.

Audrey pointed at Connelly and said, ‘I don’t trust him.’

‘Audrey, cut the crap,’ Lucinda snapped. ‘You need to open those doors and get three copies of that report and distribute them to all three agencies. You got most of what you want so it’s time to start cooperating. We have a case to solve and maybe parents to inform. Let’s do it.’

The look Audrey gave Lucinda could have withered a freshly emerged blade of grass but she stuck her key in the door anyway. As she eased it open, Lucinda reached for the paper in Beth Ann’s hands and said, ‘I’ll make copies right away.’

As Lucinda walked to the copy machine, she looked at the name: David Baynes. The victim was one of the missing students. Was he an accomplice or just a person in the wrong place at the wrong time?

L
ucinda was delighted when Jake volunteered to go with her to inform David’s parents of his death. She was dismayed when Connelly insisted on coming along as well. Before getting into the car, she called Jumbo Butler to inform him that one of his missing persons was found deceased.

Jumbo exhaled loudly and said, ‘Hopefully, the other student will be found safe and sound.’

‘I hope so, too, Jumbo. Good luck,’ Lucinda said.

At the Bayneses’ home, the three investigators gathered at the end of the sidewalk. ‘Since I am in charge of this investigation, I trust that you will all honor that and follow my lead.’

Jake nodded in agreement but Connelly just stared.

Lucinda rolled her eyes and led them to the front door. It flew open before Lucinda had a chance to pull her finger off of the doorbell. In front of her, a woman with wild eyes and even wilder hair was dressed in an old cardigan, worn jeans and a T-shirt, its design washed out from years of running through the laundry cycle. ‘Mrs Baynes?’ Lucinda asked.

The woman’s eyes bounced to each of their faces. ‘No. No. I don’t want to hear it,’ she said and started to slam the door.

A sorrowful-looking man, badly in need of a shave, stepped into view and stopped the closing and opened the door wide. He said, ‘C’mon, Sarah, we need to deal with whatever they have to say.’

‘No, no, we don’t. Look at them,’ she said, swinging her arms in wide arcs. ‘They didn’t come here with good news. Look at their faces. If they found David alive and well, they would be smiling. David would be with them. I don’t want to know what they have to say.’ She turned her back and ran off.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. He reached out a hand to shake all three of theirs. ‘Chuck Baynes, David’s father. Please come in.’

They followed him into the living room and took seats on the sofa. ‘I’ll go get Sarah – if I can.’ In a few minutes, he returned without his wife. ‘I’m not sure if she’s coming. I’m sorry but …’

‘That’s OK, Mr Baynes,’ Lucinda said. ‘Have a seat, please.’

‘I guess I should,’ he said, slumping into the nearest easy chair. ‘I suppose you’ve found David – where was he?’

‘You heard about the explosion at the high school?’

‘The high school? Yes. You found David at the high school? What was he doing there on Sunday?’

‘We were hoping you’d be able to answer that question. Do any possibilities come to mind?’

‘Not one. I have no idea. It makes no sense to me. Are you sure it was David?’

‘Yes, sir. The DNA tests confirmed that it was. Unfortunately, he did not survive the blast.’

They all looked toward the foot of the stairs at the sound of Sarah’s voice. ‘I want to see him. I want to see my son.’

‘No, you don’t,’ Lucinda said. ‘You really do not want to see him.’

‘He’s my son. I have my rights. You can’t deny me this.’

‘Mrs Baynes, please trust me: you do not want to see him now. You will not recognize him and you will never get that image out of your mind.’

‘I demand that you take me to my son.’

Lucinda turned to the woman’s husband. ‘Please, sir, no parent should have to see this.’

‘Was he near the explosion?’

‘Yes, sir. He was very badly injured.’

‘I don’t care,’ Sarah shrieked.

Chuck rose and went to her side, but when he tried to put an arm around her, she squirmed out of his reach. ‘He is my son,’ she shouted. ‘I want to kiss his forehead, touch his cheeks, tell him goodbye.’

Connelly bounced to his feet. ‘Good grief, woman, there’s not enough of his forehead left to accommodate a chicken’s lips.’

Sarah moaned and collapsed to the floor.

Lucinda and Jake glared at Connelly and jumped to their feet, hurrying over to the fallen woman. By the time they reached her, Chuck was kneeling by her side, holding one hand and gently patting her cheek.

‘Sarah, Sarah,’ Chuck said.

Sarah’s eyes blinked open. ‘No, Chuck, no. Please tell me it’s not true.’ She struggled to sit up.

‘Easy, easy,’ Chuck said as he slid an arm behind her back to support her.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the faces of Lucinda and Jake. ‘I need to get up, Chuck. This is embarrassing.’

Jake stretched out a hand to help her and said, ‘Ma’am, you’ve had quite a shock. Your reaction was normal.’

Sarah grabbed Jake’s hand as Chuck wrapped an arm around her waist. Once she was up on her feet, Chuck walked her over to a chair and eased her down.

‘Now that we’ve gotten past your hysterics, tell me what you know about your son building a bomb,’ Connelly said.

‘What?’ Chuck and Sarah said together.

‘You heard me. Don’t play dumb. You had to know what he was up to—’

‘Enough, Connelly,’ Lucinda interrupted.

‘I want answers, Lieutenant, and I want them now. And you,’ Connelly said, pointing a finger at Sarah, then Chuck, ‘you people need to give us some answers.’

‘Agent Connelly, can we please step outside for a moment?’

‘Not unless you’re putting those two conspirators in cuffs first.’ Connelly pulled his pair out of his waistband.

Jake stood and stepped between Connelly and the shocked parents. ‘Cut it out, Connelly.’

‘What’s wrong with you people?’ Connelly said, glaring at Lucinda and Jake. ‘There’s no way that boy could have built that bomb without his parents’ knowledge and possibly their blessing. Don’t tell me a few crocodile tears and a phony fainting spell have blinded you to reality here?’

Lucinda put her hand on the butt of her gun. ‘Agent Connelly, you are out of line. Step outside and wait for us until our conversation here is over.’

‘Are you threatening me, woman?’ Connelly snapped.

‘Come on,’ Jake said, pushing against his back with a shoulder. ‘Let’s go. Let’s go now.’

Connelly tried to brush him off, but Jake pressed harder. ‘She’s not going to draw a gun on a federal agent.’

‘Don’t press your luck, Connelly,’ Jake said as he manhandled the other agent outside.

Once the door shut, the loud exchange was muffled and indistinct but still audible. ‘I’m sorry for the agent’s behavior,’ Lucinda said.

‘But is that what you all think? That we helped him build a bomb?’ Chuck asked.

‘No, sir, I do not.’

‘But you think he was responsible for what happened?’ Sarah said.

‘I don’t know, ma’am,’ Lucinda admitted. ‘I am trying to figure out exactly what happened. And the first questions are: what was he doing at the high school Sunday morning? And how did he gain access to the building? Why was he there? Once I have those answers, I can determine if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time or if he was responsible for what happened. And, of course, there is the possibility that he did play a role in the explosion but had no awareness of what he was doing.’

‘You mean someone used him without his knowledge?’ Chuck asked.

‘Possibly. But at this point, I can’t assume anything. We will need to search his room and see if we can find any leads there.’

‘You’ll probably want his computer, too,’ Sarah offered.

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘Don’t waste your time getting a search warrant. We’ll sign anything you need to authorize your access. Won’t we, Chuck?’ Sarah said, turning to her husband who nodded his agreement.

Lucinda had the form documents ready. She pulled them out, filled in the blanks and handed them over to the couple to sign. ‘Take your time. Feel free to read them over and discuss as much as you need.’

‘No need to read it. I don’t care what it says. I want you to find out what happened to our son. Honestly, I can’t believe that he had anything to do with the explosion but I want to know why he was in that building at that time.’ His pen, however, still hovered over the signature line. ‘I do have one condition, though.’

Lucinda tensed. Oh dear. There were a lot of things a father in this situation could ask and a lot she couldn’t promise. ‘What is that, Mr Baynes?’

‘That man does not enter my son’s bedroom,’ he said, pointing toward the front of his home.

‘Just for clarity, Mr Baynes, exactly which one of the two agents do you want to be kept out of David’s room?’

‘I’m surprised you have to ask,’ Chuck said. ‘But for clarity’s sake, I will answer: Agent Connelly with the ATF.’

‘Hand me the document,’ Lucinda said. On the bottom, she wrote, ‘This agreement is automatically null and void if ATF Agent in Charge Clarence Connelly sets foot inside of the Bayneses’ home.’ She handed the piece of paper back to Chuck. ‘Does that satisfy you, Mr Baynes?’

Chuck grunted. ‘Yes indeed, Ma’am.’ He signed and passed it over to his wife.

Sarah added her signature, handed the form back to Lucinda and said, ‘The son I knew would not build or place a bomb anywhere. But we have to accept the possibility that he is not the person we believed him to be. I want the truth, no matter how painful it is.’ Tears rolled down both of her cheeks as she spoke.