Coaster (5 page)

Kincaid could sense his partner's distress. "Chief, can we get a copy of your report when it's done?"

"Sure, I'll send it over to you."

Kincaid looked at La Rosa, "You okay?"

La Rosa shook off the thoughts and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go check it out, okay?"

"La Rosa, I can look at it if you want to take a step back." Kincaid was being thoughtful not condescending.

She looked up at him and remembering the image of Lindy surrounded by her father's arms. "No, I'm fine. Come on."

An hour later the forensic unit
had combed through the whole area taking measurements, photos, and recording the impact to the ride's car. While most of the people probably died when the bomb went off, the rest were smashed into the track above and then slammed into the ground. It was a ghastly way to die. Both detectives were shaken by the scene. It wasn't the sort of violence they were used to. They were used to the actions of people against people. This was one person playing out their brutality against innocents, and that was the worst kind of crime. As they made their way back to the corporate offices, Kincaid told La Rosa it was time to start talking to the people that were first on the scene.

                                                                      ****

Roger Merit was sitting in a room with three other mechanics and two suits from the corporate offices. They had just spent the last thirty minutes having these men tell them what they should tell the police. On top of that, Roger felt there were veiled threats behind these discussions and that irritated him. It wasn't his fault that some madman had set off a bomb on the roller coaster. But it was being intimated that because he and his crew had walked the tracks, they were somehow responsible for what happened. They were certainly being chastised for not finding the explosive in the first place.

This was unnecessary
on their part because Roger had been replaying his walk of the coaster all night. He rewound and watched over in his mind countless times his walk across that area of the track that was now a melted pile of metal. He knew he wasn't responsible, but in some way he still felt guilty. If he'd found the device, this wouldn't have happened and people wouldn't have died. Of course he also knew he could never say that out loud. That would be devastating to his career, livelihood, and maybe even his freedom. If they were looking for a scapegoat, and they would be soon, what he'd been thinking would make him the poster boy for their crucifixion.

The door opened and two people entered the room. One was a pretty
Latina woman and the other a middle-aged man. They looked like cops and Roger noticed the badge clipped to the top of the man's belt. The man spoke first.

"Hello. I am Detective Kincaid. This is Detective La Rosa." He nodded towards the woman. "We're here to ask you some questions. We understand that you thre
e were the first to the scene, so we'd like to get your accounts."

One of the mechanics asked, "
Do we need lawyers?"

Kincaid shook his head.
"Not at this time. However, if you want these gentlemen to stay while we ask you questions, that's fine with us. Right, La Rosa?"

"Sure."

Roger noticed she seemed a bit distracted and kept looking out the window. He studied her. It looked like she was nervous, although he doubted that was the case. She sat down opposite one of the other mechanics and Roger continued watching her. Her hair was long and she had it pulled back into a bun. Her eyes were liquid brown and she had a strong chin. Her skin was clear and smooth and her body was slight. He was intrigued by the questions she asked his mechanic. Only once did she feel his gaze upon her and turn his direction. She met his eyes with strength and purpose. As her questions slowed, Roger found himself hoping she would be the one to question him. But as was his luck, Kincaid motioned him over and he walked past La Rosa, pausing for a moment to watch her hands move across the notebook in front of her.

Kincaid began his questioning
by asking Roger to describe the scene when he arrived. Twenty minutes later Roger was still trying to give the account of what he saw. Kincaid seemed tired and started to yawn. Catching himself, he tried to hide the yawn behind his hand. After La Rosa was done with the last mechanic she sat down next to Kincaid.

Kincaid nodded at him.
"So you said you helped a girl. Do you remember her name?"

"Linda
...no... it was Lindy."

La Rosa nodded at Kincaid.
"Lindy? I took her home last night."

Roger had been thinking about
the girl all night. "Is she okay?"

"Well, given the circumstances I
think she's coping. Mr...." La Rosa trailed off.

"Merit.
Roger Merit."

L
a Rosa's gaze was firm. "Roger Merit. How long have you worked for the company?"

"I've
been working here at the park since I was a teenager. I moved my way up the ranks. I've done a little bit of everything here, but being a mechanic is my passion. I'm the head mechanic. My staff walked the park that morning. We walk all the tracks and check to make sure that everything is running smoothly. The mechanics do that every morning to assess the wear and tear on the machinery."

"And you didn't see anything out of the ordinary?" Kincaid continued.

"No, I didn't. I walked that coaster with Jacob, my new mechanic. I usually do two walkthroughs if I have the time."

La Rosa interrupted. "You walked an upside down
roller coaster?

Roger shook his head. "We don't actually wal
k it...it's just what we call the morning check through."

"
Oh, I see. Mr. Merit, did you see anyone suspicious in the park early that morning?"

"Nope. It was just my crew. A couple of managers were wandering around. But we start our walkthrough at six in the morning
so there aren't a lot of people here at that time. Once we do the walkthrough, we run the coasters at least five times to make sure we have complete connection and that everything is as it should be. There is someone in the main control room that watches the computer while we run the rides. Almost all these rides are controlled by computer. That means that while we work on the machinery, the real job of running the ride is in the booth where the computers are. That booth is somewhere else in the park managed by hi-tech guys."

La Rosa opened her notebook.
"When you found Lindy you said you then entered the line, where did you go first?"

Roger s
aw the horrid event in his mind and explained it to the detectives. Once he finished recounting his experience, both detectives were quiet.

La Rosa shut her notebook. "Mr. Merit, you are free to go. But we will need to ask you more questions, so please don't go on any trips anywhere, okay?"

"No, I won't. Anything
I can do to help, give me a call." Roger stood up and held out his hand to Detective La Rosa. When she took his hand she shook with a strong grip, and her eyes held his the whole time.

Kincaid shook his hand and then Roger left the room. He was immediately brought into another room where five men in suits sat around a table. They motioned to him to sit down
, and they began asking what the police had asked. After about an hour of grilling him, they let him go and Roger made his way to his car to head home.

                                                                      ****
 

Chapter Seven

It felt crushing. Lindy's chest felt so heavy. Her eyes hurt. And even though she just woke up, she felt exhausted. The pills her Dad had given her last night had shut out the thoughts running through her head. She felt the tears begin. Heather and Megan were dead. She should be too. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to move. More than anything she just wanted to stop the world, rewind, and bring her friends back.

                                                                      ****

The older couple sat holding hands and listening to the rabbi speaking. The woman was shaking and her husband moved his arm around her shoulders. Only a spattering of the rabbi's words was getting through. She could feel the warmth of her husband's arm around her shoulders and was happy for its strength. She didn't know if she would survive losing Rachel. All she kept seeing was her daughter's face as a child. She couldn't think about Michael and Valarie. She couldn't think about them at all or she would stop breathing.

                                                                                    ****

With his arm around his wife he could feel her body shaking. While he was holding her tightly, he still didn't feel anything. The rabbi was rambling on and he just wished he would leave. He couldn't react with him here. He had to stay strong or his wife would collapse, he knew that for sure. Rachel's laugh was in his ears. As she left yesterday she had kissed his cheek and laughed saying, "Goodbye, Daddy." He couldn't stop thinking about that sound and the warmth of her lips on his cheek. The kids - there was no way to understand this. The kids were gone. Their lovely smiling faces. Their annoying teenage ways...it was all gone. His chest hurt. But he didn't take his arm from his wife.

                                                                                    ****

They sat at a table not eating anything. There was a white cloth covered with silver and crystal. The eggs were hot and steaming and neither one of them could eat anything. Diana and James were dressed impeccably. They each stared at their plates until the phone shocked them into action.

James
got up and answered. The voice on the other side inquired after them, but James didn't know how to answer. He was filled with sadness and rage. Neither emotion had made it to the surface, but they were a combination that didn't do well together. He affirmed that they would be downstairs in twenty minutes then set the phone down. His wife looked up at him with eyes that were red-rimmed and sunken. She had not slept at all last night just simply cried next to him. He couldn't help her. His sorrow was as deep as hers. He nodded at her; she got up from the table and moved to the bathroom. He heard the sound of retching almost immediately.

                                                                      ****

Roger woke up hoping that yesterday was simply a nightmare. But the reality descended as he sat up and put his feet on the floor. He felt tired and so old. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to stop the picture of the young girl from forming in his mind.
What was her name? Lindy.
He'd stayed awake most of the night repeating the walk of the track through his mind. There was no way he could've seen that bomb. But still it didn't stop him from trying to find a way to take responsibility. It wasn't his fault. It was an accident; however, he was having a hard time convincing his heart of this.

He could hear his daughter in the kitchen
, so he rallied and moved out his bedroom door. She had made breakfast and coffee and pancakes were sitting on the table. She looked at him with worry, and he forced a smile and a quiet thank you as he sat down. It was going to be a long day.

                                                                                    ****

Detective La Rosa drove to the station. She made a mental note to get the name o
f a counselor to Lindy's father first thing. Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out to look at who was calling. It was Kincaid so she tapped her ear piece. "I'm almost..."

Kincaid interrupted. "You need t
o drive to the park. The higher-ups want to talk to us."

"Okay, you want me to pick up coffee for you?" La Rosa smiled. "And a donut?"

"Well, if it's not out of your way."

"See you in twenty."

Chapter Eight

The park was closed. The parking lot empty of cars looked dismal and sad. La Rosa pulled her car up close to the entrance and parked. She walked slowly with the coffee and bag of donuts she'd brought. The silence was strange. As she made her way to the offices she saw suits leaving and wondered if the Feds were here yet. She struggled to hold the coffee while opening the door, but finally got it by holding the donut bag in her mouth. Once inside, she could hear voices and followed them.  Entering the conference room, she saw suits, suits, and more suits. Everyone had one on and the men in them were all trying to talk at the same time. She scanned the room and noticed Kincaid standing in the back. He nodded at her.

"Here." Sh
e handed him a coffee and the bag. "What's up?"

"They are arguing on how to handle
the press and what to tell the mayor's office."

"W
hat did I miss?"