FIFTEEN

The team fell silent while they focused on the food in front of them.

“What did you find out?” Ava asked as she came back into the room. “I mean, I’m gonna miss Bella for the rest of my life. And my dad? I . . . Anyway, I have a lifetime to feel bad and cry and beat my chest and be mad at God. But I can only find her killer now, before he disappears somewhere. So what can you tell me about her murder?”

“Self-guided bullets,” Bob said.

“Military,” Leslie said. “Very hush, hush, and experimental.”

“I found a picture of a test of them on the Internet,” Nelson said. “But when I called Sandia National Labs, where the bullets were tested, they kind of freaked out. I was able to find out through a military buddy of mine that they’re missing some ammo.”

“From Sandia?” Seth asked.

Nelson nodded.

“We were asked to determine how the shooter managed to hit them with such accuracy,” Bob said. “He shot through the curtain. There’s no evidence of cameras or other surveillance in the room. How did he do it? Everyone assumed he had visual access to the targets. The ammunition implies that he knew where they would be sitting but couldn’t necessarily see them.”

“Which implicates Jasper or Kowalski,” Seth said.

“Right,” Bob said.

Seth shook his head.

“What?” Ava asked him.

“They’re way ahead of us,” Seth said.

“How else would he know where they would be sitting?” Nelson asked.

“I can think of three ways,” Seth said. “Satellite imaging, heat, or radar.”

“Hacking a satellite isn’t easy, but it’s definitely doable,” Nelson said.

“Or he gained access to the codes when he took this assignment,” Seth said.

“He could have stolen the technology from a nearby oil field – sonar, x-ray,” Ava said.

“That’s right,” Fran said. “There are lots of fields out there in the middle of nowhere Colorado.”

“Does the Niobrara Shale Field go all the way down there?” Nelson asked.

“No but the Raton Basin is right there,” Fran said. “Coal methane and natural gas.”

“They’d have stuff like that just lying around or in a trailer,” Bob said. “Easy pickings.”

“Didn’t someone tell you he was a high school science teacher?” Leslie asked.

“Maybe,” Seth said.

“We haven’t found him yet, Les,” Ava said. “He’s not on the website and turns out the phone’s not answered after the kids are out for the summer. I left a message, but . . .”

“If he’s a science teacher, he’d know how to make lots of stuff,” Leslie said.

“Good thinking,” Seth said. “He could have made something – x-ray or heat or . . .”

“They use these for ghost hunting. My Google search brought up four different of DIY instructions on how to make a thermographic camera,” Nelson said. “These would take some amount of skill, but it would be easy for a high school science teacher. There are even instructions for ghost hunters to make one for their iPhones.”

He turned the laptop so that Seth could see the screen.

“Can we ask for records to see . . .?” Bob started.

“No time,” Seth said.

“He could have used a computer anywhere,” Ava said.

“But probably at school,” Bob said. “It’s worth a try. If Ava kills this guy, we’ll have it as backup.”

“On it,” Nelson said.

“All he needed were the coordinates of where they were sitting,” Ava said. “Which he could get from any of these devices?”

“He’d have to get awfully close,” Seth said. “He probably knew the layout of the room which would have narrowed his target.”

“We’ll pass this along,” Fran said. “CSI can test it out tomorrow morning.”

“Just sent an email,” Nelson said.

“Good,” Bob said.

“Jasper? Kowalski?” Seth looked at Bob and Leslie. “You have anything?”

“Immediate tox came back negative,” Leslie said. “But I sent it on for further testing.”

“Franny noticed a kind of lisp . . .” Bob started.

“Slurring,” Fran said. “Jasper slurs his words like he’s drunk.”

“No alcohol or usual suspects in his blood,” Leslie said.

“Where were they?” Ava asked.

“Hotel,” Bob said. “They had an adjoining room to where . . . uh . . . to their witness. They were filling out paperwork. TV was on like they were watching the game. But CSI wanted us to check if they were drugged.”

“And?”

“We agree,” Nelson turned his laptop around to show a digital crime scene recreation. “But we think Kowalski was out when he was shot.”

“You mean someone knocked them out, came in the room, took Jasper’s weapon and shot Kowalski, and then repeated with Jasper?” Ava asked. “Where was CSI? They should have been in the other room all day.”

“Break,” Fran said. “They were on a break or so they say.”

“We think it might be gas,” Nelson said. “Put enough in both rooms; CSI gets tired and heads out for caffeine. Knocks these guys out. Bang, bang; grab the gas canisters from the ventilation system; and slip out before anyone notices.”

“CSI was standing outside holding Dazbog lattes when the paramedics arrived,” Bob said. “They had no idea what was going on.”

“Did they test them?” Seth asked.

“Blood and urine for every CSI member,” Leslie said. “Clear again. I sent them off to the FBI with the other samples.”

“Which brings us to why we’re here,” Bob said.

Fran, Leslie and Nelson looked up at Ava. Bob cleared his throat.

“What you’re up against . . .” Bob shook his head.

“They’re way ahead of us,” Seth said.

“We want Ava to be safe,” Nelson said. “We’ve interviewed like . . .”

“Forty-two,” Fran said.

“Replacements for our Ava,” Leslie said. “Some of them are all right, but most of them . . .”

“We want you to come back,” Bob said.

“Can’t,” Ava said. “They took my badge and gun. I’m out.”

“The labs are all civilian now,” Nelson said. “New chief. You would have had to choose between being a cop or staying with us.”

“What do you mean?” Ava asked. “Why?”

“Because the labs are all civilian-run now,” Bob said.

“And it occurred to us that you’re a civilian now,” Fran said.

“So, will you come back?” Leslie asked.

“What about Bob?” Ava asked. “I’m sure he’s doing a great job as your head.”

“I retired, Ava,” Bob said. “I don’t want to deal with the paperwork and politics of running this lab. Plus, the new chief wants us to build teams of people to do backup work for everyone who needs it. Good for him, but my heart’s just not there. I want to work on the house, explore blood splatters, and hang out with the grandkids. I’m happy to share what I know, but I don’t want to train people. It’s a young person’s game.”

“So, will you take the job?” Nelson asked.

“I’ll . . .” Ava’s eyes shifted to Seth. He smiled at her. She’d been the head of this crew when he met her. She’d loved her job, her team, and most of all the clean, quiet space of her lab. Ava nodded. “Sure. When do I start?”

“Tomorrow?” Leslie asked.

“When this is settled,” Seth’s voice was firm.

“But . . .” Ava turned to look at him. Noting the concern on his face, she nodded.

“I think Seth’s right,” Bob said.

“You can’t work on this, anyway,” Nelson said. “Conflict of interest and all.”

While Ava smiled, her arms slipped around her middle in a silent hug. Noticing Ava’s gesture, Bob got up from his bar stool.

“We should go,” Bob said. He walked his dishes to the dishwasher. Fran and Leslie got up.

“What about the recording?” Ava asked.

“Send it to my phone,” Seth said. “We’re going to have to hit the road. I’ll listen to it a few times and see if I can figure it out.”

“We wondered . . .” Leslie looked at Fran and fell silent. She put her dishes in the dishwasher. Fran followed her action and the women moved to leave.

“What?” Seth asked. “You wondered what?”

“Why haven’t you asked Maresol’s psychic friend, Delphie, about all of this?” Fran asked. “Our Ava’s life is on the line. Don’t you think it might be time?”

“I didn’t think of it,” Seth said.

“Think of it,” Fran said.

Leslie held out her arms and hugged Ava. Fran followed suit. Soon, the lab team was near the door.

“What about my tickets?” Ava asked Nelson.

“Check your email,” Nelson said. “Bloom. Parking ticket in Redding in ‘85; speeding ticket in Syracuse in ‘03; parking ticket in Beaumont ‘97. All paid in cash.”

“Bloom? Really?” Seth asked.

“Looks like it,” Nelson pulled on his jacket. “Parking ticket for Hillery Junior in ’85; parking ticket for Hillery the third in ’97; a speeding ticket for Hilary in ’11.”

“You’ll let us know about the recording?” Bob asked.

“I will,” Seth said.

Bob shook his hand again and followed the rest of the team out the door. When the door closed, the house seemed to emanate still silence. Ava glanced at him. He gave her a soft smile.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You think I’m going to break down. You think I’m just avoiding pain. Well, you know what?”

“What?”

“You’re right,” Ava smiled. “Are you going to call Delphie?”

“In the morning,” Seth said.

“Where are we going?” Ava asked.

“To track the Blooms from southern Colorado,” Seth said. “We can be in Trinidad in four hours.”

“Two if we take the Bugatti,” Ava smiled. She had a deep and abiding love for the cobalt blue, ridiculously expensive race car he’d bought at his agent Schmidty’s insistence.

“We’d stand out like sore thumbs,” Seth said. “We’re better off in my truck.”

“Fine,” Ava said. “But I pick the music.”

“All right,” Seth said. “You need to shower or change
or . . .”

“I’m ready to go,” Ava opened the front door and walked out. “You?”

Seth whistled for Clara. When he heard her moving off her favorite spot on his bed, he went to the safe in his hall closet and took out a Glock 20SF handgun. He checked that it was loaded and shoved a full, spare clip into the back pocket of his jeans. Clara stopped to look at him. He pointed out the door, and Clara trotted after Ava. He set the alarm and followed them out the door.

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