FORTY-NINE

Fox News speculated that a Republican President wouldn’t have canceled the trip to San Francisco. Other media focused on the search for the missing explosive devices. Photos of the devices showed. A headline read ‘Thousands Could Die.’ The White House press secretary stressed that it wasn’t the President’s decision to cancel the San Francisco trip, it was Secret Service caution. The Secret Service linked the decision to a credible threat that they couldn’t elaborate on and so for twenty-four hours the media just winged it.

Raveneau clicked on a video, a three minute in-depth interview with a terrorist expert who appeared to be speaking from a chair in the study of his home. He tied the bomb casing design and pattern of delivery to Al Qaeda. He sounded quite certain but Raveneau had to cut him off to take a call from Becker.

‘A package delivered,’ Becker said. ‘From Hawaii.’ Raveneau heard him inhale. ‘I’m in my office. Why don’t we open it together?’

‘See you in a few minutes.’

When Raveneau walked into the office he quietly shut the door behind him. The FedEx box sat center of Becker’s desk.

‘I have an agreement with Captain Ramirez that I don’t hold things like this on my desk after I’ve opened them. It’ll go to him this afternoon.’

‘You told me that yesterday. You told me a couple of times.’

‘I just don’t want there to be any misunderstanding.’

‘OK, but you don’t have to build a firewall between us. I understand what you have to do.’

Raveneau stared at the box but kept thinking about Barbara Haney and the glibness with which she had lied to him and backtracked. He watched Becker root around in his desk looking for something to cut the packing tape with. And then a text came from Ortega. He read that and laid the phone down. His phone buzzed with other calls but he didn’t look at the screen, instead watched Becker lift out an object encased in bubble wrap.

‘Has a little weight to it,’ Becker said. ‘Not much, but something, more than a letter or a CD.’

Didn’t look like one either and when Raveneau saw Becker was unsure what to do with it he said, ‘Can I take a look?’

Becker handed it to him and as soon as he had it in hand he knew what it was. Raveneau cut away the plastic wrap and Becker said, ‘That goes straight to the crime lab.’

Raveneau nodded.

‘What type of Glock is that?’

One of the things Raveneau liked about Becker was he didn’t pay much attention to guns. Never had and he was notoriously bad out on the range. Raveneau figured it was one of the reasons Becker had such a high solve rate. He always focused on motive, on why things happened.

‘This is the model the Austrian engineer Gaston Glock started with. This is a Glock 17. It shoots a nine, a nine by nineteen millimeter parabellum, the NATO standard and one of the design requirements when Glock came up with this gun.’

Raveneau studied it a little longer then folded the bubble wrap back over. He was careful not to touch it. He looked up at Becker and said, ‘Alan Krueger was shot with a nine.’

‘Did you have any idea this was coming?’

‘No.’

Becker picked up the FedEx box and looked it over.

‘Did this Thomas Casey send it?’

‘Matt Frank sent it for him. That’s what Candel told me, but I don’t think this is what Casey had in mind to send.’

‘You said this Matt Frank travels with his coffee business. He goes to trade shows. He was in Los Angeles not long ago. Isn’t that correct?’

‘That’s what he told us.’

‘How about this idea? Matt Frank sent you the videotape from Los Angeles. He FedExed the videotape same as he FedExed this gun.’

‘Could be. You should have stayed a homicide inspector.’

‘I know, should never have taken the promotion. I’m not cut out to herd cats. But I get the feeling you don’t think my idea fits.’

‘The kid has anger, a lot of it. He was close to shooting me when he found me at the house. I heard the buzz of one of his shots go past my head and there was a moment there when I could feel him debating. But he was angry before he met me. As soon as he introduced me to Casey, he disappeared. He took off. He may not know it yet, but he doesn’t like his uncle much. Uncle Casey calls the shots, writes the checks, and tells him what to do. So by sending this gun instead of the complaint against me he strikes at his Uncle Casey. I’m speculating, but that’s how I read it.

‘It may be the gun used to kill Krueger, but if it is it’ll be a ballistics match only. There won’t be any prints, any residue, anything to tie it directly to Casey. It won’t be registered to Thomas Casey or anyone we can find. It’s probably not registered.’

‘You can find that out quickly.’

Raveneau nodded.

‘I’ll take it to the lab and then I’ve got to go meet Ortega.’

In his car Raveneau checked to see who the missed calls were from. He figured Ortega followed his text with calls but all three were from Ryan Candel. He didn’t call Candel back yet. He called Ortega who said, ‘You inspired me, Raveneau. I did another search and found something. We’re at the cabinet shop. Come on over.’