All right, already.
He could breathe fine now. Heath shoved the mask away and sat up on the gurney. They’d pushed him inside the ambulance when the rain had started, but he wouldn’t allow them to take him to the hospital. He needed to stay there.
“Thanks for your help. I’m good now. You guys go on and assist someone else.” Heath read the EMT’s name tag. Vince Saunders.
“The injured have already been assisted.” Vince took the mask. “Most are on their way to the hospital or already there.”
“Good. That’s good. What about . . . did anyone . . .?”
“So far, no one has died as a result of the blast.”
“Also good.” Relief rushed through Heath. He was proud to be part of this community that had responded so quickly and efficiently.
“You should see the doctor later,” Vince said. “Get your lungs checked. Your ears too. I didn’t see anything, but I’m no otorhinolaryngologist.”
Heath stared at the man. “That’s an awfully big word for this rancher deputy.”
“Ear, nose, and throat doctor. The shock wave could have caused damage.”
“I feel fine.” He breathed in a pungent odor. “I smell like soot and ash. I can hear just fine now too, but I’ll keep that in mind.”
He hadn’t been as close to the explosion as others. He would make sure Harper got checked out too. He left the ambulance to find the rain had paused, but thunder still rumbled as the storm moved through. He made his way to stand outside of the crime scene tape, letting his gaze roam the tragic scene. Where was Harper?
There. He spotted her. She was standing inside the tape taking pictures, her camera now on a tripod. They’d marked off an entire block. Maybe they should tape off the entire town.
He glanced up as a bolt of lightning struck a mountain peak in the distance as if cracking open the sky. A mere two seconds later, thunder confirmed the crack. Much too close for comfort. The storm wasn’t done with them yet.
And the criminal behind the bombs? Was he done?
The abandoned building had been an eyesore. The Grayback town council had argued over repurposing it or establishing it as a historical site.
A chill crawled over him.
If the criminal responsible had truly been aiming to kill, he would have targeted a busy building. Why had he taken out the old depot?
What was happening to his town? To this valley? Acid could have burned a hole through his gut. He wanted to find whoever was behind this, but he’d have to get in line behind a lot of people, including Taggart.
He worried about Harper taking pictures. What if another explosive device was set to go off?
And Liam. Where was he? Heath figured he was assisting law enforcement or searching for answers in his own way.
Heath found his way to the command center set up beneath a big canopy where Taggart was in a heated discussion with a couple of deputies and first responders. Detective Moffett stood next to him. Grayback contracted with the sheriff’s department for a dedicated law enforcement presence rather than allocating funds for a police department.
Taggart noticed him approaching. “What are you doing? You need to go to the hospital.”
“They took care of me already. I’m good. What happens next?”
“We’re going to tag evidence while we wait for the ATF. Nobody touches or moves anything. The FBI is watching. They may show up too. It’s going to take them time to assemble and haul their mobile units to this valley. It’s my job to contain the scene until the feds get here and decide it’s their problem.”
“You sound confident it will be,” Moffett said.
“I have no theories right now. The fire chief is in charge of putting out the fire. Everyone has their jobs. Now get out there and photograph everything, video if you think it’s important. Interview witnesses. Get to work.”
Heath listened to Taggart rattle off instructions—this was every town’s nightmare. Every county sheriff’s worst-case scenario.
He once again spotted Harper in the distance, taking pictures. She wiped at her eyes.
His heart reached out as if he could pull her back to him. She was so beautiful. In her element. Doing what she was meant to do. But he worried about her—this woman he was falling for.
“If the feds are coming, and everyone is taking pictures, what is Harper doing out there?”
The sheriff leveled his gaze at Heath and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m betting you and I are on the same page. I want the person responsible in a bad way. I won’t be pushed out of the loop on the investigation. Harper is getting the images she can and giving them to me. I’ll share them with other agencies, but I want them first.”
“What you need is inside that burning building. Most of the evidence was probably destroyed in the fire.”
“You never know what can be recovered. What the blast pattern can tell us. There’s plenty laying around in the street and parking lot. We’ll do what we’ve been trained to do, even though we hope to never have to use the training.”
A few raindrops gave them warning. A guy rushed up with an umbrella to shield Harper’s camera, then the rain started coming down in sheets. The wind whipped around and nearly took the canopy away. Harper headed over, covering the camera as she jogged.
Heath wanted to pull her into his arms.
Soaked, her hair was plastered to her head, and droplets ran down her face. He thought some of them might have been tears. Heath grabbed a towel some thoughtful volunteer had stacked on a table and handed it to her. She traded the camera for the towel, her sad amber eyes boring into Heath.
“Thanks.” She wiped her face, dried her hair, then hung the towel around her neck. Her gaze shifted to Taggart, who studied her. “I need to go into that building when it’s safe.”
He nodded. “And I’d like you to do that. I doubt it will be safe enough for that to happen before other agencies get here. I’ll see what I can do to get you in.”
Moffett had lingered while others had gone to work. The detective’s face remained passive, but perhaps she thought Harper was encroaching onto her turf. She usually took the evidence photographs for Taggart. Or maybe she would be happy to have someone with Harper’s skills assist. Heath wished he could read her.
Harper gave a half smile. “Okay. Let me know if and when I can get inside. I missed my flight today, so I’m staying.”
Taggart nodded. “We’ll talk later about your proposition.”
Heath wrapped a blanket around her.
“Do you want the memory card now? I haven’t had a chance to document the images in a photo log yet, which would be important if you intend to use them as evidence later.”
“Keep the memory card safe and with you. Do what you need to do. If you get to take more pictures later, they’ll be together. I’ll be in touch to look at them later this evening. Understand?”
She nodded, a look of satisfaction on her face.
“You did good work, Harper,” the sheriff said.
“How do you know? You haven’t seen my pictures yet.”
“Oh, I’ve seen your pictures, all right.” The sheriff answered his cell, his brow furrowing.
Heath kissed the top of Harper’s wet head. He couldn’t help himself. As tragic as this was, at least there was something, some light to shine in the darkness.