Page 8 of Flash Freeze

She stepped out of her car, noting the faintest trail of smoke rising above the burnt-out shell of the affected building. Dwarfed by the surrounding storage towers, the employee-heavy structure was only two stories tall. Her mind immediately began formulating hypotheses.

Several people in navy windbreakers, bearing the words “Crime Scene Unit” on the back, scoured the grass and cement around the twisted, blown-out, industrial-sized generator. Detective Bach leaned on the hood of a gray sedan, smoking a cigarette, as if he were waiting for her. Athena was relieved to spot Fire Inspector Bonnie Ballard and a man in a firefighter’s uniform exiting the charred doorway. She’d worked with Ballard before and welcomed her collaboration on the case.

As she strode by, Bach crushed out his smoke with his shoe and fell in beside her. “I’m Elyan, by the way,” he said in an easy baritone.

She gave him a serious squint. “I’m Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bouvier, Detective Bach. Let’s see what Inspector Ballard has for us.”

“Fair,” he answered without a hint of insult. “I was just thinking that the bomber could have done a lot more damage if he’d wanted to.”

That observation grabbed Athena’s attention. Perhaps she’d judged him too quickly. “I was just thinking the same,” she said.

They met Bonnie on a sidewalk splattered with bits of burnt wood, warped metal, and sundry debris near the blast’s origin. “Special Agent Bouvier, Detective Bach,” she greeted, reaching to shake both their hands.

“Inspector Ballard,” Athena responded professionally. She was long over the tinge of jealousy she’d fallen victim to upon learning that Bonnie and Flash were old friends and had served together in the same house before Ballard moved to fire investigations. It had only been her insecurities talking. Bonnie was closer to Flash’s age and attractive. Lucky for Athena, Flash never regarded Bonnie with the same star-struck admiration she reserved for her.

“What can you show us?” Bach asked.

“Let’s start with this.” Bonnie motioned toward the destroyed generator. “The crime scene unit is still combing the area for anything probative, but yesterday they collected some bomb components that had been attached inside this unit and remotely detonated. The panel was locked, but it would have been easy enough for someone with the right tools to get inside.”

To Athena, it looked like mangled metal and wires, like an onion with its layers peeled back.

“The blast, whether by intention or happenstance, blew into the side of the building where the main offices were located.” The three pivoted to view the hole through the bricks, mottled with black soot and angry scorch marks. Parts of the roof lay about on the ground or drooped insecurely above them.

“That’s where the white-collar workers would have all been if not for being called to the manager’s meeting,” Bach commented. “Instead, firefighters rescued a cleaning woman from the copy room and pulled Inspector Jeff Nolan’s body out. Captain O’Riley said the lieutenant leading the interior search and fire suppression wasn’t sure if he was alive and sent one of her crew to carry him to safety.”

Probably Flash, Athena thought. She’d want to save everyone—even if they were already beyond saving.

“Good thing too,” he added. “If the body and wallet in his pocket had suffered any more damage, he’d have been much harder to identify.”

“Can we go inside?” Athena asked.

Bonnie gave her a stern look.

“You went inside,” Athena pointed out. “I need to see where the victim was found.”

“Yeah, I’d like a look-see myself,” Bach agreed.

Bonnie let out a sigh. “You wear hard hats, don’t touch anything, and stay right with me. That part of the building isn’t sound.”

“Understood,” Athena complied.

Bonnie’s aide fetched hard hats for Athena and Bach to wear and brought up the rear as the fire inspector led them inside. The lingering smell of pungent smoke and burnt plastic clung to the air. The floors, walls, and ceiling—what remained of them—were still damp.

“Watch your step,” the lean fireman said.

Athena had mastered moving through crime scenes in heels years ago. Bach’s foot crunched through some bits of ceiling tile and fragmented ducting.

“Most employees were down that hallway,” Bonnie said, pointing to the right, “but a few folks were in a restroom, the hallway, and the two I told you about.” She stopped at an open door, precariously hanging from its hinges. “This is where the custodian was. She sustained smoke inhalation and some minor burns and was taken to the hospital.”

Bonnie continued on into a blacker, more decimated space. Athena could see patterns on the walls, holes where the blaze burned clear through. Instead of a ceiling, a black cavern rose above them, ash drifting onto her shoulders. To their left, a charred door lay in front of an open doorway.

“This is where they found Nolan’s body,” Bonnie stated.

Bach beat Athena to the entrance, probably his idea of gallantry. “Completely burnt out,” he said as Athena followed him inside. He was right. She wondered if this office used cloud storage. The exterior, the rust and wear, all struck Athena as old and in need of repair. She recalled they had mentioned at the meeting that Gulf Allied Chemicals had been cited for safety and environmental violations. Were they about to be so charged again, possibly shut down? Then she frowned.

“Why would Nolan have been in here by himself? And if he wasn’t, who panicked and left him behind?”

“Good questions for the plant manager,” Bach replied. “I’m making a wild guess that these people didn’t back up their records to the cloud. I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll soon find out.”