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“If you don’t have full body suits, I have some in the van. You’ll need them in there and I don’t want anyone contaminating the scene. It’s better if Webber films the entire scene before we enter. Fire conceals evidence. We’ll take shots of the scene and then I’ll go in and examine the bodies. From what I could see, there are three bodies, one I figure is a child. They’re seated around a table and their hands are tied. It looks like it’s staged for a reason. I’d suggest allowing Thompson to do his assessment with Carter as they’re both experts in their fields.”
Jo nodded. “Okay, I’ll come with you. The scene is very important, if someone planted a bomb and the scene was staged as you suggested. I want to discover the mindset of the person behind this crime and his motive for killing an entire family.”
Four
The smell of burning eased a little when Jo pulled on the hood of her protective suit and secured the facemask. She was just about to speak to Wolfe when her phone buzzed. She dragged off her hood and pressed the phone to her ear. “Agent Wells.”
“Hi, Jo it’s Bobby.” Kalo sounded like a kid on the phone. “I have the information on the family who owns the ranch, Isaac and Connie Wood. Both are social workers out of Louan. Not as much as a parking ticket between them and Isaac inherited the ranch from his pa and moved there from Blackwater recently.” He sighed. “You know, depending on where people work, there might be a small amount of people who have an ax to grind with social workers. I had a few on my case, and many don’t always tell the truth.” He cleared his throat. “No, I’m gonna tell it like it is, Jo, some of them downright lied about me and to a judge and all.”
Jo stared at the smoldering house and at the small wisps of smoke still escaping from the ruins. “Well, it’s just as well we found you, isn’t it? I’m on scene now, so I’ll have to go. Thanks for the info. I’ll talk to you soon, bye.” She disconnected and pushed her phone into her pocket. As she secured her hood and mask again, she walked to Wolfe’s side. “Both husband and wife were social workers, no rap sheets.”
“Good to know but it doesn’t explain why someone would want to blow them up.” Wolfe pulled on gloves.
After Colt Webber, Wolfe’s intern, had filmed what was left of the house and taken photographs, Jo waited for Wolfe’s go-ahead to enter the ruins. Dressed in what could only be described as hazmat suits, Carter and Matt Thompson, climbed over the rubble at the front of the house. They would evaluate the explosion, as well as the position and composition of the bomb, and then collect samples from the crater for forensics testing. With Carter’s expertise in explosives and the fire chief’s input, Jo would receive a comprehensive report. Her expertise leaned more to the profile of the bomber and the victims. She prepared herself for a gruesome scene and followed Wolfe and Webber round the back of the house. She slowed as they reached the open backdoor and waited for Wolfe to issue orders. She peered inside the ruins of a once beautiful ranch house. The green paint had bubbled on the door and carried a thick coating of soot. Fire had licked the wall above and dirty rivulets of water from the firehoses dripped down to form black ash-laden puddles underfoot. Jo sensed Wolfe’s reluctance to take her inside to view the blackened remains and she met his gaze. “Let’s do this, I have seen fire victims before, Shane.”
“Two adults and there’s a child.” His eyes filled with deep sorrow. “It’s harder with kids.”
Kalo hadn’t mentioned the Woods’ children. Stomach flip flopping, Jo nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
Many victims lived in her memories but her thoughts went immediately to Carter. She had no idea how he’d handle the sight of a child’s burned corpse and hoped it wouldn’t trigger a PTSD episode. A warning of what to expect might soften the blow. She pressed her mic. “Carter.”
“Miss me already?” Carter’s voice came through her earpiece.
“Can you be serious for once in your life, Carter?” Jo picked her way through the soaked floor and into the kitchen. The horrific sight before her made her legs weak. “We have three vics. Two adults and a young child. It’s about the worst I’ve ever seen.”
“You never saw combat, huh? Crispy critters are all in a day’s work. I’ll be there to hold your hand soon. Carter out.”
His false bravado didn’t fool Jo, or his sudden lack of compassion. He’d adopted a typical self-protection mode. She snorted. If that’s what it took to get him through, she’d just have to deal with it. Jo stood in the doorway and surveyed the scene, avoiding the charred remains of the three people sitting around a kitchen table. She needed to take in the entire picture, to get a feel for the killer. He could’ve killed them in any of the rooms. Why sit them around the kitchen table and not use the dining room? A stack of dishes and pans sat beside the sink waiting to be rinsed before being stacked into the dishwasher and yet under the thick layer of ash, she made out the precisely set table complete with glasses. It was as if they’d just sat down to dinner. She’d counted three people but the table was set for four. Had the killer included himself in the family gathering? She scanned the room taking note of the melted microwave, electric kettle and toaster blackened and misshapen. The refrigerator door hung open and the seal around the door had dripped molten plastic onto the tiled floor. One side of the curtains over the kitchen sink had burned and the other side remained untouched. The sight of a singed calendar, with birthdays circled, made her stomach cramp. She heard Wolfe speaking and moved to his side. Clamping her lips shut to stop them trembling, she surveyed the pathetic remains of a family. “What did you say, Shane?”
“The killer restrained the family as I suspected. He left nothing to chance, there’s an open gas can over there.” Wolfe glanced at Webber. “Anything left to indicate a robbery?”
“No, the front of the house is destroyed, the stairs are impassable, but the car is still in the garage.” Webber frowned. “Who’d do this to a family?”
“Just a minute.” Jo pressed her mic. “Carter, if the intention was to kill the family, how come the front of the house is the main point of the explosion? The kitchen has mainly fire damage, can you explain?”
She heard him walk through the door, his boots crushing glass and debris underfoot and turned to watch his expression. His gaze flicked around the room and then rested on her.
“He used C-4 and an electronic detonator. Zorro found part of it outside.” Carter held up an evidence bag with a burned piece of metal inside. “The direction of the blast depends on the shape of the explosive. He wanted to blow out the front of the house. I figure he wanted the family alive for as long as possible, so they’d burn to death.” He glanced around and spotted the overturned gas can. “He made sure by pouring gas onto the floor.”
“I agree.” Matt Thompson walked in behind him, squatted down, and took samples from the kitchen floor. He straightened and made notes on a clipboard. “I’ve completed my preliminary report on the cause of the fire.” He signed the bottom of the sheet of paper, peeled a copy from underneath, and handed it to Wolfe. “Arson, caused by a C-4 explosion and he used gasoline as an accelerant. I’ve collected samples for analysis and will forward the final report in due course.” He tapped the top of the paperwork with his pen. “If necessary, you can contact me on that number.”
“Okay, thanks for coming out.” Wolfe handed the document to Webber.
“Any time.” Thompson shot a glance at Jo. “It’s not often I get to work alongside the FBI.” He gave her a wave and then picked his way out through the backdoor.
Jo stared after him and then looked at Wolfe. “Why exactly did you call him out here from Black Rock Falls?”
“I needed an expert and there’s none with his qualifications in any other town.” Wolfe met her gaze over his facemask. “Louan, like most of the towns, has a volunteer fire department and as lives were lost here, it comes down to the local fire chief to file a report. I’ll file one as well, it prevents any unfounded negligence lawsuits and is essential for insurance claims.”
“I can see remnants of zip-ties around this victim’s ankles.” Carter bent to examine the corpse. “Is it the same for all of them?”
“Yeah.” Wolfe frowned. “He tied them and made it look like they’re all sitting down to a family meal.”
“What do you see, Jo?” Carter moved to her side.
Jo swallowed the bad taste in her mouth. “The killer hates the family unit and wants to destroy it. I’d say someone took his family away from him. He wants to inflict as much suffering as possible and wants to make them pay for his pain.” She gl
anced at Carter. “We’ll need a complete rundown on the members of this family, what they did for a living, their friends, everything. I want to know why he picked them. This isn’t random, it’s been planned and executed with precision.”
