AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Could you see theWater Lilyfrom where you were standing on the dock?”
“Not really. And the fire went out real quick, but there was still some smoke, so we knew where it was, but we couldn’t see anything.”
“It was a mile out of the harbor,” Ashley said.
“Before you returned to the harbor, did you notice anything else—like another boat in the area, whether you knew them or not?”
“There were a lot of boats,” Ashley said, “but we were the closest to theWater Lily.”
Pete asked Kara, “Are you thinking that this was intentional?”
Kara looked him in the eye. “It was intentional,” she said. “We know that a bomb was planted in the bow of the boat and we’re working with ATF to determine exactly how it was triggered. It could have been by timer or cell phone or radio or someone on the boat. So if the girls saw another boat near theWater Lily, that might help us. Not necessarily a suspect, but another witness we’re unaware of.”
“Why?” Pete asked. “Why would someone do this?”
Any number of reasons, but Kara didn’t comment.
Marcy said, “That’s why the FBI is here, Pete. To help us solve this quickly. We don’t want people to be scared or worried.”
“Ashley, you were taking pictures,” Kara said, remembering what Whitney had said earlier. “Can you share those?”
“Why?”
She sounded defensive.
“Because the FBI is real good at getting all the data out of an image. You might have captured something you didn’t see with your bare eye—something that could help us with the investigation.”
She frowned, didn’t comment. Why was she reticent?
“Is it those IP nuts?” Pete asked.
“They’re not nuts, Dad,” Ashley said.
“Most of them are,” he responded.
“No one in IP would do this,” Ashley pushed back.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said.
Something to pursue, Kara thought. Was Ashley part of Island Protectors? Did she know people who were? That might be helpful—but Kara realized she would have to talk to Ashley without her dad. First, Ashley wouldn’t be as forthcoming around her father. And second, her dad clearly didn’t like the group and might interrupt, causing friction with his daughter and Kara the inability to get potentially useful information.
“Thank you for your time,” Marcy said as she got up. “Pete, if we need anything else, we’ll call.”
“Thank you.”
“Ashley.” Kara remained sitting. “Your camera. Is it digital? Did you use your phone?”
“I have a digital SLR I got for my sixteenth birthday.”
“I need those pictures.”
“Of course,” Pete said. “Ashley, where’s your camera?”
“It’s at home.”
“We can email them,” Pete offered.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Kara said, “I’d like to take the camera or the memory card and our technology expert can download the data directly to the FBI server. If thereisanything important, we need to establish a direct chain of evidence. But we’ll replace the card.”
