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Kara realized she should have told Matt where she was going. Dammit, she wasn’t used to working on a team like this. She pulled out her phone, sent a quick text message:
UC with IP at library, going dark for an hour.
She made sure it went through, then deleted the message, put the phone on silent, and pocketed it.
A woman sitting nearby was staring at her. Yep, Kara was a stranger. She would stand out. Kara nodded to her and kept listening while also taking in the crowd.
She didn’t know if—relatively speaking—this was a big or small environmental group; she’d never infiltrated one before. There were forty people here, tops. There were enough chairs for sixty. Kara took a water bottle from the table—something sealed that she could open herself—and sat down near the woman who hadn’t taken her eyes off her since she walked in.
Didn’t want her to think that Kara was intentionally avoiding her.
She also happened to be right behind Ashley Dunlap, who didn’t give her a second glance.
Kara popped a piece of gum in her mouth and chewed. Sipped her water. Observed and listened.
When the speaker was done, Donna Bell rose, and all side conversations ended.
“I’ve talked to most of you already. I see one or two new faces.” She looked directly at Kara. “I won’t be long tonight. Late this morning I had a visit from the FBI.”
Someone swore loudly, others under their breath. Several anti-police comments rolled through the room.
Donna put her hands up. “I’m not a fan, but the sheriff has always treated this group with respect, so I was willing to listen. But it’s clear to me that they are focusing on Island Protectors and they specifically asked me to report on anyone who is acting suspiciously.”
Kara was pretty certain that wasn’t how Matt would have put it, but it was an interpretation, she supposed, especially if you didn’t like law enforcement as a rule.
“That’s bullshit, Donna,” someone said.
“I agree. I know that no one here had anything to do with what happened to West End’s charter boat. The sheriff said it was a bomb and I’m sure you’ve seen ATF all over the place, but they haven’t released many details, so I’ll take their comments with a grain of salt. As Brenda said earlier—” she gestured toward the girl who had been speaking when Kara first walked in “—West End has never been transparent with us, and until I see an official report that is clear as to the cause of the explosion, I’m not going to buy the talking points.
“What I want you all to know,” Donna continued, “is that you don’t have to talk to the policeat all. They have no evidence, nothing, that points to anyone specifically, and they’re clearly sniffing around. I detest these fishing expeditions, because they will take small bullshit crap—like personal-use drugs—and parlay that into years in prison. So I’m telling you this now: if anyone gets called in, you don’t have to go. If anyone gets arrested for any reason, call me and I’ll get you a lawyer. I’m not going to let anyone here get railroaded.”
“Donna,” Craig said, “the sheriff called both Valerie and me to come in and talk to them. We have to go; we’re still on probation. We had nothing to do with this, but they have this way of twisting everything around and you don’t know what end is up.”
“If they had any evidence, they wouldn’t haveaskedyou to come in,” Donna said. “They would have arrested you. Which tells me again: fishing. Because of your past mistake, they want the easy path.”
Craig looked worried and scared.
Valerie scowled. “I’m not going,” she said. “They can’t make me. They can’t just use this probation as a free pass to haul in all the usual suspects.”
“I agree,” Donna said, “but if your probation gets revoked you might have to go before a judge and face possible jail time. We would fight it, but sometimes cooperating is more helpful. I’ll call Larry and have him meet you at the station in the morning, all right? He’ll represent you and Craig and make sure your rights are protected. Listen to him, do not answer any questions he doesn’t tell you to answer.”
“I don’t think we should have to talk to them at all. They have no evidence it was us. Or anyone.”
Craig said quietly, “Val, shh.”
“Don’t. It’s not fair. They’re not asking everyone else in IP to come in, just us.”
Donna said, “Valerie, I understand how you feel. And they still may come after the rest of us. I’ll deal with that if it happens. But for now, basic cooperation. Don’t give them anything they don’t ask for. Listen to Larry, and everything is going to be fine.”
There were grumbles throughout the room.
Kara wasn’t sure about those two, Craig and Valerie. They didn’t look like killers, but Valerie was definitely angry. Hostile. She might act rashly—maybe, as Matt had suggested earlier, setting a bomb and not realizing it might actually kill people. Maybe she got Craig to go along with it.
Thewhybugged her. Domestic terrorism was a thing; anger at the government, at a group of people, at a business. But anger aimed at a specific business like West End tended to be personal.
Maybe it was personal for Valerie. That was definitely worth looking into.
Donna said, “Now, all this being said, if any of you know anything about the alleged bombing—if you saw something that might help the police, or if you overheard someone talking about it—come to me. I’ll get the information to the police, and no one has to go in and make official statements. Clearly, if an individual is responsible for killing nine people, we want them to be brought to justice. But that doesn’t mean any of us have to give up our rights to help the police do their job.”
