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Matt walked up to Kara and said, “I have a potential witness I need to interview. May be nothing, but worth following up. Keep me in the loop.”
He had more to say, but not with a nearby crowd eager to hear. He knew Kara was angry with him about last night—the Jeffries interview, plus how he reacted after her impromptu undercover work in IP. And he wasn’t quite sure how to react to their make-out session in the kitchen.
Kara glanced at her watch, then without looking put her arm out to stop a kid who was trying to go through the line. “Back off,” she said.
“You’re a cop?” he said with a grin.
“That’s what they tell me. Stay on that side of the tape.”
His phone rang. It was Jim. Matt stepped away and said, “News?”
“Some. The victim’s skull was crushed, likely before the bomb detonated. His body is in surprisingly good condition—it was close to the explosion, there’s shrapnel embedded in his flesh, but the blast went up and out, not wide, so we should be able to determine cause of death from the autopsy.”
“Is he our bomber?”
“Like I said, head beaten in before the explosion, I’m guessing not. Again, autopsy will confirm, but my very educated guess is that he’s been dead four to six hours. Definitely dead before the bomb went off. The good news is the fire was contained and burned out quickly. Bad news, the water from fire and rescue didn’t help us preserve evidence. Fortunately, the body was partly protected from the roof that came down. We’re going to bag him up and take him and the boat he was lying in to the mainland. The ME is already on his way and I’m going to assist, if you don’t mind.”
“That’s why you’re on this team. Anything you find, let me know.”
“He was hit over the head with a brick or block of cement, I’m fairly certain. I can see some debris embedded in his scalp, and it’s not deep enough to be from the blast. The guy was six feet, but if someone within a couple inches either side of that used both hands and came down hard to whack him, he’d be on his knees. The rest was child’s play.”
“Good work.” Matt didn’t need the details until Jim confirmed.
His cell vibrated. It was Michael, so he ended the call with Jim and answered.
“Tell me you’re here,” Matt said.
“Just landed at the sheriff’s helipad. We’ll be there in five minutes. Victim?”
“One, security guard, blunt force trauma most likely cause of death, dead four to six hours.”
“Caught the bomber in action, not the bomber?”
“That’s my guess. We have a good time window. He got off just after three a.m. and the boathouse was maybe a five-minute walk from the security office. That’s when it happened. I need everything you and ATF can give me on this bomb.”
“We’re on it.”
Kara didn’t mind crowd control, and she had taken extensive video of the spectators, on the chance that the bomber showed up to view the results of his destruction. Unfortunately, based on the location, he could be in any number of stores or restaurants across the street, and the dock that led to the Friday Harbor ferry building was open to pedestrian traffic, which consisted mostly of people watching police and fire. He could be anywhere.
Kara knew what she was doing, and if he was watching nearby, one of her shots caught him. They might not be able to find him among the throng of people, but she didn’t miss anything.
It was after eight, and Ryder told her Cal McKinnon was waiting for her at the sheriff’s department. She walked over to Marcy. “Duty calls. You have enough people here?”
“We’re good. If you need me, please tell John. I hate crowd control. If not, maybe drinks tonight?”
“Fifty-fifty. We’ll touch base this afternoon.”
Kara left and walked to the sheriff’s department, and the desk sergeant told her McKinnon was in the smallest conference room. “Is that okay?”
“Perfect,” she said and followed his directions down the hall and to the left, on the opposite side of the building from where the FBI was set up.
McKinnon stood as soon as she entered. “Are you Kara Quinn?”
“Yes, Detective Quinn, working with the FBI. Sorry for my attire—I was jogging when the explosion hit and didn’t have time to change.”
“Was anyone hurt? I heard someone might have been killed, but the news didn’t confirm.”
“One person died. I can’t tell you any more than that yet.”
