Page 51 of Edge of Steele
“No, but if he’s the night supervisor, as we suspect, he could’ve come here instead of going out to eat with his men. Not sure why, though. Unless he was setting the bomb.”
“Sounds like a good possibility.”
“He’s new to the team,” Ryleigh said. “So we don’t know much about him, but our task force computer expert is digging into his past. We hope Kelsey can search for the victim’s keys and cell phone before she removes the remains.”
“I’ll ask her, but if it in any way threatens the integrity of the bone structure, don’t be surprised if she says no.” Blake got out a small notepad and pen. “What’s the guy’s name? I’ll have Nick look into him too.”
Ryleigh shared Gates’s name. “It would be helpful too if Nick could analyze the computer parts that we believe controlled a photoelectric cell bomb.”
“Photoelectric cell, huh?” Blake blinked a few times. “Didn’t expect that. I’ll get the guys back here as soon as Kelsey clears them to be in the area. Knowing for sure the type of bomb could lead to the bomber, and I know you’ll want that info as soon as possible.”
“Exactly,” Finn said, his respect growing for this man. “That’s it for me. You have anything else to add, Ryleigh?”
“We have another scene we would like processed if possible.” Ryleigh told him about Uri Gates’s home.
“Sierra and her team can do it first thing while we wait on Kelsey to give the all clear back here.” Blake took off for the rear building and glanced over his shoulder. “Grady and Trent will want to talk to eyewitnesses to the explosion, if there are any, and to the firefighter who was first on scene. And they’ll also want to get a look at the explosives used by this company.”
“The firefighter is Ryan Maddox, who is also on our task force,” Ryleigh said. “He has a shift here later today. When Grady and Trent are ready to see the explosives, I can arrange access. And as far as eyewitnesses, the day supervisor was here, but I need you to hold off talking to him until after the sheriff and I question him.”
Blake furrowed his forehead. “He a suspect?”
“Could be.”
Finn wasn’t surprised that she didn’t provide details such as Eckles’s name as Blake could just look the guy up and not follow her lead. Not that Finn thought Blake would do that. But as a law enforcement officer, she knew to keep quiet. So did Finn. His days of sharing on a need-to-know basis had taught him well in that area.
12
Ryleigh left Finn at the destroyed building to finish their shift and drove Finn’s truck to Uri Gates’s house. Sierra and Chad followed in their company van. She pulled over to park and bumped the tires over the curb. She cringed. She hoped Finn didn’t notice she’d scraped his tires. The truck was far bigger than anything she’d ever driven other than tractors on the family farm, and she didn’t have to worry about curbs there.
Sierra and Chad parked behind her and put on white protective suits. Sierra held blue booties and handed a set to Ryleigh.
Ryleigh took them and wrapped her arms around her as the sun slid behind threatening clouds. The forecast didn’t call for rain today, and she prayed it would hold off for the forensic recovery at the bomb scene. Sierra and Chad grabbed portable kits that resembled large tackle boxes, and Ryleigh led them to the back door.
“The door doesn’t lock, but thankfully the seal I added yesterday is intact.” She sliced down the tape and put on gloves before touching the door to open it.
Chad set down his kit on the cracked patio. “I’ll get this door printed while you check things out.”
Sierra smiled at him and then looked at Ryleigh. “I can’t begin to tell you how great it is to have an assistant who can read your mind.”
“I’ve worked with partners like that.” Ryleigh put on her booties and then led the way into the room.
Sierra slipped hers on too but stopped just inside the door to scan the room. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Chad. “Make sure you bag the Roomba.”
“Will do.”
“The Roomba?” Ryleigh asked. “Why do you want to bag a robot vacuum?”
“They’re frequently scheduled to run on a regular basis. Often daily. So it could’ve swept up valuable evidence.”
“I never owned one so didn’t know you could schedule them.”
Sierra nodded. “Plus, we need to check out the model to see if it’s a preproduction test version. Early on, Roomba had beta-testers who agreed to let the vacuum collect all sorts of data to help improve its artificial intelligence and provide feedback to iRobot.”
“How will that help?”
“The device takes pictures to transmit to Roomba. It might’ve captured something or someone you’ll want to follow up with.”
Ryleigh shook her head. “You all never cease to amaze me with your knowledge base.”
