Page 59 of Edge of Steele
“Yeah,” Grady said. “It’s odd, I’ll give you that. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone who used this method for detonation and I’ve seen a lot of devices in my time. What about you, Trent?”
“Nope, never.” He snapped off his gloves. “And I agree this is odd. If I planned to use a photoelectric cell, I wouldn’t use one in a situation like this. It would be far more effective as a package or briefcase bomb. That way, when the item was opened, light would hit the cell and kaboom.”
“Maybe the bomber chose this method because they’re not commonly used for bombs, and he hopes it’ll throw us off track,” Ryleigh said. “Or even point to someone else.”
“That seems possible,” Finn said, letting the implications settle in. “With the unpredictability of the device, we have to assume whoever built this bomb was okay with a loss of life.”
“At least he chose a maintenance day when there would be a limited crew onsite,” Ryleigh said. “But yeah, he had to be good with the potential of killing people.”
“Doesn’t sound like most ecoterrorists I’ve read about,” Trent said. “They’re all about preserving life and restricting their efforts to damaging the property.”
Ryleigh nodded. “Have you found any evidence of the white or red plastic from the company’s explosives?”
“Nothing yet,” Grady said. “But anything that survived the blast could’ve melted in the fire.”
“Determining the type of explosive is very important for us to move forward,” Finn said.
Grady worked the muscles in his jaw. “Understood, and chemical analysis will give you that. But we might never be able to tell you if it’s from this company’s stash.”
“What about any sign of an accelerant used for the fire or chemicals left behind?” Ryleigh asked.
“Nothing,” Trent said. “But we’ll take samples back to the lab to be sure.”
“Let me look at that bag.” Sierra joined them and took the evidence from Grady. She turned it in her hands and held it up to the sunlight. “Minimal soot and should be easy to clean for fingerprinting. Plus, we’ve had success in getting better prints lately on difficult objects with a new technique we’re piloting called vacuum metal deposition.”
“How does that work?” Ryleigh asked.
Sierra gave the bag back to Grady. “VMD involves the thermal evaporation of metals—mostly gold, silver, and zinc—inside a special chamber. The controlled high vacuum conditions cause the metals to form thin films, developing all fingerprints present so we can see them.”
“And you can do that on a burned item like this?” Finn asked.
Sierra nodded. “If we can safely remove the soot first. Which we can often do.”
“How long will the process take?” Ryleigh asked.
“Hmm, well.” Sierra tilted her head. “To use the custom-built chamber, I first have to get this back to the lab. But once there, it should move along fast. Again, depends on the cleaning process.”
No matter how long, it was too long for Finn’s liking. Each minute they didn’t know the bomber’s ID was a minute his own name could be linked to it. “Can others at your lab run it?”
“Sorry, no. Just me.” She held up a hand. “And before you suggest I take off to do it, I’m not leaving here until I’m certain the rest of my team can properly handle the remaining work without me.”
An answer Ryleigh’s tight expression said she didn’t seem to like. “I don’t mean to be difficult, but getting the bomber’s ID is crucial. I know you used a helicopter when you recently helped Mackenzie. Would you consider flying back on that, running the test, then returning if needed?”
“I don’t know.” Sierra glanced around the space. “There’s a lot of work to do here.”
“The evidence isn’t going anywhere,” Finn pointed out. “And with the bomber at large, he could strike again.”
“They have a point.” Kelsey looked at Sierra. “The clear weather is supposed to hold for days with no risk of rain. Besides, you had them fly in for me due to my pregnancy. It’s the least we can do for you in yours.”
Ryleigh gaped at Sierra. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.” Sierra eyed Kelsey. “But I’m only four months along and wasn’t announcing it yet.”
Kelsey blushed. “Sorry. I forgot. Forgive me?”
Sierra gave her coworker a good-natured roll of the eyes. “You know I will.”
“Then let me make that call.” Kelsey smiled. “As a bonus, your techs and Winter can come down on the chopper instead of driving. They’ll get here sooner, and I can fly back with the remains and get them started sooner too.”
