Page 79 of Fatal Mistake
He swallowed hard, his hand curled and ready to strike, but he continued on instead, highlighting passages that needed follow-up. On page twenty, Keeler raved about a woman he’d met at temple, a Nabijah Meer.
Temple? Cal sat up. They’d been unable to locate a temple associated with Keeler. Cal read faster. He hit page thirty-seven, and his mouth dropped open.
He grabbed his phone and dialed Kaci.
“You can hardly be in the air yet, so this must be important,” she said when she answered.
“It is,” he said. “I’ve been reading Keeler’s journal, and you’ll never guess what I found.”
* * *
Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon
5:15 p.m.
Cal stood at the base of the destroyed fire tower and stared at the gruesome scene. The sun hung high in the sky, the temps were in the midseventies with a cool breeze playing over the area, and the birds chirped in the distance, all in direct contrast to the sight before him.
The tower’s front supports had been severed, leaving the platform dangling from the back with all the windows and one wall blown completely out. The balcony where he’d watched Tara, the room he’d locked her in, all destroyed. A woman dead. For what? Because Keeler was obsessed with Tara and couldn’t have her?
Cal shook his head and stepped closer. The ME had already removed the remains and though Cal hadn’t wanted to see the woman, it could have helped in his evaluation of the bomb.
How long had this woman sat with a bomb around her neck, paralyzed with fear while waiting for it to explode? Had Keeler needed it to occur at a certain time, or was the time of the explosion random? Did Keeler even place the bomb, or was he still in D.C. and one of his accomplices did his dirty work for him?
All Cal knew at this point was the area was so far removed from civilization that no one had heard the explosion. When the fire lookout failed to call in, her supervisor sent someone to check on her and found the tower in ruins.
Cal continued to stare, and for some reason, the team’s mission statement ran through his head.
Readiness. Response. Resolution.
Yeah, right.
Sure, they’d responded and would hopefully resolve the situation in due time, but ready? Nah, they hadn’t been ready. Tara had no affiliation with this woman, so none of them had seen this coming.
Nor had the poor woman. When Cal had made that phone call for a replacement, he’d effectively sent her to her death. So what if he understood that he wasn’t responsible for the other women who died? This death was his fault. All his fault. He should have predicted Keeler’s actions and requested a man to take Tara’s spot. And worse yet, even as he looked at the scene of another woman’s death, Cal felt relief that he’d gotten here in time to prevent Tara from being Keeler’s next victim.
He tightened his fist. There was nothing within reach to punch, and his anger climbed to a frenzy. If he spotted Keeler right now, Cal would take the man apart with his bare hands.
His phone rang, and he snapped it from his belt in frustration. He spotted Kaci’s name and hoped she was calling about Nabijah Meer, the woman he’d discovered in Keeler’s journal.
“Tell me you have something for me.”
“I haven’t actually located Meer, but I did determine the name Nabijah comes from the Indian and Muslim world and means ambitious, leader, and brave. Meer’s a common Indian surname that means prince or ruler.”
“So you’re thinking she belongs to an aristocratic family?”
“Maybe. I’m going to follow that direction to see where it leads.”
“None of the victims were Indian.”
“No, they weren’t, and neither is Sarra Yasin.”
“So it might not mean anything.” Cal took a breath and let it out. “Get back to me the minute you have more on Meer, okay?”
“You got it.”
They disconnected, and he looked at the tower with Kaci’s thoughts fresh in his mind.
Had Meer helped Keeler with the other bombs and taken out this tower while Keeler headed back to D.C. to kill yet another woman? Or had Sarra Yasin or both women been assisting him all along in planting the bombs?
