Page 38 of Fatal Mistake
Cal informed the SWAT commander of their movements, and they backtracked outside. A narrow crawl space ran under the cabin, protected from animals by wooden lattice, a perfect place to hide an explosive device.
Cal circled the building, checking drain spouts and looking for sections where the lattice had been disturbed or the vegetation mashed down. Rick stepped along with Cal, his gun at the ready.
“No obvious disturbance,” Cal said. “I’ll check underneath to be sure.”
He ripped off the front lattice. With a flashlight in hand, he shimmied into the dank space. Spiderwebs caught at his helmet, sending creepy crawlies running, but he tuned them out and shone his flashlight at the underside of the house and the supports. At the far side, he noticed something affixed to a support beam beneath the area where the woman lay.
Cal pressed his mic. “Possible device spotted on northeast corner of cabin. Everyone evacuate to a safe distance.”
Rick peered into the space. “What can I do?”
Already crawling ahead on his elbows, Cal called over his shoulder, “Let me get a good look at the device, and I’ll let you know.”
At the corner, he flipped onto his back and shined his flashlight up at a simple bomb made with a rudimentary timer strapped to four sticks of dynamite. The timer counted down, hitting five minutes as he watched.
“Basic device,” Cal shouted, but didn’t take his eyes from the bomb.
Simple or not, devices malfunctioned all the time. The men could make it out of range before the timer hit zero and no one would be hurt, but Cal wouldn’t let the device destroy forensic evidence in the cabin. Not to mention tearing apart the woman above.
Cal dug his tool kit from his pack as he saw Rick scooting toward him.
“You should take off,” Cal said.
Rick came to a stop by Cal and stared up at the device. “You can see the entire bomb and there’s no antiremoval device. If you can’t render that one safe without taking us both out, you shouldn’t be on our team.”
Rick’s teasing gave Cal a chuckle and helped diffuse the tension.
Cal tuned Rick out and set to work, removing the power source from the device and halting the timer at two minutes forty-nine seconds.
Cal sighed out a breath and dropped his arms to the ground. “Max is going to let us have it for not properly suiting up before tackling this bomb.”
“We’ll need to redirect him to the fact that we preserved evidence that could bring in Keeler.”
“Good luck with that.” Cal huffed a laugh. “Do you think this bomb was meant for us or to cover up the woman’s murder?”
“Hard to tell without tracking back the person who reported this place.”
“Are you up for running it down?” Cal asked.
“I’m up for anything that gets me out of this sweaty Kevlar.” Rick grimaced. “And I have to admit, I’d like to figure out the woman’s ID and how she’s connected to Keeler.”
“I didn’t notice a purse or luggage inside that could provide an ID, did you?”
“No. Nothing.”
“Then we need to get the medical examiner out here ASAP to search and fingerprint her.” Cal dug out his phone. “I’ll take a few pictures of the device and call Sheriff Gorton to rush the ME.”
“I’ll be at the truck.” Rick scrambled out from under the house while Cal shot photos with his phone and then scooted out, too. He ripped off his helmet before getting to his feet and joining Rick at the SUV. The breeze, though hot and sticky, cooled his perspiration-soaked head.
Cal removed his Kevlar vest and set it next to Rick’s in the cargo area, where they would let them dry out before placing them back in their bags. He dug out his phone and sat on the tailgate to dial Sheriff Gorton.
“Man, oh, man,” Gorton said after Cal explained the situation. “This hasn’t been my day.”
“I hate this as much as you do,” Cal replied. “But if you get the ME out here we’ll be able to move forward.”
Gorton sighed. “I don’t know, man. I mean, we’re a small office. I haven’t had a single murder in my ten years in this job. I honestly don’t know if our examiner is up to handling this situation to your satisfaction. Maybe we should take our time here. You know, get someone in from the state medical examiner’s office instead.”
“Time is not a luxury I have,” Cal said forcefully. “Get your examiner out here ASAP, and if they’re not up to speed on proper forensic protocol, I’ll walk them through procedures.”
