Explosive Force

by Lynette Eason

  “Even if someone spotted him, how would they know? He seems to be a master at disguises. Not to mention the fact that he’ll kill to get the uniform he needs. He’s smart and he’s extremely careful.”

  “I remember Westley saying that Sullivan doesn’t make a move unless he’s sure he won’t get caught.”

  “True.” He frowned. “But we’re not giving up. He will get careless and we will get him eventually.”

  “I know. That’s what Westley says, too.” She offered him a small smile. “Take care of Heidi.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “I’ll watch out for her, too. Let me know if I can do anything.”

  “Could I get a bowl of water for Annie? I’ve got food with me.”

  “Sure. And a bottle for you?”

  “That would be perfect. Thanks.”

  Once he and Annie had their water, Felicity slipped inside and Nick turned the porch light off. He took a seat in the wooden rocker.

  After a long drink, Annie settled at his feet.

  Time passed while Nick did as much work as he could using his iPhone. He requested one of the OSI investigators to stop by so he could give him the evidence he and Annie had collected from the bomb site. The investigator would make sure it was delivered to the lab for examination.

  Once he had everything finished that he’d needed to do related to the explosion, Nick leaned his head back against the rocker and let his gaze linger on Heidi’s home. She’d affected him in a big way. Those eyes of hers had brought forth emotions he’d thought he’d locked securely away a little over three years ago after Lillian Peterson had taken his heart and stomped all over it.

  But with one outburst laden with frustration and truth, Heidi had snapped the lock like a toothpick. His heart had reacted and that scared him. He could face down guns and explosives, but a woman who had the potential to hurt him? No way. Normally, he’d run as far and as fast as possible. But he couldn’t do that with Heidi. She might be in danger, and Nick simply couldn’t bring himself to ignore that and abandon her when he could help.

  So now he was completely unsettled.

  The streetlamp illuminated a figure heading toward them, soft footsteps falling on the sidewalk. Annie sat up, ears twitching toward the noise. Nick focused on the shadow in the darkness, his hand sliding to his weapon. “Who’s there?”

  The figure stopped. “Nick? What are you doing out here?”

  Isaac Goddard? Nick relaxed. The man was a senior airman and turning into a good friend. “Hey, keeping an eye on Heidi Jenks. She’s mixed up in everything that went down here tonight.”

  “I heard about that.” Isaac walked over and leaned against the railing. “Glad no one was seriously hurt.”

  “Bobby Stevens ended up in the hospital but will heal. What are you doing out here?”

  “Just walking. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Nightmares?” Isaac never talked about it, but Nick knew the man’s PTSD, brought on after serving and being wounded in Afghanistan, kept him up most nights.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry. Any word on Beacon?” Beacon was the German shepherd who’d been in Afghanistan the same time Isaac had been serving and had saved Isaac’s life. Now Isaac was determined to bring him home. Unfortunately, red tape and bureaucratic nonsense had delayed that to the point where Isaac was ready to head back to the desert of his nightmares and find the dog himself.

  “They found him,” Isaac said.

  “Wait, what?” Nick sat straighter. “They did? That’s great.”

  “Yes and no. He was found injured and they’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

  Nick’s hope for his friend deflated. “Oh, no. I’m sorry.”

  “I am, too. So right now, it’s just wait and see.” He shook his head. “I can’t give up on him, Nick. He’s as much military as I am. I was lying there, injured and bleeding, and he came up and settled down beside me. Like he was trying to let me know I wasn’t alone.”

  Nick had heard the story before, but he let Isaac talk. It seemed to help him.

  “He stayed right with me,” Isaac said. “For hours until my unit buddies were able to get to me and pull me to safety.”

  “He’s a hero, too.”

  “Exactly.” Isaac sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Anyway, sorry. Didn’t mean to talk your ear off. I’m going to keep walking. Maybe head over to the gym and work some of this energy off.”

  “Keep the faith, man.”

  “I’m trying. You keep it for me, too.”

  “You got it.”

  Nick watched his friend walk away and sent up a silent prayer for him.

  Hours later, when Caleb arrived, Nick was still praying. About a lot of things. But mostly that the night would continue to be as quiet as it had been up to that point.

  Caleb yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to enjoy that steak dinner. I hope this is worth it for you.”

  Nick looked back over at Heidi’s dark home. “It’s worth it,” he said softly. “Every single penny.”

  THREE

  Thankfully, the night had passed without incident. After pacing for a couple of hours, Heidi had finally checked the locks four times, glanced out the window to see her street quiet and motionless, and fallen into bed. To her surprise, she’d slept well and five hours later awakened with a new sense of purpose.

  Before allowing herself to sleep, though, she’d worked on the story of the training center explosion and sent it off to her editor. The man was thrilled with the piece if his email this morning was anything to go by.

  The fact that she could have been killed didn’t seem to faze him. His “You’re okay, right?” tacked on at the end of his gleeful thanks for a firsthand account of the incident seemed to be perfunctory. She imagined him scrolling through her story while asking that, his brain not even registering her response.

  It was okay. She didn’t need him to care about her, she just needed him to recognize her work. When he’d given the Red Rose Killer story to John Robinson, she’d nearly had a coronary. But she was a good reporter and one day someone would notice that.

  One day. As long as she kept working hard and proving herself. And she supposed she could start by figuring out who’d bombed the training center.

  To do that, the first order of business was to visit Bobby Stevens in the hospital. Not only did she want to check on him, she’d admit she wanted to get his story. Having him tell his experience at the training center would make for a good story, ending with him being caught in the explosion at the training center. If she approached it that way, her questions wouldn’t seem so intrusive or odd—or look like she was working on the Red Rose Killer story.

  When she looked at her phone, she found a text from Nick that he’d sent after she’d gone to bed. Caleb Streeter is watching your house. Don’t be alarmed if you see him parked across the street. Touched that he’d arranged protection for her, she texted him back. Thanks. Appreciate it.

  She called the hospital and learned Bobby was able to talk in between periods of sleep. She hoped to catch him awake.

  When she stepped out of her home, she stood for a moment on her front porch. The air still had a smoky scent to it and she shivered even though it promised to be a hot September day.

  She glanced around looking for any indication the man from yesterday might be hanging around, but the only person she saw was sitting in a car opposite her home. Caleb. He lifted a hand in a short salute. She returned it and walked over to him. “Thank you for staying out here. You didn’t have to do that.”

  He shrugged. “There’s some scary business going down on this base lately. I’m happy to put in a few hours making sure nothing else happens.”

  “Well, I appreciate it.”

  “Where are you headed?”

  “To the hospit
al. Thanks again and see you later.”

  “Sure thing.” He took off, his headlights disappearing around the first turn.

  Heidi couldn’t help sweeping the area once more with her eyes. When nothing alarmed her, she climbed into her car and pulled away from the curb. It wasn’t far to the base hospital, but she blasted her air-conditioning. The last thing she needed was to arrive with sweat pouring from her.

  Minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot and made her way toward Bobby’s room, only to see First Lieutenant Vanessa Gomez near the nurses’ station. The petite and attractive critical-care nurse had her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and was focused on something on her laptop. Heidi walked over and smiled. “Hi.”

  Vanessa looked up. “Hi, yourself. I read about the explosion in the paper this morning.” She frowned. “You were there and wrote the article as well? All last night?”

  “Sleep was hard to come by, so I had nothing better to do. I sent it to my editor in time to be printed this morning.”

  “And you weren’t hurt in the blast?”

  “I had a scare and got a couple of scraped knees in addition to a few other bruises, but I’m fine. Much better than poor Bobby Stevens. He got the brunt of it, I think.”

  “At least he’s alive.”

  “There is that.” She paused. “Do you mind if I ask you a question about Boyd Sullivan?”

  Vanessa’s gaze grew hooded. “Depends on what you want to know.”

  “Just what you thought of him.”

  “You want to know what I think about a serial killer?”

  Heidi wrinkled her nose. “Okay, so maybe I didn’t phrase the question right. How do you know him? Why did he target you?”

  “Now, that is a question I’d like the answer to myself.” She sighed. “I met him one night when he got into a fight. He didn’t want to go to the hospital and risk having his superiors find out about it so he asked me if I’d help him. I had a kit in my car and treated him. I was nice to him. He was nice to me. That was it. Or so I thought until I received a note and a red rose. I have no idea why he targeted me or what I did to make him mad.” She shuddered and looked around. “But I feel safe here at the hospital. I’m always around people and I take precautions coming and going.”

  “How scary.”

  “Yes.” Vanessa’s gaze slid to the elevator. “Excuse me, I need to grab something from the cafeteria. It’s going to be a while before I’ll have a chance to eat again.”

  “Of course. Be careful.”

  Vanessa shot her a tight smile. “Always.”

  Once Vanessa was gone, Heidi found Bobby’s room number and knocked. When she heard a faint “Come in,” she stepped inside to find Bobby sitting up and eating a bowl of Jell-O while a game show played on the television opposite the bed. The remains of scrambled eggs and bacon sat on the plate in front of him.

  “Hi, Bobby.”

  He set his spoon on the tray. “Hey, Heidi.” He sounded surprised to see her.

  The right side of his face sported a white bandage from temple to chin and his right arm had a cast from elbow to wrist. Other than that, he looked unharmed. “How are you feeling?”

  “I have a headache and some other bumps and bruises, but overall, I’d say I’m a very fortunate guy.” His eyes narrowed. “You were there. I remember seeing you.”

  “Yes. I saw the guy come out of the building.”

  Fear flashed in his eyes. “You yelled at me to run. How did you know it was going to explode?”

  “I didn’t. I just... I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Something felt off. This guy came out wearing a ski mask and I figured that meant he was up to no good. He didn’t see me at first and took his mask off. When he realized I was there, he was furious, but the way he looked back at the building and decided to run... I really can’t explain it.”

  “When the explosion happened, it knocked me off my feet,” he said. “My whole body vibrated with pain—” He reached up and touched the bandage on his head. “You held my hand.”

  “You asked me to.”

  He nodded, then winced. “I’ve got to remember not to move my head.” His expression softened. “Thank you for staying with me. I—uh—admit that I didn’t want to be alone.”

  “I understand. I’m glad I could be there for you.” She paused. “What else do you remember?”

  It was like someone flipped a switch. His open, unguarded expression instantly shut down. “Nothing much.”

  He was lying.

  “Come on, there has to be something.”

  “Nope. Just coming out of the building and you yelling at me.”

  “That part of the building is closed. What were you doing in there?”

  He flushed. “I often walk through, checking to make sure everything is secure.”

  “I see.” She paused and he started to pleat the sheet. “So, you have cause to believe something’s going on in there that needs your attention?”

  “What? No, of course not.” He frowned at her. “It’s just routine, okay? I do it on a daily basis.” He shrugged. “It’s quiet in there. Gives me a few minutes to clear my head and just take a break, you know?”

  “So that’s it?”

  “Yeah. That’s it.”

  He reached for the remote, so Heidi switched tactics. She had time to take it slow and pull as much information as she could out of him. In his time. She could be tenacious, but she had to be smart, too. There was more than one way to get an answer from someone. Most guys his age had an ego. “You know, people are going to think you’re a hero.”

  “What? How do you mean?”

  “I mean, you’ve been pretty brave through this whole thing. People might even believe you got hurt trying to stop the guy from blowing the center up.”

  “But I...well...really?”

  “Sure.”

  “Oh.”

  “And they’re going to want to know how you’re doing.”

  He blinked and some of his chilly facade thawed. “Um. Okay. I guess.” His curiosity seemed to take over. “How does this work?”

  “I just ask you some questions and you answer. Then I run the article by you and if you approve it, I send it to my editor.”

  “And if I don’t like something in it?”

  “We change it so you do like it. I won’t print it if you don’t approve.”

  “I see.” He thought for a moment. “What kind of questions.”

  “Questions like...” She looked at the game show he was watching on the television. “How good are you at solving those puzzles?”

  His brows shot up and he smiled. “Not very good. I used to watch this show with my mother all the time. She’s brilliant and can figure them out with the least amount of letters.” He paused. “It’s quite frustrating to play against her, actually. But fun, too. I always try to beat her and rarely can do it.”

  “Sounds like a good mom.”

  “The best.”

  “Is she coming to visit?”

  He started to shake his head and then paused. “No. It’s too far for her. She’s in a wheelchair, with MS.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  A shrug. “Been that way my whole life, but didn’t stop her from being a great mom. She’s already called me several times and I know she’d be here if she could.”

  “I’m sure she would.” Heidi nodded to the television. “Want to watch while we talk?”

  Frowning, he tilted his head, then shrugged. “Sure.”

  Heidi nodded at the television. “Can you solve that one?”

  He laughed. “No.”

  * * *

  Caleb’s phone call informing him that Heidi was leaving her home spurred Nick to action. “Where’d she go?”

  “She said she was headed to the hospital. I can’t follow her. I ha
ve to get over to the training center ASAP.”

  Hospital? Why?

  The trainer who was hurt in the blast. She was going to question him. “Fine. Thanks for your help last night. Let me know when you’re planning on that steak dinner.”

  “Will do.”

  Nick’s next call was to Master Sergeant Westley James. He let the man know he was heading out to find Heidi, who was a possible witness to the bombing.

  “Before you go, have you seen the paper this morning?” Westley asked.

  “No, I haven’t had the time.” His gut clenched. What had Heidi done?

  “There’s a story on the bombing. Heidi Jenks wrote it.”

  “And?”

  A pause. “The story is actually good. Facts and no opinions. Good reporting,” he said with a faint smile in his voice, “in my opinion.”

  Nick paused. Wow. “Um...good to hear that.” And a huge relief. “She said that’s all she would write. She kept her promise.”

  Westley huffed. “I’ve known Heidi for a while now. At first, I was skeptical of her, but since I moved into Felicity’s place next door to her I’ve gotten a different perspective. She seems to be a good reporter who keeps her word. It’s impressive. I’ll have to admit that before getting to know her, I never would have believed it possible.”

  “You’re not the only one.”

  “She’s also started doing those personality pieces on enlisted personnel. I’ve read them and they’re good. I’ve even learned a few interesting tidbits about the people I work with. It’s nice.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” And he was. But he needed to get going if he was going to catch up to Heidi.

  “Might change my mind and let her do one on me,” Westley said.

  “She asked?”

  “Yes, but I said no at the time.” He hesitated, then said, “She’s a reporter, after all.”

  “Yes, she sure is.”

  To Nick’s relief, the man made a sound like he was getting ready to wrap up the conversation. “All right. I know you’re working with the investigative team on this Red Rose Killer case. I was talking to Justin and he said OSI wants you on the bombing as well. The evidence you and Annie found has been sent off and we’re waiting to hear back. Until then, you might want to keep Heidi in your sights. If we’ve got a bomber out there who thinks she knows something, she could be in danger.”