Explosive Alliance

by Susan Sleeman

  He gripped the wheel, his mouth opening, closing, then opening again before he said, “Things changed when my parents were killed in a car accident. I was eight and was shipped off to my grandparents. They were older when they had Mom and weren’t prepared to raise another child. And I...”

  He shook his head as if the memories were painful. “Man, I was a pain. A huge, royal one. Took out all my grief over losing my parents on Gram and Granddad.” He took a long breath and blew it out. “Granddad’s a good ole boy from way back. He believes in harsh discipline. It was the wrong way to keep me in line, and I pushed him to the limit. When they reached the end of their rope, I went to live with my other grandparents. Same kind of thing happened. Then I spent time with my uncle. I was a piece of work.” He shook his head again. “A real piece. They all decided I’d do better in the foster care system to get counseling none of them could afford.”

  She heard the pain in his voice. Who wouldn’t be hurt if their family passed them off to strangers? She was honestly surprised he’d opened up enough to tell her all of that.

  “I get it,” she assured him. “At least part of it. My mom died when I was fourteen. I wasn’t sent to foster care, but I can relate to the acting-out part.” She smiled at him. Maybe to cheer him up. Maybe to thank him for sharing. Maybe because, when she forgot for a moment that she shouldn’t trust him, she actually liked being with him. “Did foster care work out for you?”

  “Nah. By that time, I’d gotten it into my head that I didn’t deserve a family. Got into more trouble. Things escalated until a judge gave me a choice—the military or prison.”

  “I’m sorry, Cash,” she said sincerely. “That must have been hard.”

  He shrugged. “Worked out okay. The army set me right. I’m thankful I chose it.”

  “After how you described yourself, I’d have thought you would have suffocated under army discipline.”

  “I did at first.” He smiled, a big genuine one that said he wasn’t at all sad about that experience. “Ended real fast, though, and I finally found a place I belonged.”

  “And yet you’re no longer in the army.”

  He clenched his jaw and focused on the road before glancing back at her. “That’s a story for another day.”

  She’d obviously hit another sore spot. One he wasn’t willing to discuss. Not that she deserved for him to open up. Not after hiding her own past.

  Still, it hurt. Deep inside. Reminded her of the way her father and Toby had treated her. She’d learned a hard lesson from them. When she’d dug deep enough, she found a terrible, earth-shattering secret. She’d had enough of people lying to her to last a lifetime. She wouldn’t risk believing in another person, only to have the same consequences take her down again.

  NINE

  Cash stood outside Krista’s classroom. He’d spent the morning dividing his attention between watching for potential threats and enjoying the sight of Krista with her preschoolers. She was animated and joyful, her face lighting up around the children.

  He could now understand the point made by the preschool director earlier in the day. Krista had offered to take a leave of absence if her situation would cause a problem for the center. But Peggy said the children would be devastated if Krista suddenly disappeared. Cash knew nothing about children, but apparently, preschoolers needed routine and consistency in their lives and Krista leaving unexpectedly would throw them for a loop. Peggy added, since Cash was a sworn deputy and had obviously cleared a criminal background investigation, having him in the building combined with their already strong security protocol would keep the children safe.

  He checked his watch. Near noon and time for Skyler to arrive with the sketch artist. The secured building meant he would have to let Skyler in using an access code. He signaled to Krista that he was leaving. She smiled up from where she and the children sat in a circle. The smile lit her face, a radiance coming from inside that no one could fake. She loved her job and these children. He imagined being the recipient of such affection from a woman and his heart came alive for the first time in aeons.

  Shocked at his reaction, he headed outside. Giving in to his emotions when he needed to keep his focus on protecting Krista was the last thing either of them needed.

  The drizzle had stopped and clouds had split to let the sun shine through. Skyler stepped from her car to join their sketch artist, Rick, on the walkway. A computer case hung from her shoulder and she held a tray with brown paper bags and drinks.

  Cash took the tray. “I hope this’s lunch for all of us.”

  “Yeah, I’ll give you the bill later.” She winked at him.

  “Thanks for thinking of it.” He smiled.

  “No problem. I didn’t want Ms. Curry to miss her lunch.”

  “She’ll be free in a few minutes. I have a room all set up.” Cash unlocked the door and led the way to a parent meeting room.

  Rick settled in a chair at the far end of a long table and unpacked sketching tools. Skyler removed a sandwich from the bag and set it along with chips and a drink in front of Rick. Thanking her, he went back to his task.

  She joined Cash at the other end of the table and handed him a sandwich. He opened it and eyed the thick wheat bread with turkey and mounds of sprouts. His stomach rumbled, but he decided to wait for Krista.

  Skyler looked up from the bag. “Everything going okay here?”

  “No sign of the intruder or of Krista’s early-morning visitor.” Cash took a long sip of an icy cold soda.

  “I noticed you charmed the director into giving you an access code.”

  “Actually, I didn’t even need to ask. She wants to do everything she can to help Krista.” He cast a reproachful look at Skyler. “Besides, I resent the fact that you think I charm women to get what I want.”

  Skyler sat next to him. “I don’t think you do it for selfish reasons or on purpose, for that matter. It’s just your good ole boy Southern personality to be charming.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  She watched for a long moment. “Not as long as your intentions are clear. Otherwise, the recipient of one of your guaranteed-to-melt-a-heart looks might see you as a player.”

  “Player? Me?” His voice shot up. “You’re traipsing down a road even a hunting dog wouldn’t take.”

  “Am I? It’s what I thought when I first met you. That, and you use it to cover up deeper issues.”

  He was starting to get mad and crossed his arms. “I thought you were here for the sketch, not to use your psychology degree to analyze me.”

  “I am and you’re changing the subject as you always do.” Skyler nodded at the window, where they could see Krista coming toward the room. “Maybe we should ask Ms. Curry what she thinks of you.”

  “What? You’re crazy,” he nearly shouted. “I am not asking Krista about that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Stop it, Skyler. This is none of your business.”

  “Ah, now we’re getting to the real Cash.”

  He gave Skyler a warning look. “I have a professional relationship with Krista, nothing more.”

  “If you say so.” She met his stubborn stare with one of her own. “It’d be good for you to remember that, then. You know, instead of looking at her like she’s the woman you’ve been waiting your whole life for.”

  “Enough.” Cash fisted his hands. He liked Skyler, but sometimes she didn’t know when to let sleeping dogs lie. Between Darcie as the mom of the group and Skyler dedicated to solving all of their issues, Cash wanted to scream at times. She’d been especially bad since she’d found love and gotten engaged to Logan Hunter. Now she wanted all of them to be as happy. She couldn’t seem to understand that a woman in his life right now was not the ticket to his happiness.

  Krista entered the room, and Cash quickly introduced Ric
k before Skyler could say anything about this player business.

  “I hope doing this sketch doesn’t take your appetite away.” Skyler set a sandwich and drink in front of Krista as she took a seat next to Rick.

  “Even if it does, I’ll still eat. I need every bit of the strength I can muster to work with preschoolers.” A lopsided grin followed her words.

  “How long have you worked with this age group?” Skyler asked.

  Krista’s smile faltered. “Just a few years.”

  Skyler started to ask a follow-up question but Krista rushed on. “We really should get to the sketch so I’m not late for the afternoon session.”

  “Of course,” Skyler said, but Cash saw residual questions linger in her eyes. She’d obviously noticed Krista’s evasive behavior, and as Skyler came to sit by Cash at the other end of the table, she kept glancing back at Krista.

  “Any new developments in the investigation?” Cash asked, then finally bit into the sandwich and stifled a groan over the tangy goodness of the deli’s special sauce.

  “We confirmed Krista’s story about their tickets.” Skyler kept her voice low, likely to keep the information from Krista. Not that she could hear them from where she sat.

  “We processed the bomb for fingerprints, but didn’t lift any,” Skyler continued. “Bomber most likely wore gloves. We also reviewed ticket sales. The woman who sounded the alarm didn’t have a ticket for the seat you pointed out, and the bomber’s seat belonged to a season ticket holder. He showed me the ticket proving he didn’t attend, and he obviously didn’t give the ticket to anyone.”

  “So our bomber is an employee, a vendor or some other staff or team member. Or even a spectator who sat in a section he wasn’t ticketed for. Meaning we didn’t narrow things down a whole lot.”

  “Exactly. Once I have a sketch of the bomber, I’ll be interviewing spectators to see if they recognize him. If he was targeting a specific person, hopefully we’ll find a connection.” She sipped her soda. “Oh, and I should mention, there aren’t any surveillance cameras at the employee and service entrances to the stadium. So it’s not surprising that someone smuggled the bomb in via those routes without anyone seeing.”

  The disappointing news ended their discussion, and they ate in silence while Rick finished the sketch. Krista gave her final approval and Rick handed his drawing to Skyler, then started packing up his belongings.

  Krista dumped her lunch trash. “I need to get back to my classroom. I hope the sketch is helpful.”

  Skyler studied it. “The detail is excellent. It’s exactly what we need.”

  “Good.” Krista looked at Cash, her expression uneasy. “I’ll see you later, right?”

  “Don’t worry.” He smiled to lessen her concern. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be reviewing surveillance video for the stadium entrances with Skyler, but I can see anyone who comes to the door.”

  “We have outdoor time at two-thirty.”

  He gave her another reassuring smile. “I won’t let you go out to the playground alone.”

  She looked as if she wanted to say something else but departed.

  “I’ve gotta take off, too.” Rick shouldered his case.

  “I’ll walk you out.” Cash escorted Rick to the door and then returned to the meeting room to find Skyler sitting behind her laptop.

  Cash sat next to her. “Did you mean it about the quality of the sketch, or were you just being nice?”

  “It’s good—very detailed.” Skyler frowned.

  “Why the frown, then?”

  “What if my theory is right—that Krista and the bomber know each other and that’s why she can describe him so well?”

  “You’re still thinking of her as a suspect?”

  “Of course. We haven’t discovered anything to rule her out. I can’t find much about her. Not even a record of a marriage. I’m wondering if she lied about being a widow.”

  “You check all states?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know I couldn’t have contacted more than the likely counties in Oregon and Georgia this fast, but I’ve got someone on it.”

  “Maybe she got married in Vegas.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why didn’t you ask her about it?”

  “I don’t want to tip her off in case the death of her alleged husband somehow plays into this.” Skyler sounded so skeptical it made Cash mad.

  He crossed his arms. “What about a motive to tie her to the bomb? You haven’t found that, either. And what about the break-in? She was almost abducted, for crying out loud.”

  “Doesn’t mean she wasn’t working with this guy. Maybe he turned on her. Happens all the time in the criminal world.”

  The thought of Krista as a criminal made Cash sick. “Have you found anything to suggest she has experience with explosives or any connection to the stadium that would allow her to sneak the bomb in?”

  “Not yet, but you know better than I do that experience isn’t necessary to transport a bomb.”

  “True,” he said and wished he could come up with a better answer.

  “As to a motive, we’re working down the list of people with stadium access. We could still find that she’s connected to someone. And we still might find something that gives her a motive. Which means, we can’t take her off our list until we’ve questioned everyone else or found the bomber.” Skyler took a long breath and watched Cash.

  He didn’t like the way she was staring at him. “Stop giving me that look and tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “I realize Krista’s being helpful,” Skyler said and Cash waited for the “but” he knew was coming. “But honestly, I get the feeling she’s hiding something. I’m not sure it’s related to the bomb, but there’s something going on with her. Then there’s the lack of information we can find about her. With the way everyone shares online these days, that’s a red flag.”

  Cash had thought the same thing last night, but he found himself needing to defend Krista. “She’s a private person. Doesn’t make her a bomber.”

  Skyler leaned closer, her gaze pointed and direct. “Look, I get that you don’t want it to be Ms. Curry, but we have to remain objective until we can rule her out. Can you do that?”

  “I hope so,” he said honestly. “I haven’t had the kind of experience you’ve had with investigations, but I’ve gotten to know Krista and Otto a bit, and I don’t get the feeling that she’s the type of person to do something like this.” Skyler opened her mouth to speak, but Cash held up his hand. “I promise to do my best to keep an open mind, and I’ll report anything I notice that can help with the investigation, whether it’s in her favor or not. That’s the best I can do right now.”

  “That’s good enough for now.” Skyler turned to her computer. “Let’s get to work reviewing the security files.”

  Cash shifted his chair to maintain a clear view of the front door, and they compared footage to the sketch for the next few hours. Every thirty minutes, he went to Krista’s classroom to check on her. Skyler raised her eyebrows each time, but Cash didn’t care. Skyler was tasked with finding the bomber. Cash had tasked himself with protecting Krista.

  Despite the frequent breaks, just before Cash had to go out to the playground they found hazy video of two men who fit Krista’s description of the suspect and resembled the sketch.

  Cash stood. “At least the video produced a few leads.”

  Skyler started packing up her things. “I’ll have the team work on tracking the men down. Hopefully we’ll get somewhere with them. And I’ll get the sketch out to law enforcement.”

  “What about the media? Shouldn’t you send it to them, too?”

  She shook her head. “When the press gets hold of this, they’ll dig until they find out the sketch came from Ms. Curry. If she really is innocent, I
don’t want the bomber to know how well she can describe him and come after her again.” Skyler paused and met Cash’s gaze, her expression deadly serious. “Suspect or not, I don’t want to do anything to increase the danger to Ms. Curry.”

  For once Cash agreed with Skyler. Krista was in danger. Just how much remained to be seen.

  TEN

  Krista finished her short break and headed to the playground to resume watching her class. After taking the kids outside, Peggy had stepped in for Krista’s afternoon break. She’d needed the time. How she’d needed it. The morning preschool class had been a handful and the afternoon group was unruly, too. They were most likely picking up on her stress, and she had to do a better job of controlling it.

  On the playground, she was surprised to find the staff lining the children up at the door. The schedule called for another fifteen minutes of outdoor time, and she needed them to burn off energy.

  Concern mounting, Krista immediately took a head count to make sure they were all present, then approached Peggy.

  Peggy peered through thick glasses. “I’m glad you’re back.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Peggy lowered her voice. “Cash saw a man pull up and watch the playground. He said it was probably nothing, but suggested we take the children inside.” She gestured at the chain-link fence facing the road.

  Cash stood on the street side of the fence, motioning for Krista to step closer. His defensive posture left her feeling even more unsettled. “Do you mind if I ask Cash for more details before taking over?”

  “Go ahead. We’ll get the kids inside.”

  Krista crossed the playground to Cash. “What’s going on?”

  “Don’t react but casually glance at the vehicle across the street and tell me if you recognize the car.”

  Trying not to whip her head around, she slowly turned and pretended not to look at the big black SUV parked at the curb. She squinted in the bright sunlight and still couldn’t see the occupant from her angle, but she didn’t know anyone in Portland with this make of car. “Could be a parent or even someone stopping to take a phone call since it’s illegal to talk while driving here.”