Explosive Alliance

by Susan Sleeman

  She didn’t say anything, but kept her gaze riveted to him.

  “I get that after Toby lied to you, and you don’t trust easily. I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove you can trust me.” He touched her cheek. Felt the softness. Saw the look of indecision in her eyes. A callout could go badly. Each event was a risk. If something bad happened, this wasn’t how he wanted to remember her.

  “I care about you, Krista,” he whispered and before she could stop him, he swooped in to kiss her.

  As he put every emotion he’d been battling into the kiss, he heard pounding on the front door. He lifted his head. Krista opened her eyes. They were soft, dreamy and filled with longing.

  Oh, yeah, this was better. So much better. This was how he wanted to remember her if things went south.

  “I’ll let Brady in.” He kissed her again, quickly but decisively, before answering the door. A sleepy Brady stood yawning and scratching his head.

  “You stay alert.” Cash poked his friend in the chest. “No snoozing on the job.”

  “I got this. A cup of coffee and I’m good to go.”

  “You’ll have to answer to me if anything goes wrong here.” Cash let his warning look linger until he was certain Brady took his responsibility seriously. “Call me if anything, and I mean anything, happens.”

  “Like I said, I got it. So keep your mind on the bomb not on us.”

  Cash jogged down the steps and soon had his car on the road. He wasn’t surprised to see the construction office was nothing more than a double-wide trailer sitting on blocks. The FRS truck was parked at the end of the driveway, well away from the trailer for safety. Wally the robot sat outside, and Jake stood near the FRS truck talking with Skyler.

  Cash crossed over to them. “What do we have?”

  “The owner’s inside strapped to a chair and wearing a suicide vest with a timer ticking down.” Jake ground his teeth.

  “A vest?” Cash let the thought ruminate. “Like the vest on the bomber’s flash drive?”

  “Let’s focus on rendering this bomb safe before talking about any connection to Krista,” Jake said.

  “You don’t need any distractions,” Skyler added.

  Jake looked at his watch. “According to the 911 call made by the worker who found the owner, we have less than thirty minutes on the timer. The owner—Upjohn—said there weren’t any other devices inside.”

  “I still need to check it out. Let me get Wally going.” Cash climbed into the truck and soon had the robot on the move. After a thorough search of the building’s exterior, Cash sent Wally inside and panned the room with his camera, finally settling on Upjohn. He sat in a metal chair, his hands tied behind, his feet strapped to the legs of the chair. Cash looked for a remote detonator in Upjohn’s hands, near his feet, his knees, anywhere he could simply press a device. Cash had to make sure this wasn’t a suicide mission meant to take out a bomb tech. Namely him.

  After a thorough search, Cash was confident it was safe to enter the building. He climbed into his suit with Skyler’s help.

  When she’d fixed the last Velcro strap, she patted him on the shoulder. “Take care in there.”

  He nodded and she settled the helmet on his head. He crossed the lot to the trailer. Giving Upjohn a thumbs-up as he approached, Cash once again confirmed the lack of remotes, then checked to be certain there wasn’t a pressure device keeping Upjohn in the chair. Believing it safe to proceed, he turned his attention to the vest. The device had similarities in materials and design to the stadium bomb. It also matched the schematics they’d looked at last night minus the handheld trigger, but Cash couldn’t focus on that with only ten minutes left on the timer.

  He went to work, finishing his job with three minutes to spare. He unstrapped the device and gently set it on the floor. He helped Upjohn to his feet and pointed at the exit. The man literally ran for the door. Cash had to move slower. Darcie already had Upjohn sitting on the truck bumper with a blood pressure cuff attached to his arm by the time Cash reached them.

  Skyler helped Cash shed his suit. He gestured for Jake and Skyler to join him out of Upjohn’s hearing range. “Before you call MEDU to dispose of the explosives, you should know I believe the device was made by the stadium bomber.”

  “Believe?” Skyler asked.

  “Can never be positive from a visual inspection, but the similarities can’t be overlooked. With Otto missing, we can’t afford to wait for an analysis to confirm it.”

  Jake furrowed his brow. “We need to question Upjohn.”

  Cash’s feeling exactly, and he wasted no time heading back to the man.

  “Is he good to answer a few questions?” Cash asked Darcie.

  She looked at Upjohn. “Mr. Upjohn—”

  “Would you people quit calling me that?” he interrupted. “Name’s Steve.”

  Darcie smiled at him. “Steve is doing remarkably well.”

  “Not like I haven’t been around explosives before.”

  Cash admired the man’s attitude. “What can you tell us about the person who strapped you into the vest?”

  “White guy. Skinny. Maybe six feet. Wore a ski mask. His eyes were this weird blue color. Almost gray.”

  Skyler brought up the bomber’s sketch on her phone and handed it to Steve. “This the guy?”

  “Could be, but with the mask, I can’t be sure.”

  “What are you sure of?” Cash asked.

  “I’m sure he hated me. Glared at me the whole time. That’s why I remember his eyes so well. Said I would pay for my carelessness on the stadium renovation.”

  “Stadium,” Skyler said. “What stadium?”

  “It’s Providence Park now but it was Jeld-Wen Field when we worked on the renovation. As far as carelessness goes...” He shook his head. “Only thing I can think this guy is talking about is one of our workers hurt his back in an explosion and ended up disabled. OSHA cleared us. It was just a freak accident.”

  Skyler pulled out her notebook. “Do you remember the guy’s name?”

  “Hugo Ketchum.”

  Skyler’s eyes lit up. “You’re sure about the name?”

  “Yeah. He worked for me for ten years. Was a hard worker, and I was sorry to see him go, but the back injury disabled him permanently.” Steve shook his head. “I didn’t even blame him when he sued the company and the stadium. Probably would’ve done the same thing if I was in his shoes. But as I said, we were cleared of any negligence.”

  “Bet that made Hugo mad,” Cash said.

  “Mad’s not the word for it. But that was years ago, and I never heard from him again. If this is related to Hugo, I don’t know why he waited so long.” Steve held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Hugo was the guy who put the vest on me. I could tell by his hands that he was much younger.”

  “There’s a Ketchum on the stadium employee list,” Skyler said. “I remember the name because it made me think of ketchup. Could Hugo work there?”

  Steve shook his head. “His son Leo could, though. He’d be in his late twenties by now.”

  “Any idea where Leo and Hugo live?”

  “Sorry. No.”

  “Anything else that might help us locate this man?” Skyler asked.

  Steve tapped his chin. “Not really. But I’ll keep thinking about it.”

  Skyler gave him her card and gestured for Cash and Jake to join her away from the vehicle. “My files are back at the firehouse. I don’t want to waste any time before looking for Leo Ketchum. Cash can drive me over there while the scene gets wrapped up.”

  Jake nodded. “We’ll meet you back at the house.”

  Skyler started off, but Cash lingered. He felt as if he was missing something, but he didn’t know what. Maybe he just didn’t want to leave the man who had provided their b
est lead in case Steve remembered something else.

  Skyler turned back. “What are you waiting for, Cash? We finally have a strong lead, and we might be able to arrest our bomber before daybreak.”

  * * *

  “The warrant’s here.” Skyler waved the form in the air. “Let’s roll and bring this guy in.”

  Cash felt his excitement mount as the rest of the FRS team jumped to their feet and headed for the firehouse door. They’d discovered Leo Ketchum’s name on the stadium employee list and emailed his photo to Krista, who’d positively identified him as their bomber. Skyler located Ketchum’s address and obtained an arrest warrant plus a warrant to search his room.

  Finally, they were likely going to bring Otto home, and Cash wanted to tell Krista to ease her mind. Maybe to ease his own mind that she was there waiting for him.

  He’d had plenty of time to think about her while waiting for the warrant. About her care for her preschoolers. For Otto. The way a simple look from her made his heart fire. She was an amazing woman and he had to follow these feelings for her. He didn’t know if Krista would have him—she had a lot to get over first. So did he, but maybe when this was all over, he could put Opa’s advice into practice and trust God to help him let go of his past, then they could see where this thing between them led.

  He stepped outside and held up his phone. “I need a minute to make a quick call.”

  Skyler eyed him. “One minute, then I’m leaving without you.”

  He quickly dialed Krista and brought her up-to-date.

  “You found the bomber. You really found him.” She sounded breathless with excitement.

  “Hopefully he hasn’t moved. We’re headed out to make the arrest now. I wanted to check in with you before going. I could come back there instead if you want me to.”

  “No, go after this guy and rescue Opa. That’s the most important thing.”

  Skyler peered at him from the back of the truck and tapped her watch. Cash started for the truck. “Let me talk to Brady.”

  “I’ll get him.”

  “Yo,” Brady said a moment later.

  “Everything okay there?”

  “Relax, man.” Brady’s voice was calm and confident. “We’re fine.”

  Cash told Brady about the warrant and made him reaffirm his promise to call if anything came up. Feeling optimistic, Cash stowed his phone and climbed into the truck. Jake was behind the wheel as usual, the truck already running. Archer rode shotgun. The others sat in the middle and Cash joined them.

  “Ketchum rents a room at a boardinghouse owned by a Glenda Yapp,” Skyler was saying.

  “Not the best part of town,” Jake commented and didn’t wait for Cash to sit before merging into traffic.

  Skyler nodded. “Not surprising if they were living off Hugo’s disability check and Leo’s minimum-wage job at the stadium.”

  Cash added, “Sounds like a good reason for revenge.”

  “I don’t know.” Archer turned to look at them. “If that’s Ketchum’s reasoning, I understand going after Upjohn, but bombing a stadium, where innocent people would die? That doesn’t fit.”

  “It does if he was targeting a spectator,” Cash said.

  “I suppose,” Archer replied. “But I think it would need to be more than that.”

  The team fell silent as the tires spun over the wet pavement and the long wipers swiped across the window. Cash assumed everyone was thinking about this guy’s obsession with explosives and whether he’d used them on Otto.

  “Ten minutes out,” Jake announced.

  They silently donned their Kevlar vests and checked their weapons. When the truck pulled to the curb in a run-down neighborhood, they were ready for action.

  Jake cut off the engine and assessed the building. “Archer and Skyler cover the back. Cash and I’ll take the front.”

  They stepped down from the truck and moved swiftly and decisively. Jake pounded on the front door.

  A stout woman with messy gray hair needing a good washing answered.

  Jake displayed his ID. “We’re looking for a Leo and Hugo Ketchum.”

  “Not here.” She stifled a yawn as if she had deputies arriving on her doorstep all the time.

  “Do you know where we can find them?” Cash asked.

  “No idea about Leo, but Hugo’s dead and buried.”

  “Dead? When?” Cash asked.

  “Last week. Guy was in terrible pain all the time. He went to the hospital to have a morphine pump implanted in his back to relieve it, but he got an infection and never recovered.”

  Hugo’s death was the perfect reason for Leo to start taking revenge after such a long time. Jake’s knowing expression said he thought so, too.

  “When’s the last time you saw Leo?” Jake asked.

  “Not since Sunday. The guy’s rent is due, and I figure he’s hiding out ’cause he doesn’t have it.” She scowled. “I wasn’t going to toss him out right after Hugo’s passing, but the kid don’t need to know that.”

  Cash’s hope plummeted. If she hadn’t seen Ketchum for three days, that meant Otto wasn’t here.

  “We have a warrant to search their room.” Cash half expected her to close the door in their face.

  She stepped back. “First door at the top of the stairs.”

  “My associates would also like to have a look around the house.”

  She frowned. “Now, why would I let you do that?”

  Jake stepped forward. “If you don’t, I’ll come back with a warrant for that, too. You should know that will make my deputies cranky. You don’t want to deal with cranky deputies, do you?”

  “Fine,” she said. “But leave my things be.”

  Jake called Skyler and Archer to the front. They started through the first level while Jake and Cash climbed the stairs to Ketchum’s room. It held an old iron bed with a well-worn quilt, scarred dresser and matching nightstand. A single lightbulb hung from above, casting shadows in the room.

  “Let’s tear this place apart,” Jake said eagerly.

  “Not like there’s much to tear apart.”

  Cash went through the nightstand while Jake searched the dresser. Nothing. Cash dropped to the dingy carpet to look under the bed. He pulled out a few boxes and dug through them. Nothing again.

  Angry at coming up empty, he shoved the last box and hit the bed frame. A clanking noise sounded from one of the posts.

  “You hear that?” Cash asked.

  Jake was already shaking the bed. “The corner post is hollow. There’s something in it. I’ll lift up the bed, you unscrew the foot.”

  Cash twisted the rusty foot from the post and a key dropped out. He looked at the tag. “It’s for a storage place. Unit 23. Just down the street.”

  Excitement sparked in Jake’s eyes. “You think that’s where Leo’s hiding Otto?”

  “Wouldn’t Leo have the key with him if he was?”

  “Maybe this key belonged to the father.”

  “Worth checking out.”

  They quickly looked through the other rooms on the second floor, then met Skyler and Archer outside. Cash didn’t have to ask if they’d found Otto. Their sullen expressions said it all. They climbed into the truck and within minutes pulled up to the storage facility. They left the truck near the entrance and crept toward the long building.

  “Over there,” Cash whispered and pointed at a unit where light shone from under a cracked-open door.

  Jake gestured for them to fall back, and they circled together.

  “Two scenarios I can see,” he said. “Otto’s inside alone or Ketchum’s with him.”

  Cash appreciated that Jake didn’t even entertain the idea that Otto wasn’t here. “We can’t simply breach the place and risk Otto’s life.”

 
“We could get a snake camera inside without him seeing it,” Skyler suggested.

  “I’ll get it.” Cash ran back to the truck before anyone else could volunteer. If he took control of the camera and spotted Otto inside, Cash planned to be the first one through the door to rescue the sweet old guy and maybe lay Ketchum out in the process.

  * * *

  Krista hung out in the family room, staring out the window. Waiting for Opa to arrive home had given her time to calm down. To compose herself. To take the time to pray and reflect on her life. She now possessed an insight she’d never had before.

  Worrying was pointless. So was trying to control things she had no power over. She’d worked hard to plan for what could happen to her once she returned to Portland. Had even prepared her escape if needed. But God saw fit to let others thwart her plans.

  That meant only one thing to her. She’d come to the end of what she could do for herself and had to listen to Opa and let go. Let go of the worry. Let go of the strife, or she’d spend a lifetime needlessly worrying.

  “Watching won’t bring them back faster,” Brady said from the sofa. “Besides, it’s not a good idea to stand in front of the window.”

  She spun. “They have the bomber in custody. How’s he going to hurt me from there?”

  “You think they have him in custody. We don’t have confirmation yet. And if that’s not enough to get you to move, think about Cash. Would he let you stand there under these conditions?”

  She thought about his deep need to protect her. “No, but—”

  “He’ll see you when he pulls in the driveway. I’d rather you move away from the window than have to explain why I let you stay there.” Brady grinned.

  She saw headlights flash into the driveway, and she bolted to the door.

  “Wait,” Brady warned. “It might not be Cash.”

  Brady joined her, and they both watched out the side window.

  “That’s not Cash’s car. Stay here. I’ll check this out.” Brady stepped outside and closed the door.

  Krista heard him talking with another man before he poked his head in the house. “Guy’s name is Ian Summers. Says he’s an old college friend of Toby’s and claims to have important information about Toby’s murder.”