CHAPTER 30
Later that night, after the fire was out, it became obvious it was arson. Like Jessie’s house fire, it started with wiring. This time, however, the fire didn’t burn hot enough, or fast enough, and there was an obvious residue left behind that Carter was familiar with. A gel based accelerant had been used in various spots, injected into the walls around or near major electrical junction boxes.
The arsonist’s goal was clear – hit it where the wires came together, so when on fire, it spread and branched out quickly. The main breaker box, where all the junction box clusters inevitably led, was covered in the same gel residue.
“I understand the purpose of the accelerant; it lit the place up quick, but how’d he start the fire to begin with?” Blake questioned.
“Easy,” Carter answered, holding up a small plastic looking object. “These small chips.”
Blake furrowed his brow and squinted his eyes, looking harder at what Carter was holding. “You lost me – that looks like a memory card or something.”
“Close, similar idea. This is smart technology. It’s a detonator…remote detonator,” Carter offered.
Luke arrived with his brothers just as the fire was dying down. He pinched his fingers together, rolling something between them. “Here’s the other piece. Looks like clay, right? It’s explosive material. That chip detonates a small explosive, so as not to attract too much attention with noise. Just enough to ignite the gel. By the time anyone knows what’s happening, you’re up in flames.”
“Jesus, man,” Blake said to Luke, taking a step back. “What the hell are you doing? Trying to blow your hand off?”
“It’s not active – residue can’t blow,” Luke said with a wink, finding Blake’s panic amusing.
“The fire was well contained – it didn’t spread to the main hospital. They were spared from the smoke, for the most part, too,” Carter added, looking around the space. “A fire can generate its own weather like system. He planned how this would go as though he was sparing the main hospital on purpose.”
Blake’s expression turned to one of surprise. “A sympathetic homicidal psychopath? You said remote
. How is he remotely detonating?”
“It can be anything – garage door opener, cell phone, any smart device like a tablet. It just has to have a signal, really,” Luke reasoned.
“That narrows things down,” Blake said sarcastically.
Carter scratched his chin, deep in thought. “I’m going to head back to the church and then Jessie’s in the morning. Can I get a list of the other fires from the last few weeks since he’s been out? Guessing we’ll find traces of both of these, or at least detonator remnants. Might be able to narrow what he’s using to do his dirty work, now that we know what we’re looking for.”
Luke nodded. “I’ll ride along, give you a hand. If we can narrow it, Liam can probably help trace the signals.”
“Yeah, I mean, it won’t be easy, but I can write a code that will trace everything within a certain radius and look for patterns and consistencies. Or, inconsistencies for that matter. Then, we just need to…” Liam paused, looking at the confused expressions surrounding him. “I mean, yeah…I can do it.”
“You really get a hard-on for that geek stuff, don’t you?” Luke said with a laugh. He and his twin were anything but similar in any way.
“Whatever it takes to corner this guy – get as many hard-ons as you want. I’ll even buy you a cheap hooker – and look the other way – to help with those if it means getting answers,” Blake said, half serious.
“This stuff is like a fingerprint. It can tell us a lot,” Luke added. “We find enough pieces, we find out what, where, and who. We get the bastard.”
“I’ll head out to the ranch with you guys. We can rotate watch like the old days,” Carter offered.
“Yeah, good idea. Keeping everyone together makes it a hell of a lot easier to keep an eye on all of them,” Blake reasoned, “But, it also provides an opportunity to strike back…big
. Especially when the one he really wants is right in the middle of it all.”
For the first time any of the men could remember, Blake showed worry. He wasn’t an emotional guy, but this had worked him over, and he was feeling the pressure of Jason Bolton. They all knew, though, that by morning, that worry would be the drive to catch a would-be killer.
Blake had fallen into bed with Jessie in the early hours of morning, having taken the first watch with Carter and Luke. He was fast to fall asleep, but this time it was him who was restless. It was Jessie’s turn to hold and comfort him for a change – rescue him from the demons that haunted him, like he had for her, so many times.
Sometime mid-morning, breakfast was started. One of the benefits to living on a ranch was there was always enough food to feed an army. Carter and Luke had returned from their sunrise scavenger hunt, trying to piece together their crime scenes. Now that they knew what they were looking for, they found it – everywhere. They sat around the large kitchen table, discussing their findings while they ate.
“There were only two fires we couldn’t connect. A barbeque at the park and one behind the school. Both appear to be kids and fireworks, typical this time of year,” Luke said.
Carter went on, “The mess hall at the House was a dead end. They’re already almost done with repairs, so any evidence is long gone. Given the nature, though, it had to be connected. Definitely detonated micro-explosives – it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“That means he was there, in the building – in all of the buildings for that matter. How did he get in, unseen?” Dawson asked, concerned that he may have been several more places they didn’t yet know about.
“We weren’t looking for him. He could have done this over a month ago when he got out. Remember who we’re dealing with,” Logan explained. “I said it last night, too – he’s a psychopath. What’s worse than a psychopath? A homicidal psychopath. He’s been out nearly two months, and here we are. It’s a game…he gets off on this part. He’s had plenty of opportunities to do any number of things to any of us, including Jess, and hasn’t.”
Jessie shook her head in disgust. “So, we’re at his mercy. We’re sitting ducks until he what…gets bored?”
Liam walked into the kitchen, clothes wrinkled, hair disheveled, “Nope. Got him. He’s on the move. Surveillance picked him up in Arrow Springs, headed west on the 91 – out of town.”
“West. He’s headed here. Highway 91 passes right through McKenzie Ridge; we won’t miss him if we’re staged right,” Luke decided.
“I’m tapping private security cams. They’re just few and far between out here, and those that exist have dated technology,” Liam added as he pecked away at his keyboard. “About the only one I can use here in McKenzie is the group we installed last fall at Blooming Grounds and Outside In. If he gets that far, he’s almost out
of town.”
“And there’s half a dozen alternate routes out of the area if he gets that far, too,” Blake added.
“Then, we don’t let him get that far. We have an hour with high season traffic and the rodeo in town. It’ll take him a while to pass that before he gets into town,” Luke said.
With the end of terror in sight, a new energy and signs of relief filled the air as their plan quickly came together. It was simple, really…they would have men staged at either side of town on the only main road in and out of McKenzie.
Sure, he could venture any which way once in town, but it didn’t matter because the minute he passed the rodeo grounds, he’d have Declan on his tail with Luke headed right for him, coming in the opposite direction. Carter and Liam were to be staged off the main road, one on the north side of town, the other on the south side, in the event he did venture either of those directions.
Communication would be key because once he hit McKenzie Ridge, they were boxing him in and taking him down. Blake had that last part handled. With forty or so minutes left, it was time to execute and get into positions. The men quickly geared up, prepared for anything, but like any good plan revolving around an unpredictable predator, there was a glitch. Something they hadn’t anticipated – what if he was already waiting for them?
The house shook with such a force, everyone fell to the ground. Glass could be heard shattering, along with a loud crackle that was oddly familiar – fire. An explosion on Pinecrest Ranch revealed just how unprepared they really were and how much they’d underestimated him.
Quick to his feet, Blake did a head count to make sure everyone was safe before moving to the back of the house to see what had caused such an incredible blast.
“It’s the hangar, McCain! Your Jet!” Blake yelled unintentionally as his hearing, as well as the others’, had been affected by the explosion.
“Son of a…” McCain jumped to his feet, running to see just what the hell had happened, “The trees! We need to get out there with the water truck before that forest goes up.”
“You go out there, and you’re just a moving target,” Carter said. “We need to get everyone out of here and to safety, now
! So we can still get this bastard.”
Jessie’s voice was laced in sheer panic, “And go where? He’s everywhere! He’s been…everywhere. Nothing in McKenzie is safe.”