“Confirmed explosive device in the pack Ms. Walker took from the little boy.” He hesitated, searching for the kid’s name. “Darien.”
“And it’s your belief she took it from him knowing the bag was suspicious?”
Jake nodded. “I witnessed the exchange.”
“And what did Ms. Walker say? Why did she take the backpack?”
“She had already received the first messages, sir,” Jake reminded him. “There was a credible bomb threat. There was a little boy wearing a pack a stranger gave to him under the pretext it contained a gaming console all the other kids would want.”
One of the Little Rock police officers shifted from one foot to the other. “Sick jerk.”
“Exactly,” Jake concurred. “This is someone who doesn’t care if they’re using an innocent child or harming anyone who gets in their way.”
“I have people running background on Ms. Walker. You said you thought the perp may have ties to her military service?” Aronson prompted.
“The messages refer to her service rank more than once. They clearly have an agenda and, at the moment, they have the edge.”
The commander leaned in. “Okay.” He stared down at the detailed map of the fairgrounds spread on a folding table in front of him. “Let’s figure out who’s doing this so we can turn the tables on them.”
* * *
Jake and membersof the local bomb squads from both Little Rock and North Little Rock gathered around a duplicate of Aronson’s map a few minutes later.
Jake smoothed the folds in the glossy paper so it lay as flat as possible. “We have the better part of a dozen devices to find, and possibly a ticking clock.”
He bit down on the cap of a black marker, pulled it open and held the cap clenched between his teeth as he circled the north gate and the area where the wreckage of the corn dog stand still smoldered. Sliding the marker back into its cap, he used both hands to tighten it.
“Best guesses?” he prompted, looking from man to man.
Without hesitation, each began marking up the map. Once they’d identified a handful of sites they all agreed were prime locations, the group split up with their respective teams and the hunt began.
Map in hand, Jake hoofed it back to the carnival midway. With the kids, media and workers gone, the place was even more deserted than when he’d first arrived. In all his years with the State Police, he’d never worked the fair in any capacity. It was strange to walk past games of chance and not be taunted into giving them a try. Disturbing to see all the rides at a standstill. Except one.
With the music turned off, he could hear every squeak and creak of the crankshafts simulating the motion of horses jumping. Others simply clawed at the air with their hooves. The hum of generators reminded him of the steady drone of cicadas in late summer.
Cassidy had tipped her head back and closed her eyes, but he didn’t believe for one second she was as relaxed as she appeared. She couldn’t possibly be. Still, she didn’t stir when he moved the section of barrier fencing directly in his path aside. Jake hopped onto the moving ride and strode to the bench flanked by gaudy blue-green seahorses. Max turned to look but didn’t move from his post at her feet.
He gave the dog a pat. “Good boy.”
“Got it all in hand?” Cass didn’t open her eyes.
He dropped onto the bench across from her and Max immediately switched allegiance. “I brought a map,” he said, dispensing with preamble. “I wanted to go over some possibilities with you.”
She shook her head. “Can’t right now. I feel like hurling.”
Jake pressed his lips together, swallowing hard as he tried to imagine how awful she must feel. She’d been whirling for well over an hour, and who knew how many more she’d have to go.
“I’m going to find you some paper bags or something in case you need to be sick.”
She raised one hand in acknowledgment, then let it fall limply in her lap. “Manny was right. Having something in my stomach helps, but I don’t think I can read much while I’m on this thing.”
Jake’s mind flashed to a memory. Cassidy feeling carsick as she sat in the passenger seat of his third-hand Honda, pleading with him to slow down as she painstakingly tried to type out a message on her phone. “Still get carsick?”
She opened her eyes. And then she rolled them before letting them close again. “Who me? Nah.”
Jake couldn’t stifle the startled chuckle that escaped him. This grown-up version of the girl he’d once known looked much the same, and somehow totally different. It was oddly comforting to know her droll sense of humor remained unchanged.
He let his smile stretch as another moment came rushing back to him. “Remember when we drove up to the Buffalo to go floating and you totally lost it outside Marshall?”