Blown Away by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

8

Fatal Mistakes

When we finally made it back to the parking lot, we were met with chaos. The fire, the screaming, the deafening sirens, and blackened faces—it was all too much to take in. We’d failed, big-time. And who knew how much damage had been done?

I wanted to help but wasn’t sure where to start.

There were people everywhere. Some were frozen in shock, while others wandered around in a daze.

Fire trucks and ambulances were just pulling into the parking lot.

Chief Malrova and a bunch of his officers were already on the scene. I guess now that something had actually happened, Beller couldn’t legally keep the police off his property.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Car bomb,” Chief Malrova replied. “Much smaller than what we were expecting, but still, it was a doozy. It must have been in the Duesenberg, because all that’s left of that car is the charred and twisted frame.”

“Wow, that was the most valuable car at the auction,” said Joe. “Henry is going to be ticked.”

“No, he’s not,” said the chief.

“Sure he is,” said Joe. “He loves that car. I should go find him, actually.”

“Joe, wait.” Chief Malrova put his hand on Joe’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. “I have some very bad news. Henry Peterson was in the car at the time of the explosion. He’s been killed.”

“Wh—what?” Joe choked out the word as he staggered backward. “That’s impossible. I was just talking to the guy.”

“Has anyone else been killed?” I asked.

“Not that we know of yet,” said the chief. “But it looks like there are plenty of injuries around here. More paramedics are on the way.”

I scanned the crowd. A woman sat on the ground cradling her arm—it looked broken. The man next to her looked like he was suffering from a dislocated shoulder. A few feet away another guy with a cut above the eyebrow stood with a look of shock on his face. All four of the car handlers I’d met—Maria, Tanner, Douglas, and Justin—were huddled together and covered in soot. Otherwise, they seemed un scathed. Maynard Smith and Henry’s other two security guards were also safe. That was a relief.

Just then I noticed that Joe was looking sort of queasy. I clapped a hand on his shoulder and asked, “You okay?”

“I just spoke to Henry,” Joe said. “He pointed out the Duesenberg specifically. He was so proud of that car. It makes perfect sense that it would be a target, but I didn’t even think to search for a bomb.”

“Joe, this isn’t your fault,” I said.

He shook his head. “I should have paid closer attention. I should have asked him more about the car. He wanted to show me the engine, and I said no. If I was closer, if I’d looked under the hood, I’m sure I would have noticed there was something wrong. I could have stopped this.”

“There’s no way you could have known,” said the police chief. “You tried your best.”

“Chief Malrova is right,” I said. “You can’t blame yourself.”

I wondered

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