Pieces of Light by Julie Cave

Author:Julie Cave
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Christian/Suspense
ISBN: 978-1-61458-107-9
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2011-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The moment broken, Sinclair and Dinah immediately made their way to the church, using directions given by Ferguson, who was already there. Even a few blocks away from the church, chaos had filled the streets. Police were trying to control traffic around streets that were closed down, while pedestrians who wanted to rubberneck were trying to get past police blocks.

Eventually, they made it to the bombsite, where the vision of the damaged cathedral was tragic. Like the churches before it, it still stood, albeit minus one wall and half of the roof. Dinah could imagine at the head of the great structure, where the spire stood tallest, she could see tears slipping down the stone, tears of pain and sorrow.

Ferguson met them and began talking immediately. "The bomb was blasted from the mall parking lot, right over there," he said, pointing. "It was built in an SUV and detonated toward the end of the service."

"What are the casualties?" Dinah asked.

"Four confirmed dead, another who has been rushed to the hospital but likely won't make it," said Ferguson. "It's the worst so far, probably because the roof collapsed. We haven't seen that happen so far."

Sinclair wanted to see the vehicle in which the bomb had been built first. The SUV's destruction was almost complete. Around it, four other cars had sustained significant damage as a result.

Wading through the debris, Sinclair picked up a piece of heavy plastic. "Same plastic," he said.

"You know my theory about the plastic bags?" asked Dinah.

"No, what?" Ferguson asked.

"While I was doing your grunt work, I discovered that mines and quarries use ammonium nitrate and fuel oil to blast away rock," she explained. "To save time, they buy the mixture pre-mixed, in heavy plastic bags, called dry slurry. All they have to do is attach the primary explosives, blasting caps, and fuses. Dozens of mines and quarries all over the country have reported thefts of the mixture."

Ferguson raised his eyebrows. "Does that fit the evidence you've seen here, Sinclair?" he asked the bomb expert.

"Absolutely," said Sinclair. "I had thought that our perp had mixed the fuel oil right into the plastic bag of ammonium nitrate. As I've said, to get the mixture exactly right requires specialist knowledge. It is much easier for someone to get the pre-mixed slurry and simply attach explosives. It still takes a rudimentary knowledge to affix the dynamite, fuses, and so on, but anyone could find a website to find out how to do that."

"Can you keep looking at these thefts of the ANFO mixture?" Ferguson asked Dinah.

"Sure," said Dinah. "Here is another theory for you — what if our perp picked up his knowledge of bomb making while working in the mine or quarry?"

Sinclair nodded thoughtfully. "It could well be an inside job," he agreed. "He might have managed to siphon the slurry mixture and dynamite away from the employer over time."

Ferguson nodded. "It's a theory we'll run with," he said. "Let's take a look inside the cathedral."

Inside, the church seemed quiet and solemn, having witnessed a great tragedy.

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