T. Lynn Ocean - Jersey Barnes 02 - Southern Poison by T. Lynn Ocean

Author:T. Lynn Ocean [Ocean, T. Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery: Cozy - Security Specialist - North Carolina
ISBN: 9780312383466
Publisher: Minotaur
Published: 2008-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

Other than the dead man in the Bald Head Island lighthouse and a heart attack victim who was eating a grilled hamburger on his lanai two houses down from the wedding, the only casualties were the crews on the container ship and Coast Guard boats. Still, thirteen people were dead as a result of the explosion, not to mention the damage done to nearby houses and the shipping channel. Luckily, Chila had been blown onto the roof of a pool house and survived with only a sprained ankle. The media couldn’t get enough of her, especially since she was the only one talking. Officials wouldn’t comment on the disaster, understandable since they didn’t have a clue what caused it. The camera operator who was videotaping the wedding had enough foresight to point his digital video camera at the exploding ship before he ran, and the footage was now airing on every major network.

From start to finish, it took six minutes for the container ship to sink, although the underwater explosions continued for another ten minutes. Shore damage was extensive and the Army Corps of Engineers worked around the clock to clear the channel. Under heavy security, teams of specialists worked to recover bodies, the sunken vessel, and its scattered contents. And MOTSU was crawling with uniforms, including a special investigative team from the Department of Defense. They didn’t know details, but Ashton had been obligated to suggest that an attempt to kill the Sec Def had been curtailed.

“Tell me about the dead man in the lighthouse,” Ashton said. We sat at a corner table in the Block. I picked up on at least two of his people, pretending to be customers. One drank coffee and read the newspaper. Another younger one listened to an iPod, acting like he was waiting for a friend. I didn’t necessarily mind that people were following my every move and possibly listening to my conversations. It made me feel important, even though the bride’s father now had a private security detail that put mine to shame.

“I thought the fellow in the lighthouse was probably John.”

“Negative.”

Crap. John was still out there, madder than ever, and probably planning to take out his anger on me. I drank some Coors Light from the bottle. “Then I don’t know who the man was.”

“Shot through the head with something big and fast. We’ll probably never find the slug. Was Joan Jackson on the island, by chance?”

I took another swallow. Ashton should know better than to even ask such a question.

“Okay, then.” He did a mini cough that wasn’t quite his annoyed clearing-the-throat sound. “Let’s try it this way. Tell me everything you know about the incident.”

I could have started with, “I told you so,” but that would only serve to piss him off. “As you know, I suspected that a detonator had been planted on one of the containers in the outgoing shipment. Since the exact timing of when the ship would pass by the target house couldn’t have been known, we determined that the device would have to be command detonated.

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