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Page 90 of Scorned Princess (Crooked Paradise 1)

“You hungry?” they both said at once.

“I’m starving,” they said together and then both of them cracked up laughing.

Chapter Two

Thayne and Jarrett drove down to San Diego in Jarrett’s olive-green Jeep Wrangler. It was such a nice day, they decided to leave the black rag top down and drive down Pacific Coast Highway after passing the hustle and bustle of south Orange County where they could truly enjoy the majesty of one of the world’s prettiest coastlines. They arrived at the San Diego Police Department’s Northeastern Division headquarters where they were scheduled to meet with Chief Willis and the ATF’s own investigator, Ada Carrillo. Investigator Carrillo met them at the reception desk and smiled at them, shaking their hands.

“I’m glad you’re here but you should know, the police chief is very upset that this happened. The Marine Corps isn’t too excited about it either. Some of their family members were the ones hurt in the explosion.”

“Do you want to fill us in on the details before going in there?” Jarrett asked, cocking his head toward Chief Willis’s office.

The petite investigator glanced between them, looking serious. She blew out a long breath. “I know he’ll have something to say about the investigation. It’s probably better if we talk in his office so I don’t have to repeat myself. He’ll probably want to fill youin on the evidence gathered so far.”

Jarrett nodded and glanced over at Thayne. “Okay.” Thayne nodded back and the two of them followed Carrillo into Chief Willis’s office. The dark-skinned man hung up the call and waved the three inside as soon as he spotted her in the doorway.

“ATF Special Agents Evans and Wolfe, sir,” Carrillo said, introducing them. “They’ve driven down from LA this morning.”

Willis stood up and shook their hands. “Have a seat, folks,” he said, “Has Investigator Carrillo filled you in on the explosion?”

“Not in detail, sir. We just arrived,” Thayne said, taking a seat in front of the chief’s desk as Jarrett and the investigator took the others. “The only thing we know is that something happened during a fireworks show out at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and that there were injuries. Our SAC gave us a thin file but it’s sadly vague in the details. He just told us you had an incident where some spectators were injured during a fireworks demonstration?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Some spectators and one of the crew who was setting up the show. Each year, the base puts on a show for military families and the neighborhood is always invited. Somehow, there wasan explosion after the fireworks had been unloaded and set up by the men and women the base uses. In this case, a professional crew of licensed pyrotechnicians was hired to put on the show. And I suppose I should tell you now, this is now going to be considered a murder investigation. We’ve just been notified that the pyrotechnic operator in charge of setting up the show has just died. He was previously listed as gravely injured but he succumbed to the blast damage he suffered this morning.”

“Gregory Mason?” Investigator Carrillo asked. Thayne watched the color drain out of her face.

Chief Willis consulted a file on his desk and nodded. “Yes, that’s right. You knew him?” He turned intelligent brown eyes up at her.

She looked very distraught. “Yes, very well. I just signed off on his continuing education for his license renewal last month. I knew Greg was the lead out at the base but I didn’t realize his injuries were that severe. This is terrible. I know his wife as well. She works shows with him sometimes. God, I hope she wasn’t one of the injured. I haven’t even had the chance to go out and interview anyone yet.”

“So he’s generally a cautious man?” Jarrett asked.

“Absolutely, and he was just as picky aboutthe people he hired to work with him. I was really hoping to be able to pick his brain about this.”

“Investigator Carrillo, has the base used this crew before?” Thayne asked.

Carrillo frowned and sat back in her chair, as Willis pursed his fingers in a pyramid in front of him. He looked thoughtful.

“That’s the strange thing,” she said. “Yes, is the short answer. They’ve used this crew a dozen years in a row. The Marine Corps hires the same crew every year because of the increased security on base since 9/11. Even though the crew goes through a vetting process and background checks, it is almost impossible to weed out every potential threat. The base is more thorough than most venues would be due to the classified nature of some of the technology on the base.”

“As you may or may not know, Miramar is the home of the 3rdMarine Aircraft Wing which is the aviation element of the 1stMarine Expeditionary Force,” Willis added.

“I actually did know that,” Jarrett said. Thayne glanced at him and the expression on his face told him that his partner was intrigued. He smiled back at Thayne.

“Then, as you know, in a professional fireworks show the display company has to have a current ATF Class B, 1.3G license through the state of California and anyone handling the fireworks has to be licensed, not just the operator who is listed as an EP on the permit,” Investigator Carrillo continued. “In addition to the security at the Marine base, the truck transporting the fireworks has to be licensed to carry HAZMAT materials by the Department of Transportation. Even the route they take from the pickup of the fireworks to the delivery to its destination must be approved. This adds another level of security since the driver has to be HAZMAT certified as well. The cargo is placarded on all four sides of the truck and trailer. There are a lot of folks involved in the transportation, storage, setup, and the fireworks display itself,” she said. “While I do believe accidents happen, it’s important that you examine the evidence I’ve seen that points to sabotage. In fact, it might be better if I take you out to the base and show you where and how the explosion happened so you can see for yourself. It helps to put things into perspective.”

Jarrett decided he was going to like Ada Carrillo very much.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Chief Willis said, standing up. “Ada is very good at her job andour department is comfortable enough with her knowledge of the case to let her take you out to the base. We’re a bit shorthanded around here and lending you even one officer to show you around the incident scene is really unnecessary since Investigator Carrillo is perfectly capable of being a liaison here.”

“Fair enough,” Jarrett said. “Thank you, sir.”

Thayne, Jarrett, and Carrillo stood as well, shaking hands with the chief as Carrillo led them out of the captain’s office. They took the elevators down to the ground floor and followed the petite investigator out the door.

Thayne smiled at Ada. “He seems to like you.”

“Yes. Well, I do a lot of work with the SDPD,” she said, pleasantly. “They are comfortable with me, like the chief said.” They walked out into the parking lot.

“My Jeep is here if you want to ride with us,” Jarrett said, pointing to his vehicle, parked in a visitor’s spot.


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