As he moved away, she and Max headed toward the ambulance, where a woman covered with dusty debris and some blood on her forehead stared in shock at the building.
"Ma'am? I'm Special Agent Reid with the FBI. And this is Max Malone. Can you answer a few questions?"
The woman looked up, her eyes red-rimmed but focused. "I—yes. I think so."
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Whitney Holden. I work for the Building Department. Administrative assistant." Her voice shook slightly. "I was here with the inspector. James Cooper."
"What happened, Whitney?"
"It was a final inspection. I came back to our car to get some paperwork we'd forgotten to take inside, and I was about to go back when the building blew up. I—I don't know what happened. And I'm afraid James is badly hurt." Her voice broke. "I saw them put him in an ambulance, and it looked like he had been burned. Do you know if he's okay?"
"He's on his way to the hospital. They'll do everything they can to save his life," she said soothingly. "Can you tell me who else was inside?"
She cleared her throat, struggling for composure. "There were five besides James, the general contractor and his foreman, and subcontractors for plumbing and electrical. When I left them, they were on the fourth floor." Whitney looked at the burning building, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I was in there minutes before. I could be dead right now."
"But you're not," she said firmly, drawing Whitney's gaze back to her. "You're okay. And you can help us figure out what happened so that whoever did this doesn't get away with it."
Whitney drew a deep breath. "How can I help?"
"Who owns this building?"
"Wexler Properties. James has inspected their buildings before. The construction is always very good. He never has problems with them."
"Did he have any problems today?" Max asked. "Anything he thought wasn't up to par?"
"Not when I was there. It seemed routine. We spend all day, pretty much every day, at job sites. I never imagined something like this could happen."
"How long have you worked with the inspector?" Kara asked.
"Two years." Fresh tears spilled over. "He's a good man. James really cares about making sure buildings are safe."
"Did you see anyone else on site or when you came out to the car? Was anyone standing out front, looking at the building?" she asked.
"There were people on the street when I came out, but I didn't pay them any attention." Whitney took a breath. "Do you think someone was watching the building?"
"That's what we're trying to find out."
Whitney looked at the crowd that had gathered behind the police tape to watch what was going on. Then she shook her head. "I don't remember anyone in particular. I'm sorry. I want to help."
"Did someone send you out of the building?" Max asked. "Or did you suddenly realize you were missing paperwork?"
Whitney started at his question. "Uh, James asked me for something, and I couldn't find it. I thought I'd left the folder in the car."
"Was it in the car?" she asked, because there didn't appear to be anything in Whitney's hand.
"I—I don't know. I had just opened the car door when the explosion happened."
"Where's your car?" Max asked.
Whitney's gaze darted down the street. "It's that silver sedan in the loading zone."
"The one with the door closed?" Max asked.
"I—I think I closed it when I got up. I was knocked onto the ground. I was dazed. I don't remember exactly what I did. Why are you asking me all these questions about the car and the file?"
"We're just trying to set up a timeline," Kara assured her as Max headed down the street.
