"Whatever you need, although I'm sure you'll see all the official reports from the investigation," he said.
"I will. Some reports have come in already, but I just want to go inside again, see it for myself without other officials around."
"Then that's what we'll do." He grabbed a crowbar from the back of his truck and walked to the entrance, where plywood had been nailed across the shattered doorway. Pulling the plywood off, he set the crowbar down and turned on a powerful flashlight before leading her inside.
As she stepped into the structure, a beam of his flashlight caught the charred walls and collapsed ceiling tiles. Everything was covered in soot and the chemical residue from fire suppression. The potent smell of burned plastic and wood made her eyes water. She had trouble even knowing where they were standing. All the familiar things were gone, turned to ash.
"The explosive was there," Danny said, directing the beam toward the back hallway where the restrooms were located.
She followed the beam of light, her mind reconstructing the morning, trying to remember who had been standing where, whether she'd overheard any conversation, whether she'd seen anything.
Samantha Barkley jumped into her head, her beautiful black suit, her impeccable style, her sharp, irritated gaze. She had spent time on the phone. Had she been angry with whomever she was talking to? Was that why she had been so short-tempered? They needed to get her phone records, find out who was the last person she'd spoken to.
Turning around, Kara tried to guess where Samantha and the man had collided. But that probably didn't matter, because she knew Samantha had gone to the restroom to clean up.
The man had immediately left the café. The other guy had come in and looked around. Her name had been called by the barista, and she'd picked up her coffee. She'd left a minute later, and the bomb went off.
She sucked in a quick breath, her body still feeling the reverberation and shock of that moment.
"Everything okay?" Danny asked as he turned the light toward her. "Are you reliving it?"
"Yes, but I'm fine. What do you think about what happened here?"
"It feels targeted. Big enough to do significant damage but not take out more than the immediate area. It also would have had to be small enough to fit inside a trash can and be placed there without anyone knowing. I assume there's no security footage from inside the building?"
"Not in that hallway, unfortunately. There were also many people who entered the café the previous evening and earlier this morning who had backpacks with them, including plenty of them who made a trip to the restroom. It could have been anyone."
"You have no suspects then?"
"Not yet. But the woman in the restroom is a federal prosecutor. It's possible she was the target. Or this could have been random."
"A federal prosecutor being critically injured by an explosive device doesn't sound random to me."
"Maybe not. But we can't assume anything."
They stood in silence for a moment, Danny's flashlight the only source of light in the gutted café. The building creaked around them, settling, and Kara could hear traffic in the distance, the normal sounds of the city continuing while this space remained frozen in the moment of violence.
"Do you like your new job?" her uncle asked.
"So far, so good. I'm just getting started."
"You deserve to be working with good people, Kara. People who have your back." There was weight behind his words, and she knew he was thinking about what had happened at the NYPD.
"My boss seems solid," she said carefully. "And the team is experienced. I like what I see."
"Good to hear." He paused. "Did you tell your mom you were here this morning?"
She shook her head, giving him a warning look. "No. And you don't need to tell her. It would just upset her, and I'm fine."
"I get it. Come on. Let's get out of here."
They made their way back to the sidewalk. Her uncle put the plywood back into place to secure the scene. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"
"No. My car is down the street. I'll see you later."
He gave her an impulsive hug. "Take care of yourself."
"I will." She waited until he'd hopped into his truck and sped away before crossing the street and moving in the opposite direction. She was curious about where Max Malone had been spotted and what he'd seen from that vantage point.
