She went back to standing next to the stationary mechanic a few seconds later, hand hovering near her back pocket where her phone was currently residing.
“I’ve just done some cursory training but, no, I’m nowhere near an expert in explosives. But I think we should probably stop talking and not move until I call in some backup to see what they say.”
“Is there something really there? A bomb under the seat?”
Again, it wasn’t like Rose could fault the man for asking.
She pulled her phone out and brought up the sheriff’s number directly beneath her finger.
If the mechanic had been someone else, someone showing a lot more fear than he was, Rose would have put on her gentler verbal gloves. But there was something sturdy-feeling about this James Keller. Rose trusted in his sense of self-preservation.
So she stayed blunt.
“I’m about ninety percent certain it’s an explosive with a pressure plate. One you triggered, and are keeping from going off by sitting on it. Shift your weight too much and it’ll detonate. But I can’t see enough of it to be absolutely sure about any of that. So I’m going to call in the right people who do have the skills to figure it all out.”
The line of his jaw got mighty tight at that. For a second Rose worried he would nod. Instead, James Keller gave her a terse one-word.
“Understood.”
Her finger hovered over the call button but her mind was sticking to the why of it all. If there was an explosive beneath the seat, why? Who did it? Why the passenger’s side and not the driver’s?
The call started, the ringing loud enough that it echoed slightly in the garage around them. It would have carried more had the bay they were in not had a door wide open to the outside. No sooner did she have the thought they were lucky to be alone in the shop than dirt kicked up in the distance at the road. A beige truck was driving into the lot. The windows were tinted enough that she couldn’t see who was inside.
“Someone’s pulling up,” Rose said, already taking astep back. “I’m going to tell them to leave and be right back. Is that okay?”
Rose’s priorities had stacked in an easy order the second she heard the click beneath James.
Keep the civilian safe.
Remove James and the bomb without anything and anyone taking damage.
Two simply stated goals.
Now they shifted to make room for another.
Keep civilians from getting into danger.
Then the other two priorities on repeat.
If James had his own list, he showed that they at least synced up on this want. James Keller was nothing if not impressive. He gave her another one-word answer.
“Go.”
Rose hurried out of the bay while the call continued to ring. Her mind went on dual trains of thought as she decided to call the sheriff’s department directly next, while also thinking of what she should say to get the mechanic shop’s customers out of danger without causing a town-wide panic.
She had never been a nifty talker like other people in her department—Deputy Collins could talk someone into oblivion yet seemingly manage to never annoy said person—but Rose believed tact might be needed here. If only a little. Dealing with this situation, whatever it may be, would be a lot easier if all of Seven Roads didn’t drive up after the news undoubtedly spread like wildfire.
The truck stopped a few yards off, almost where she had stopped to talk to James when first arriving, when another vehicle drove up behind them and into the lot.It was a lot smoother than the first, older truck with its dents and rust. This one was an upkept black 4Runner with dark tint that matched the first.
Rose slowed her gait. The call went to voicemail in her hand. She didn’t hang up. The 4Runner stopped next to the old truck.
Sheriff Weaver’s voice was low as his to-the-point, prerecorded message asked the person calling to leave their details. He promised to call them back after.
Rose watched as neither driver exited their vehicles.
If the thing beneath the passenger’s seat wasn’t a bomb, that would be a great—and embarrassing—misunderstanding. She would hear about it for days, weeks, probably the occasional comment through the years. The sheriff wouldn’t say much—he was a quiet guy, like their only detective, Darius, was—but Price and the few other deputies in the department? They would use the incident in good humor as long as the situation had an opening for it, like older brothers teasing a sister.
It would be annoying for Rose.
