Quinn gave a frustrated nod. Evan understood how he was feeling. Evan had felt the same way when Kiley and her team came waltzing into his investigation. At least Quinn didn’t have to fear that she would take over here.
“Mind if we have a look around the site?” she asked, her question a mere formality that Quinn couldn’t say no to.
“Don’t get in anyone’s way.” He widened his stance. “You might be royalty, but I still have two bombers to bring in.”
“Thank you for your time.” Kiley offered her hand.
Quinn gave a quick shake and looked at her like he thought she carried the plague. Evan scowled at him, but Kiley didn’t react at all as she stepped out the door.
Evan caught up to her. “How do you deal with it?”
“What?”
“Being a pariah with investigators like that.”
“Nothing much to be done about it. Just try not to make it worse, let it roll off your back, and move on.” She slipped her respirator over her mouth.
Evan still didn’t like how Quinn treated her. Frustrated, he put his respirator in place, and they walked toward the road where the young family had been caught by the blast. The small SUV was torn in two and incinerated. A car seat lay burned on the roadway, a scarred teddy bear nearby, both saturated with water used to extinguish the blaze.
Anger rose in Evan’s gut, and he curled his fingers into tight fists. Kiley cleared her throat, her hands trembling as she took out her phone to snap pictures. Evan wanted to draw her into his arms and shield her eyes. The heck with the whole professional thing. But then he imagined the look she would give him. Maybe disdain or even rage that he’d held her at a crime scene.
She was doing her best to hide how the horrors of this scene were impacting her. She obviously didn’t want him or the others to see her emotions, but he cared too much for her to stand back when he could let her know he was here and that he felt the same anguish. He gently touched her arm.
She looked up at him and lifted her shoulders into a resolute line. “We need to make these guys pay.”
“We will,” he said, but he didn’t know any such thing. At least not yet.
She spun and marched down the tracks toward the mangled engine. Sweltering heat rose up as if they were slogging through desert sand, not the Pennsylvania countryside, keeping workers at a distance. Evan began snapping pictures but halted when he caught sight of a body burned beyond recognition in the twisted metal. His stomach heaved, and he closed his eyes andtook a long cleansing breath before he lost his cookies. He only hoped Kiley didn’t see the body that Evan suspected was the train engineer. Evan offered a prayer for the man’s family and for the family of the victims in the SUV.
He opened his eyes, the horror seeming even darker now. The heat and caustic burnt smell didn’t stop Kiley. She picked her way through the debris, then lost her footing. Evan grabbed her elbow to steady her. He doubted she appreciated his help in full view of the others who were staring at them.
“Thanks.” She looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyes above the mask were clear and earnest.
Okay then.He was wrong about her again. Maybe face-planting in front of the others was a less desirable outcome.
Together they made their way down the tracks until a hazmat worker stopped them. Kiley flashed him a belligerent look but didn’t speak as she snapped pictures of the tanker. The massive size of the railcar had Evan’s mouth falling open, and he couldn’t begin to imagine what they would be looking at here if it had blown.
Thank you for not letting this be worse.
Kiley spun to look at him. “Anything else you want to check out?”
He wanted to leave. To get Kiley out of here too, yet they weren’t quite done. “The device could be the key to tying this back to Waleed or the guys from the container, so I’d like to get a look at the recovered fragments.”
She gave a sharp nod. “We’ll need to get with forensics for that. Just know the techs will be irritated with us, and so will Quinn.”
He hated to put her through more stress. “I think it’s worth it.”
“Then I’ll follow your lead.”
“Letting me make them mad, are you?” He grinned and hoped she could see the humor in his eyes, as the respirator hid his smile.
She shook her head, the horror of the bombing washing from her eyes for the briefest of moments.
“I’ll remember this.” He joked, but he was serious too. He would remember this moment like he remembered everything about her. And like he would remember the horrific scene. How could he forget? The carnage and smell were permanently etched in his mind and senses.
On the way to the evidence truck, Kiley’s phone rang. She dug it out. “It’s the firearms examiner working Firuzeh’s murder investigation.” She eased away from the workers and held the phone out, allowing Evan to listen in on the conversation.
“Please tell me you have something for me, Adam,” she said. “You’re on speaker, and ICE Agent Evan Bowers is with me. He’s part of the team. Feel free to be candid.”
