“Well, yeah, sure. A big one. Wait!” He shot up in his chair. “If you think this means Pauline or I had something to do with the bomb, then you’re still way off base.”
Finn was starting to believe the guy, but until they had proof he or his wife had nothing to do with the bombing, they couldn’t officially rule them out. Russ might not feel the same way as he continued to pummel Eckles with questions, but the guy held up under the onslaught.
Russ stood. “I’ll give you one last chance to tell me anything you haven’t shared.”
Eckles blinked up at Russ. “There’s nothing. At least not that I know of.”
Russ glared down at the guy. “If I find out you and your wife are still hiding things from me, I’ll throw the book at you both.”
“No worries,” Eckles said, but his face was tight. “We’ve put it all out there for you.”
Russ turned Eckles over to a deputy to escort them out of the building, and Russ and Ryleigh stepped into the hallway.
Finn joined them, and they all tromped to the lobby that smelled of orange cleaner to retrieve their phones and weapons, then head out to the parking lot. Finn had to admit to being glad to be out of the sheriff’s office and in the sunshine, but the warm sun didn’t change anything. They still didn’t have a solid lead on their bomber’s identity.
Finn stopped and faced the others. “Looks like they’re a dead-end except for their connection to Carla Nye.”
“Yeah, but at least our questions were answered,” Ryleigh said.
“Not sure I’m ready to agree with that.” Russ frowned. “I get the feeling there’s something they’re still holding back.”
“Hopefully, Nick’s or Colin’s research will tell us what.” Ryleigh started to shove her phone into her pocket but it rang, and she looked at it.
“Speaking of Nick.” She tapped the screen. “The sheriff and Finn are with me so putting you on speaker, Nick.”
“I’ve had a chance to interrogate the Roomba during my breaks.” Nick’s excited tone shot through the phone. “You’ll want to see what I found on the machine’s memory. Could be the very lead you need to bring in this bomber.”
15
Ryleigh stepped toward Nick, where he sat at a portable table near the front of the mill property. Reid had erected tables and chairs in this area to serve the Veritas lunch. The Roomba sat on the table next to Nick’s computer. He had his face in his laptop and seemed oblivious to the soft breeze blowing his hair or all the commotion around him.
Question was, was he being overly dramatic in his promise of a lead or did he really have something great?
Finn trailed behind her, and she waited for him to rush past and pounce on Nick, but he didn’t. Another oddity that she couldn’t explain.
Nick looked up and a broad smile crossed his face. “Thanks for coming.”
“What do you have that you couldn’t send to me?” Ryleigh didn’t mean to sound like she was put out for coming here. She was going to meet Grady and Trent at the explosives’ depot anyway and would’ve driven right past the mill.
“Well, I could’ve emailed it, but thought if you had any questions, I’d be right here to answer them.” He pointed at the chair next to him. “Besides, it’s always nice to see when an investigator gets excited about a lead, and this is a good one.”
“Okay, stop tormenting us and show us what you have.” She took the chair next to Nick.
Finn stood behind them.
Nick clicked his mouse on a video displayed on his screen. “This is a snippet from the Roomba.”
The screen filled with a pair of boots in motion. Not like Gates’s work boots, but very unique black leather boots with crisscrossing leather straps starting at the instep and held in place with silver buckles. The straps, placed about an inch apart, continued up the boots as far as she could see. The shiny silver heel glinted on the screen.
“Those don’t belong to Gates,” she said, her excitement piqued just like Nick claimed would happen. “Or at least, he only had work boots in his closet, and these weren’t found in his truck either. Plus, the boots don’t have a lift, and the guy isn’t limping.”
“Looks like he had a visitor,” Finn stated.
Nick nodded. “An earlier video shows these boots followed by the work boots walking past the camera. It was recorded the day before the bomb went off around one p.m.”
“Right before Gates was due at work.” Finn gripped Ryleigh’s chair and leaned closer, his scent of minty soap enveloping her. “This guy could be the last person other than the mill workers who saw Gates alive.”
“And the guy who trashed Gates’s place,” Nick added.
