Landon stepped under the hood again, and movement in the car caught Reid’s attention.
“That’s Dr. Clarke—Andi—in the car,” Trent said. “She’s been in there for some time so hopefully she’s almost finished with her samples and will be able to update you too.” He gestured at the vehicle’s engine. “I only hope we can help you figure out who placed this device.”
“The who really isn’t in question here,” Reid said. “Where he is right now is the big question, and we hope something you find will lead us to him.”
“From everything you’ve told me about the investigation, I can see how you would reach that conclusion,” Trent said. “You’re likely right, but it would be doing this investigation a disservice if we make that assumption. We might be looking at someone else out to scare Ms. Cash.”
“True, but the odds point to Fowler.”
“They do, but my job isn’t to play the odds. My job is to find forensics to give me direction and not make any assumptions.”
Reid knew Trent’s logical conclusion was right, and Reid shouldn’t be assuming Fowler left the bomb, but… “So what have you found? Anything unique?”
He nodded vigorously. “I think so, anyway. Not the devices, though. Not even a bomb.”
“Wait what? Not a bomb?” Shocked, Reid stared at the guy. “But I heard the explosion.”
“I didn’t say there wasn’t a noise, but we’ve got smoke grenades and flash-bangs modified to release through a control panel linked to a pressure switch under the driver’s seat. All items are legal and you can purchase them most anywhere in the country.”
“Yeah, I know what they are. Used them in tactical training in the FBI.” Reid mulled it over, disappointed in himself for misreading the situation. “The noise sounded a lot louder than a flash-bang.”
“Try multiple flash-bangs timed to go off at the same time.”
“I don’t know. Still sounded like more than that.” Or Reid wanted it to be more so he didn’t feel so dumb for overreacting. Still, if it happened again, he would act the same to protect Megan. Better safe than sorry.
Landon looked up. “Your report said you noted the pressure switch in the car, and you bolted, preparing for a bomb. So that was what you expected to hear. Could make you mishear things.”
Yeah, that could’ve happened. Either way, Reid wouldn’t dwell on it. “Okay, say our guy bought these items legally, but it would take more than basic skills to make the switch work, right?”
“Yes, and time. Installing the pressure switch under the seat would take a bit of time to accomplish. Enough time to catch the offender on security video if cameras cover this location.”
“I reviewed the feed already,” Reid said. “They don’t reach as far as the front end of this vehicle. So where do we go from here?”
Trent nodded at the engine. “I’ll analyze the components and try to identify the manufacturers and suppliers. When I finish, I’ll get the evidence to our fingerprint and DNA experts to process.”
“And if we don’t get a match?” Reid asked.
“We don’t know that Fowler is good for this, and we could be looking at someone who’s done the same thing before. So I’ll ask other crime labs if they’ve processed devices with similar characteristics in the handicraft or materials of the bomb maker.”
“Handicraft?” Reid asked.
“The way a device is constructed.” Trent pointed under the hood.
Reid stepped around the front of the car to see the remnants of flash-bangs in an open wooden box near the motor. Small portions of the flash-bang body, material like thick cardboard, were left, as were the metal fuse casings and detonators, which remained intact. If they hadn’t been contained in the box or under the hood, they could’ve become a projectile in flight and caused serious injuries.
“In this case our suspect took a page out of the Unabomber’s book,” Trent said. “He placed the items in a meticulously handcrafted wooden box.”
“You’re talking about Ted Kaczynski.” Reid recalled the many bombings of the man his agency dubbed the Unabomber. “Why would our guy do that?”
Trent shrugged. “He might’ve researched bombs and thought it would distract us if he put the items in a box. Or maybe be wanted to mitigate any damage that could potentially have been done. For Kaczynski, it was theorized that he used a wooden box so he could sand off all DNA and prints on the shipping container, but obviously our suspect didn’t ship this device.”
“Curious.”
“Agreed.” Trent’s dark eyes narrowed. “The box is a lot of work to go through when he could’ve bought something commercially. Of course, the suspect could’ve bought it from someone, and that’s a lead you can pursue. It’s definitely handmade, so would likely be a local carpenter.”
“Or not. Could’ve gotten it from Etsy or other websites selling handmade items.”
“True that. I’ll do a more detailed analysis when I get it back to the lab. I’ll also run the specifics of the device against ViCAP. See if we get any hits on similar devices. Will be a long shot as our guy didn’t hurt anyone, but he might’ve in the past.”
