“Any reason for White to come after you in particular?”
“I testified at the Court-Martial,” Cassidy said. “But I wasn’t the only one.”
“Brings us to Baker,” Emma prompted. “Trevor Baker, Airman First Class, 19th Maintenance Squadron.”
“And he was discharged?” Cassidy paused to search her memory.
“Yes. Dishonorable Discharge. Accessory Possession and Absent Without Leave.” Emma read the charges off, noting, “He was a munitions guy.”
“Oh!” She sat up straighter. “Yeah, I remember Baker. He and his brother—” She broke off at the sound of another explosion coming from the south end of the fairgrounds.
The chopper lazily circling the grounds swooped back into view. Cassidy grimaced when she spotted the logo for a local news affiliate on the tail of the craft.
“I have to go.” She ended the call as she stood. The butterflies in her stomach told her the carousel wasn’t the only thing about to start moving too fast.
Chapter Ten
Walking away from Cass was getting harder each time he had to do it. It had been all he could do to listen to the instructions Aronson was firing off as they trudged back up the hill. They’d paused to watch the team covering the post-explosion investigation at Cattle Barn 4 before heading to the arena to catch up with the other team leads. He was running through a list of possible locations to check, bearing in mind the perimeters Cass had drawn.
“What’s the relationship between you and Cassidy Walker?” The colonel’s blunt question startled Jake from his thoughts.
Alarm bells rang in his head as he glanced at the older man. But Aronson only gave him profile. The man’s jaw was relaxed and his expression as neutral as his tone.
Jake wasn’t buying it for a moment.
He stalled for time. If the site commander was asking, he obviously considered his acquaintance with the main character in this farce to be relevant. And if he wanted to remain active on this case, he needed pick his way through this minefield carefully. Wetting his lips, he opted to go with the barest facts.
“We were high school classmates, but we haven’t been in contact for years.”
“Years?” Aronson slid him a sidelong glance.
“Not since college.”
“You seem to know one another fairly well,” the other man said, allowing his skepticism to creep into his tone.
“We did at one time, but as I said, it’s been years,” Jake repeated, refusing to give up anything more than the most basic facts.
“But you’re worried about her,” he persisted.
Puzzled by the comment, Jake frowned. “Of course, I am. She walked right into a trap set by some jerk who likes to blow things up.”
“A trap we believe was set for her,” Aronson pointed out.
Jake slowed as they approached the tinted-glass doors of Barton Coliseum. “What exactly is your concern, sir?”
Aronson halted altogether, his hand on the door handle. “I’m concerned by your insistence on running down there every chance you get to sit next to a woman who may or may not have a bomb on her back. I know we run toward danger, son, but you may be taking it too far.” He took a deep breath. “My concern is you may not be approaching your work objectively. Or conducting your searches thoroughly—”
“Respectfully, sir, I was the one who ID’d the location of multiple devices—”
“With Ms. Walker’s help,” he interjected.
“Who better to help?” Jake struggled to keep his rising impatience in check. “If the head of fairgrounds security was standing safe and secure in this arena, I’d be consulting with her here. But she isn’t. And yes, we know each other…kneweach other…when we were kids. And yes, she is wearing what we have identified to be an explosive device, but we’re taking all the necessary precautions—”
“You think sitting next to her at the top of each hour is taking precautions?” The commander scoffed. “You think leaving your partner with her when you aren’t there is the cautious thing to do?” he demanded, gesturing to Max. “How many thousands of dollars did it cost to train him, Donovan? You’re treating a skilled detection dog like an emotional support animal.”
Jake’s hand instinctively went to Max’s smooth head. “I beg to differ…sir.”
Colonel Aronson blew out a tired breath. “Listen, son, I know it can be difficult when there’s an…acquaintance involved in a case. If I need to call in one of the other K-9 units—”
