“That’s good and with Kane’s input we should get a very clear picture of what occurred here.” Jenna turned toward the gutted remains of the large ranch house and then looked at Carter. “I can see the perimeter is marked. Have entry and exit points been established?”
“It’s good to know you follow procedure.” Carter smiled around his toothpick and tipped back his Stetson. “Yeah, we enter around the detonation crater and exit by the backdoor.”
“As we haven’t reevaluated the crime scene yet…” Jenna waved a hand in the direction of the ruins. “Why isn’t there a deputy on duty around the clock to preserve the evidence?” She scanned through the files on her screen. “Anyone could’ve been inside since the ME left.”
Jo walked to Jenna’s side. “Webber took a video and hundreds of pictures. Wolfe and the fire chief both took samples of the crater and the accelerant. They found a can of gas upturned on the kitchen floor.”
“Okay.” Jenna looked up. “Who collected evidence from the second floor?” She looked puzzled. “I see from the preliminary report, the fire destroyed the stairs.”
Jo frowned. “No one went upstairs to collect evidence as far as I’m aware, Jenna.”
“Really? We’ll need to get someone up there to collect evidence and take some shots. I’d say the youngest victim would have been in her bed around the time the bomber broke into the house. How old did you say she was?”
A vivid flash of the charred body crossed Jo’s mind as she opened her iPad and scrolled the information on the family. “Jody Wood was five. The explosion occurred a little after nine.”
“Kane, can you hunt down a ladder and gain entrance to the second floor?” Jenna looked at the images on her tablet. “The bottom of the stairs are toast but the structure looks okay.”
“Are you suggesting the fire department didn’t clear the upper floor for survivors or bodies?” Kane shot a look at Carter. “Surely once the area had been cleared of explosives, the fire chief would’ve checked?”
“Not that I’m aware.” Carter frowned. “I assumed it had been cleared before we arrived. Everything was out and the firefighters had left by the time we arrived.”
“You assumed?” Jenna rolled her eyes. “You’re an expert in your field and you didn’t ask if the upper floors had been cleared?”
“I was called in to hunt down a secondary device.” Carter shrugged. “I did my job and cleared the crime scene of explosives.”
“And yet you didn’t clear the upper levels?” Jenna glared at him. “Why was that?”
“The stairs were gutted.” Carter met her gaze unperturbed. “It’s highly unlikely a bomber would bother to place another explosive on the second floor. He wanted a big bang and backed it up with a secondary device and used gas as an accelerant. Trust me, there is no bomb upstairs.”
“You should have cleared the area anyway.” Jenna lifted her chin. “It is normal procedure. You couldn’t hunt down a ladder?”
“Oh, the boss has claws.” Carter straightened, removed his hat, and ran a hand through his shaggy blond hair and stared down his nose at her. “Don’t let the promotion go to your head, honey.”
“Pull your head in, Carter.” Jenna stared at him, unmoving. “You chose me to lead the case, and if you don’t like to follow procedure, too bad because I do, so quit the sexist remarks and suck it up.”
“Fine, but you should be blaming the fire chief or Wolfe, not me.” Carter was holding his ground. “We cleared the area and Zorro would have alerted me if there’d been another explosive device close by. I did a thorough search of the ground floor. Zorro doesn’t make mistakes and neither do I. It wasn’t my job to search for bodies. I collected evidence in the bombing, which led to the connection between this case and the ones in DC.” He creased his hat down the center and slammed it back on his head. “Since when did calling a woman ‘honey’ become sexist? It is an endearment, not a slight.”
“It’s rude and demeaning. I know you’ve been living alone for a couple of years but you’re representing the FBI now and need to get your filter back in place. We’re not living in the 1970s.” Jenna’s eyes flashed with anger when his mouth twitched at the edges. “Forget it. I’m not standing here arguing with you all day. We have a case to solve.”
“I’m not arguing, Jenna.” Carter’s infuriating smile was back in place. “You’re so easy to rile. Loosen up a bit and we’ll get on just fine.” He indicated to Jo with his thumb. “Look at Jo here, she doesn’t take offense to every word I say but if my being friendly makes your hackles rise, I’ll do my best to think before I speak, okay?” He glanced at Kane. “Man, is she this hostile with you?”
“Don’t drag me into this.” Kane held up both hands.
Concerned by the friction Carter’s attitude was causing, Jo moved between them to face Jenna. “This is why there was a delay in searching for Sophie Wood.” She met Jenna’s annoyed gaze. “There was the chance of a secondary explosive device and Wolfe refused entry until we arrived to clear the scene. It was hours after the explosion by the time we arrived. It wasn’t until we counted the bodies that I discovered Sophie was missing.”
“But how do you know she’s missing?” Agitated, Kane rubbed the back of his neck. “She might have been trapped upstairs. Dammit, Carter, you sayin’ the fire chief sent out a finalized report without checking the entire building?” He stormed off toward the barn muttering under his breath.
Thirteen
During her time as a DEA agent, Jenna had often attended the aftermath of a meth lab explosion and taken the lead in investigations far more complex and dangerous than this one. Mistakes and miscommunication happened when cases moved between agencies but this one was becoming a nightmare. She looked at Jo’s apologetic expression and sighed. “I told you Sheriff Crenshaw was a jerk.” Jenna shook her head. “Although, Wolfe is usually on his game. I’ve no idea why he didn’t question the sheriff or the firefighters about clearing the second floor.” She tried to ignore the acrid smell that hung around a housefire and clung to anyone passing close by. She tucked her tablet under one arm and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call Wolfe and find out what the hell happened here. I’ll put it on speaker.” She made the call.
“Dad is in the middle of an autopsy and he hasn’t gotten out to look at the car yet. He’s rushed off his feet, Jenna, is it urgent?” Emily Wolfe’s voice came through the speaker.
Jenna bit back a sigh of frustration. “Yeah, it is. We’re out at the Louan fire scene and I need clarification. Can you disturb him. It won’t take long.”
“Okay.”
The familiar swish of the examination room doors opening at the morgue came through the speaker and then Wolfe’s voice.
“Shane here. Is this sensitive? I have Emily and Colt with me”
“No.” Jenna flicked a glance at Carter. “I’m at the Louan fire scene. Did anyone clear the upper floor for bodies? It’s not in the report from the fire chief.”