not saying that. What I’m saying is that he’s using our standard procedures against us. He’s fast, too fast, in and out while we’re chasing our asses to lock everything up tight. He knows SOP, that we have to look at the big picture first.”
“Like sending in the SWAT team to clear the hospital. He knew he’d have plenty of time after blowing the transformer to go after Darby and me, because no matter how many people called 9-1-1, standard operating procedure says to hold back and wait for SWAT to clear the building.”
“Right.” Buresh nodded. “I’m betting Jake scared the bomber away without even realizing it.”
Rafe grunted his response, not willing to give Jake that much credit. “You’re going to say he counted on us locking down Anastasia State Park, giving him time to escape while we were occupied with the evacuation. But that wasn’t the bomber. That was his lackey.”
“His lackey doing exactly what he told him to do.”
“Maybe,” Rafe allowed. “So at the fort, he counted on, what? The confusion of everyone running out of the fort after he stabbed Jake so he could get away? That’s not inside knowledge.”
“Sure it was. What did you do as soon as people started running out of the fort?”
“Locked it up tight. I ordered everyone to be held on the green to be interviewed.”
Buresh raised a brow, waiting.
Rafe cursed. “And then I saw the bomb, and had Darby report it.”
“Right,” Buresh continued. “Instead of holding everyone to interview, the directive immediately changed to evacuation again. We got everyone out of there, as quickly as possible, to prevent loss of life. I can tell you by the time I arrived, no one was waiting on that green to be interviewed. Every cop in the vicinity was keeping civilians back, and holding vigil for their fellow cops in harm’s way.”
“He’s using our own procedures against us. That doesn’t mean he’s a cop.”
Buresh nodded. “I agree. And we’re too small a police force not to be able to account for everyone’s location at a given time. No one has taken vacation in the past few weeks or missed a shift, nothing to account for the dates and times our bomber has been active. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t feeding the bomber information.”
“Come on, you don’t really think one of ours would do that.”
“Why not? You thought Jake could be working with the bomber.”
Rafe crossed his arms. “All right, but Jake’s a special case. He has motive. Who else around here hates me enough to want to kill me?”
Buresh laughed. “Probably more people than you think.” He held up his hand to stop Rafe’s angry response. “Seriously, I’m not saying one of our people is doing anything on purpose. You know how it is. Loose lips sink ships. Some guy talks in his sleep to his girlfriend, or says things he shouldn’t. Her brother or some distant cousin just happens to be our guy. So, just in case, we can’t risk your location being leaked. Wherever you and Dr. Steele go, I want it on the QT. I don’t want anyone to see anything to clue them in that you’re a cop. And I don’t want anyone but me knowing where you are.”
Rafe blew out a frustrated breath. “This doesn’t feel right. I agree the bomber may know something about police standard procedures, but I’m not sure we should spend time looking for any personal connections between our people and the bomber. That feels like the wrong direction for the investigation.”
“Tell you what. You come up with a better angle, call it in. We don’t have much to go on right now. I’ve already got a team researching for ties between the victims. But since all the vics work with law enforcement, directly or indirectly, it’s hard to know what ties matter to the case. I’m looking for any leads I can get.”
Rafe glanced at Darby, reassuring himself she was still okay. He took his badge, driver’s license and everything else that could identify him out of his wallet, and placed them on the desk. “The gun I keep. Got a problem with that?”
“Of course not. Now go, get out of here. Don’t forget the laptop. As soon as you’re settled, let me know where you are.”
Rafe tapped his fist on the desk. “At least tell me you’ve got an ID on the dead guy we thought was the bomber.”
“Actually, yes. We put his picture on TV and someone called in his name.