went up inside the van. Henning continued raising the lid. Suddenly Kate said, “What’s that on the side, a wire?”
Henning tried to reverse the robot’s arm to close the lid but it was too late. The screen went blank. “What happened?” Tye asked.
The sergeant checked a gauge on the control panel. “That’s weird. It’s shorted out. Must have been wired to fry whoever opened it.”
“What do we do now?” Kaulcrick asked.
“I’ll have to suit up and go down there.”
Just then gunfire erupted from inside the building. The SWAT officers stationed around the perimeter pulled back and took cover where they could. “What’s that?” Kaulcrick said.
Henning said, “There’s no one in there. That electrical charge must have set off the pyrotechnics Steve saw around the metal box, heating up the ammunition.”
Everyone scrambled out of the van and watched the building. Dark gray smoke started escaping around the door and window frames. Henning tilted his head back slightly and sniffed the air. “Metallic. That might be thermite,” he said ominously.
“What’s that?” Kaulcrick demanded.
“Thermite grenades are used by the military to destroy enemy equipment in a hurry. They burn at two thousand plus degrees centigrade. It’ll burn right through a tank and melt everything around it.”
“The money!”
“If that is thermite, all you’re going to have is a pile of ashes.”
“Why would anyone store something like that next to money?” Kaulcrick said angrily.
“They probably had it in the cache ready to destroy the guns and ammunition in case they were raided. They put the box in there and electrified it, thinking if they had to get out in a hurry, all they had to do was shut off the juice, grab the box, and set off the thermite to destroy all the evidence. The electrical current must have set off the thermite unintentionally.”
“What do we do now?” Kaulcrick asked.
Tye Delson lit another cigarette and, her reserved composure regained, said, “Call the fire department.”
TWENTY-FOUR
KAULCRICK ORDERED EVERYONE BACK TO THE OFFICE FOR A TWO o’clock meeting and asked Sergeant Henning to join them when he was done at the scene. Kaulcrick knew he had to break the news to the director that they had just incinerated two million dollars of Bureau money and realized there would be technical questions he wouldn’t be able to answer. Besides, it was the LAPD’s robot that had destroyed the money. And if push came to shove, Kate had actually spotted the trip wire and tried to stop it.
Kate got behind the wheel and told Vail she’d drive. She looked up and said, “I think we’re being followed.” She adjusted the rearview mirror to get a better look at the blue-gray trash can sitting on the backseat.
“It’s nice to see that watching two million dollars burn didn’t dampen your sense of humor.”
“Hey, life is good. All the bad guys are dead and the money is accounted for, unless your friend in the backseat has a different opinion.”
Vail reached over the seat and pried open the lid. Immediately the odor of garlic filled the car. “Ring any bells?”
“Funny, I suddenly have an overwhelming premonition I’m about to be shot.”
“Exactly. Just like last night.”
“I know you’re big on tying up all the loose ends, but hunting down whoever overseasoned a meal is a little obsessive, even for you.”
“Ever notice, every time you drive we have an argument?”
“Yeah, me driving, that’s the problem.”
“Maybe it’s low blood sugar. How about some lunch? No Italian, I promise.”
KATE AND VAIL sat at an outdoor table. She was nibbling on a single taco while he worked his way through a combination plate that looked more like an entire station at a buffet. She said, “You know, this isn’t the last meal the Bureau’s going to pay for.”
“You’ve just answered the one question that’s been on my mind.”
“Which is?”
“Why you’re not married.”
“Are you saying I’m too critical?”
“Oh, no, dear.”
“Sorry, it’s just that it’s kind of fun to find little things about you to pick at. Were you really wondering why I’m not married?”
“For a good-looking, only slightly neurotic woman, I think that is the presumed path.”
“You do know how to turn a girl’s head.”
“Okay, an attractive, confident, fearless woman.”
“Fearless? Does that mean you think marriage takes a certain amount of courage?”
“No, I think marriage takes a lot of courage. More than I have.”
“Actually, I question whether I do.” Her eyes hooded in a new level of contemplation. “My father traveled a lot, on business. On one occasion, after returning home, he passed along to my mother a sexually transmitted