Scratchgravel Road A Mystery - By Tricia Fields Page 0,98
mudslide of that magnitude. It is the location of this slide that is our concern. We’re thinking our best bet is to go down, not up.”
Josie said, “In other words, dig a trench instead of building a wall.”
Diego nodded. “Have you had any experience using explosives to divert mudslides?”
Josie and Otto both shook their heads no.
“We have the explosives. But we need an explosives expert to develop a plan.”
Otto said, “You want to blow holes in the ground. Make a trench to divert the flow?”
“That’s exactly it,” Sandy said.
“Why not just use a trencher?” Josie asked. “Wouldn’t that be safer?”
“We can use it to lay the explosives, but not for the whole diversion,” Sandy said. “We have a Ditch Witch Quad trencher on site, and it’ll dig down eight feet, but only twenty-four inches wide. That won’t help with the mudslide. We need a five- to ten-foot width to do any good.”
Diego’s face was grave. “Here’s another concern. We can make estimated guesses, but in the end, we don’t know what the explosions are going to do to the equipment and the volatile nature of some of our experimental solutions.”
“When you say volatile nature? Are you referring to a nuclear explosion? What do you mean?” Josie asked.
The chemical engineer sitting to Sandy’s left raised a finger and looked at Diego. “Mind if I take this?”
Diego nodded. “Please do.”
The man had been introduced as Scott Franklin. He was a chemical expert who said he specialized in designing and implementing cleanup solutions.
“Part of my job is to supervise volatile chemical experiments in the pilot plant. We deal with chemicals that quite honestly are just as dangerous as the radiation everyone fears. The explosive nature of some of the chemicals is enough to kill us all several times over.” He pursed his lips and glanced around the room, letting the weight of his words sink in. “I guess my point is that we’re working in unpredictable conditions. I have chemical compounds that haven’t been exposed to tremors. There are a lot of variables with explosives that I don’t personally feel comfortable with. What kind of tremors will be felt in the lab?” He frowned and looked around the table, his expression full of worry.
Sandy’s face reddened and her eyes widened. “We’ve been through this. None of us are comfortable with any of this! We’re operating in crisis mode here, Scott. This isn’t the time for covering your ass. We need your expertise to help us figure out solutions based on the facts we have. Not what we would like to have.”
Scott looked hurt by her response but he said nothing in return.
“Do you have an explosives team?” Josie asked.
Diego smiled grimly. “I was going to ask you the same. Sandy and I have talked. We’ve got the explosives, but no one on site with the experience to work with them.”
Josie glanced at Otto, who nodded agreement.
“Otto and I know someone who might do it. He works at the County Maintenance Department in Artemis as a mechanic. He was in the army. Served as an explosives ordnance disposal tech.”
Diego looked skeptical. “How long ago was he in the service?”
“He’s been out of the service a little over a year,” Josie said. “He served two tours of duty in Iraq. I don’t think you’ll find a better option than Mitch.”
Otto said, “The local paper had a writeup when he came home. He was a master EOD specialist when he left the army. Received some kind of commendation for valor.”
“Let’s get him out here then,” Diego said.
TWENTY-ONE
Cassidy stood in front of her living room window and peeked through the curtains. She watched Leo back out of the driveway and drive toward town, where he was headed to pick up groceries. Cassidy had convinced him she had a headache and felt too sick to run errands. Begrudgingly, he had left.
Cassidy figured she had twenty minutes. She sat at the kitchen table where Leo kept his laptop set up, where he conducted his research for the Feed Plant. She had stood behind him while she was making dinner on two different occasions and was able to figure out his login and password to unlock the computer, and to connect to the Internet. Cassidy had shown no interest in computers or the Internet, and she was hoping she could use this to her advantage. She was hoping once she logged in to his computer, the information wouldn’t be protected or hidden.