The Burning Wire

the evidence board. “There was that report of an intrusion at a company substation in Philadelphia. We heard on TV that Randall Jessen lives in Pennsylvania.”
    “That’s right,” Sachs confirmed.
    “He’s got dark hair?” Pulaski asked.
    “Yes, he does. Well, he did when he was a kid—from the pictures on Andi’s desk. And Andi went out of her way to say he didn’t live here. And there’s something else. She told me she didn’t come out of the technical side of the business. She said she got her father’s talent—the business side of the energy industry. But remember that news story about her? Before the press conference?”
    Cooper nodded. “She was a lineman for a while before she moved into management and succeeded her father.” He pointed to the perp profile on the whiteboard. “She was lying.”
    Sachs said, “And the Greek food—could have come from Andi herself. Or maybe she met her brother at a restaurant near the company.”
    Eyes on what he was typing, Rhyme’s brow furrowed as he considered something else. “And why is Bernie Wahl still alive?”
    “The security chief at Algonquin?” Sellitto mused. “Fuck, I never thought about it. Sure, it would have made sense for Galt—well, the perp—to kill him.”
    “Randall could’ve delivered the second demand letter a dozen different ways. The point was to make Wahl believe it was Galt. He never saw the perp’s face.”
    Dellray chimed in, “No wonder nobody spotted the real Galt, even after all the pictures on TV and the Internet. It was a different goddamn perp altogether.”
    McDaniel now looked less skeptical. “So where’s Randall Jessen now?”
    “All we know is he’s planning something big for six-thirty tonight.”
    Eyeing the recent evidence, Rhyme was lost in thought for a moment, then continued to type—itwas a list of instructions on how to proceed from here, one slow letter at a time.
    Then the assistant special agent in charge’s skeptical gaze returned. “I’m sorry, time-out here. I can see what you’re saying, but what’s her motive? She’s screwing up her own company. She’s committing murder. That makes no sense.”
    Rhyme corrected a typo and kept going.
    Click, click . .  .
    Then he looked up and said softly, “The victims.”
    “What?”
    Rhyme explained, “If the perp was just making a statement, like it seemed, he could have rigged a timed device—and not risked being nearby. We know he could have done that; we found the timer spring at one of the crime scenes. But he didn’t. He was using a remote control and he was nearby when the victims died. Why?”
    Sellitto barked a laugh. “Goddamn, Linc. Andi and her brother were after somebody in particular. She was just making it look, you know, random. That’s why the attacks happened before the deadlines.”
    “Exactly! . . . Rookie, bring the whiteboards over here. Now!”
    He did.
    “The vics. Look at the vics.”
    Luis Martin, assistant manager in music store .
    Linda Kepler, Oklahoma City, tourist .
    Morris Kepler, Oklahoma City, tourist .
    Samuel Vetter, Scottsdale, businessman .
    Ali Mamoud, New York City, waiter .
    Gerhart Schiller, Frankfurt, Germany, advertising executive .
    Larry Fishbein, New York City, accountant .
    Robert Bodine, New York City, attorney .
    Franklin Tucker, Paramus, New Jersey, salesman .
    “Do we know anything about the injured?”
    Sachs said she didn’t.
    “Well, one of them might’ve been the intended victim too. We should find out. But what do we know about them , at least, the deceased?” Rhyme asked, staring at the names. “Is there any reason Andi would want any of them dead?”
    “The Keplers were tourists in town on a package tour,” Sachs said. “Retired ten years ago. Vetter was the witness. Maybe that’s why they killed him.”
    “No, this was planned a month ago. What was the business?”
    Sachs flipped through her notebook. “President of Southwest Concrete.”
    “Look ’em up, Mel.”
    In a minute Cooper was saying, “Well, listen to this. Based in Scottsdale. General construction, with a specialty in infrastructure projects. On the website it says that Vetter was attending an alternative energy financing seminar at the Battery Park Hotel.” He looked up. “Recently they’ve been involved in constructing the foundations for photovoltaic arrays.”
    “Solar power.” Rhyme’s eyes continued to take in the evidence. He said, “And the victims in the office building?