Scratchgravel Road (Josie Gray Mysteries #2)(82)

Diego had asked Josie and Otto to follow Mitch Wilson into the area behind the plant where the water was currently flowing. They followed Diego down a hallway to the back area of the staging facility, where he grabbed them each rain ponchos and wader boots from a storage closet.

“You can still set the charges in the rain?” Josie asked Mitch.

He grinned. “I can detonate explosives in a tornado.”

Instead of driving, Mitch asked to walk to check the ground and the effects of the rain. After they were dressed, Diego led them through the back of the building to see the path the water was taking through the plant.

“There’s about a thirty-five percent grade behind the mountain that levels off to fifteen percent,” Diego said. “The problem is the rain that’s pouring down Norton’s Peak is pushing all the water and debris right through the center of the plant.”

Diego led them through the gate and into the production area of the plant. Josie pulled her rain poncho hood up around her face and looked at the dismal, gray sky. The rain continued steadily. She could not remember ever standing in a more depressing place. The partially disassembled buildings and empty machinery, the muddy holes and washed-out pathways were surface issues, but underneath lay a ticking time bomb. She was very aware that Diego and Sandy had avoided explaining the aftermath of what would happen if the mudslide hit the buildings with the massive force it was capable of. Sandy had made it clear they weren’t facing a nuclear explosion, but she hadn’t filled in the blanks.

The walk up the hill to the base of the mountain took just fifteen minutes. As they walked, Mitch stuck spikes into the ground to represent placement of the charges. Norton’s Peak, at the top of the mountain ridge, was directly above them, ending approximately fifty feet up. It was in bad shape. It was obvious to Josie the base was crumbling and would most likely fall that day if the rain didn’t halt immediately.

Mitch had kept up a running commentary to Otto and Diego, who both seemed interested in the logistics of the explosives. Josie wasn’t much interested in the mechanics, as long as it worked and didn’t blow the plant sky high. For that, she had little choice but to have faith.

With Mitch shouting orders, they began digging a shallow trench to hold the C-4. He was laying a sample line of explosives to see how the saturated ground would react.

After Josie had already become covered in mud, the cell phone in her shirt pocket rang. She had no choice but to wipe her hands on her streaked uniform pants, before popping open the snaps on the poncho and flipping open her cell phone to an unfamiliar number.

“Chief Gray.”

“I’m so glad you answered. This is Cassidy.” She sighed deeply and continued. “I need to see you.”

“I’m in a mess right now. Are you in danger?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you need police help?” Josie asked.

“I found stuff on Leo’s computer. Weird shit. I think it’s connected to the nuclear plant. Maybe to the dead guy.”

“Like what?”

Cassidy moaned. “There’s all this weird stuff about radiation and death.”

“What made you search his computer?”

She hesitated. “Leo knew where the body was in the desert.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I overheard him one night on the phone. I wrote down the directions that he was telling someone. That’s why I took a walk in the desert that day it was so hot. I thought maybe Leo was having an affair or something.”

Josie clenched her jaws and tried to keep her calm. “Why didn’t you just tell us this? You withheld serious information from the investigation.”

“I was afraid! I was afraid he’d kill me if he found out I told you! I’d already seen one dead person!”

“Is Leo there with you?”

“No, but there’s something more.”

Josie waited.

“Leo deposited over a thousand dollars into a bank account I didn’t even know we had.”

“When?”

“Yesterday. He works part time at the plant. And his paycheck gets deposited in our bank. I don’t know where that money came from.”

Josie knew exactly where the money came from but didn’t have time to enlighten Cassidy. “Have you found a set of house keys?”

She hesitated. “Yeah, there were some in Leo’s desk drawer.” She sounded hesitant, already expecting the worst.

“Leave the computer. Take the keys. Get to your parents’ house. Now.”

“I don’t want to drag them into this,” Cassidy said. “This is my mess, not theirs.”

“Trust me on this. Your dad wants you out of there. Go tell him everything. Then sit tight until we can get to you. Don’t talk to Leo. Don’t talk to anyone but your dad. Got it?”

Josie hung her phone up and walked back to Otto and Diego. Otto stabbed his shovel into the mud and looked up at Josie in surprise, as if thoroughly absorbed in his task. Water dripped from the edge of his plastic hood and down into his face, red from the exertion of digging the trench.

“What’s the problem?” Otto asked.

“I just received a phone call from Cassidy Harper. She was snooping on Leo’s computer and discovered he deposited over a thousand dollars into a bank account yesterday. An account she didn’t know they had.”