Page 23 of Lethal Danger

Hawthorne crouched as he carefully picked his way across the wreckage beneath the highest point of the slide. Which used to be much higher.

“What are you doing?” The female voice made him startle.

He spun around, a smile relaxing his face at the sight of Jazz and her dog. “Hey.” Then he registered her question. And the suspicious edge to it. His smile faltered. “I’m checking out the evidence. Trying to figure out what happened.”

“Evidence.” She glanced from him to the debris on the ground. “You think this wasn’t an accident.”

Wasn’t that obvious? He held back the question that would probably be rude and nodded.

Her shoulders drooped. “I was afraid of that.”

Ah. Denial. Not ignorance.

“Bomb?”

He nodded. “Judging from the type of impact and damage, I’d guess dynamite. A small, controlled explosion.”

She looked at him, curiosity and maybe a bit of suspicion glinting in her green eyes. “How do you know that?”

“Well, I could say it’s because I’m a writer. I’ve learned a lot in my research.”

She still stared.

“But in this case, I investigated some crimes involving explosives when I was an MP.”

“That’s right. I read it in your bio. Just like Carson Steele.”

He smiled. She really was a fan. That should help when he finally got to ask if he could use her as the main character in his next series. “Sort of. I was in the Marines, Carson is Navy.”

“Important distinction.” She grinned like someone who knew.

“Did you serve?”

She nodded. “Me and Flash.” She glanced down at the Belgian Malinois who strained at his leash to reach the nearest fallen post. “Army.”

He cringed, earning a musical laugh and brilliant smile.

“Okay, Marine. What happened here?” At least trust had replaced the suspicion in her eyes from a moment ago.

“I think the dynamite was rigged at the top of the tallest support post, not far below the slide itself.” He walked a few feet to the remnants of the massive metal post. “You see, only two of the supports were blown at the top, making the lower portions of them collapse, too.”

Jazz stared up toward where he pointed at the remaining posts. “And the other support beams took the weight of the slide when it dropped onto them.”

“Thankfully. We’ll need a crew or the fire department to fortify the slide with more beams.”

“You don’t want to climb up and do it with ropes?” Jazz sent him a teasing grin.

“Oh, I would. But my weight would probably topple the slide the rest of the way.”

She laughed.

Man, she had a terrific sense of humor. Even in situations that would make other people freeze with fear. He’d seen that yesterday, too. Better jot that in his notes on his new heroine.

Jazz started moving through the debris, Flash smelling the ground as he went with her. “I suppose that’s what the bomber did.” She glanced at Hawthorne. “Climbed up the supports to place the dynamite.”

“Maybe. Unless he lowered himself down from above.”

“No way anyone could do that during the day. There are twenty-five employees working at the slide at any given time.”

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