Page 4 of Chain Reaction
“Please, call me Cassidy. Thank you so much for coming. You were highly recommended for this job by one of my colleagues in DC.”
“Whatever I can do to help.” Raven turned back to what had once been a house. “This is heartbreaking.”
Cassidy turned toward the scene also. “You’re right. It really is. The woman, Eleanor Clark, had just posted online thismorning about her beachcombing find. People began to warn her that the object was dangerous. But it was already too late.”
Raven frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, especially when something like this could have been prevented. I guess the woman didn’t realize what exactly she was dealing with.”
“No, she didn’t. Eleanor was a nice woman. She and her husband moved to Lantern Beach after winning the lottery a decade ago. They mostly kept to themselves, but they did like to play Bingo down at the local Ruritan Club on occasion.”
Raven stored that fact away as her gaze traveled beyond the house to the ocean on the other side of the dune. “Have these types of devices been found on your shores before?”
Cassidy shook her head. “No, we do occasionally have things that wash ashore—a whole shipping container of Doritos once.”
Raven raised her eyebrows. “No kidding? That sounds fun.”
She let out a quick laugh. “That was before my time. But, yes, I’ve heard stories. This island is full of history—including pirates and rumors of buried treasure.”
“That must attract tourists to the area.”
“It does. Some of the old-timers like to tell stories about World War II when U-boats were off the shore,” Cassidy continued. “Residents had to turn off all the lights on the island so the enemy didn’t know anyone was here. I’m so thankful we’re not living in that time in history anymore. I imagine it was terrifying.”
“Agreed.” Raven paused, her gaze traveling back to the remains of the house. “I’d love to get closer if it’s safe.”
Cassidy nodded. “The scene has been cleared by the fire chief. I’ve already called the State Bureau of Investigation. They’re on standby if we need their help—which we might, depending on what we uncover.”
“Hopefully, this was just a tragic accident.”
“I can’t imagine it would be anything else . . .” Cassidy paused. “Though the fact that Eleanor won the lottery could potentially make her a target.”
“Did anyone stand to inherit her money upon her death?” Raven was only here to investigate the bomb, but it couldn’t hurt to get more information.
“We’re looking into that, but she apparently has a son up in Virginia and two grandchildren. She also has one sister who’s still living, and her late husband’s brother is in California. I’ll be looking into their backgrounds, just to be thorough, and maybe even questioning a few people. You know what they say—love and money can motivate people to do some pretty awful things.”
“Unfortunately, that’s true.”
Cassidy nodded at Raven’s black designer heels. “You’ll need to be careful in the rubble.”
Raven let out a laugh. “Don’t worry—I brought different shoes. I had a meeting this morning in DC with the US Head of Antiquities, and I left right after it was over.”
Cassidy released what appeared to be a breath of relief.
Sometimes people assumed Raven got her job because of her looks and connections instead of merit. She loved proving them wrong. She had to time and time again.
She paused another moment. She’d been at scenes like this more than she’d like to admit.
Not scenesexactlylike this.
But Raven was one of the leading experts in historical artifacts in the US.
Her official job title was historical authentication specialist for the International Cultural Heritage Protection Agency (ICHPA), a United Nations-adjacent organization. She authenticated artifacts for museums, governments, and private collectors. She also investigated potentially looted or illegally obtained artifacts, provided expertise on historical weapons,and consulted with bomb disposal teams when historical explosives were found.
Her specific expertise was in warfare artifacts from the twentieth century, particularly WWII through the Cold War era. She was often called to examine unexploded ordnances found at construction sites, beaches, or in private collections.
On occasion, the FBI or Interpol contracted her services when dealing with cases involving historical weapons.
She’d traveled extensively for her career and had some significant risks associated with her job. Breaking her ankle while searching a bomb site wasn’t one of them.
Raven changed into some thick-soled boots then walked to the site. She needed to find any leftover traces of the bomb so she could piece together what might have happened. She’d asked Cassidy to leave everything in place.
