Chapter 1 Vanessa Abbot and Pete Wheeler strolled down the main street of Caspar Crossing. Their joined hands swung to the rhythm of their stride. Pete stopped in front of the bank. “I should get back to work. My lunch break is over.”
Vanessa nodded. “Will I see you later?”
“I have to go to a department meeting tonight,” he told her. “Why don’t we put it off until tomorrow?”
“I can’t see you tomorrow,” she replied. “I’m meeting the state representative from the Cat Protection League. What about Friday?”
He laughed. “Listen to us. We have to plan our meetings around our social schedules.” His phone jingled in his pocket and he examined the screen.
“I have to go. There’s been an accident over at the aluminum plant.”
“What happened?” Vanessa asked.
He held up his phone. “The call-out says a ruptured gas line caught fire. Someone has been killed, and two others wounded.”
Vanessa grimaced. “How awful.”
“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked. “You can help me with the investigation.”
Vanessa backed away. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. What would Captain Jameson say?”
“He won’t mind,” Pete replied. “He knows you helped solve the last two cases. Besides, you’re just coming along. You won’t be doing any real police work.”
“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “What if you get into trouble?”
“I won’t,” he replied. “I wouldn’t offer if there was any chance of that happening. Come on.”
Vanessa smiled. “All right.” She fell in at his side.
“But we won’t be able to hold hands,” he told her. “We have to keep it strictly professional.”
“Right,” she replied.
They crossed the town, passed the rail station, and arrived at the aluminum plant. Police cars and uniformed officers cordoned off the site, but they waved Pete and Vanessa through. Pete checked in with the guard at the front gate, who directed them to the foundry on the east side of the plant.
Fire trucks, ambulances, water tankers, and dozens of people surrounded the building as a dense black cloud of smoke billowed out of the roof. Pete sidled up to another plain-clothes detective. “Do you know what happened?”
The other detective shrugged. “One of the gas lines blew. It was one of the lines supplying the main furnace, and when the line gave out, the pilot light of the furnace ignited the gas. There was one huge explosion. The first victim was Ronald Eastman, one of the pipe fitters. He was fixing a hinge on the cover of the main forge. The impact knocked him off his scaffolding and he fell fifty feet onto the floor below. The fall killed him instantly. The other victims were already on the floor, and they were only injured.”
“Does anyone know what caused the line to fail?” Pete asked.
“It could have been anything,” the other detective replied. “Maybe it had some weakness. Who knows?”
“Is the building secure?” Pete asked.
The man gestured toward the fire crew. “Ask them. I haven’t been inside to find out.”
Pete nodded and went to talk to the fire crew. He came back to Vanessa’s side. “They say it’s secure. Let’s go in.”
Vanessa glanced up at the smoke. “Are you sure this is a good idea? The place could explode again.”
He shook his head. “The gas is turned off. The power is turned off. The whole plant has been shut down until we find out what caused the accident. Now come on.”
He led her through the bustle of emergency personnel to the main door. They tiptoed into the foundry and peered around. Everywhere on all sides, gleaming metal equipment towered to the ceiling. Only one giant container with pipes running all around it stood black and destroyed in the middle of the main floor.
“I guess that’s the forge that blew up,” Vanessa remarked.
Pete nodded. “I don’t think we’re going to get a chance to inspect the gas line that broke either. It