2بخش

There we go.

Each digit of the right hand has been severed between the middle and distal phalanges.

Thanks.

Angle of shearing indicates a single sharp-force trauma, possibly caused by shrapnel.

No.

No, it’s too even to be shrapnel trauma.

Posterior charring gives off a strong odor, suggesting perimortem immersion in burning fuel.

Diesel.

Accelerant, maybe?

I don’t know.

If she was that close to the bomb, she probably wouldn’t be laying here now.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

You got a UV gun?

Yeah, on the table behind you.

CARLIN: You see that?

Duct tape.

Mmm-hmm.

What’s that stippling?

You see that?

Adhesive probably retained some substance against the water.

Yeah.

Yeah, go ahead.

I ran down those MPRs for you.

A Claire Kuchever was reported missing this morning.

Supposed to pick up her father from the airport, pulled a no-show.

Okay.

All right, Phil, I want you to do a full autopsy.

Concentrate on time and cause.

Full spread of lab tests.

Everything.

Just pretend like the ferry explosion never happened today, okay?

Absolutely.

Claire?

She’s beautiful, huh?

Yeah.

Very.

You’ll need a photograph for your investigation, right?

There’s plenty in the house.

Plenty to choose from.

Mr. Kuchever, I’m sorry about this, but I’m gonna need you to confirm your daughter’s identity.

Okay.

Uh, now, anything that you can tell me about your daughter’s activities over the weekend, or any time, anything at all, will be helpful.

Well, I don’t know.

My flight got in at 8:00 a.m. this morning, and she was supposed to pick me up, but she wasn’t there.

I thought maybe she just overslept, so I took a cab and I went straight to her house.

Her and Alan’s car was gone, so I thought maybe she’d just finally sold it.

Who’s Alan?

Her fiance.

Or ex-fiance.

They broke up a few months ago.

And where is he now, Alan?

He moved to Montreal.

Okay.

She was too good for him, anyway.

I got a sweater that she left, if you want to take it.

No, that’s okay.

But if you have keys to her house, I would appreciate it.

Oh, she.

she had a date.

Last night on the phone, she told me that she was gonna meet someone, but she didn’t say who.

Her friend Beth set it up.

Beth.

Beth Walsh.

Claire baby-sits her daughter, Abbey, sometimes.

Okay.

Thank you.

That’s good for now.

Somebody’ll be in touch.

Agent Carlin?

Doug.

I want you to take these.

Well, that’s.

Just go through them when you get a chance.

Well, it’s really not necessary.

Yes, it is.

See, I know how these things go, Agent Carlin, and I need her to matter to you.

WOMAN: Monday, 7:48 p.m.

KUCHEVER: Hi, Claire.

It’s Dad.

My flight gets in at 7:55 tomorrow morning, so don’t stay up too late.

Love you.

Bye-bye.

WOMAN: Tuesday, 9:44 a.m.

Claire?

Hi, it’s Beth.

Are you there?

I’m sorry to call you so early, but you said you were gonna call me when you got home, and when you didn’t, I started to get worried.

CLAIRE: Beth, is this a joke?

BETH: Oh, hey, hey!

No.

Like.

Like I said, I was just worried about you, that’s all.

I can’t talk right now.

Someone’s here.

I’ll call you later.

Claire.

WOMAN: Tuesday, 9:50 a.m.

Tuesday, 10:04 a.m.

Claire, it’s Dad.

I did say 7:55, didn’t I?

I’m here at the airport, waiting for you.

If you’re not coming, I hope you’re sending Beth or someone.

Call me.

WOMAN: Tuesday, 1:18 p.m.

Yeah, this is ATF Agent Doug Carlin returning your call.

My cell number is 504-555-0130.

WOMAN: Tuesday, 1:18 p.m.

Yeah, this is ATF Agent Doug Carlin returning your call.

My cell number is 504-555-0130.

The blast wave initiated here, hit the bulkhead and propagated fore and aft along the path of least resistance until it hits this access hatch.

Uh, and that’s where it gets really bad.

STALHUTH: The blast wave continues into the engine room, bursting the fuel tanks.

This utility shaft here acts like a chimney, draws the thermal components into the engine room, which ignites the fuel vapor, causing a secondary explosion of far greater magnitude.

PRYZWARRA: Essentially, the initial device turns the whole ferry into a bomb and detonates it.

And so our early guess is that the bomb vehicle was a minivan or SUV.

Possibly red or tan.

McCREADY: Make and model?

Take weeks, maybe months.

I got a partial on the license plate.

Shit.

Check all the SUVs and minivans that are registered in the state.

Anything recently rented or purchased, anything tied to a theft or a missing persons report.

Agent McCready?

Yeah.

Doug Carlin, ATF.

Oh, yeah.

Oklahoma City.

Right.

That’s right.

This afternoon, I witnessed an autopsy of a young woman who washed up off the Poland Wharf.

Heavy fuel burns, traces of PETN on her face.

PETN, that’s the base explosive used by domestic terrorists.

She also lost several fingers in what appeared to be blast damage.

Appeared?

That’s right.

I checked the tide tables against the position of the blast.

For her to have washed up that early and that far upriver, she would’ve had to have been killed two hours before the ferry exploded.

Before?

She died before the explosion?

She died before the explosion, yeah.

Her name is Claire Kuchever.

She washed up before the explosion and against the tide.

Do you have a scenario?

Yes, I do.

I believe that somebody abducted her in her home, taped her mouth, bound her wrists, burned her alive, dumped her in the river

so she would appear to be just another disaster victim.

A disaster that hadn’t happened yet.

But the PETN tells us that the bomber came in direct contact with the victim.

You solve her case, you solve this case.

Why this woman?

Good question.

Her SUV is missing.

It’s a tan and red Bronco.

It could have been stolen to drive the bomb to the ferry.

Oh, one more thing.

The victim called the local ATF office the morning of the explosion.

Yeah.

We’ll look into it.

Okay.

All right.

Okay.

Where’s Larry?

What?

Larry Minuti, my partner.

That’s his car right there.

Is he here?

I thought you said he was on vacation.

Yeah, that’s right.

What?

Those cars were brought here from the Algiers ferry parking lot.

They’re the vehicles that belonged to the victims.

Sorry.

So he’s a former Marine?

Yes, sir.

Yeah.

Local, too.

He’s born and bred in New Orleans.

His family still in the area?

Nope.

Nothing, really, but his job.

You like him?

He’s smart.

Yeah, I like him, too.

All right.

Let’s go find him.

Oklahoma City.

Yeah.

You and Larry were close?

Yeah.

Yeah, you know, close enough to get on each other’s nerves.

Doug, I’ve been put in charge of a newly-formed investigative unit.

The ferry disaster is our first case, and I want you on the team.

Why me?

We’ve got some unique time constraints.

I need someone who can look at a crime scene exactly one time, tell us what’s missing, tell us what shouldn’t be there, tell us what we can ignore and, especially, what we need to pursue.

Also, you’re local.

You know the people and you know the area.

But why an ATF guy?

Why not?

It’s your shot.

You want to find the guy who killed Minuti, don’t you?

Yes, I do.

I guess you’ve got some questions.

For me to have questions, first I’d need to know something.

Now I do have some questions.

Don’t touch anything.

We don’t need you yet.

Doug, you remember Dr. Alexander Denny.

Where’s my audio?

Compensating for audio delay.

Just a second.

Oh, compensating for a technical blunder by a tech guy.

Solid stream.

Minus four days, six hours, three minutes, 45 seconds.

GUNNARS: And 14 and a half nanoseconds.

DENNY: Okay.

Anytime you want to jump in here, be my guest.

Me?

Yeah.

What are we looking for?

You know, clues, suspects, anything out of the norm.

When was this taken?

DENNY: Four and a half days ago.

Gunnars, try the guy with the backpack.