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Again, Tolifson regarded Starr, who said, “No.” Then she had a thought. “But is there something we wouldn’t’ve heard of in Public Safety? Something civil?” She was speaking to Tolifson. “Any run-ins with land rights issues or zoning with corporations?”

Colter and Dorion shared a look.

Their father had surely been paranoid but one thing that he had not imagined, a particular corporation was headed up by a CEO who was more than willing to murder—in his case to pave the way so that the corporation itself could actually run for political office.

Tolifson considered this. “No, just your basic planning and zoning issues. Small time. Mostly residential or retail.”

The young officer continued, “Any strike marks against the city? Something racial or ethnic? Prejudice, you know.”

“God no,” he said. “Hinowah? Why did you think of that?”

“Saw a movie.Bad Day at Black Rock. Whole town was behind a racist killing. And, let’s face it, Hinowah is not the most diverse town on the face of the earth.”

Tolifson said, “Well, no. And don’t bring up stuff like that. Rumors get started that way.”

“Yessir.”

Tamara Olsen stepped away and made a phone call. A moment later, still holding the mobile, she said, “I’m talking to my commander. If you want I can arrange for some bomb curtains.”

Colter was familiar with the huge blankets of chain or steel mesh. They were placed over the ground by construction crews during foundation blasting to keep stone shrapnel from flying through the air. “It’s a good idea. If therearemore explosives, curtains’ll limit the damage. And even if there aren’t, they’ll slow the erosion.”

Tolifson asked, “How soon can you get them here?”

She continued her conversation, then disconnected, turning back to the others.

“Choppers’re still socked in. Ceiling goes up another five hundred feet, they’ll be in the air. They’ll pick up the curtains at the depot in Oakland, be here in a half hour.”

Then Debi Starr was shaking her head as she gazed out over the levee. “What’syouropinion, Colter? Misfire or it’s still live and somebody’s waiting to blow the rest?”

Colter said, “No idea. But I know one easy way to find out.”

Tolifson, Starr and Olsen looked his way.

“Figure out who’s behind it and ask them.”

24.

Time Elapsed from Initial Collapse: 7 Hours

“Vultures,” Dorion said.

She was thinking back to some of the jobs she’d had.

Fires in particular.

“Vultures.” Tolifson was looking up, expecting birds.

Olsen and Starr kept their eyes on her, suspecting that something more figurative was at hand.

“It’s a phenomenon we run into all the time with a disaster. And frankly I think it’s an insult to the birds. People appear at the site after an incident where there’s been significant loss of residences to fire, flood, tsunami…Anything but a toxic spill, since that ruins the ground for a long, long time.

“Well, houses and small businesses are gone, and the vultures descend—brokers and speculators are on the scene almost as fast as first responders. They go into a song and dance about how hard it’s going to be to rebuild and deal with the insurance company. ‘You’ll never recover enough to make yourself whole if you want to rebuild. It’s better and cheaper to move someplace else—where there won’t be any bad memories. And we’ll give you cash. Right now, here’s a check!’ They buy up the land for a song and put in buildings of their own.”

“People really do that?” Olsen’s face tightened with disgust.

“And a lot of victims go for it. They’re numb, vulnerable. But the money? Whatever the brokers say, it’s never really enough to get a leg up in a new life. And, yes, there may be bad memories of the disaster itself but ultimately peoplewantto stay where their home was and rebuild.”

Starr said, “But we’re not talking natural disaster here. This is sabotage and attempted murder. You ever hear of anybody actuallycreatinga disaster themselves to buy up the land?”