The Burning Wire (Lincoln Rhyme 9)

Seventy-five feet of cable and a dozen split bolts. So far he'd used about thirty feet of the stolen wire.

As he disconnected, Rhyme noticed that Pulaski was on the phone, head down. The officer looked up and met his boss's eyes. He ended his call quickly--and guiltily--and walked over to the evidence table. He started to reach for one of the tools he'd collected and then froze, realizing he didn't have latex gloves on. He pulled on a pair, cleaned the rubber fingers and palm with the dog-hair roller. Then he picked up the bolt cutter.

A comparison of the tool marks showed that both it and the hacksaw were the same tools used to create the trap at the bus stop, and the boots were the same brand and size too.

But that just confirmed what they already knew: Raymond Galt was the perp.

They took a look at the paper and the pens the young officer had collected from Galt's apartment. They could determine no source, but the paper and the ink in the Bics were virtually the same as had been used in the demand note.

What they discovered next was much more disturbing.

Cooper was studying the results from the gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer. He said, "Got some trace here. Found it in two separate locations: the lace of the boots and the handle of the bolt cutter in Galt's apartment. And then the sleeve of the worker who'd been attacked by Galt in the tunnel downtown, Joey Barzan."

"And?" Rhyme asked.

"It's a kerosene derivative, with minute amounts of phenol and dinonylnaphthylsulfonic acid added."

Rhyme said, "It's standard jet A fuel. The phenol is an antigumming substance and the acid is an antistatic agent."

"But there's more," Cooper continued. "Something odd, a form of natural gas. Liquefied, but stable across a wide range of temperatures. And . . . get this, traces of biodiesel."

"Check the fuel database, Mel."

A moment later the tech said, "Got it. It's an alternative aviation fuel that's being tested now. Mostly in military fighters. It's cleaner and it cuts down on fossil-fuel use. They say it'll be the wave of the future."

"Alternative energy," Rhyme mused, wondering how this piece of the puzzle fit. But one thing he knew. "Sachs, call Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. FAA too. Tell them our boy may have been checking out fuel depos or air bases."

An arc flash was bad enough. Combined with jet propellant, Rhyme couldn't even imagine the devastation.

CRIME SCENE: BATTERY PARK

HOTEL AND SURROUNDINGS

* * *

--Victims (deceased):

--Linda Kepler, Oklahoma City, tourist.

--Morris Kepler, Oklahoma City, tourist.

--Samuel Vetter, Scottsdale, businessman.

--Ali Mamoud, New York City, waiter.

--Gerhart Schiller, Frankfurt, Germany, advertising executive.

--Remote control switch for turning on current.

--Components not traceable.

--Bennington cable and split bolts, identical to first attack.

--Galt's Algonquin uniform, hard hat and gear bag with his friction ridge prints, no others.

--Wrench with tool marks that can be associated with tool marks on bolts at first crime scene.

--Rat-tail file with glass dust that can be associated with glass from bottle found at substation scene in Harlem.