Flash Freeze, chapter 6
When eco-terrorists strike ... or not
Hey, guys - I’m getting so close to the end that I forgot to post the next chapter again. If you spot mistakes, I don’t mind you “unofficial beta readers” pointing them out.
So far, the team has a short list of suspects. Now, you know that often in mysteries the author parades suspect after suspect before you, eliminating each one, until at the very end you discover it was someone else entirely. Then there are the plots where you meet the perpetrator early on, but they have an alibi or don’t seem suspicious at all. Then there are those who just keep popping up, pushing their way to the top of the list.
Which one is Athena going to visit today? I mean, you’ve got to like Cody Rivers, but does likability make one innocent? I’ll leave the sleuthing to you!
Chapter 6
Twenty-six-year-old Cody Rivers worked for a local solar power outfit and lived in a house that looked like it should belong to his grandmother. The whitewashed, wood-sided house sat in an older part of town, gray shutters framing the windows and a detached garage tucked off to one side. While it was clearly old, he’d made some upgrades—most conspicuously the solar panels on the roof. The concrete driveway, sidewalk, and front steps were stained and cracked, and the grass was spotty. However, inviting shade trees graced both the narrow front and back yards, promising relief from the summer heat.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” Bach said as he walked up to Athena, who stood on the sidewalk surveying the property.
“You looked it up,” she answered. “Young fellow, single … this appears to be in his price range. See the energy-efficient windows and solar panels, the electric car plugged into the garage?”
His eyes followed her hand as she motioned toward the items. “OK. I’ll knock on the door. You stay behind me in case he has a bad reaction to law enforcement. Not that you aren’t perfectly capable of subduing a suspect, but it’d cost a mint to get blood out of your nice suit, while mine came from Sears.”
Athena regarded him coolly, while inwardly laughing at his attempt to be gallant without suggesting a woman was incapable. “If you insist.” Not everything was worth fighting over.
