Hattie and the Main Street Bomber - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C – O 7/9
This version is rated PG-13
This story is a sequel to Hattie Kaplin - Reporter – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C - N
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
/ denotes telepathic communications./
Previously
Hattie asked, “Where did you go to school?”
“Jefferson.”
“Our kids are definitely not going to Jefferson. Maybe you’ll recognize him by this, ‘The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral!”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral!” Suddenly what she had said hit him and with a startled expression he said, “Wait a minute! OUR KIDS? Our kids aren’t going to Jefferson? OUR KIDS?”
With a wicked little grin she said, “That is, of course, unless you really insist.”
He was smiling from ear to ear as he said, “Our kids. I like the sound of that.”
“Well, they aren’t here yet and if we don’t solve this mystery they may never arrive.”
With renewed vigor JJ grabbed another story and started perusing it. He said, “This one if from Missouri too. Clanton Gang again. Hey, this one mentions the James Gang. What is it with these people taking the names of gangs from the 1880’s for their names?”
Just then Frank returned with the coffees. As he was placing them on the table Hattie said, “Frank, another assignment. Research the James Gang and the Clanton Gang. They operate in Missouri around St. Louis.”
Nodding his head in acknowledgement Frank headed out of the conference room again.
Picking up another story, JJ said, “This looks like an op-ed piece.” JJ started reading the article aloud,
”The recent dispute between the Clanton Gang and the James Gang has resulted in a number of deaths. The Clanton Gang has been losing members to mysterious explosions. The explosive being used is nitroglycerine. The retaliation against the James Gang has been violent to say the least.
The benefit to the community has been a reduction of overall criminal activity. The populace has been able to rest easier that their life savings are intact and that financial institutions have not been attacked recently.”Rifling through the articles Hattie said, “I just checked the dates on these articles. The last one is dated about eight weeks ago. According to the last one, the police were hoping to break the case shortly. They were getting close to issuing a warrant. It seems like as soon as this announcement was made the bombings stopped. I’d suspect that the bomber, whoever he is, decided to fold his tent and clear out. Now it looks like he has taken up residence here. It sure looks like if we can solve
this case, we will solve
theirs as well. What say, partner, you up for solving
two cases at the same time?”
“I’d be happy to solve
this one so that we can get on to that other thing.”
Hattie laughed and said, “Let’s not rush into anything.”
“But, you said …”
“I know, just give it some time. After all, we’ve only had two dates so far.”
With a rueful expression he replied, “Yeah, I wish I’d known that last night.”
Hattie laughed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Frank returned he was smiling. He said, “This has been a history lesson. There have been two James Gangs. One was run by Frank and Jesse James and the new one is run by Ben and Jerry. There was a gang called the Clanton Gang run by Ike Clanton and a new one being run by Frank and Rich. The heads of both gangs claim that they are descended from the original family members. That appears to be where any similarity ends. They both operate more like the Mafia and organized crime than Wild West gangs.”
JJ said, “From what we have seen, there’s one way they are alike. They kill each other off.”
Hattie replied, “I think that the one that was doing the killing with the bombs was not a regular member of the gang. I think he was, to use the old west terminology, a hired gun. Either that or he was a regular member of the gang and just took it on the lamb because the cops were getting too close.”
And now
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 07 – The Bomber strikes – Again
Friday evening
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 Canon universe also called – Prime
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Six-fifteen, Friday night, JJ knocked on Hattie’s door. As if she had been waiting for his knock, within seconds, the door opened. Hattie was dressed the same way he was, in dark jeans and top. However that was where the similarity ended. The outfit Hattie had on did nothing to conceal her figure. The dark top was almost skintight as were the jeans which just accentuated her curves. JJ was seriously distracted. He simply stood there, remembering.
* * * * * * *
He had been on numerous outings with the Kent family when Hattie had been with them and in his mind's eye he kept seeing Hattie, at the beach, in that yellow bathing suit. Even as a teen she had a striking figure. She was every bit as voluptuous as his cousins. As a teen he had been attracted to her and that attraction hadn't diminished over time. Truth be told, any time he knew that Hattie would be spending time with his cousins JJ had contrived to be there as well. He loved being with Hattie. He always felt comfortable with her. They would talk for what seemed like hours, mostly about how much she wanted to be an investigative reporter like his Aunt Lois. He had to admit to himself that was part of the reason he had gone into journalism, that and the fact that his dad and mom both worked for the Planet.
He was always comfortable with her, much more so than anyone, other than his cousins. She and he would tease each other, but Hattie never teased him about the one thing that really bothered him, his weight. As a child and young teen JJ had had a weight problem and between that and his flame colored hair he was a ripe target for all of the bullies in school. That poor self image was the reason that JJ had never asked Hattie out on a date.
It wasn’t until he went away to college that all of that changed. The food in the cafeteria wasn’t the best and that discouraged overeating. Added to that, for a PE grade he had taken a weight training class. At first it had been a real chore, but once he had gotten into the swing of it he found out that he liked it and spent a lot more than the required class time in the weight room.
It wasn’t too long until he had two movie posters adorning the walls of his dorm room. One of Arnold as the Terminator with his well muscled arm folded across his chest holding a weapon and another of Sylvester as Rocky in a fighting stance showing off his muscular arms and very well defined abs. These posters became his inspiration. He wanted to look like them.
As he started dropping weight he found that he had more energy and a buddy of his from the weight training class asked him to go with him to a Judo club. That was all it took, JJ was hooked on the martial arts. He found that he was adept at Judo, winning several tournaments in his particular weight class progressing through the belts rapidly. That led to an interest in karate. It turned out that he was better at Judo, but he did learn the fundamentals of karate well.
It had torn him up when he had gone away to college and then when he went to another city to work at the Gazette he had almost given up hope of seeing her again. When Aunt Lois had contacted him with the job offer, the idea that he would be returning to Metropolis and seeing Hattie again he couldn't accept the offer quickly enough and then when he was told that they would be partnered, he was in seventh heaven. It was simply a dream come true. He was still pinching himself.
* * * * * * *
Hattie had been expecting JJ and as soon as he knocked she was ready to open the door. When she opened the door, she got her first good look at JJ and her mouth went dry. It suddenly hit her, JJ had changed! Ever since he had come back to Metropolis all she had seen him in was suits and sometimes coveralls. He had always been her chunky friend. This was … WOW. JJ was dressed in close fitting, not skintight jeans which emphasized his now narrow waist and a black pullover long sleeve T-shirt. The shirt fit like a second skin, if she didn’t know better she would have thought the he had borrowed some of Jon’s spandex. It only served to emphasize the broad shoulders, the definition of his six-pack abs and show off his muscular arms. It looked like the sleeves were being stretched near the breaking point. Suddenly an image came to mind, an old TV show about a mild mannered scientist who, if he got angry, would turn into a green monster, ripping his shirt to shreds in the transformation. Gone was the slightly chunky guy she liked to spend time with and tease. Gone was chunky, here was hunky! In the place of her chunky friend was a red haired Adonis or action movie hero. She finally managed to pull herself together enough to say, “Wow, I mean well, yeah, I guess it’s time to go. Just let me grab your bicep, uh, bag … let me grab my bag.” Blushing from that slip, she turned and picked up her bag, taking her time in order to give herself some time to regain some control.
* * * * * * *
Six-thirty, Friday night, a few blocks away, in the alley just off the intersection of eighth and Main, two figures moved into the shadows.
At the same time, Lois was still in the office. Clark had left to deal with another mud slide in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and she needed to put the paper to bed. Lois was trying to finish up so that she could be over Main before 7:30 when there was a possibility of another bomb. She was not sure how much good it would do since they had no idea as to what the bombs looked like, but from what Hattie had deduced when she was scanning vehicles, if she saw anything unusual attached to the underside of a vehicle it could be what they were looking for. Therefore she would be looking for any foreign objects starting at about 7:15 and hoping that she didn't miss anything.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
6:45 PM
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few blocks away, in the alley just off the intersection of eighth and Main, two figures moved looking down at the pavement, Hattie said, “It has to be here somewhere. We saw it on the map.”
JJ said, “That was an old map.”
“I know, it was left off of the newer maps, probably because it isn’t used anymore. I think it’s still here.”
They were dodging around dumpsters and miscellaneous trash and finally as they approached the end of the alley Hattie let out a snort, “I *
knew* it! Here it is. Give me a hand with this thing.”
Setting her bag on the ground, she and JJ both knelt down next to the manhole cover, one on each side. There were holes in the cover just large enough for them to slip their fingers in. He said, “Let me.” He managed to raise the manhole cover and set it aside. Hattie actually didn’t contribute too much to moving the plate. She was distracted, watching the play of the muscles of his arms and abs when he moved the heavy steel plate, making it look like it was nothing at all. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, <And he’s not from the Kent side of the family. He had to work for this.>
Once the plate was out of the way, Hattie pulled a flashlight out of her bag and shined the light into the hole he had uncovered. There was a little drop. A tall man would be able to hang by his hands and only fall a foot or so, but Hattie was all of five four. By the same token a tall man would be able to, as long as the cover was off, jump up and pull himself out, but that also would be impossible for Hattie. The problem was that JJ was also not a tall guy being only five eleven.
As she was peering into the black maw of the manhole, Hattie said, “Okay, it looks like I have to be the one to go in.”
Trying to dissuade her, JJ said, “Why does it always have to be you?”
As if trying to convince him that she was correct, Hattie said, “Because I’m lighter than you. Besides, you’re so much stronger than me. You can lower me and bring me back up whereas I couldn’t do that for you. Also, you’d be better as a guard up here than me. Come on JJ, we have to check this out and get the police here before 7:30 so that they can catch this guy.”
He knew that she was just stroking his ego, but actually there wasn’t any good argument against her logic. Giving in he said, “Okay, let’s do this thing.”
After shoving her bag out of the way Hattie shifted around to sit on the edge of the manhole. She said, “If I’m right this tunnel will lead out under the street. If it does we’ll know how it’s done.”
JJ suggested, “If this is it then hopefully we will have enough time so that we can notify the police and they can stake it out and catch the guy red handed.”
She put her hands in his and said, “Right. Okay, hold on tight. Let me down slowly.” As she felt his hands grasp hers she was awed at the controlled strength she felt. She felt that if he had wanted to he could have crushed all of the bones in her hands without breaking a sweat, yet he was so gentile with her.
He was kneeling in the lip and slowly bent down lowering her into the hole. When he was as far down as he could go he said, “That’s it.”
She said, “Okay, let me drop.”
He released his grip and she fell less than a foot to the tunnel floor.
Immediately concerned he said, “You okay?”
She flashed her light around and said, “Yeah, that was perfect. Like jumping off the bottom rung of a ladder. I’m going to head down the tunnel. I’ll be back in a minute. I just want to see where this thing goes.”
He watched her light recede into the darkness. He was uncomfortable in that position so he started to straighten up. Just as he did he was slugged over the head and was out like the proverbial light.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He carried the duffle carefully; it wouldn’t do to jar it too violently, not when they were so close to success. It wouldn’t take many more of these little packages to convince the rest of the council members to vote the way they wanted.
As he moved into the alley his eyes took a second to adjust to the gloom of the shadows. When they did he spotted a figure, dressed in dark clothing kneeling at the manhole cover. He had been discovered. He would have to deal with this and permanently.
The figure at the manhole was so focused on what was below that he was able to sneak up on it. The sound of a gunshot would have drawn too much attention so he used the butt of his gun as a sap. There was a sickening thunk and the figure collapsed. He put his gun back in its holster and reached for his victim’s hands. It wasn’t until he started to drag the body away from the opening that he saw that he was still alive. <I didn’t hit him hard enough. Well, he didn’t see me so maybe I can afford to let him live.> As he was dragging him away he had a vague feeling that he recognized him. Suddenly, it came to him, that press conference. This was one of the reporters. He dragged him over behind a dumpster and dropped him, unceremoniously. Didn’t he have a partner? Where was she? He looked at the open manhole and nodded in understanding.
He moved over to the manhole and used the strap to lower the duffle to the floor of the tunnel and then he lightly dropped down the hole himself. He picked up the duffle and moved down the tunnel that had become so familiar over the past few of weeks. Just before he had dropped in he had put on a ski mask, just in case.
Confidently he moved down the tunnel. He was slightly bent over so that his head didn’t rub against the top. He saw a light bobbing up ahead and made sure that his tread was as silent as a ghost as he slowly closed the distance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hattie had been counting her paces as she moved down the tunnel. She knew that she had to be nearing the street so she swept her light from side to side and along the roof looking for any way to reach the outside world. Suddenly the confining sides of the tunnel flared out and she found that she was in a small chamber. She stopped and started flashing her light around. She was rewarded for her efforts by seeing side tunnels running north and south and metal rungs sunk in one side of the chamber leading up. Following those rungs with her light disclosed the bottom of another manhole cover. This had to be it. This was where the bombs were attached to the undercarriage of the cars as they passed overhead, the occupants all unawares that they had just been given a death sentence.
A slight noise behind her alerted Hattie that she was no longer alone and instinctively she started to duck. Between that and the fact that her hair was fluffed out in a current style which disguised the actual location of her skull the blow didn’t fall with the intended force. As a result the gun butt that was aimed at her head actually only grazed her, stunning her very briefly. She came to seconds later feeling hands on hers. She kept her eyes closed, feigning unconsciousness. She felt an object placed in her hands and then tape being wound around her hands, binding them and the object in them.
Thinking her unconscious her assailant spoke and she heard, “It’s a good thing for me I got here early tonight. I might not have known that I had been found out. I could have walked right into a trap. Such a shame. Pretty girl like you putting your nose in where it doesn’t belong. Well, actually, this works out for me. They will find their bomber or at least what’s left of her. They’ll think she accidentally blew herself up while planting a bomb. This could complicate the plan. If the bombings stop now, the council might not vote for the bill, but I don’t see any other way.”
A final strip of tape was applied and then she felt her hands moved. She heard the ratchet of a timer being set and then rapid steps receding down the tunnel.
As soon as her hands had been dropped she had peeked and saw the bomber with his back to her. She saw that he had a ski mask on so she couldn’t get a visual ID.
He was several paces away, bent over and running. It was now or never. She sat up and struggled briefly with the tape, but there was too much for her to get it free. She took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, “*
UUULLLTTTRRRAAA … WWWOOOMMMAAANNN!!!! HHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!! UULLTTRRAA WWOOMMAANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*” Even as she screamed she continued to struggle to get free.
The man running down the tunnel heard Hattie’s scream. For a second he considered going back to silence her, but knowing how short a time he had set the timer for he decided that he had to get as much distance between him and her as was possible. If he was still in the tunnel when that bomb went off, he would be as dead as her. Just as he reached the open manhole another piercing scream followed him.
The second scream ripped past him. “*
UUULLLTTTRRRAAA … WWOOMMAANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!*”
He jumped caught the lip of the manhole and lifted himself out just as another scream started.
“
UUULLLTTTRRRAAA WWWOOOMMMMAAANNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HHHHHEEEEELLLLLpppppppp!!!!!!! Ultra Woman!!!!!!!”
As he slid the manhole cover back over the hole he muffled the third scream even as it was being shouted. Turning, he ran for the end of the alley. As he ran he yanked off his mask and blending into the crowd moved down the street away from the alley.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It was a few minutes before seven and Lois was keeping an eye on the time, knowing that she would have to leave soon if she had any chance of preventing another bombing. She was looking at a story turned in for the weekend section when she heard her super name being called in a very familiar voice. Before the first shriek had died away Lois was in motion.
As she headed for the stairwell, she scanned the bullpen. A few of the night crew were milling around, mostly around the coffee station, so as quickly as she could she headed for the stairs. As soon as she was through the door she spun into her uniform and flew up the stairs to the roof access and into the air at superspeed. She knew that Hattie was working the Main Street Bomber case so it stood to reason that she would be found somewhere around there so she headed in that direction.
As she took to the air, she heard a second shriek and then as she neared Main a third was started it was suddenly cut off, but not before she was able to zero in on where it came from, somewhere off Main near eighth.
Ultra Woman landed in the alley and looked around. The sound of Hattie’s voice had definitely come from here. As she landed she heard rapid footsteps leaving the area. She briefly contemplated going after the fleeing individual, but then discounted it. The terror in Hattie’s shrieks was all too evident. She needed to find her pseudo-daughter.
She used her super vision to perform a quick scan of the immediate vicinity and when she did she spotted JJ’s unconscious form stuffed behind a dumpster. As she was kneeling next to JJ she gave the dumpster a little shove, just a flick of the wrist, which sent it screeching across the pavement for ten feet. Once the dumpster was moved aside she dragged JJ upright and propped him against the wall.
She gently slapped his cheeks and he started to come around. She was shouting, “JJ! JJ! Come on JJ, wake up! JJ, come on!”
He was disoriented, but his first word was “Hattie!”
Lois put her hands on both sides of his face, forcing him to look at her. She said, “JJ, where’s Hattie?”
Still foggy, he replied, “Down.”
“Down where, JJ? Tell me, down where?”
“Down the manhole.”
“What manhole?”
He waved in the general direction of the back of the alley.
Ultra Woman used her supervision again and spotted a manhole cover partially covered by debris. At superspeed she zoomed to the manhole cover and picked it up, setting it aside. Then she heard it again, “*
Ultra Woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!*”
Lois dropped down into the tunnel and followed the sounds of Hattie’s voice.
She found Hattie with a bomb duct taped to her hands and struggling to get free. Lois could see the timer and knew that there were only seconds remaining until detonation. She ripped the duct tape and grabbed the bomb. Shifting into superspeed she retraced her path to the manhole cover and soared into the air. As soon as she was above the surrounding buildings she flung the bomb up and away. Five seconds later it exploded. By that time, however, she was already back in the under street tunnel.
She helped Hattie remove the rest of the tape and then to stand. She asked, “How did this happen?”
Hattie replied, “I know how it was done and I think I know who the bomber is.”
Ultra Woman, dropped her stoic demeanor and reverting to Lois said, “Way to go girl, but did you have to get yourself almost blown up to prove your point?”
With a contrite smile, Hattie replied, “It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. I was supposed to confirm how it was done and then get the police so that they could do a stakeout. I’m just glad my guardian angel was watching out for me. Can we get out of here now? I have one last stop to make before I have all of the proof I need.”
“Holding out on me huh? I guess you’re going to make me wait until you file the story, is that it?”
With a wicked little grin and a laugh Hattie replied, “Why, Ultra Woman, I guess you’ll just have to read the Daily Planet to find out the answer.”
Lois laughed in reply and said, “At least I’ll see it before it hits the streets.”
Ultra Woman helped Hattie get up to the alley. As soon as she was out Hattie saw JJ sitting against the wall. She rushed over to him and knelt down taking his hand in hers, “JJ, are you okay? … JJ, speak to me.”
Looking up at her with bleary eyes he asked, “Is working with you always going to be like this?”
“Like what?”
“Almost getting arrested, getting hit over the head, maybe almost getting killed? What good is Judo or karate if someone sneaks up behind you and knocks you out?”
“Not much, I guess. I hope it isn’t always this bad.”
As he struggled to get to his feet with Hattie’s assistance he said, “I hope not too.”
Lois said, “If the two of you will promise to not get into any more trouble, I’ll head back to the office.”
JJ, still shook up from having been knocked out said, “Thanks, Au … Ultra Woman.”
Hattie chimed in, “Yeah, thanks, Ultra Woman. I’ll see to it that he gets home okay.”
Ultra Woman said, “Be careful. The bad guy’s still out there you know.”
Hattie replied, “Yeah, we know and we’ll be careful.”
As Ultra Woman disappeared into the sky, Hattie moved over and picked up her bag. She moved back over and taking his hand, pulled a stumbling JJ along in her wake. She said, “Come on. We have to get to STAR Labs.”
Out on the street she hailed a cab. One of the benefits she received from having her bright red hair and striking figure was the fact that usually, when she signaled for a cab, she didn’t have to wait very long for one to pull up to the curb. She and JJ climbed in and she gave the destination.
Fifteen minutes later they were dropped off in front of the lab.
Approaching the front desk she introduced herself, “Hattie Kaplin, Daily Planet. Is Doctor Bernard Klein still in his lab?”
The receptionist laughed and said, “We have to practically blast him to get him out and make him go home, especially right now, with his assistant, Jon Kent away. Let me check.” She picked up a phone and called. “He’ll be right here.”
“Thanks.” Hattie paced as they waited what seemed like an hour, but which was probably more like five minutes. She spotted him as he came through into the lobby. She had met him several times at functions at the Kent house so she recognized him as soon as he came in.
She rushed over to him and said, “Doctor Klein, I hope you remember me, I’m Hattie Kaplin. I’m a friend of Lois and Clark, as well as Jon Kent and his brothers and sisters.”
“Ahhh, yes, I thought I had seen you before. How are they? I haven’t seen Jon since the wedding. Aren’t they due back from their honeymoon soon?”
“Yes, they’re due back this weekend.”
Giving her and JJ a second look he said, “Say, weren’t both of you in the wedding party?”
“Yes, yes we were.”
JJ supplied, “I’m Jon’s cousin.”
Dr. Klein was impressed and asked, “Well, what can I do for you?”
“Doctor Klein, is there a way to detect nitroglycerine?”
“I assume you mean by some way other than blowing something up with it.”
“Yes, I mean, if someone that worked with nitroglycerine were to handle something, would it rub off and if it did, could that residue be detected?”
“Of course, there are a number of analyses that can demonstrate the presence of nitroglycerine.”
“Can you detect it on paper?”
“Actually paper is an excellent media for soaking up nitroglycerine and it is easily extracted from it as well. What do you have?”
Hattie reached into her bag and pulled out a business card in a plastic baggie. She handed it to him and said, “I think you’ll find nitro on this card. Can we come and watch you while you check?”
“Sure, come right this way.” He led the way to his lab. Once inside he said, “Let me see.” He pulled out a reference text book and turned to the index. Found the page he was interested in and muttered, “UhHmmmmm. Okay.”
He put the book down and moved over to a lab bench. He pulled out some reagent and measured a quantity into a graduated cylinder. He poured this into a beaker and then opening the bag he used forceps to pick up the card and dropped it into the beaker. He used a glass stirring rod to stir the contents for a minute and then he let it sit while he moved over and turned on a machine.
Hattie asked, “What is that?”
“That? Oh, that is a liquid chromatograph.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
With the air of a magician preparing to perform a feat of legerdemain, he pulled on the sleeves of his lab coat as he said, “Observe. Watch closely now! Please note that at no time do my hands leave my wrists.” He was chuckling at his own joke as he moved over and picked up the beaker and brought it and a syringe over to the machine. He sobered and said, “Sorry, but sometimes analytical chemistry can seem like magic to the non-scientist.” He sucked up a measured amount of the reagent with the syringe and injected it into a port on the machine. When he did, he marked a trace coming from a recorder. The cross lines marked off seconds and minutes. They watched the tracing and suddenly the pen started wiggling back and forth across the paper. He said, “That’s the reagent. It comes through first. Now we wait for the active ingredient.” When it hit a certain time the pen deflected very strongly. After some more time had elapsed the pen started wiggling again. “Ahhh, that would be the inks.” Less than a minute later, more wiggles, “That would be the sizing.” Noting their expression, he explained, “Chemicals used to bind the wood fibers together to make the paper.” Doctor Klein circled the main peak, checked the time to confirm it and said, “Yep, you’ve got nitroglycerine all right and a lot of it. How did you get this sample?”
Hattie smiled a self-satisfied smile and replied, “It was given to me, along with a splitting headache the other day. Thank you Doctor Klein. Can you give me something that says just what you found, where and how much?”
“Sure, I can document it right now. Keep in mind that I didn’t do a calibration so I can’t quantify what’s there. All I can do is say what we found. Hold on.” Doctor Klein used a standard analysis report form to document his findings, signing it with a flourish.
Hattie fished in the beaker with the forceps and pulled out the card. She blew on it to dry the solvent and once it was sufficiently dry, dropped it back into the plastic bag.
Looking up from what she had just done and taking the report that Doctor Klein offered, she said, “Thank you, Doctor Klein, you’ve just helped solve a big case. Let’s go JJ.”
“Where?”
“MPD Headquarters. We are handing them a bomber, on a silver platter.”
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