Thank you to everyone who took the time to review this new story. As you know, I don't like to take long breaks between posting new chapters, so since Chapter 2 was ready to go, I decided to post before the weekend. Enjoy!

Embers

Chapter 2

Connections

The ride back to the office was quiet. Jane had gleaned nothing from the crime scene, and so far no witnesses had come forward with information about the bombing. Nothing more could be learned about the crime until Forensics filed a report regarding the incendiary device, and any surveillance footage was examined. For now, there was little else to do. Van Pelt was re-filling her coffee mug when the team came into the bullpen.

"You smell like you've been barbequed!" she groaned, waving her hand over her nose as Wayne came over to say hello.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'll have to get this suit dry cleaned" he moaned, hating the odour smoke always left in his clothes.

"Occupational hazard" Van Pelt smiled as she brushed past him on her way back to her desk.

Jane had disappeared as soon as he entered the building, and when he reappeared 20 minutes later, he was freshly showered, wearing a new suit. He kept extra clothes upstairs in his "thinking room" and availed himself of the showers in the gym downstairs, so he always seemed immaculately groomed. As he walked past Rigsby, he wafted his hand over his nose, pretending to be offended by the acrid smell coming off his friend and co-worker.

"Really? You too?" Rigsby groused, irked that Jane could make a comment without a word.

"I didn't say anything" Jane grinned, pointing towards the showers. "Go, get cleaned up. I'll hold down the fort" he grinned, seeing Grace smile in agreement.

"Okay okay!" Rigsby moaned, but was glad to be given tacit permission to go and get freshened up. He passed Cho in the hall, who was freshly washed and wearing casual clothes from his go bag. Geez, everyone was so organized around here!

By the time Rigsby returned, smelling great (at least Grace thought so), Lisbon had called a quick meeting to find out what, if anything, had been learned so far.

"Grace, what did you find out while we were gone?"

Van Pelt held up a sheet of paper with some quick notes on it. Scant information to share.

"Well, there have been a series of mysterious bombings around the city in the last 2 months. Pieces of small incendiary devices that someone with training could assemble at home without too much hassle were found at each crime scene."

"And we're just hearing about it now?" Lisbon said in amazement.

"Sac PD was investigating but didn't see a need to issue a public warning after each bombing" Grace said, noting Jane's eye roll.

"Because someone bombing random sites around the city of Sacramento couldn't possibly raise suspicions of a serial bomber…" Jane smirked. Cho nodded and had a question of his own.

"Any indication our perp could have been militarily trained to make bombs?" Cho asked.

Grace looked at her notes.

"The devices weren't very sophisticated, but then, they didn't do much harm until today. So, we won't really know if we are dealing with an ex-military perp until we have a look at today's bomb."

"Did the local PD find any link between the earlier bombings?" Rigsby asked. "Forensic evidence, eye witness details, anything?"

"Nothing. Each bombing was separate and unique, with nothing connecting them. No one saw anything, heard anything. The guy is a phantom" Grace said with a sigh.

"They're all connected" Jane said softly, his index finger on his bottom lip. All eyes turned to Jane.

"How so?" Lisbon asked, not surprised that her consultant made a sweeping statement so early in the investigation.

Jane sat on his sofa and steepled his fingers. "Where did each bombing take place Grace?"

"Ummm...the first one was on McDougal Street, poor neighbourhood, poor security. The place was a school of art for local, disadvantaged kids. They went there after school and on weekends. There wasn't a lot of serious damage, and no one was hurt, but the owner was so scared he shut it down and left as soon as he could get out of his lease"

"Ok, an art school. Next?" Jane asked.

"A few weeks later, a playground over on Dorchester was bombed. The equipment was old to start with, and the bomb was bigger this time. It pretty much destroyed the whole corner of the park. Again, no witnesses and no security camera footage."

"He's escalating his attacks. Next?"

"Next...a basketball court in Eastside Downs. Poor neighbourhood. The court was in rough shape, now it doesn't exist at all. Lastly, it was the bombing today at the art gallery downtown. This time the bomb was deadly. We're waiting so see who the victims were, but we are going on the assumption one is the gallery owner, and the other could be a customer or someone else who worked in the gallery."

"Still think they're all linked Jane?" Cho asked, arms folded over his chest.

"Yes, but the motive is still unclear. Three of the places attracted children. The first place was specifically designed to attract school kids. A wonderful enterprise and one that will be sadly missed in that neighbourhood. The other of course was an actual playground - again, it attracts kids. The basketball court was open to anyone at any age."

"But today's bombing was uptown, in an upscale neighbourhood, a place that doesn't really attract school aged kids. Jane? How is that connected?" Wayne asked, puzzled by the break in logic.

"Exactly, it shouldn't attract kids. So why place a bomb there?"

Lisbon, Cho, Wayne and Grace looked at Jane, trying to see what he had understood so quickly. It was so clear to him, but Jane realized he'd have to spell it out for his friends.

"Did you see some of the art that was lying around when we were there at the gallery today? Pretty salacious stuff. Would you want your children to see art like that?" Jane asked the group.

"Uh...well...no. Not young kids anyway" Wayne said, thinking of his son Ben.

"So the link between all four bombings isn't art...it's kids, isn't it Jane?" Lisbon spoke up, seeing the logic now.

Jane smiled and nodded in appreciation. "Someone thinks the kids of Sacramento are not being well served, not by the city, not by our art community. I think we have a moral vigilante on our hands. One who can blow up the sinners who corrupt or damage children" Jane surmised.

"But kids could have been hurt at that playground!" Wayne stammered, horrified at the idea.

"No...no kids were ever in any danger, our perp blew that playground up well after neighbourhood kids were in bed for the night. He didn't want to hurt them, but he wanted to shut down that old, dangerous playground. In his mind, he was doing them a favour."

"Great. A lone wolf is out there righting wrongs with bombs" Lisbon muttered.

"If...Jane is right about our perp, then our guy has a grudge against people who don't serve the best interests of kids, but only by his warped standards" Cho agreed cautiously. "Why blow up an after-school art school? Wasn't that helping the kids?"

"So says a rational man. But our guy isn't exactly thinking straight if what Jane says is true" Lisbon added. Cho had a good point. To anyone with common sense, that after-school program was a benefit, not a detriment.

Cho, Lisbon, Van Pelt and Rigsby all silently turned to stare at Jane again, who was lost in thought. When the silence became obvious, Jane roused himself and met their eyes in surprise.

"Anything to add?" Lisbon asked her consultant.

"Hey I don't have all the answers! I can't do all the heavy lifting around here!" he complained in mock affront.

Mission accomplished, the small group broke up with snickers of derision and returned to their desks. Grinning at getting a rise out of his team mates, Jane stood up to wander back to Lisbon's office with her. Once inside he flopped down on her sofa and crossed his arms, content to watch her work. Lisbon leaned back in her chair and rocked slightly, deep in thought. Jane closed his eyes to think about the bomber, his motivations, his skewed view of the world, and where he could strike next. Without a doubt, there most assuredly would be another bombing in the city.

"I don't get it Jane" Lisbon said, her chin now resting on her palm as she stared off into space. "Why bomb something good?"

Opening his eyes, Jane nodded, unable at the moment to see what could be wrong with teaching kids how to draw and paint, sculpt and create in a safe environment. One idea had been brewing in the back of his mind since they came back to the office.

"What if it's not only about the kids? What if it isn't even about the art classes?"

Shaking her head in confusion, Lisbon waited for Jane to continue.

"There's more here to be dissected Lisbon. What do we know about the guy who opened the school?"

Lisbon didn't know. There hadn't been enough time to research the owner/operator of the school just yet. Another job for Grace…

"No idea Jane. But Grace can start to dig into the owner's history. See if he has anything in common with the gallery owner. Siblings perhaps? Former business partners? Lovers? Could be anything, or nothing at all."

"Hmmm."

Jane wasn't ready to offer up any more suggestions as to motive or connections between the crimes. But he knew there was one, somewhere. For now, it was up to Forensic analysis of the bomb fragments and Van Pelt's computer skills to hone in on their bomber before he detonated another device.

Across town, Virgil had settled himself in front of his old TV and chewed on a slice of pizza, waiting for the latest news. The top story of the day was about a bombing at a prestigious art gallery in tony uptown Sacramento. Virgil leaned forward to listen intently, a smile splitting his face. Cameras captured the chaos of the now destroyed gallery, a smoking ruin where only this morning it showcased lewd, disturbing images under the guise of "art". He couldn't help but smile to see how well his bomb had worked. Yellow police tape cordoned off the site as curious onlookers gawped at the firefighters and police on scene as their investigation began. Several people in suits wearing vests labelled "CBI" were also shown on camera as they walked the scene and spoke to the various branches of law enforcement. Virgil was only vaguely aware of the CBI, but knew they were some sort of State police department. Seeing them there only made him feel more proud of himself. People were finally paying attention! At least tonight he could close his eyes and rest, knowing he had appeased the Universe in some small way. He had taken another small step towards making the world a better place. If only everyone else understood how important his work was! While he was sad that two people had died in the blast, he could only let the blame fall on them. They were responsible for their own deaths. He had only made their exit from this world go a little quicker than they had planned.

(CBI - Morning)

Grace was at work bright and early the next morning, eager to see what her search engine had uncovered in the lives of both art studio owners. If there was any connection between the two men, her algorithm would show it. Soon Wayne showed up, having learned that the best way to spend some alone time with the lovely Grace Van Pelt was to show up before Cho or Lisbon came in. No one ever knew when Jane would saunter in so he couldn't factor him into his careful plans. As if Jane didn't already know how much Rigsby loved Grace. But in fairness to the know-it-all, he never said a word or betrayed their closeness to anyone in authority.

"Morning Grace" Wayne smiled, putting a rich caramel frappuccino on the edge of her desk.

"Mmmm, yummy! Thanks! Good morning to you too Wayne!" Grace smiled back.

"Ahh...any luck finding links between our art people?" Wayne asked clumsily. Grace managed to both unsettle him and energize him at the same time.

She turned back to her screen to read the report. Soon a small smile formed, yes, there was something there.

"It looks like the art school teacher and the gallery owner were ex-military, but separated generationally by very different overseas missions. The gallery owner was only 42, had served in the army for 20 years. The after-school program was run by a man who had served in Vietnam, a retired school teacher using his own time and money to teach kids. Sound like good people" she said sadly.

"I wonder if they knew each other?" Wayne asked.

"We'll find out soon enough. I'm sure the Boss will have the art school operator in for an interview."

Wayne leaned down to inhale Grace's perfume just as Lisbon came around the corner.

"Ahh, good work Van Pelt!" he said hastily before he lurched off for his own desk. Grace was already busy typing on her keyboard and didn't notice Wayne's red face. Lisbon just sighed and went to her office.

When Cho and Jane finally arrived Grace presented her findings to the team and left it to Lisbon to call the art teacher in for an interview. For now, it was up to Forensics to give them more of a lead.

Mid-morning a new case dropped in their laps and the team was consumed with a murder in a men's club. It took a day or two but they were soon celebrating with Closed Case Pizza. Cho was throwing the boxes away when a report was handed to Lisbon from the Forensics department. Sitting down at the nearest desk, she pulled the paperwork out and began reading. There wasn't much to go on.

"Anything interesting in there?" Jane asked, pulling a chair up next to Lisbon's.

"Not really. Wiring and components of the bombs are all readily available both online and at any hardware store. Our perp could have tons of the stuff in storage somewhere. We didn't find serial numbers to find out where the materials were sourced, so that's a dead end."

"What about the construction? Anything look like military training in the type of device constructed?"

Lisbon scanned down the page and found just one small item.

"It says the second bomb at the playground was a type often seen by soldiers in Iran or Afghanistan. So, our perp could be ex-military. Or else he just watches a lot of YouTube videos" she said with dismay.

"My money is on ex-military" Jane said with certainty.

"Why?"

"Both the retired school teacher and the gallery owner were ex-military, so there's a connection, and one of the bombs now shows signs of being constructed by someone with at least some familiarity with military bomb making. It could just be a coincidence that both of the men are ex-soldiers. Our perp may not even have known that" Jane guessed.

"In the meantime, until we know more about our perp, let's go talk to someone at City Hall about the playground and basketball court. Someone was in charge of maintaining them" Lisbon said, standing up to find her jacket.

"With pleasure" Jane smiled. Any time he could go to City Hall and rile up a pompous elected official, he was thrilled.

Suddenly stopping, Lisbon swung around with her finger held high in Jane's face.

"We are not going antagonize anyone - got that? Not the head of Maintenance, not the Supervisor of Parks and Recreation, not even the Mayor, if we go that far up the food chain. Agreed?"

Jane looked wounded, and raised his hand up to his heart. "Would I do that Lisbon?"

"Yes. Every damned time!"

Smiling in spite of Lisbon's attempts to sound authoritarian, Jane crossed his heart and held up two fingers in a Boy Scout salute.

"Scout's Honour, no antagonizing the animals at the Zoo."

"Jane!"

"Just kidding Lisbon."

"No, you're not. And you were never a Boy Scout!" she snarled as they stepped into the elevator.

"I would have looked great in those little shorts though…" Jane mused, as his Boss swatted him across the upper arm with the hint of a smile. Grinning from ear to ear, Jane pushed the "down" button and stared at his shoes in happiness. Winding up Lisbon was just so much fun, and almost too easy.