"So what do we do now?" asked Kinch. "If you're right, then we gotta put this guy on ice."
Hogan folded his arms. "Yeah. It's still a big if. So far all we've got to go on is a pretty big coincidence, and your gut instinct. And mine," he added. "I'm getting all kinds of bad feelings about him, too. I'm not sure that's enough, not without more information."
"But we can't just let him get away with it," Kinch protested.
"We're not going to." Hogan spoke softly, his expression grim. "Okay, maybe the explosion tonight was an accident, but I'm not willing to risk it. From now on, someone's watching Staller every minute, till we get this resolved. And Carter, as well."
"That's not going to be so easy, with roll-call twice a day."
"Easy enough. Carter's not going to make it to assembly for the next few days. We tell Staller that the goons are likely to search the barracks if there's a man missing, and that he'll have to line up in Carter's place. It won't be that hard, how many times have we slipped a ringer in on Schultz?" Hogan frowned slightly. "But that only takes care of roll-call. We need him covered twenty-four hours a day, and it's going to take more than just you, me and Mills to work it. I'm going to have to take Newkirk and LeBeau into confidence."
"Colonel - "
"Just about Staller, and the information leak at the 182nd." Hogan overrode the protest. "They don't need to know anything else. We can't afford to risk letting our guard down, they have to know that much. It's not just Carter's safety that's at risk, it could be our whole operation."
"There's something I don't get, Colonel," said Kinch after a minute or so. "That was one hell of a blast. It could have brought the whole tunnel down. If Staller really was responsible, why would he take such a risk? What's Carter got on him that's so damning, he'd be prepared to go that far?"
"That's something only Carter can tell us, assuming he even knows himself," murmured Hogan. He started pacing, lost in thought. Finally he stopped, and tipped his cap back on his head. "I screwed this one up, Kinch."
"How d'you mean, Colonel? You couldn't have known..."
"Carter should never have been working in the lab tonight," Hogan interrupted. "I should have stood him down after the first accident. Maybe earlier." He paused, and rubbed one hand across his forehead. "The thing is, I didn't want to. Staller was right, in a way. Right now, Carter's not fit for duty. He needed more time, before I put him back to work. I just didn't want to see it." He took another turn. "I let Staller get to me," he went on. "The more he tried to make Carter look bad, the more I wanted to show him how wrong he was. He's a clever bastard, Kinch. He overdid it, but I still fell for it."
"I think we both did, Colonel," murmured Kinch.
"Well, it's not happening again." Hogan straightened up. "Kinch, see who you can contact in Düsseldorf. Tell 'em to keep an eye on a guy called Pitz - Josef Pitz. Weber spotted him in Hammelburg tonight, or so he claimed. They can take a close look at Weber while they're at it."
"Why Weber?"
"Because it occurs to me that if he'd come back here with us tonight, Carter would have seen him. And Carter knew Staller's offsider at the 182nd."
"You meant Lieutenant Mason?" Kinch stared at him. "Colonel, we already confirmed Mason's dead."
"Yeah. So we did." Hogan met his right-hand man's gaze impassively. "Tell 'em anyway."
He headed for the ladder up to the barracks, but stopped at the first rung. "By the way, Kinch," he said over his shoulder, "what was Kellet doing down here, anyway?"
Kinch uttered a short, contemptuous laugh. "Kellet has been paying a few unauthorized after-hours visits to a couple of pals in Barracks 5. It was raining tonight, he didn't want to get his feet wet, so he thought he'd take the subway."
Hogan cast up his eyes. "At least that's one problem I know how to deal with. Okay, Kinch. Don't stay down here too long - there's still a lot of dust in the air, I don't want you getting too much of it in your lungs."
He went on up to the barracks, where the occupants had settled into silence, though he could tell most of them were still awake. So much the better, it would mean Staller couldn't move from his bunk without being noticed.
The only sound came from Hogan's quarters.
"...tell you what, Andrew. Wait a few days till you're up and about again, and then I'll give you a right telling off, if it'll make you feel better. But for now, let's not make your head ache any more than it does, all right?" Newkirk broke off, as Hogan came in.
"How's he doing?" he asked, in a low voice.
By the very inadequate illumination of the flashlight LeBeau was holding, its beam directed to the floor, he could see that Carter was still awake, although obviously having difficulty keeping his eyes open. He blinked, and turned a dull, weary gaze on the colonel.
"Beating himself up a bit, Colonel," murmured Newkirk, who had posted himself at the head of the bunk, occupying the only chair, while LeBeau was leaning on the post at the other end.
"Okay. Carter, if you're ready, we need to talk," said Hogan.
"What's there to talk about?" Carter's voice was low and almost without expression.
Hogan glanced at Newkirk, who took the hint, vacated the chair and went to lean against the desk, while Hogan took his place.
"Let's start with the basics," he replied. "What happened tonight?"
"You know what happened," said Carter, after a long pause.
"All right. Let's put it another way. How did it happen?"
Carter shifted uneasily, with a sharp intake of breath as his battered body protested. The silence was even longer this time, before he finally answered. "I fouled up."
LeBeau started to speak, but at a look from Hogan bit the words back.
"Tell me how, Carter. It's important, I need to know."
Carter sighed, blinked slowly, then sighed again. "Mills knows."
"Not according to Kinch, he doesn't." Hogan waited again, while Newkirk fidgeted and LeBeau's eyes wandered around the room, focusing anywhere except on Carter.
"I got the mixture wrong again," said Carter at last. "There's some stuff down there, we swiped it from that experimental explosives lab we blew up a couple of months back. Kind of ammonium chlorate mix, but they added something to stabilize it. It's still pretty volatile, so I keep it out of the way." He paused again, biting his lower lip.
After a further silence, Hogan turned to Newkirk. "Get Mills in here."
Newkirk slipped out, and returned a minute later with an apprehensive Mills. Hogan wasted no time. "Mills, Carter seems to think you can clear up what happened in the lab this evening."
Mills glanced at Carter. "Sorry, Colonel. I'm not real sure."
"Well, what can you tell me?" asked Hogan, while Carter gave a soft, impatient mutter. "What's the story with this ammonium...?" He broke off, unsure of what Carter had called the stuff.
"Chlorate." Mills and Carter spoke together. Both stopped, staring at each other, then Mills went on. "It's just some stuff Carter keeps at the back of the lab, with the other volatile chemicals."
"What's it got to do with the explosion?" demanded Newkirk.
Mills sent a quick, pleading look at Carter. "Like I said, I don't really know..."
"Mills, just say it," Carter broke out. "I got the wrong stuff off the shelf. I used that compound instead of potassium nitrate, and it blew up."
"Is that true, Mills?" asked Hogan.
Mills was still looking at Carter. After a moment, he said quietly. "He did have the chlorate on the workbench when I went in there. But I was out of the lab before the explosion, so I can't say for sure whether he went ahead with it."
"Okay. So what do you think happened, based on what you saw?"
"I'm not an expert, Colonel." Mills turned a serious, troubled gaze towards Hogan. "I'd only be guessing, and I don't know enough about either chemistry or explosives to be certain."
"I understand that," said Hogan. "But it's obvious you have an opinion on it. And I want to know what it is. It's an order, Mills. Do you think that's what caused the explosion?"
Mills took a deep breath, and met Carter's eyes again.
"No, Colonel," he said resolutely. "I'm not sure why, but something about it doesn't fit. I can't give you a reason, but I'm absolutely sure, whatever blew up in the lab, it wasn't anything Carter was doing."