The day after the bombings, Tuesday, was hectic for Jason. The FBI took over the Lenox Hotel - he put in a 15 hour day trying to piece together all the financials from the previous day (guests that had paid to stay but had been evacuated, all the open checks from revelers in the middle of lunch when the explosions happened, etc.) and trying to coordinate everyone coming back for their belongings that they were forced to leave so suddenly.
Perhaps most notable to Jason was how weird it was that Boylston Street was like a ghost town. All the baby carriages, balloons, banners, etc. were still sitting in the exact same spots. The cafe across the street still had beers and plates of food sitting on their tables. The FBI and pretty much every kind of law enforcement officer that you can think of had descended upon these few blocks and when the Lenox set up a buffet, expecting 100 people, over 250 came through and they were out of food in no time. They said they hadn't eaten - in fact, they had raided the Dunkin Donuts and convenience store right across the street for drinks and snacks as the doors were wide open, the cash registers abandoned. Nothing was allowed in or out of the area (Jason himself had to get through multiple checkpoints from where he parked his car to the hotel - military police were everywhere) and Jason said he himself was back in the kitchen with the other few employees that had been able to show up that day, cooking every last scrap of food they could find.
The evidence collection process appeared to be painstakingly slow. Jason told me that they had everything on a grid in small squares no more than a yard each. They took pictures of how the debris lay, a camera took a 360 degree circular snap, and then each piece was picked up, labeled, sorted, boxed and brought inside. Next square. With a territory of several city blocks to cover, not to mention the roofs and sides and windows of buildings to scour, it was not going to be over any time soon.
He came home late Tuesday night and could not stop saying how weird it was. They had dozens of dogs - the conference and events rooms at the hotel had become a kennel. Snipers scanned the neighborhood from multiple lookout points, including the brand new suites on the top floor. And there were 2 guards at all times blocking the entrance to where the evidence was being kept. The remains of the bomb itself had been swept off to Quantico almost immediately.
Wednesday was Jason's day off and I think the trauma of the last two days finally set in. He spent most of the evening very quiet and a bit withdrawn, clearly in a far off place mentally. He had not slept at all. He said he could not stop reliving it - how the blasts felt, how they sounded, where he was, what he did. After the explosions, he ran to the windows of the hotel and looked out at the chaos as the doors were being locked. He said, "I kept thinking, 'I need to go out there, I need to help!' But my feet wouldn't move. My mind kept flashing to you and Ashton."
Wednesday night was another sleepless night and Thursday, at work again, he felt a bit better being back down there, surrounded by the people that were working tirelessly to identify the suspects and amongst others that had been through the same horrific experience. I think it felt good to know he was not the only one feeling how he was feeling. He got home late again, although by now other restaurants in the area were taking turns bringing food in to feed the massive group of people that had been flown in from all corners of the country to work on this. The FBI released pictures of the suspected bombers and then every person in Boston was on the hunt.
Yesterday, Friday morning. I was vaguely aware of our house phone ringing around 5:15 am. My phone buzzed. And buzzed again. The house phone kept ringing. Jason's rang. Mine buzzed again. And finally around 6:15 am we were awake enough to realize that something was going on. Our parents and some of our friends were desperately trying to get in touch with us. SECOND BOMBING SUSPECT ON THE LOOSE IN WATERTOWN - DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE!! If we were not fully awake before then, we were at that point. Pulling up the news on our phones, we laid in bed and tried to get ourselves up to speed. They were Russian brothers. There had been a robbery the night before. Then a dead security officer. Then a carjacking. Then a high speed chase and finally a shootout and explosions in Watertown and the older brother was killed. The younger one had fled on foot and was somewhere near where we lived.
The next 10 hours were, safe to say, awful. We were locked in our house, glued to the TV. Law enforcement had set up a 20 block perimeter in a neighborhood on the opposite side of town as us and were searching house by house. We waited all day, praying there would all of a sudden be a press conference saying they had caught him. Ashton was a monster - beyond bored. Jason paced. We were so stressed out. Then, our worst fears. At the 6:30 pm news conference, they announced they had completed their search and had come up empty handed. We watched it with a heavy heart. Jason started to cut some wood to reinforce our doors. I wondered how on earth we would sleep. This guy could be hiding in our garage! His last known location was a mile from our house.
I made Jason turn off the TV. I was done. We made gin and tonics, strong ones. And then gave Ashton a bath and did storytime up in his room. I read while Jason checked Facebook. He said, "Oh my god, wait...they think they have him now!"
We put Ashton to bed, bounded downstairs and turned the news BACK on. He was hiding in a boat in a backyard on Franklin Street, not too far from here at all:
During the news conference 45 minutes prior, they had said that the lockdown, shelter-in-place order had been lifted but to please remain vigilent as this was still a dangerous situation. People went outside, took their dogs for a walk, and fired up their BBQ's. And then, not long after that, authorities received a call from a house one block outside the perimeter of the area they had spent all day searching. The caller had noticed his garage doors were open, but he had not been outside. Then he noticed blood on the side of his boat...The rest is history. Suspect #2, the younger brother, was taken into custody. Alive.
Here is a fun fact. The house next door, the one that shares the fence? Jason and I considered buying it before we bought this one last fall. We have personally seen that boat and stood in the next yard over.
Anyway, words can't express the relief we felt. So totally consuming. We watched the ensuing news conference confirming he was in custody, listened to all the people lining the streets of Watertown clapping and cheering. And then finally went to bed and Jason slept for the first time since Monday. The closure gave us both peace.
The news teams will move on. FBI agents will leave the hotel, Boylston Street will re-open and eventually normalcy will return for most of us. But for me and especially for Jason, it's an experience we will never forget. Reflecting on this past week and remembering the runners on Monday, where this all began, it feels like a hundred years has passed. Almost makes me want to train for the marathon next year. Almost ;)
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