By A. Finn Moss | Onetime van owner

It was a lack of music equipment that got investigators scratching their heads.

Now those same investigators, after a brisk, cleansing shower, are looking for the real owner or owners of a van that exploded last week.

New evidence suggests the van may have been involved in illegal activities.

Initial indications the van belonged to local cover band Local Cover Band proved totally wrong when the remains of just a single guitar were found.

“We expected to find all sorts of amp tubes and speaker magnets in the rubble,” said rookie investigator Lucas “Third Degree” Burns. “But all we found was that Gibson Flying V. Some of it anyway. And speaking from personal though somewhat foggy experience, I don’t believe Local Cover Band had a Gibson Flying V.”

Early reports also speculated that Bass Lake mayor-by-default and LCB knob-spinner Guy Soundguy had been reduced to ashes in the fire. That was not the case, either.

According to Tim Cronkle, lead investigator with Michiana Highway Control, items found at the scene indicate that an illegal moonshine still was in operation at the time of the explosion.

“We found copper tube coils and Mason jars all over the place,” Cronkle said. “Plus, it would take more than faulty wires to create a bomb like that.”

Cronkle said he is waiting for the lab down state to analyze the license plate that was found attached to the rear bumper in a nearby field following the explosion.