Liongate

Liongate is Carl Bertolli’s inherited estate, where a gallery being built on the property and a reception tent become the setting for an exhibition—and for an explosion that tears through the grounds. Its winding approach, guarded entrance, and landscaped hillside first present the estate as a carefully managed venue; the blast transforms that ordered setting into a scene of destruction.

Estate and Grounds

Carl Bertolli inherited Liongate from his father and was building a gallery there. Two massive lion faces adorned the electronic iron gates, where a security guard checked visitors against a list. Beyond the entrance, a winding drive led uphill to Carl Bertolli’s two-story house. The gallery stood halfway up the hill on its south side, with a large white tent beside the white-stone structure.

Security staff directed parking, while guards and waiters moved between the annex and tent in apparent preparation for a substantial crowd. The approach from the gates to the gallery made the estate a controlled event space, with visitors guided through distinct areas of the property.

Exhibition Preparations

The gallery was to showcase Cinnamon’s work, and Kate MacKenna arrived with gift baskets for the reception. Inside the tent, air conditioners ran around the perimeter, but could not overcome the heat and traffic of waiters. Buffet tables held flower arrangements in crystal bowls and silver servers; smaller linen-covered tables and folding chairs filled the rest of the space.

Kate found her baskets at the back, straightened the display cloth bearing her company logo, and arranged the baskets in a semicircle. The scene’s orderly preparations establish the tent as the reception’s focal point, separate from the gallery but immediately adjacent to it. Kate then went into the gallery looking for a powder room, intending to remove an undergarment that had become painfully constricting.

Explosion and Aftermath

The explosion struck before Kate could return to the reception. The tent was replaced by a crater-sized hole, and the blast tore a large section from the hillside. Fire poured down the slope, while the century-old walnut tree was split in two; one heavy branch fell over Kate and shielded her from flying glass, metal, canvas, and wood.

Police found Kate curled on her side at the tree’s base. Her dress remained intact, while her bra had been thrown into an uprooted magnolia fifteen feet away. The blast’s effects were felt well beyond the estate: some nearby residents said their houses shook as far as half a mile away, while others mistook the tremor for an earthquake. Liongate’s landscaped grounds and elaborate event arrangements thus become inseparable from the physical evidence of the attack and Kate’s survival.