Wichita ? The former husband of romance novelist Rebecca Brandewyne will face trial on a felony explosives charge in connection with an incident in which his 911 call brought police to his home last year.

At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, police testified that Gary Brock had placed a bomb on his porch, then reported that he had just seen his former wife driving away early on the morning of March 15, 2003.

Brock and Rebecca Brandewyne, author of more than 30 romance novels and novellas, were divorced in 1997.

Sgt. Chris Bannister, a bomb squad member, said the device on Brock’s porch turned out to be a FedEx box with duct tape on the ends. He said that inside the box was a cigar box containing two capped pipes, wiring, silver powder and a 9-volt battery, with nails glued to the device.

Another officer, Sgt. John Hoofer, said that while Bannister was preparing to disable the device, Hoofer went to Brandewyne’s home, less than a mile away. He said she came to the door in a robe and appeared to have been sleeping.

Hoofer said that in the garage, he found the car with the license plate Brock reported was the one he saw being driven away from his home. He said he put his hand on the radiator and found it to be “the same temperature as the outside air.” He also said there was another car in the driveway, parked behind the one in the garage.

Other witnesses said receipts from a Home Depot store showed Brock had been there three days earlier, exchanging four metal end caps for four more of a slightly different size.

Prosecutor Jim Puntch suggested the caps were identical to ones found on the pipes in the cigar box. He said investigators determined the duct tape on the package came from a roll in Brock’s home.

Defense lawyer Kiehl Rathbun said the box on Brock’s porch was not a bomb because no ignition device was found, the flash powder found inside would not explode unless it was in an enclosed area and the pipes contained no explosive materials.

Rathbun argued that if the device were only a ruse to frame his ex-wife, he could not be guilty of the explosives charge. He also said 2 1/2 hours had passed from the time of the 911 call before Hoofer felt the engine of Brandewyne’s car.

Sedgwick County District Judge Mark Vining concluded there was probable cause to believe that Brock was guilty of the felony explosives charge, and bound him over for trial. Brock, 51, also faces a misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime.