Chapter 10 - What the River Remembered
The river below the old warehouse looked clean from the bridge. Sunlight flashed off the water. Kids rode bikes along the trail. Nobody seeing it for the first time would know what had been buried upstream.
My senior thesis had started with a question about unusual metal levels in riverbank soil. Dr. Asha Shah, my research adviser, had helped me compare public sampling records with new lab results. Richard called that stolen research. In reality, he was terrified of the answer.
We met Dr. Shah at a diner near the water, with Miriam and Tessa beside us. She unfolded a map marked with sampling sites.
"The high concentrations aren't proof of who dumped the waste," she said. "But they're consistent with the industrial records Emily obtained and with the site's old permits. The state needs independent testing."
"Richard paid for the old testing," I said.
Dr. Shah tapped a faded company name on a report. "Exactly. The lab that declared the water safe was partly owned by Bennett Industrial. Nobody disclosed the relationship."
Tessa took notes. "That's a new story by itself."
"Not without the full data," Dr. Shah warned. "We do this carefully."
My phone buzzed. Lena Ortiz had been missing since the night her window broke. Now her name appeared on the screen.
I answered at once. "Lena? Where are you?"
"Somewhere I can breathe." Her voice was thin. "I have the original inventory. Richard kept drums off the books. One shipment was scheduled for the night of the fire."
"Let Miriam protect you."
"I'm sending it to her. And Emily? That note saying not to trust Lillian? I saw who wrote it."
The connection crackled. "Who?"
"Elaine. She wanted you to throw the drive away."
My throat tightened. Before I could answer, Lena said, "There's something else. The guard is alive."
Across the diner window, Maya, who'd been waiting in the car, flashed her headlights twice. Our signal for trouble.
May you like
A black sedan had pulled across the exit.
Then two men got out.
