LITMIR.BIZ

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have been doing and spilled a bunch of the stuff. I told you how little it takes. But in terms of its effects on those cows, I’m thinking it was more than a teeny bit.”

      “Yeah. Enough to kill five or six men?”

      “Or maybe cows react differently. I need to talk to someone after I get done here. The thing is, that poison usually takes a couple of hours to start working. That makes it even stranger that the cows and the bait were found so close together. They should have wandered away before it hit, even if they were grazing normally.”

      “Unless the supposed bait was still wandering itself when it got here.”

      “Which opens up a whole other can of worms. Where had it been? Where did it find the toxin? How far had it come?” She shook her head. “I’m going to get my gear. Maybe you should stay outside this circle.”

      He didn’t look as if that sat well with him, at least insofar as she could tell from his stony facade, but too bad. She had the gear to protect herself, and he didn’t.

      Five minutes later she had disposable decon boots pulled up to her knees and big rubber gloves over her hands that reached up to her elbows even over her snowsuit. Then she picked up her sample case, corer and a shovel and headed for the circle.

      Given what she had just learned, this was no longer looking like such an easy job. If the quantity of toxin was truly large, it could be all over by now. Some would have broken down, but she wondered how well. She had no idea how it reacted to the cold. She understood that fungi in the dirt would break it down, but how active were they near the surface now that it was so cold? Either way, she needed to be extremely cautious that she didn’t carry the toxin out of this area in any way.

      So many variables right now that could make everything worse.

      She ducked under the tape, then reached back for her supplies. It was going to be a long morning.

      * * *

      Jerrod watched her work, pacing around the outer edge of the delimited area. He figured he could help her if he had the protective gear, and he decided to ask her if she had any spares, and if he could help in some way. He got her concerns about exposure, but it was a lot of work for one person, he thought as he watched her use the snow shovel to clear away the snow, then twist her manual coring tool into the ground, pulling up samples that were at least six inches long. She strained occasionally as she met a particularly hard piece of ground, but as the hours passed she piled her small core samples, carefully labeled according to some grid system, into her case just outside the ring.

      And everywhere she drilled, she added a blue pin flag.

      Eventually, the place was fluttering with flags. She made her way back to the edge of the tape. “Can you get one of the big trash bags out of the back of my car? I need to ditch my rubber gloves and boots.”

      He brought her the bag, watching the caution she exercised in removing the boots and gloves and stuffing them into the bag he held open. “Please seal it,” she said.

      So she was worried she might have picked up contaminants. Great. He looked around again, wondering if it had ever crossed her mind to consider that someone might get upset if he or she thought Allison could track the toxin back to its origins. Then he remembered she had said that would probably be impossible. Given the way this crap spread, he supposed she was right. It all depended on whether the guy who’d done this understood that.

      “What now?” he asked as he stood holding the tied-off bag and she bent to pick up her gear.

      “I’m going to take a few samples outside the perimeter, then I want to go downstream and take some water samples.”

      He looked at her, thinking that even after all that labor she was looking cold. “You should have brought a thermos of coffee. You’re chilled.”

      “Rule one when dealing with toxic substances. Don’t eat or drink.”

      “Bad enough you have to breathe, huh?”

      She surprised him with a laugh. “Maybe. But I think the snowfall took care of that.”

      He felt his lips twitch, wanting to join her laughter. The feeling surprised him. “Well, I’ve been standing here, too. I’d hate to spread it. What’s the likelihood I’m carrying some of this stuff right now?”

      “Low. You’re uphill.” She waved her arm. “Just a couple more samples farther out, then we’ll drive along the stream.”

      Her competence made him feel comfortable. He liked being around people who knew what they were doing, always had. The fact that he was the tyro here didn’t bother him. He was learning.

      And even in that snowmobile suit she looked tempting enough to eat.

      He watched her study the terrain, keeping his mouth shut, refusing to insult her by speaking. He was a capable judge of terrain himself, extremely capable, but she didn’t seem to need his help at all.

      The back of his neck prickled. Moving slowly, he turned to scan the area. Someone was watching them, someone he couldn’t see. He knew it as sure as he was standing there.

      But who? A hunter? Someone who wanted to keep an eye on Allison’s activities?

      But then the feeling faded. Probably just a hunter, he told himself. Although given that everyone by now had probably heard of the poison, he was surprised that anyone would want to hunt in the area.

      “Have they warned hunters?” he asked.

      “You bet,” she answered, then marched away toward the stream’s edge where she took a few more ground samples. Then they were off, bucking alongside the stream.

      It struck Jerrod that while he was of no real use, this was still the most useful day he’d spent in a while.

      “Damn, man,” he said aloud, “you’ve got to get your act together soon.”

      * * *

      The daylight was fading by the time they got back to town. Allison had driven farther along the stream than he’d expected, and stopped frequently to take samples from the bank and the water. By the time she was done, the back of her vehicle was loaded with samples and she’d used quite a few pairs of gloves. He guessed the next time she went, if she did, she wouldn’t have any trouble giving him some protective gear so he could help. She also skipped stopping back at the ranch house for a hot drink. It was getting late.

      “Want me to help you unload?” he asked when they had parked. He crossed the small space between their two driveways easily this time.

      “Nothing leaves my car until the state comes for it. Why don’t you come in for some coffee? And I think I have some lasagna I can heat for the two of us.”

      It would have been smart to say no, but instead, a different word popped out. “Thanks.”

      Being with her all day had been easy. No reason to think another hour or so wouldn’t be just as easy. Nothing about her was pushy or intrusive.

      He paused once again and scanned the street. That made twice today he’d felt watched. The uneasiness began to creep along his nerves again, a feeling he usually only had on missions, but a feeling that had too often been his companion since he’d returned to civilian life. Like some kind of training he couldn’t shake.

      But the street was quiet and growing dark, and this was a safe little town in the middle of nowhere. It was as if his brain was trying to take him back to places he no longer needed to go. Not at all. Or as if he couldn’t let go of an adrenaline addiction.

      Yeah, that was probably all it was. Imagining things because he was used to a whole different kind of life, one full of threats. Years of training he couldn’t quite shake.

      He blew a disgusted breath and followed Allison into her house. This adjustment thing was too much. Ridiculous.

      Hell, he’d even lost his sense of humor, although he supposed the kind of black humor he and his team

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