LITMIR.BIZ

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      He’d noticed there was no gold band or tan line suggesting a ring recently had graced her slender hand. Not that her marital status was any of his business. He didn’t do commitment because commitment equaled heartache, a state of being he’d rather not experience again.

      “Call once you have the doctor’s findings,” Moore said before hanging up.

      Jeff walked into the makeshift autopsy room.

      The aroma of vanilla from lit candles underscored the decaying-fish stink.

      Stopping in the doorway, he watched Tessa. Her hands were steady, quick and efficient as she sliced and diced. She’d already worked her way through one tray and had started on another.

      She placed a sample on the slide for the microscope and moved forward to peer into the eyepiece. Her red hair stuck out the back of the hairnet, the tarnished strands vibrant against her green tartan-patterned shirt. With appreciation, his gaze lingered over her trim waist, nice curves and long, lean legs.

      She straightened and made some notes on the pad of paper at her side. She froze and then whipped around to stare at him.

      “How long have you been standing there?” Her voice vibrated with indignation.

      “A few seconds.” He stepped fully into the room. “Did you figure out what killed the fish?” Anticipation knotted his gut.

      “Yes and no.” She stripped off her rubber gloves and tossed them in a wastebasket. “It wasn’t a spill of oil or gasoline.”

      Dread tightened the muscles in his shoulders. “So then, what? Natural causes?” He could only hope.

      She slanted him a sharp glance. “Hardly. The damage done to these poor fish is indicative of a chemical agent.”

      Jeff’s stomach dropped. “What sort of chemical?”

      “I won’t know until I send tissue, water and soil samples out for analysis.”

      “How long will that take?”

      “If the lab can rush, I should have the findings by the end of the week.”

      Running his palm over his jaw, Jeff said, “Any chance a chemical could have accidentally polluted the water?”

      She undid her hairnet, letting her auburn tresses fall around her shoulders. His gaze was drawn to the burnished curls.

      “I need to find the source, then I’ll know,” she said,

      He dragged his gaze from her pretty hair and met her gaze. “George has a boat ready for us.”

      Her copper-colored eyebrows rose. “You are not accompanying me.”

      “But I am.” He didn’t wait for her to argue. He cupped her elbow to propel her toward the door. “My job is to protect this country. I need your help to do it.”

      “Wait! My bag!” She jerked out of his grasp and hurriedly packed up her equipment.

      “I’ll get it.” He reached for the strap. She sidestepped him and marched out the door.

      Shaking his head at her stubbornness, he sent up a silent prayer that God would help them work together, as well. Because if the chemical that had invaded Glen Lake was an act of terror, then they would have more to deal with than pride. Both countries would be at risk and lives at stake.

      * * *

      By the time Tessa reached the dock, her shoulder ached from the weight of her duffel bag. She hadn’t realized how heavy the thing was. Regret for not allowing Jeff to take the bag when he’d offered intensified her tension. She didn’t like needing help.

      She’d decided long ago that relying on others for anything only led to disappointment, because no matter what she did or how hard she worked to please people, she never measured up. Therefore, if she didn’t care what others thought and relied only on herself, her heart was safe. She was safe.

      Resolute in that thought, she dropped the duffel holding her supplies on the wooden planks at her feet with a thunk and rolled her shoulders. She caught Jeff’s gaze from the boat. Speculation lurked in the cobalt depths of his eyes.

      She jerked her gaze away and stared into the water, focusing on what was at stake. The forest, the lake and the fish. Human lives.

      “She’s a beauty.”

      Jeff’s words jerked Tessa’s attention to the motorboat bobbing gently against the side of the dock. George stood inside the boat, showing Jeff around the helm.

      She spied a Zodiac, an inflatable boat with an aluminum floor, lying upside down on the shore. Two black oars stuck straight up out of the sand beside it. She pointed. “That’s what we’re taking.”

      Jeff followed the trajectory of her finger. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

      “Don’t think you can handle it?” She picked up her bag. Maybe he’d relent and not insist on going with her. She preferred working alone.

      His lips thinned. “I can handle it.” He climbed out of the motorboat and stalked down the dock.

      She turned to George. “Do you have another set of oars?”

      Amusement twinkled in his brown eyes. “Yes, ma’am.” George handed her a map of the lake. Then he unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt and held it out. “There’s no cell service on the north end. Use this if you run into any trouble.”

      “Thanks.” She slipped the walkie-talkie into the outside pocket of her bag.

      Once they had the inflatable boat flipped and half in, half out of the water, Tessa tossed her duffel inside. It landed with a dull thud.

      “What’s in that bag?” Jeff asked as he climbed inside the boat and settled on the back transom.

      “My testing kit and ten essentials. Everything needed to survive for a short time in the wilderness.”

      “We won’t be getting out of the boat,” Jeff muttered as he took an oar in each hand.

      “You never know what you’ll need.” She threw one leg over the side, then the other, careful to keep the boat balanced by planting her feet wide. Then she sat on the middle bench seat facing Jeff. Tucking the second set of oars George handed her beneath the bench along with her bag, she shrugged. “I like to be ready for anything. You never know when disaster will strike.”

      One side of Jeff’s mouth lifted. “You sound like an ad for FEMA.”

      She arched an eyebrow. “I attended the Center for Domestic Preparedness training.”

      His mouth quirked. “Me, too. Though it must have been at a different time. I’d have remembered you.”

      She rolled her eyes, not believing she would have garnered his attention at all then or now if it wasn’t for this situation.

      He cocked his head. “Hmm, maybe I should grab a few things.”

      The teasing tone in his voice grated on her nerves. “You should. I’ll wait.”

      He blinked. “That’s okay. We’ll be back here by dinnertime. I ate a big lunch.”

      She shrugged. So had she. George had brought her a sandwich piled high with ham and cheese, a side of fruit and a soda. But she liked to snack throughout the day. “Suit yourself.”

      She pulled on a pair of silicone gloves and grabbed two test tubes and a plastic baggie from her bag, then leaned over the side of the boat to fill two tubes with water. The boat height was perfect. She then removed two foil packets from the baggie, popped out two tabs, broke them into fourths and dropped a piece into each tube. She shook the water to dissolve the tablet pieces.

      The water in one tube turned blue, indicating bacteria, not uncommon, and the other turned red, indicating a chemical component.

      Keeping

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