"Including Anna herself."
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of that conclusion pressing down on both of them.They were well past the point of determining that Anna's death had been a homicide, but Paul could see from James's face that each new revelation, each time they peeled another layer off the mystery, it brought the pain back fresh again.
James may have divorced his wife years earlier, but that didn't mean he'd stopped caring about her.
"The question is what they found," James said finally."What's valuable enough to justify this level of effort?"
"Ben said they were taking core samples.That suggests mineral exploration—looking for something beneath the surface."
"Uranium, maybe.There's historical precedent for uranium mining on the reservation, and we know about the long-term health consequences.If there's a significant deposit..."James shook his head, changing his mind."But uranium prices have been depressed for years.It would have to be something more valuable."
Paul pulled out another folder, one he'd assembled himself from public records."I did some research on lithium markets.Twenty years ago, it wasn't particularly valuable - maybe a couple thousand per ton.Used for ceramics, glass, some small batteries.But even back then, there were people in the tech and energy sectors who saw what was coming."
"Electric vehicles," James said.
"Not just EVs.Grid-scale battery storage, portable electronics, renewable energy infrastructure.The technology was emerging, the patents were being filed, the research was happening."Paul spread out articles from tech journals dated fifteen to twenty years ago."Some investors saw the trend before the general market did.They understood that lithium demand would eventually explode, even if they couldn't predict exactly when or how much."
James leaned forward, studying the articles."So Devco discovered this deposit back when lithium was relatively cheap, but they saw the writing on the wall.They knew it would become valuable."
"They made a bet," Paul said."A very expensive, very patient bet.They started acquiring land, building the corporate structures to hide their involvement, positioning themselves to control the deposit.And anyone who threatened to expose their land acquisition scheme - even before the lithium market exploded - they eliminated.Because they were protecting not just what the deposit was worth then, but what it would be worth in the future."
"And they were right."James pulled up current lithium prices on his laptop."Look at this.Prices have increased by a factor of ten or more in just the past few years.What would have been worth maybe a few hundred million twenty years ago is now worth tens of billions."
"Which is why they're moving now," Paul said."Ben saw active mining equipment.They've waited twenty years for the market to mature, for prices to reach a point where the investment pays off massively.And now that they're finally ready to extract, they're more dangerous than ever.Because they're not protecting a potential fortune anymore—they're protecting an actual fortune."
James froze."Kari.She's still investigating.Still asking questions about her mother's death, about the Naalnish case."
Paul hurried to allay his former partner's concerns."If they wanted to remove her, they would have tried so by now," he said."They only targeted Ben because he had the opportunity to see things they didn't want him to see.Kari hasn't seen anything."
James grunted."Not for lack of trying.She's a danger to them—you know it and I know it."
"Yes," Paul acknowledged grudgingly, "but use your head.It's all about risk management.Is she a risk to them?Absolutely.But would eliminating her be a risk to their operation, too?What if they make a mistake, leave evidence?Even if they didn't, they'd have to realize that every dead body just brings more attention."
"They've been dropping bodies for years, and they've still managed to stay in the dark.The cockroaches."
"They weren't killing detectives," Paul said patiently."And there wasn't a team of people ready to make the connection."
They both fell silent.Paul had given his best pitch, had tried to allay his friend's worries, but ultimately it was outside his control.He just hoped James wouldn't do something rash in the name of protecting his daughter.
"Regardless," James said, sweeping aside Paul's carefully constructed argument, "we have to do something.We can't just sit here and wait for Kari and Ben to sort it all out."
"We need to be smart," Paul answered, growing impatient."If we push too hard, too fast, they'll know we're onto them.They've got people inside law enforcement—that's the only explanation for how quickly the Naalnish investigation was shut down.Anything we do has to stay below their radar."
"So what do you suggest?"
Paul considered the question.James was brilliant at analysis, at seeing patterns, at building cases from scattered evidence.But he'd been out of the field for years, disconnected from the practical realities of investigation.He needed guidance, direction—a framework for turning his insights into actionable intelligence.
"We keep working through Anna's files," Paul said."You focus on the corporate structures, the shell companies, the financial connections.I'll cross-reference with federal databases, see if I can identify the real investors behind Devco Holdings.We build a timeline, document every suspicious death, every land acquisition, every piece of evidence that connects them."
"And then?"
"And then we figure out who to trust with what we've found.Someone with enough authority to act on it, enough integrity to resist pressure to bury it."Paul met James's eyes."That's going to be the hardest part.Whatever this conspiracy is, it's got reach.It's got protection at levels we haven't identified yet.Going to the wrong person could get us killed."
James absorbed this, his jaw tightening."It's not my own life I'm worried about—or yours."
"I'm touched."
"We should call Kari.This is what she asked for—a thread."
