Page 50 of Cole

"Essentially, yes. And those donations give him leverage with the administration." Logan paused. "The pressure to shut down your research is coming from the very top, Janice. The university president himself."

Cole's expression darkened. "So they're not just trying to intimidate her. They're actively working to discredit her research before she can present her findings."

"That's what it looks like. But there's more." Logan's tone shifted. "We found evidence linking Penson to the state senator and EPA official I mentioned before. Campaign contributions, business partnerships, the whole package. This isn't just a local corruption issue. This goes all the way up the political food chain."

Janice felt her knees weaken and gripped the counter for support. "So even with evidence, even with samples and photographs and GPS coordinates, they might still get away with it."

"Not if we do this right," Logan said firmly. "That's why I'm working with the FBI's environmental crimes unit. They have jurisdiction that supersedes local politics, and they take this kind of corruption seriously. But it's going to take time to build the case and gather all the evidence we need to make charges stick."

"How much time?" Cole asked.

"They don’t move quickly. Probably weeks… maybe a lot longer. And their investigation could last months. In the meantime, Janice needs to stay safe and turn over all her evidence to the FBI, not the university."

“How do I do that?” she asked, her brows lifting in obvious surprise.

“I’ll send a secure link to Cole. He can log you in to Agent Paul Cotter. He has a background in environmental studies and liaisons with the EPA. You send in everything you have, and he’ll then have your evidence in case something happens.”

Janice was nodding, but Cole knew from Logan’s voice that there was more. His arm tightened around her shoulders.

“We know that Penson knows about the university grant, and by default, about Janice’s involvement in being able to gather information on his mining operation. But from all indications, it looks like they don’t know anything about you being there with her.”

Cole quickly ran through the implications. “They might come after her here in the cabin, but if I can get her out of here, no one will track her to me.”

“Right. You kept your hotel reservation. You could get Janice out of the cabin and into the hotel. Our guess is that he’ll send his men to the cabin as soon as they can get through the snow.”

Cole thought of the same snow that kept the miners trapped in the town’s hotel as the same snow keeping them here. Looking down at Janice, he knew he’d get her out and to safety, no matter what.

“Stay where you are for now,” Logan advised. “We’ve got round-the-clock satellite surveillance on the vehicles that are registered to the mine and any of Penson’s employees. Janice can work on the transfer of evidence.”

After disconnecting the call, Cole watched her walk a few circles around the room before finally stepping in her way. "Talk to me. What's going through your head?"

"I don't know what to do," she finally admitted, her voice small. "I don't know how to fight something this big."

"You don't have to fight it alone," Cole reminded her gently. "That's what I keep trying to tell you. You have backup now. LSIMT, the FBI, Marcus at the university. We're all working on this."

"But it's my research. I should be able to⁠—"

"No." Cole shook his head. "It's bigger than just you now. This is about environmental crime, political corruption, corporate malfeasance. Yes, you discovered it, and you're the one with the evidence. But taking down someone like Charles Penson requires a team effort." His mind was already working through logistics. Timothy and Frazier were en route. The cavalry was coming, but they still had work to do before extraction.

Janice stood at the window, arms wrapped around herself, staring out at the snow-covered wilderness. He could see the tension in her shoulders and the way she held herself as though bracing for another blow.

"Hey," he said softly, moving to stand beside her. "You okay?"

"I'm thinking." She turned to face him, and he saw determination replacing the earlier frustration in her blue eyes. "The water samples and photographs are good evidence, but they're not enough. Not on their own."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that a good lawyer could argue the contamination came from somewhere else. Natural mineral deposits, old mining operations from decades ago, anything." Janice began pacing. "What I need is biological evidence. Tissue samples from the dead wildlife that prove the contamination is actively killing animals right now, not some historical anomaly."

Cole watched her pace, seeing her transform from victim to focused professional right before his eyes. This was Janice in her element… not a damsel in distress, but a scientist with a mission.

"You want to go back out there," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I need to go back out there." She stopped pacing and faced him squarely. "Cole, I'm a veterinarian. I can collect and properly preserve tissue and blood samples in ways that will hold up as evidence. I can perform field necropsies, document the pathology, prove that these animals died from heavy metal poisoning. That's not something water chemistry can show."

"The dead fox we saw. The birds. The fish."

"Exactly." Her eyes lit up with purpose. "Toxins accumulate in the liver and kidneys. If I can collect samples from those organs, we'll have irrefutable proof that the contamination has entered the food chain. That it's actively killing wildlife. That's the kind of evidence that makes federal prosecutors sit up and take notice."