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Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
“We need to get the water tested,” Logan said. “There’s a guy from the US Geological Survey in town. He could tell us for sure whether it’s coming from upstream. And as far as I know, he’s working here alone.”
Cole and I exchanged looks. The implication was clear—talk to the guy and make sure he doesn’t go running his mouth to anyone else.
“Where is his office?” Cole asked.
“He’s renting an office above the real estate agency down at the end of Main Street.” Logan looked at his watch. “I don’t know what kind of hours he keeps, but I’d assume he’s there now.”
“Perfect,” I said, giving a brisk nod to Cole. “We’ll just finish taking your statements here, and I guess we know where we’ll be going next.”
The part I didn’t say out loud was that we needed to get this done quickly. The sooner we could talk to the guy from the USGS, the better.
And time wasn’t on our side.
* * *
The office above the real estate agency could be accessed from stairs inside the building as well as a rusted, well-worn staircase in the back that was mainly used for deliveries.
Cole and I both agreed that it was best to use the back staircase this time, since we wanted to talk to the surveyor from the USGS without dealing with anyone from the real estate agency along the way. I didn’t want to lie to anyone about why we needed to have this urgent meeting, and I sure as hell didn’t want to tell anyone the truth.
So there we were, climbing a staircase that probably hadn’t been used in a decade and seemed to really resent supporting the weight of two grown men after all this time.
I stopped just outside the office door as I waited for Cole to join me on the landing. He looked down and then back up to meet my gaze.
“Don’t say it.” I shook my head. “We still have to get back down, and I’d rather not think about how unsafe that trip will be.”
“Just a second.” Cole held up a finger and cocked his head to the side. “Do you hear that?”
I listened carefully for a moment, then leaned closer to the door. Yep. Voices. A man and a woman.
Logan had said the surveyor was working here alone, but there was definitely someone inside his office with him. But we didn’t have the luxury of turning around and leaving. We had to get the water tested, and we couldn’t waste any time.
I reached out for the door knob, holding my breath as it turned. I let it open a couple of inches, then stopped as the voices became easier to hear.
I didn’t recognize the man’s voice—not that I expected to, since I didn’t know anyone from the US Geological Survey offices. But the woman…
Cole nudged me, wide-eyed, as he gestured toward the door. He’d heard the same thing. The same female voice. He’d recognized her, too.
“Nora,” I mouthed.
“But Isaac, dear,” she was saying. “You know this is for the best. It’s… temporary…”
I couldn’t hear well enough to make out everything she was saying, so I eased the door open just a little more.
Just enough to make it creak way too loudly.
“Fuck,” I muttered as the talking suddenly stopped. I’d blown our cover. There was no point in trying to sneak around now. Cole sighed as I fully opened the door and stepped inside. “Good afternoon,” I said. “Sorry to barge in like this, but ah… we have a little problem.”
The sight that greeted me as my eyes adjusted from the midday sunlight to the comparatively dimly lit office was a curious one. There was an old metal desk covered with maps and other papers. Two long tables nearby were similarly covered.
Behind the desk was a man staring at me with his mouth hanging open like he’d just seen a ghost. Nora Statler was right next to him and looking equally surprised as she took a step back.
“Prescott? Cole?” Her brow furrowed. “What seems to be the problem here?”
