Chapter 37
37
Ani had never seen the town of Firelight Ridge so quiet. She wondered if this was what it was like in the winter, when the only people around were the permanent residents. The Magic Breakfast Bus had set up a free coffee and muffin station on a table outside the bus. Outside the general store sat a case of hand sanitizer bottles, free for the taking.
As for people, she spotted someone weeding their garden, and someone else carrying a rack of fish filets into their backyard smokehouse. She sniffed the air, closing her eyes at the delicious fragrance of alder and hickory.
It probably helped that it was the time of year when people focused on stockpiling wood for the winter, picking blueberries, and canning salmon. Those were all outside activities that didn’t require close contact with anyone.
As they passed the gas station, Gunnar waved at her from under the hood of a truck he was working on.
Ruth Chilkoot’s truck, Ani saw. Ruth lingered several yards away as she watched Gunnar work. Ruth took care of quite a few kids out at the Chilkoot compound; hopefully they were all safe.
No one seemed panicked. Maybe they were all taking the news of a newly thawed virus in stride. Just another force of nature to contend with here in the wilderness.
The old boardinghouse was located in the heart of town, just a few blocks past the converted hardware store where Lila lived. As Lila’s place came into view, Ani tapped Sergeant Thomson on the shoulder. “Can I just check on my friends quickly?”
“Sure. You’re not a prisoner.”
She brought the Jeep to a jerking stop. Ani glanced at her and saw her jaw set tight. “You’re angry.”
“I’m something.”
“At us, because we left you behind? I made sure you were fine. We called your people for you.”
Thomson waved that off with a brusque gesture. “Nah, y’all did okay. There’s just something about this whole situation I don’t like. Why’d they knock me out? Why take me out and just let you two be? No one has a good answer.”
Ani bit her lip. She couldn’t tell the sergeant that Victor had done it. He’d get into even more trouble. But she also couldn’t lie. That left her with nothing to say.
“Maybe it had to do with Victor Canseco,” she said weakly.
“That dude? There’s something not right about him.” A frown creased her smooth brown forehead. “I heard him on the phone just now outside the tent. He was asking someone to give him more time, like he was talking to a mob boss wanting his cut.”
“What else did you hear?”
“That’s it, but when he passed by me, he looked like he was going to shit his pants.”
Ani had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Victor had probably been terrified that she’d recognize the guy who had knocked her out. Which was such a crazy thing to do…Would any legitimate scientist do the things he’d done?
Sergeant Thomson was correct. Something wasn’t right about Victor.
A shocking suspicion came to her—was Victor working with the people who were trying to weaponize the virus?
Urgently, Ani clutched at Thomson’s arm again.
“Who destroyed the Institute? Who’s behind all this? Please tell me. I know it’s classified. But we’ve been tossed into the middle of this whole thing with no clue what’s going on.”
“They don’t tell me that kind of shit.” Thomson shrugged from under Ani’s grip. “I’m just a sergeant. But I have my theories.” She quirked a smile at Ani.
“I’ll take anything.”
“I always say, follow the money. You know that mining crew up in Ninuk that started this whole thing?”
“Yes.”
“It’s owned by a consortium. Their core samples came up empty, did you know that? So maybe someone in that group decided to make their profit some other way.”
Ani swallowed hard. Quite a switch from mining to bioweapons. But profit was profit. Maybe this consortium had connections to pharmaceutical companies or foreign investors. “Did you catch the people you were exchanging fire with in the woods that night?”
“No, they’ve gone dark. Literally. We have thermal imaging and still haven’t seen a peep. They might have left the area. We’re still on alert in case they haven’t.”
“So are they the same people who’ve been following us, or is that someone else? How many bad guys are we dealing with here?”
Thomson looked at her gravely. “Excellent question. I don’t have the answer.”
“How…” Ani nearly exploded with frustration. “That’s not helpful!”
“Sorry, babe. I only know what I know.” Thomson jerked her chin toward the hardware store. “Looks like your friends are excited to see you.”
Lila was kneeling in the bay window that had been the storefront back in the old days, waving her arms for attention. Was that Charlie and Molly just behind her, shading their eyes against the sun angling through the window?
Suddenly, Ani couldn’t wait to hug her friends. She might as well take advantage of her immunity.
“Thanks, Sergeant. Thanks for sharing what you do know. And sorry again about?—”
Thomson waved her off. “Be safe out there. You know what? Take this.” She handed Ani a military-issue sat phone. “You need anything, get on here and dial the top number. Here.”
She turned it over to show Ani a list of numbers taped on the back.
“Thanks. I can walk to the boardinghouse from here, it’s not far. You don’t need to wait.”