Chapter 23
Ahalf hour later, Marcus swiped his badge to unlock the doors of a high-security building, its sleek modern design emphasizing functionality over flair. The sound of the automated locks disengaging was sharp in the sterile hallway.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Tinsley,” several employees greeted, their tones brisk but respectful as they passed him in the corridor. Marcus gave curt nods, his sharp, focused expression warning them not to interrupt his progress. His stride was purposeful, and Sorcia had to quicken her pace to keep up.
“The lab is just ahead,” Marcus said, his voice low and steady. “I’ve got one of my best technicians standing by.”
They entered a gleaming white room, the air cool and tinged with the faint, sterile smell of chemicals.
Metal tables stood like sentinels amidst rows of sleek, humming machines, their purposes a mystery to Sorcia.
She stayed near Marcus, silently observing, feeling slightly out of place in this world of science.
“Melanie,” Marcus greeted the technician, a petite woman with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor. “We need to analyze this dirt sample. Check for any foreign chemicals. It’s from a woodland area outside Baltimore.”
Melanie accepted the glass container, gently swirling its contents before holding it up to the light. “What makes you think something’s wrong with it?” she asked, already moving to one of the tables.
“We noticed an odd smell in the area,” Marcus explained, his tone clipped. “And the trees around it didn’t look healthy.”
Melanie nodded, her focus already shifting to the sample. She used a small metal scoop to transfer a portion of the dirt into a test tube. “Give me a few hours, and I’ll run a full analysis. It should be straightforward to identify any contaminants.”
“Contaminants?” Sorcia echoed, her brow furrowed.
Melanie glanced at her briefly, then continued her work. “Sometimes, companies—construction crews or chemical manufacturers—illegally dump toxic waste in remote areas. It’s cheaper than processing it legally.”
Sorcia’s eyes widened. “But wouldn’t the Environmental Protection Agency fine them?”
Melanie shrugged, not looking up from her task.
“First, the EPA would have to figure out who’s responsible.
That’s not easy. Companies go to great lengths to cover their tracks.
Even if they’re caught, they can drag it out in court for years, sometimes decades.
Meanwhile, they keep dumping and profiting. ”
She added a blue liquid to the test tube, causing the mixture to bubble faintly. “Even if they’re fined, the penalty is usually far less than the cost of legally disposing of toxic materials. It’s an ugly truth. It’s more profitable for some companies to pay fines than to handle waste ethically.”
Sorcia clenched her fists, her voice trembling with anger. “That’s horrible! How can they get away with that?”
Melanie glanced up briefly, her expression grim. “They do because they can. And it’s not just about profits—it’s about the power to avoid accountability.”
As Melanie set the test tube into a centrifuge, Sorcia turned to Marcus, her fury barely contained. “If this has something to do with what’s happening to Bethany…” she trailed off, her voice filled with both determination and dread.
“It’s bad,” Melanie said, her voice sharper now, “but what’s worse is that eventually, those trees will be cut down, and someone will build a home right on top of that mess. The homeowners will let their kids play in the yard, completely unaware of the toxic fumes leaching out of the ground.”
She finally looked up, her intelligent eyes blazing with frustration. “Kids get sick all the time, and no one realizes how much of it is caused by toxic chemicals hiding in the ground. Think about it—how many neighborhoods are built on old garbage dumps or contaminated industrial sites?”
Sorcia stared, her anger simmering in response to Melanie’s words.
There was a ferocious intelligence behind her directness, and Sorcia admired how focused the lab technician was on her task.
Melanie’s fingers moved deftly as she transferred dirt into test tubes, carefully adding precise amounts of various solutions.
And then she was gone, her attention completely absorbed by the analysis. The faint whir of the centrifuge filled the silence, punctuated by the clink of glass and the soft hiss of liquids being added. Melanie was in her element, and it was clear she wouldn’t surface again until she had answers.
Marcus turned to Sorcia. “Let’s grab some dinner,” he suggested. “It’ll take her a couple of hours to run the tests.”
Sorcia nodded, though her thoughts were still tangled with everything Melanie had said. As they left the laboratory, she glanced at Marcus, curiosity blooming. “Why did you get into pharmaceuticals?” she asked, realizing she’d never delved into this part of his life.
He pushed open the door to the parking lot, the sunlight washing over them. “Because medicine does things we can’t with magic,” he said with a shrug. “We can heal to an extent, sure, but we can’t cure cancer, set a broken leg, or take away chronic pain. Science fills those gaps.”
“That’s true enough,” she admitted, her voice tinged with grudging respect. “I guess that makes sense. You went into something that challenges your intellect.”
Marcus smiled slightly. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.”
An SUV pulled up to the curb, and Marcus opened the door for her. Sorcia hesitated, looking up at him. “We’re not flying back to Baltimore?”
“We are,” he assured her, “but I’d rather have dinner here first and talk to Melanie again before we go. Is that okay?”
She smiled, nodding. “Sounds perfect.”
Normally, they would’ve conjured up a meal on the spot, but this time, Marcus drove them down a winding country road.
About five miles from the lab, he turned into a gravel parking lot that kicked up a cloud of dust as he parked.
Sorcia blinked in confusion as she glanced at the unassuming building.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Marcus grinned as he stepped out of the SUV, waving his hand to clear the dust from the air. “This,” he said, gesturing to the modest establishment, “is where you’ll find the best barbecue in the world. It doesn’t look like much, but I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
She followed him out of the car, wrinkling her nose at the lingering dust. “I forgot how much you love to eat,” she teased. “I’m gaining weight from all this food, Marcus.”
He chuckled, holding the door open for her. “Then we’ll fly faster. Burn off those calories.”
Her laugh was light, but as they stepped inside, the rich, smoky aroma of slow-cooked meat hit her senses. Her stomach growled, and she couldn’t help but admit—he might be right about this place.
“Oh my, this is going to be good,” Sorcia muttered under her breath, her eyes sweeping over the chalkboard menu.
“I love a woman who appreciates a good meal,” Marcus teased as he led her to one of the rustic tables.
The atmosphere was charmingly simple—clean windows framed by red gingham curtains, and the only menu was the chalkboard listing today’s offerings: barbecue chicken with biscuits and spiced corn on the cob.
Sorcia leaned back in her surprisingly comfortable chair, watching as Marcus approached the man coming out from behind the counter.
The large, jovial man greeted Marcus with a hearty hug, and they exchanged words that made the man laugh so loudly the sound filled the small space.
He wore a white dress shirt and an apron dusted with flour and spices, his broad grin lighting up his face.
With a wave of his hand, two heaping plates of food appeared.
Marcus paid for the meal, then carried the plates and glasses of iced tea back to their table.
“This smells delicious!” Sorcia exclaimed, leaning forward to examine the food. “What were you two talking about?”
Marcus set a plate in front of her and gave her a casual, knowing smile. “You.”
She blinked. “What about me?”
Marcus handed her a fork, his voice calm but laced with meaning. “He asked if you were the woman who broke my heart two years ago.”
Sorcia froze, the fork in her hand hovering mid-air. “What?” Her voice was sharper than she intended.
“He asked if you were–”
“I heard you the first time,” she interrupted, setting the fork down with more force than necessary. “But I wasn’t the one who broke your heart. You cheated on me.”
He sighed, leaning his elbows on the table, his focus shifting momentarily to his corn on the cob. “You don’t really believe that, Sorcia. Not deep down. As I told you before, that’s just an excuse you wanted to believe because what you felt for me scared the hell out of you.”
“That’s–” she started, but he cut her off.
“Not true? Isn’t it?” His voice was calm, but his eyes locked onto hers, steady and unrelenting. “I know that’s what you tell yourself, but do you really believe it?” He bit into his corn, savoring it. “Damn, this is good!”
She stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to deny his accusation outright, to throw his words back in his face and stand firm in her anger.
But the denial didn’t come. Instead, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered that he might be right.
Had she been so scared of how deeply she loved him that she clung to the first excuse to push him away?
Had she ruined the best thing in her life because she couldn’t trust herself to hold onto it?
Her thoughts reeled as his words struck at the heart of her fears. She hated the way they felt true. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to fully admit it—not yet.
“Stop trying to overthink everything, Sorcia,” he said gently, his voice cutting through her spiraling thoughts. He nudged her plate closer to her. “Eat. The food is truly delicious.”
She stabbed at the chicken, but her appetite had vanished. Her thoughts swirled, chasing themselves in circles. Was he right? Had she really been so scared of what they’d had that she’d destroyed it herself? And if she was, what did that mean for them now?
Her hand trembled slightly as she brought the fork to her mouth. The chicken was flavorful and tender, but she barely tasted it. She was too caught up in the storm of emotions his words had unleashed, each bite making her feel like she was chewing over the past instead of her food.
She had only managed a couple of bites when Marcus’s phone buzzed. “That was unusually fast.”
“What did you find out?”
Sorcia immediately set down her fork, her attention snapping to him. She watched his expression shift, the muscles in his jaw tightening with tension and focus.
“Great. Good work. We’ll be there in less than ten minutes,” Marcus said, already rising from his seat.
Sorcia sprang into action, grabbing the plates and utensils.
She scraped the food quickly into the bin for compost and stacked the dishes neatly in the designated plastic container.
Marcus waved a hand toward the owner, signaling their thanks, and Sorcia followed suit with a quick smile and a wave as they hurried out of the restaurant.
She practically skipped to keep pace with Marcus’s long strides as he headed toward the SUV. He paused briefly to open her door.
“What did Melanie say?” she asked as she climbed in.
“Let’s get on the road. I’ll explain as we drive,” he replied, his tone clipped but energized.
Sorcia nodded, pulling the door closed as Marcus climbed into the driver’s seat. The SUV roared to life, and they were off, the new leaves blurring past as they sped down the winding country road.
“Melanie found high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil,” Marcus began, gripping the wheel tightly. “She says these metals are primarily linked to two industries.”
Sorcia glanced out the window at the streaking trees, her thoughts racing. “Which ones?”
“Agriculture and steel,” he said. “The metals from agriculture come from fertilizer production.”
She frowned, rubbing her temples. “So, it’s not tied to just one source. That doesn’t exactly get us closer to finding Bethany.”
“Not directly,” Marcus admitted, his voice steady. “But this might.” He glanced at her briefly, a spark of excitement lighting his features. “Melanie has already pulled up historical maps of the area where the sample was taken.”
Sorcia sat up straighter. “This is going to be good,” she said, a grin spreading across her face.
“It is,” Marcus confirmed, turning sharply into a parking lot. “She found records of an old road that used to lead to the general area where we found the soil sample. The EPA fined several companies for illegal dumping there decades ago.”
Sorcia stared at him, still not sure how this could help them find Bethany. She opened her mouth, but he stopped her.
“But it gets better,” he continued, parking quickly and killing the engine. “There are stories from workers who were out there—things they said happened while they were working.”
Sorcia tilted her head, her interest piqued. “What kind of things?”
Marcus turned to her, his grin widening. “Things like tree branches suddenly swiping at them. Or sudden storms of leaves swirling around, even on clear days, whenever they started digging.”
Sorcia’s eyes widened. “That sounds like…”
“Elves,” he finished for her, his expression grim but triumphant.