Twenty-Three
Ameia
I look at the tank, and panic claws its way up, but I push it down.
Figure it out now, panic later.
Taking a shaky breath, I look to my left and right. Both sides have empty tanks because we started rotating them more to see if we can figure out what’s happening. I quickly close off the water connection from the fish tank to the plant tanks.
I don’t hear Luke until he is next to me and grabbing my face.
“Sweetness, what’s wrong, and how can I help?” he asks, searching my eyes, and my heart breaks.
My first reaction is to shut him out and focus on my business. It’s my baby, and I’m so used to taking control and doing it alone. But maybe I don’t have to.
“The fish—the fish are mostly dead, and I need to isolate the tank before it ruins the plants.” I suck in air, and my heart is racing.
“Okay, we can move the plants, but I need you to take a breath before you pass out on me,” he says, and I take a breath as he puts his forehead to mine. “That’s my good girl. Now, let’s move some plants.”
“It should be easy with the two of us because I made a board with cut-out holes to keep the trays floating. There’s an empty tank not attached to a fish tank on the other side of the room. I’ll go backward to help guide us.”
We quickly move the plants, and I check the other tanks when I hear voices. I look over my shoulder to see Pam, Abby, Luna, and Kristen walking in.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?” I say, looking at everyone.
“Luke texted and said you might need us, so here we are.” Pam shrugs.
“What happened?” Luna asked.
“At some point between yesterday morning and today, something happened to the fish in this tank. Since this is the public greenhouse portion, it could be anything, but I’ll have to close down to the public to level it out again. Which is no big deal because I don’t make money off this side, but I have to make sure I can isolate the incident and make sure there isn’t something wrong with the fish from the last batch of breeders,” I say, feeling Luke come up behind me.
For the first time in years, I thought I could open my world up to more than work and the few friends I have, and then this happens.
Maybe it’s a sign I’m not ready to start a relationship because now my days and nights will be filled with not only making sure this stays an isolated incident but also trying to figure out what’s causing this. Just the thought of not being able to figure out what’s wrong brings tears to my eyes.
This is what I get for thinking I can be happy.
“Whatever you need, we’re here to help. You and Kristen can teach us what we need to know, and between all of us, we can help clean up and test the rest of the water,” Abby says.
I shake off the anxious thoughts and direct everyone as to where to help.
Sam comes strolling in and pulls me into a hug. “I let Penny out to pee and put her back in the office. Now let’s figure out what’s going on.”
Face in his chest, I nod because I’ll cry if I talk right now.
Once I see they have it under control and I don’t feel like I’m going to burst into tears, I pull Kristen into my office.
“Do you have any ideas?” she asks.
“None. I mean, the levels have been all over the place, but none of the fish have shown any signs of actual disease. Have you noticed anything, or do you have any ideas?” I ask.
“I’ve been thinking since I got the text from Pam. You’re right, none of the fish have shown signs of being sick. The only problem is that while it’s a mostly controlled environment, the public section is the least controlled. Maybe a kid dropped something in there by accident,” she says with a shrug.
“Maybe.” I pause because it’s possible. “Maybe they were overfed and it caused the ammonia spike in that tank, but that doesn’t explain the higher ammonia levels in the tanks outside of the public section. It’s also never the same tank twice.”
“That was my thought exactly. I agree that until we can get the pH levels under control again, we shouldn’t open up to the public. Or at least find a workaround so they can still come get the produce, but they can’t come in the greenhouses,” she says.
Someone knocks on the door, and we turn toward it.
Luke pops his head in. “Hey, sweetness, we’re all done with the tasks you set out for us. But while Sam and I were double-checking the doors, we noticed something.”
Kristen and I start to walk toward the door. “What do you mean? What did you find?” I say, my voice at a higher level than normal.
I swear to all that is holy, my blood pressure cannot take another panic attack today.
“Come on, I’ll show you,” he says as he grabs my hand and twines our fingers together.
He leads me to the door that separates the new construction section and the public greenhouse portion.
Sam is leaning by the door, texting on his phone, and I know it’s bad because Sam is never the serious one. But right now he looks ready to punch something.
“Well, out with it,” I say as I pull my hand out of Luke’s and put them on my hips.
“I already sent Noah a text because I think this is something he needs to look at, even if not in an official capacity.” Sam looks me dead in the eyes and takes a breath. “Luke and I were putting things away, and I noticed a gap in the door. At first, I didn’t think about it because I know you’re adding on to the back side, but then I went to close it all the way and realized the door has been tampered with.”
“Maybe it was an accident? Construction started last week, and it’s possible something happened when they were setting up,” I counter.
“Am, you have no idea when this happened, and I’ve been here when Wayne was working on this place. He would never damage a door and not tell you. I’ve been telling you for years that you need a full alarm system here, but you insisted you didn’t,” he snapped.
“Because I don’t . It’s a farm. If someone needs food, they can just take it ,” I yell.
“Yeah, but now they are more than just taking . . .they are destroying. And you have no idea what is happening,” he says, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Watch it, Sam. You don’t get to talk to her like that,” Luke growls behind me.
Sam and I just stare at each other when I hear someone behind me.
I break eye contact first and run a hand down my face as I take a deep breath.
My fight is not with Sam . . . Breathe in . . . Breathe out . . .
“Knock, knock,” Noah says as he walks in.
He locks eyes with Luna for a beat longer than the rest of us, and a blush creeps up her neck. If I wasn’t barely holding it together, I would ask her about it, but for now, I have to file that away for a later date.
“For the record, I think you’re here for nothing,” I say to him and cross my arms over my chest.
Luke throws his arm around my shoulder to pull me close, and his breath hits my ear. “Just let him look from a professional point of view, sweetness. We just want to make sure you’re safe.”
I glare at him over my shoulder. “This is pointless, it was probably just an accident with the construction.”
“Let Noah check it out. If it is, we’ll go from there, okay?” he says and kisses my forehead.
“Your forehead kisses won’t save you from my irritation for letting him call Noah to come here and waste his time.”
Noah looks over the door, and the more he looks, the more nervous I get.
After a couple of minutes, I start to bite my thumbnail, and then he turns around. With his hands on his hips, he pauses before his eyes meet mine. He’s in cop mode right now.
“In my professional opinion, Am, this doesn’t look like construction damage. This wasn’t picked, but if you look at the doorframe, the latch point has been tampered with so that it never fully engages. I think this was done on purpose, and it was done by someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Luke squeezes my arm as I stare at him in shock.
“Who would do this? There’s no one in town who doesn’t like her. Well, maybe Brian after last night,” Pam says.
Everyone talks around me, but my heart is beating so loud and fast that it drowns everything out.
Pam is right.
I can’t think of anyone who would be mad enough to do this.
It’s getting hard to breathe. My chest is tight, and my eyes burn as I try to hold back my tears.
I’ve worked so hard to get to this point in my life. What did I do to deserve this? I thought after I got established, the bad shit would stop.
I feel myself being picked up and taken into the office, but I’m too far gone into my panic attack to know what’s going on. Next thing I know, I’m sitting in Luke’s lap on the floor with Penny and Ginny.
“Breathe with me, sweetness. Match your breathing with mine.” His voice breaks through the wall of panic surrounding me as I try to match his breathing. “We’ll figure it out, okay? I promise it’ll be okay.”
“How? How do you know that? What did I do to deserve this?” I whisper as the tears continue to fall.
“Nothing. You did absolutely nothing to deserve this. We’ll look into alarm systems and get it all set up. We’ll also talk to Wayne, tell him what’s happening, and see if he can fix your door. You aren’t going to like it, but I think we should mention the window at your house to Noah. Just to be on the safe side,” he says, resting his head on mine.
“Why do you keep saying we? I can do this on my own, and I told you Pam probably opened the window and forgot to close it,” I say defensively.
“I know, but I want to help wherever I can so that you don’t have to do it all on your own. I’m not taking over. I’m just here to help. I just want you safe.”
A knock on the door makes me jump, and Noah walks in.
“Sorry to intrude, but I do recommend that I take your statement so that we can keep track of it. However, without cameras, this will just keep things on the record.” He pauses, and his look is full of sympathy. “I have to ask, but have you noticed anything weird? People acting differently around town or at any of the meetings you’ve gone to?”
“No, nothing really comes to mind. I mean, when I’m walking Penny at night by myself, I sometimes feel like someone is watching me, but I watch a lot of true crime, and we tend to listen to some true crime podcasts on our walks,” I admit.
He looks at Luke and then back to me, and he sits down in one of the chairs. “Do you always feel like this? Or is it just recently?”
“Well, most of the time, but more so the last couple of weeks,” I say, and Luke stiffens.
“Well, trust your gut. You might have heightened senses after listening to a podcast, but make sure you’re being smart out there. We live in a small town, but you still need to be cautious.”
“I found one of her kitchen windows open this morning, and she says she didn’t open it. Do you think that might be related?” Luke asks.
Noah tilts his head to the side and looks between us. “It could be. I want to send the on-duty unit out there to dust for prints. I’ll need yours and anyone else’s prints who might be in the house to rule them out.”
“So, the whole crew? Don’t you think this is overkill?” I snap.
“It’s never overkill to make sure the community is safe. If we have someone breaking and entering not only businesses but residential homes, that’s something we need to be aware of.”
Noah finishes asking his questions and takes the rest of my statement before standing to leave. “We’ll meet you at your place in a few to check your house out. I’ll make sure you’re safe, Am. Hopefully, this is nothing, and it’ll be wrapped up by the end of the week.” Before he walks out the door, he pulls me in for a hug, and I just stand there, arms at my side.
I’m numb.
“Is there anything else you need to do?” Luke asks from behind me.
“No, I’d like to lock up and take you home so I can go home and crawl into bed. After the cops leave, that is,” I say, staring blankly at the wall.
“How about you take me home, and I grab a bag with a couple nights’ worth of stuff, and I crash at your place so you don’t have to be alone. And if you’re too tired, I can help with the animals,” he offers.
“I won’t be the best company, but if you feel the need to, you’re more than welcome,” I say, grabbing my bag.
I replace all my logs and gather the animals, then walk out of the office.
Sam is checking all the doors and windows, and he turns to me as I approach. “Everyone is in the parking lot, and I finished locking up. We’re good to go,” he says as he pulls me into another hug.
“Thanks for everything, and tell the girls I’ll call them later,” I say.
Luke and I walk out the back door where we parked and leave.