Chapter 22
Cole held the phone with one hand while wrapping his other arm around Janice, pulling her tightly to his side. If bad news was getting dumped on them, he wanted her close.
"Charles Penson has powerful connections at the university level. We confirmed that. But we also found evidence that he's made donations to the university's environmental science department. Substantial donations."
"Blood money," Janice said bitterly.
"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. "
Cole considered the risks. Going back out meant exposure and potential encounters with Northern Summit's people.
It also meant putting Janice in danger again.
But he also understood that she was right.
Her expertise could make the difference between a case that stuck and one that got thrown out on technicalities.
"Okay," he said. "We do this. But we do it smart, and we do it fast."
Janice's smile was like sunrise breaking through clouds. "Thank you. For not trying to talk me out of it."
"Would it have worked if I tried?"
"No." Her smile widened. "But I appreciate that you didn't waste both our time."
They prepared quickly, layering on warm clothes again, and gathering Janice's veterinary field kit. Cole watched her pack scalpels, sample containers, preservation solutions, and gloves. She moved with the confidence of someone who'd done this work countless times before.
The snowmobile ride back to the area where they'd seen the dead animals was tense but uneventful.
Cole kept his senses on high alert, scanning the tree line for any sign of movement, any indication that they weren't alone in the wilderness.
But the forest remained silent except for the whine of the engine and the whisper of wind through snow-laden branches.
They found the fox first, its rust-colored body a stark contrast against the white snow. Because he was close to a tree, the snow had not completely covered him. Janice approached with reverent care, kneeling beside the small corpse with a gentleness that made Cole's chest tighten.
"I'm sorry," she murmured to the dead animal, her gloved hand brushing snow from its fur. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. But I'm going to make sure it means something. I'm going to make sure the people who did this pay for it."
Cole stood guard a few feet away, watching her work while keeping one eye on the surrounding forest. But he found his attention drawn back to Janice again and again, captivated by the way she handled the deceased creature.
She talked to it throughout the necropsy, her voice soft and compassionate even as her hands performed the clinical work of collecting samples. "You were beautiful, weren't you? Probably had a den somewhere nearby, maybe kits waiting for you. I'm sorry you won't be going home to them."
Something shifted in Cole's chest as he listened.
He'd seen death before—too much of it. He'd learned to compartmentalize, to distance himself from the emotional weight of it.
But watching Janice honor this small life even as she documented its death, treating the fox with dignity and respect, moved him in ways he hadn't expected.
This was who she was. Not just a scientist collecting evidence, but a healer mourning what she couldn't save. A voice for creatures who only wanted to live the way nature intended.
"The liver shows significant discoloration," Janice said, her tone shifting to clinical as she made notes in her field journal and dictated into her phone.
She also took numerous photographs to accompany her labs.
"Consistent with heavy metal toxicity. Kidneys are enlarged, probably struggling to filter the contaminants from the bloodstream.
" She looked up at Cole, her expression grim.
"This fox didn't die quickly. It suffered for days, maybe weeks, as the poison accumulated in its system. "
"Can you prove that? Scientifically, I mean?"
"Once these samples get to a proper lab, yes.
" She sealed another container and labeled it with precise handwriting.
"The tissue analysis will show exact concentrations of lead, arsenic, copper, and whatever else is in that water.
The pathology will show the damage those toxins caused.
It's a death certificate written in biology. "
She wasn’t able to find the water birds they’d seen earlier, but had no trouble finding several others that had died more recently. Janice collected samples from each one, talking to them the same way she'd talked to the fox. Apologizing. Promising. Honoring.
Cole found himself standing closer than strictly necessary, not because he thought she needed protection from dead herons and cormorants, but because he wanted to be near her. He was drawn to witness this side of her that burrowed deep inside of him.
"You really love them," he murmured. "The animals."
Janice looked up from her work, a sad smile crossing her face.
"They’re innocent creatures. They can't hire lawyers, write letters to congressmen, or vote for politicians who care about the environment.
All they can do is live their lives and hope that humans don't destroy everything around them.
" She sealed the last sample container. "Someone has to speak for them.
Someone has to care enough to fight for them. "
"And that someone is you."
"Today it is." She stood, brushing snow from her knees. "Tomorrow it might be someone else. But right now, in this place, I'm the one who's here. So yes. That someone is me."
Cole reached out and cupped her face in his gloved hand, tilting her chin up so their eyes met. "You're remarkable. You know that?"
Color flooded her cheeks. "I'm just doing my job."
"No." He shook his head slowly. "What you're doing goes way beyond a job description.
You're risking your career, your safety, maybe your life to protect animals and wilderness that most people never even think about.
That's not just professional dedication.
That's... that's something else entirely. "
Janice's eyes searched his face, and he saw vulnerability there beneath the determination. "I wonder if it's worth it. If anyone will even care about the evidence I'm gathering, or if Penson's money and connections will just make it all disappear."
"It won't disappear." Cole's voice was firm with a conviction he felt in his bones. "Not with Logan and the team working on it. Not with the FBI involved. And not with you fighting for it. This matters, Janice. What you're doing matters."
She leaned into his touch, just slightly, and Cole felt something fundamental shift between them.
Not the charged tension that had been building since he'd arrived, but something deeper.
Something that felt like trust, like connection, like the beginning of something that could last far beyond this crisis.
She finally said, “I want to see if we can find the deer we saw the other day.”
They were halfway back to the snowmobile when Cole froze, his arm shooting out to stop Janice mid-step.
"Don't move," he breathed, his voice barely audible.