Chapter 24
Back at the cabin, Janice carefully unpacked her field kit on the kitchen counter, arranging the sample containers in neat rows.
Her mind was already working through the next steps in preservation protocols, chain-of-custody documentation, and analysis procedures.
The water samples had been damning, but these tissue samples would be the smoking gun.
Cole moved around the cabin behind her, checking windows and adding wood to the stove, giving her space to work while still maintaining his quiet vigilance. She appreciated the way he seemed to understand when she needed to focus.
"I need to call my parents," she said, pulling out her laptop. "They're both veterinarians, and their clinic has a full diagnostic lab. If I can't trust the university anymore, I need another way to get these samples analyzed properly."
"Makes sense." Cole settled onto the sofa, close enough to be present but not hovering. "You want privacy?"
Janice hesitated. Part of her wanted to handle this alone, the way she'd always handled things. But a growing part wanted Cole there. Wanted her parents to see the man who'd been protecting her. "No," she said. "Stay. I think... I'd like you to meet them."
Something warm flickered in Cole's dark eyes. "I'd like that too."
She set up the video call on her laptop, positioning it on the counter where she could work while talking.
The familiar ringtone seemed to echo in the small cabin, and then her mother's face filled the screen.
Karen Lynch, with the same blond hair as Janice, though now streaked with silver, had kind blue eyes that immediately sharpened with concern.
"Sweetheart! We've been worried sick. Your father and I have been—David! Come here! It's Janice!" Her mother turned away from the screen, calling into the depths of their home before looking back into the computer camera. "Are you okay? We haven't heard from you in days and with this storm—"
"I'm okay, Mom." Janice felt tears prick at her eyes, unexpected emotion welling up at the sight of her mother's familiar face. "I'm okay, but... a lot has happened."
Her father appeared behind her mother, his weathered face creased with worry. David Lynch had the perpetually rumpled look of a man more interested in caring for his furry patients than in appearances, with his gray hair sticking up at odd angles. "Jannie-bug, what's going on? You look exhausted."
Janice took a deep breath and began to explain. The contamination she'd discovered. The illegal mining operation. The threats, the university pressure, the storm that had trapped her. She watched her parents' expressions shift from concern to shock to barely contained fury as the story unfolded.
"Those bastards," her father muttered when she described the dead wildlife. "Poisoning protected land, killing animals—"
"David," her mother said quietly, but her own jaw was tight with anger.
"And you've been dealing with this alone?" Her father's voice cracked slightly. "Why didn't you call us sooner?"
"I wasn't alone." Janice glanced over at Cole, who had risen from the sofa and moved to stand just outside the camera's frame. "Dad, Mom, there's someone I want you to meet."
She gestured for Cole to come closer, and he stepped into view, positioning himself beside her. Janice watched her parents' faces as they took him in, confusion filling their expressions.
"This is Cole Iverson. He's with Lighthouse Security Investigations. He came to help me when... when things got dangerous."
"Dr. and Dr. Lynch," Cole greeted them respectfully. "It's good to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances."
Her mother's sharp eyes moved between Cole and Janice, and Janice knew that look. Her mom was cataloging every detail, drawing conclusions about exactly how close her daughter and this man had become.
"Thank you," her mother said finally, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for taking care of our girl. And please call us Karen and David."
"She's pretty good at taking care of herself," Cole replied, and Janice felt warmth bloom in her chest at the simple acknowledgment. "I'm just backup."
Her father cleared his throat, visibly pulling himself together. "So what's the plan now? You said the university is compromised. You can't send samples through their channels."
"That's why I'm calling." Janice turned back to her sample containers. "I collected tissue samples from some of the dead wildlife today. Liver, kidney, blood. But I need a lab I can trust to analyze them, and right now I don't trust anyone connected to the university."
Her parents exchanged a wordless look of communication that came from many years of marriage and partnership.
"Send them to us," her mother said firmly. "Our lab can run the toxicology panels. Heavy metals, organ function markers, histopathology. We have everything we need."
"And we're not connected to any institution Penson could pressure," her father added. "Private practice, independent lab. The chain of custody stays clean."
Relief flooded through Janice so intensely she had to grip the counter for support. "Are you sure? This could get complicated. If Penson finds out you're involved—"
"Let him try," her father growled. "I'd like to see some corporate criminal try to intimidate me in my own clinic. I've faced down angry bulls and territorial stallions. Some rich bastard in a suit doesn't scare me."
"David," her mother said again, smiling now. "What your father means is that we're happy to help. This is exactly why we got into veterinary medicine… protecting animals who can't protect themselves."
Janice felt tears threatening again and blinked them back. "Thank you. Both of you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"That's what parents are for, sweetheart." Her mother leaned closer to the camera. "Now, walk me through what you've collected. Let's make sure you're preserving everything properly for transport."
Janice pulled on fresh nitrile gloves and began laying out her samples. "I collected liver and kidney tissue from a red fox, two herons, a kingfisher, and a deer. Everything's been preserved in ten percent neutral buffered formalin for histopathology."
"Good," her mother said approvingly. "We'll be able to see the tissue damage under microscopy."
"I also collected fresh tissue samples that I've kept on ice." Janice held up several smaller containers. "For those, I wanted to do heavy metal quantification, so I needed unfixed tissue."
Her father nodded. "Smart. What's your preservation protocol for the fresh samples?"
"Kept at four degrees Celsius since collection. I'm planning to flash-freeze them once we get somewhere with proper equipment." Janice paused. "The cabin doesn't exactly have laboratory-grade freezers."
"That should be fine for short-term storage," her mother assured her.
"Just keep them frozen within twenty-four hours and shipped on dry ice.
We can run ICP-MS for the heavy metal panel.
That'll give us concentrations of lead, arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, everything you'd expect from mining runoff. "
“I’ll get hold of my people,” Cole said. “We can get them here, and then chopper the samples to you. That’ll be fastest and safest.”
Janice looked up at him in awe. Gratitude filled her voice as she whispered, “Thank you.”
He shook his head, and she knew he didn’t need thanks. But she offered it freely. Turning back to the laptop screen, she spoke quietly.
"The kidney sections are worse," Janice said quietly. "These animals' organs were failing, Mom. They were dying slowly, painfully, as the toxins accumulated faster than their bodies could clear them."
She heard Cole shift behind her and felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder, with a gentle touch that grounded her.
"The contamination is affecting the entire food chain, from aquatic invertebrates up through apex predators."
"This is exactly what we need," her father said, his voice rough with suppressed anger. "Tissue pathology combined with quantitative heavy metal analysis. It tells a complete story of what the animals were exposed to and exactly how it killed them."
"The biological evidence is more damning than water samples alone," her mother added.
"Water chemistry can be argued away—natural variation, sampling error, historical contamination.
But sick and dying animals with documented organ failure?
That's proof that the contamination is actively killing wildlife right now.
That's what makes federal prosecutors pay attention. "
Janice had carefully sealed each sample container, labeling them with meticulous precision. She wanted documentation that would hold up in court.
"I'll prepare everything for shipping when Cole’s team gets here," she said.
"We'll be ready on this end," her mother promised. "The lab can prioritize your samples. I'll have preliminary results within forty-eight hours of receipt and the full toxicology panel within a week."
"Stay off university channels completely," her father added, his expression serious.
"Don't contact your supervisor, don't file any reports through their system.
As far as the university knows, you're still stuck in that cabin waiting out the storm.
The less they know about what you're doing, the less information can get back to Penson. "
"I understand." Janice paused, gratitude swelling in her chest. "Dad, Mom... thank you. I know this puts you in a difficult position—"
"Nonsense." Her mother interrupted. "This is exactly where we should be.
Standing with our daughter, protecting animals, doing what's right.
" She paused, her eyes softening as they flickered to Cole, still standing supportively behind Janice.
"Besides, it looks like you've found someone who understands what that means too. "
Janice felt heat rise in her cheeks. "Mom—"
Karen Lynch's smile held knowing warmth as her father said, “Cole, take care of our girl."
"Yes, sir," Cole replied without hesitation. "You have my word."
After the call ended, Janice stood motionless for a moment, staring at the darkened laptop screen. The weight of everything pressed down on her… the evidence spread across the counter, the danger still lurking outside, the uncertain path ahead.
Then Cole's arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest. "Your parents are good people," he said quietly, his breath warm against her hair.
"They are." She leaned into his embrace, drawing strength from his solid presence. "They've always supported me, even when my choices didn't make sense to anyone else."
"Seems like they approve of your current roommate, too."
Janice turned in his arms, tilting her face up to meet his eyes. "I think they do too." She reached up, tracing the line of his jaw with her fingertips.
The cabin suddenly felt smaller, warmer. The samples waited on the counter, the evidence that would bring down an empire of corruption. But for this moment, none of that mattered.
What mattered was Cole's arms around her, his heart beating steady against hers, and the certainty growing in her chest that whatever came next, she wouldn't face it alone. He leaned down as she lifted on her toes. Only a whisper of air separated their mouths when his satellite phone vibrated.
She crinkled her nose at the interruption. Finding out if his lips were as soft as she imagined would have to wait for another time.