Chapter 32
Charles Penson stood and moved closer, taking the chair close to Janice.
Not too close, she noted. Not close enough that I could kick him!
"I know you've been documenting contamination in the watershed.
I know you've collected samples. What I need to know is who you've shared this information with.
The university? Federal agencies? Private environmental groups? "
Janice refused to respond.
"Come now, Dr. Lynch. We both know how this works.
" Penson's voice remained pleasant, conversational, but something cold flickered in his eyes.
"You've been interfering with a very lucrative operation.
That interference has costs… financial, political, personal costs.
I need to understand the scope of the problem so I can address it appropriately. "
He wanted to know how much damage control he needed to do. Wanted to know who else needed to be threatened, bribed, or silenced.
Janice's mind raced back to the samples, safely en route to her parents' lab. To the photographs stored in the cloud, accessible from anywhere. To the reports she'd already filed, the evidence already documented.
Even if Penson made her disappear, the truth would come out. Her work would matter. The animals she'd been fighting for would have justice. That knowledge gave her strength. She just had to hold on until Cole arrived.
Penson leaned forward, his expression becoming more serious. "Now then. Let's talk about what you know, and more importantly, who you've told."
Janice knew this was the moment that mattered.
She needed to be smart, needed to buy time without giving him anything useful.
Her mind raced, calculating her approach.
She could play dumb, pretend she didn't understand what he was asking.
But Penson already knew she'd been researching the watershed, and lying about that would only make him angry.
She could refuse to answer entirely. But silence might convince him she was more of a threat than she actually was, might make him decide she needed to disappear immediately.
Or she could talk. Keep him engaged, keep him listening, buy herself time for Cole to realize something was wrong and come looking.
"I've been documenting wildlife patterns," Janice said, her voice hoarse from the earlier attempted screams. "Tracking animal populations and their behavioral changes in response to environmental factors."
"Environmental factors." Penson's smile was thin. “What kind of environmental factors?”
"I'm a wildlife veterinarian," Janice continued, forcing herself to meet his eyes steadily. "My research focuses on how animals adapt to changing conditions in their habitat. The focus is on how climate change affects animal behavior and population dynamics."
She was stalling, hoping it worked. Her training had taught her to be precise in her observations and document everything methodically. Now she used that same skill to talk in circles, hopefully buying time for Cole to realize she was missing.
"The animals in this watershed have shown interesting adaptive behaviors," she continued, warming to her subject despite the terror still coursing through her veins.
"For instance, the moose populations have been moving to higher elevations, which initially seemed consistent with temperature changes.
But their migration patterns don't align with typical climate-driven movement. "
Penson's expression shifted, and he blinked. "Dr. Lynch—"
"And the fish and bird populations…" Janice interrupted, not letting him derail her.
"Typically, I don’t study the waterlife or fowls, other than for the animals that eat from the water, such as bears and certain birds that obtain their food source from the fish.
You'd expect to see certain species thriving in cold-water environments like this.
But I've observed significant die-offs in areas where the water chemistry shows elevated levels of—"
"I know what you've observed." Penson cut her off sharply. "What I want to know is what you've done with those observations. Who have you reported to? What agencies have you contacted?"
Janice forced herself to stay calm, to keep her voice measured and professional. "My research is contracted through the university. All my findings are documented and submitted through proper academic channels. The grant funding requires regular progress reports, peer review of methodology, and—"
"The university isn't a concern," Penson said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "I've already handled that situation. What I need to know is whether you've gone outside those channels. Federal agencies? Environmental groups? The media?"
So he'd pressured the university. Janice had suspected as much, but hearing him confirm it so casually made her blood boil. She fought to keep the anger out of her voice.
"As a researcher, my primary obligation is to the scientific process," she said carefully.
"Documenting changes in animal populations and ecosystem health is foundational work.
The animals I've been monitoring, such as the lynx, caribou, fox, and deer, to name a few…
they're all indicator species. Their health tells us about the overall wellness of the environment. "
"I don't need a lecture on ecology," Penson snapped.
"But that's what I do," Janice insisted, leaning forward slightly, still biding for time.
"I watch animals. I document their behavior.
I try to understand how environmental changes affect their survival.
" She paused, then added with careful emphasis, "Climate change is the primary driver of ecosystem disruption in Alaska.
Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, earlier spring thaws—all of it impacts wildlife. "
She was burying the lead, hiding evidence of contamination under layers of legitimate climate research. If she could make him think she was just another scientist studying global warming, maybe he'd decide she wasn't worth the risk of silencing.
But Penson wasn't stupid. "Climate change," he repeated flatly. "That's your story? You just happened to be documenting climate impacts in the exact watershed where my mining operation is located?"
"I didn't choose the location," Janice said, which was technically true. "The grant specified this particular area because it's been under-studied and represents an important transitional zone between different ecological regions. The research protocols were established before I ever arrived."
"And the water samples you collected?" Penson's eyes had gone cold. "Those were all part of your climate research?"
Janice's heart hammered, but she kept her voice steady.
"Environmental contamination can have multiple sources.
Natural mineral deposits, historical mining from decades ago, even volcanic activity can introduce heavy metals into water systems. As a veterinarian, I'm trained to investigate potential causes of illness or death when I find sick or dead animals.
That includes ruling out various forms of poisoning. "
"Ruling out," Penson echoed. "Or documenting?"
"The scientific method requires comprehensive analysis," Janice said, falling back on academic language like a shield. "You can't draw conclusions without proper evidence. Every sample needs to be tested, every result needs to be verified, every finding needs to be peer-reviewed before—"
"Enough." Penson stood abruptly, his patience clearly exhausted.
"I don't care about your scientific method or your peer review process.
I care about whether you've gathered evidence that connects the contamination to my operation, and whether that evidence has been shared with anyone who might actually do something about it. "
Janice met his glare steadily, buying herself a few more seconds to think.
The truth was that she had evidence. Strong evidence.
Evidence that was currently en route to her parents' lab for detailed analysis.
Evidence that would prove beyond a doubt that Northern Summit Resources was poisoning the watershed.
"The animals are dying," she said quietly, shifting tactics. "Whatever the source of the contamination, wildlife is suffering. As someone who dedicated my life to protecting animals, I can't just ignore that—"
"I don't give a damn about your dead animals!
" Penson slammed his hand on the desk, making Janice flinch despite herself.
"Those animals, this land, all of it exists to serve human needs.
We need the minerals I'm extracting. Society needs them.
Your precious wildlife is collateral damage in the service of progress. "
There it was—the truth beneath the expensive suit and cultured voice. Charles Penson genuinely believed that his profit mattered more than the ecosystem he was destroying, and that human greed justified any amount of environmental destruction.
Janice felt her carefully maintained composure crack, anger flooding through the fear. “You can’t find those minerals anywhere else? Or at least take responsibility for the runoff that goes straight into the water?”
"How idealistic." Penson's smile was cruel. "And how utterly naive.”
"Those animals have as much right to exist as you do," she said, her voice shaking with fury. "They were here first, they'll be here long after we're gone, and they deserve better than to be poisoned by someone who thinks money is more important than life."
“Let me tell you how the world actually works, Dr. Lynch.
Money buys influence. Influence buys protection.
I have both in abundance. Whatever evidence you think you've gathered, whatever reports you think you've filed…
none of it matters. I own people at the EPA.
I have senators on speed dial. The university you work for has been very grateful for my generous donations. "
"You can't buy everyone," Janice shot back.
"I don't need to buy everyone. Just the people who matter." He moved around the desk, looming over her. "So I'll ask you one more time, and I suggest you answer honestly. Who else knows what you found? And where are your samples?"
Janice's mind raced. If she told him the samples were already in transit, he might panic, might decide she needed to disappear immediately. But if she claimed they were still at the cabin or the hotel, he'd send people to retrieve them, and when they didn't find anything, he'd know she'd lied.
"I want legal representation,” she said instead, knowing it sounded ludicrous. "You're holding me against my will, which is kidnapping. I'm not saying anything else without legal representation."
Penson laughed, the sound sharp and humorless. "A lawyer. She wants a lawyer." He turned to his men who were standing near the door. "You hear that? She thinks this is some kind of legal proceeding."
The miner shifted uncomfortably, and Janice caught unease in his expression, maybe even guilt. They'd signed up to work at a mine, not to participate in kidnapping and whatever came next.
"Mr. Penson," the employee said hesitantly. "Maybe we should—"
"Take her to the camp," Penson interrupted coldly. "Keep her secured there until I decide what to do with her. And make sure she has no way to communicate with the outside world. No phone, no computer, nothing."
The camp. The illegal mining site. The remote location where no one would hear her scream, where evidence could be disposed of without witnesses.
Terror spiked through Janice's chest, but she forced it down. She'd bought herself some time but not much. The conversation had lasted maybe fifteen minutes. Hopefully long enough for Cole to realize she was missing. Long enough for the tracker to start broadcasting her location.
She just had to stay alive until rescue arrived.
As the other two miners walked in and pulled her to her feet, Janice took one last look at Charles Penson. He'd already dismissed her, turning back to his desk and his laptop as though she were just another problem to be filed away.
"The evidence is already out there," she said quietly. "Whatever you do to me, it won't stop what's coming."
Penson looked up, his expression unreadable. "We'll see about that."
Then she was being dragged from the office, back through the beautiful house built on corruption, and toward whatever waited at the mining camp.
But she'd spoken the truth. The samples were safe. The photographs were backed up to the cloud. Her parents knew what she'd been investigating. So did Cole and LSIMT.
Charles Penson might have money, influence, and political connections, but Janice had something more powerful… evidence. And people who wouldn't stop fighting until the truth came out.
She just had to survive long enough to see justice served.