Chapter 9 #3
Martinelli gave him a look. “You need to step back, Wallace. You’re not deputized.”
“I could be.”
The detective held up a hand. “Just, take a breath.”
“You said you were short-staffed.”
“Okay. Listen. I’ll talk to him. And I’ll keep in touch. I will let you know if…if we need to involve you.”
“I’m already involved,” he said with a growl.
Martinelli’s mouth turned into a grim line.
Rowan turned to Saxon. “What did you find out about Sierra’s grandfather?”
“Talked to Police Chief Bruce Balluff this morning. He said Elway Blackwood was old-school law enforcement, used to be a detective before he became police commissioner. Balluff mentioned that Elway had been investigating something on the side before he died.”
“Investigating what?”
“Land deals. Water rights. Balluff said Elway was also suspicious about the number of ranchers being pressured to sell, especially given the recent mineral surveys in the area.”
“And then he conveniently dies in an ATV accident.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too,” Saxon said quietly. “But thinking and proving are two different things.”
“What kind of minerals are we talking about?” Martinelli asked.
“I got these from the county office.” Saxon pulled out a geological survey report, spreading it across the desk next to Martinelli’s files.
“Lithium-beryllium deposits. Significant ones, according to this. With the electric-vehicle boom and tech-industry demand, lithium mining has become incredibly lucrative.”
“Lucrative enough to kill for?” Rowan said.
“Potentially. Lithium extraction is a multibillion-dollar industry. If someone identified a major deposit under local ranch land, they’d need to acquire the mineral rights to access it.”
“And if the ranchers won’t sell willingly…”
“You make their lives miserable until they do.” Saxon’s voice was grim. “Fires, livestock poisoning, probably escalating pressure until they give up and leave.”
Martinelli leaned back in his chair, which creaked under the movement. “This is all speculation unless we can prove deliberate contamination.”
Rowan’s phone rang. Dr. Chen’s name appeared on the screen.
“Dr. Chen. What did you find?”
“Lithium levels three times what’s considered safe for livestock consumption.” Her voice was tight with concern. “This isn’t environmental, Mr. Wallace. Someone introduced concentrated lithium into your water source.”
“How concentrated?”
“Enough to kill every head of cattle that drinks from that pond within forty-eight hours.”
Rowan went a little cold. “Thank you, Doctor. Please document everything for a police report.”
“Already doing it. And Mr. Wallace? I’m calling the other ranchers to compare notes. If this is happening to multiple ranchers, we need to establish a pattern.”
Rowan ended the call and looked at Saxon and Martinelli. “Confirmed. Deliberate lithium poisoning.”
“That’s attempted destruction of property, at minimum.” Martinelli stood, reaching for his jacket. “Could be attempted murder if anyone had consumed that water.”
Rowan stilled. “Sierra and Huck use well water for the house, but they could have easily been exposed. I need to call her.”
“Make the call,” Saxon said. “But Rowan? We need to be smart about this. If Meridian is behind this, they have serious money and resources. They won’t hesitate to escalate if they feel threatened.”
Rowan stepped outside to make the call, needing air and space to control his anger before talking to Sierra.
The afternoon sun felt too bright after the fluorescent lighting of the police station, and Main Street bustled with normal small-town activity that felt surreal, given what he’d just learned.
She answered on the second ring.
“Rowan? How’s the cow?”
He’d loaded the heifer into the cattle truck, but Sierra had taken her truck to pick up Huck from school.
Now the worry in her voice made his chest tight. “The cattle poisoning could be deliberate. Lithium contamination in the water.”
“Deliberate?” Sierra’s voice rose, and he could hear the truck door slam in the background. “Someone poisoned our livestock on purpose?”
“That’s what it looks like. Where are you now? Did you get my text?”
“Yes. I just dropped Huck at home. He’s working on homework. I’m heading back to help Morrie with the cattle.”
“Don’t go to the south pasture. Stay away from the creek.”
“Rowan, if someone’s willing to poison our cattle…”
“They might be willing to do worse. I know.” He stared out at the mountain in the distance, the clouds gathering. “Listen. Stay alert. I’m with Detective Martinelli and Saxon at the police station. I’ll be home soon.”
He refused to hear how normal that sounded. Home. Soon.
“Rowan?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
“They won’t get the chance to hurt anything else I love.” He blew out a breath. “I’ll call you as soon as I know more.”
Rowan ended the call and rejoined Saxon and Martinelli.
“What’s our next move?” Rowan asked.
“I contact the state police and request support for a major investigation,” Martinelli said. “This crosses county lines now, which gives us more resources.”
“And I keep digging into Meridian and Rocky Mountain Land Development,” Saxon added. “Follow the money, find the connections.”
“What about Sierra and Huck?” Rowan glanced again at his phone. Protective instincts were screaming at him to get them somewhere safe immediately.
“They need to be careful,” Martinelli said. “Escalation to human targets isn’t unthinkable.”
“I’ll handle their security,” Rowan said.
“But I want to track these guys down before they can escalate further.” He looked at Martinelli as he headed out, stopping at the door.
“And to be clear, I won’t be stopping in for a badge to take down someone who might be trying to kill”—he looked at Saxon, and back to Martinelli—“my family.”
Detective Martinelli raised an eyebrow.
Rowan didn’t care. And he didn’t look back.
Line drawn.