by Margaret Kay
“Wait, when was this survey approved?” Mother asked.
“It was approved just a few days ago, on the twenty-seventh, I think.” He crushed out his cigarette. “Come back in with me. I’ll show you on a map what area is being looked at.”
The two men went back into the building. Ames rolled out a map over his desk. “Right here. The exploration site is twenty miles due west of Homer, halfway between Kachemak Bay in the lower Kenai Peninsula.”
“What exploration site?” Remi asked from across the room, getting everyone’s attention.
“The new survey site that was approved a few days ago,” Ames replied. “Patrick was supposed to fill you all in that the application was submitted a few weeks ago.”
“He didn’t,” Remi said, her eyes narrowed on Clint Ames. “The question is, why didn’t you?”
“Not my job when Patrick said he would,” Ames argued. “I told Patrick my thoughts on it, that it should be halted until we were satisfied this increase in small tremors wasn’t seismic activity. But you knew Patrick. He was sure it was the drilling equipment, so he wouldn’t even discuss it.”
Renault came over and viewed the map. “That’s too damn close to the glacier. Patrick should have notified me.”
“He should have notified all of us,” Remi said. Her eyes went to Mother. “I think this is a bigger motive for altering that report. Finding new drilling sites and getting them approved is worth big bucks. But if a rig can’t stop a leak they have, they sure as hell shouldn’t be granted more sites.”
“From a regulatory perspective, how big of a deal is the leak and their failure to fix it?” Mother asked.
“There are fees that are imposed on the producer for each day a leak spews oil into the sea. And the fact that the leak had not been repaired when they said it was, would bring increased inspections and scrutiny to them,” Remi replied.
“But to put a gun to someone’s head and force me to alter a report?” Annaka asked. “Are the fees really that high?”
“No, it’s a cost of doing business for them, that they don’t bat an eye at. I think it’s more their reputation, which if they have new drill sites being considered, is more important.”
“But still, to commit a crime to cover it up?” Annaka pressed. “And what possible motive would Patrick have to help them? If the ground shakes were seismic activity, wouldn’t he want that disclosed? My God, he lived here too. Certainly, he would be concerned about a major earthquake or a tsunami.”
“Most quakes caused by induced seismicity are a very low magnitude, like we’ve been seeing. The odds of it unleashing a powerful quake are slim,” Clint Ames said.
“Even so, we need to monitor these small ground shakes very closely. We need to build a case to stop Carstairs from this new exploratory survey,” Remi said.
Everyone agreed.
“With everyone here, now is probably a good time to go over office staffing to monitor the equipment,” Dr. Renault said. “We’re down to six of us now who can take an overnight shift.”
“And New Year’s Eve is a few days away. Nuki and I are hosting game night at our place for anyone who wants to come.” She smiled at Mother. “That includes you and your team if you’re still here.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know.”
“Being down one person ends us each taking one night a week,” Clint Ames said.
“That’s down two people,” Mother chimed in. “Annaka can’t work overnights alone, not anytime soon.”
“Of course, I can,” she argued.
“Not a smart idea,” Mother said.
“I’ll take tomorrow night,” Annaka said, ignoring Danny.
“Sure, tomorrow is fine. I’ll be here with you,” Mother said.
“And I’ll take any other night you want to put me in,” she said defiantly.
“Annaka, you were kidnapped from this office the last time you were alone here!”
“You don’t think I am well aware of that?” She raised her voice.
“You seem to be forgetting it,” Mother replied.
“Do you know how condescending you sound?” She snapped.
“Condescending?” He asked, his voice now also raised. His eyes locked with hers. He saw fire in her eyes. Obviously, something he’d said hit a nerve with her. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.” He tried to bring it down a notch.
“For as long as you can be here? Then what? Besides, I’m just as vulnerable here alone as I am at home alone,” she continued to argue.
“We’ll have to visit that arrangement as well,” Mother said. “You might not be allowed to be home alone when we have to leave either.”
“Allowed?” She yelled. “How the hell dare you!” She continued screaming at him, a rant that didn’t stop.
“Excuse us,” Mother said, his eyes sweeping the others in the room, who stood quietly, watching them debate it. He looked around. The bathroom was the only private space in the building. He pulled a still arguing Annaka into the bathroom and closed the door.
“I said I am just as vulnerable alone at home as I would be here. And I am not about to have you tell me what I can and cannot do,” she continued to protest.
“I’m not sure how long I can be here to protect you,” he countered, raising his voice over hers. “You were already targeted once.”
“And I don’t want any of the others to be either. They all have families, Danny!”
Mother was so frustrated with her; he couldn’t think straight. He knew this shouting match wasn’t productive. As she screamed at him, he gazed into her eyes, ablaze with passion. He couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face.
“And what are you smiling about?” She demanded.
Without answering, Mother wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close. His other hand guided her jaw to his, and he kissed her, the only thing that made sense to him. He kissed her deeply, enthusiastically, putting everything he had into the kiss. He wasn’t surprised when she eagerly kissed him back. He pressed his body to hers and held her against the wall as his mouth devoured hers.
“Hey, is everything alright in there?” Remi’s voice called from the other room.
Their lips separated, and they stared at each other, stunned by the intensity of what just took place between them.
“Yeah!” Mother called back. Then he dropped his voice down to a whisper. “I won’t apologize for wanting to protect you, or for kissing you. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you.”
“I don’t like anyone issuing me orders,” Annaka said softly.
“Then how about I ask? Annaka, please don’t be alone here at the research station for a few weeks. I’ll stay as long as I can to protect you, but after I have to go, I need to know you will be careful. I care too much about you to let you take any risks. I’m sorry if I came across as condescending or dictating orders. That wasn’t my intention.”
Annaka nodded. Her eyes were still locked with his, which were dark, molten pools that bristled with life. Her body surged with energy from those kisses. “That kind of took on a life of its own.”
Mother’s lips curved into a smile. “The argument or the kiss?”
Annaka smiled as well. “Both.”
“That was raw passion. There’s a spark between us that I am not even going to try to deny exists.” He paused and smiled wider. “For the record, I wasn’t trying to issue you orders. I’m worried about you, Annaka.”
She dropped her head against his chest and held him tighter. “I’m sorry I yelled. I guess I’m more stressed out than I thought I was.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” he whispered. He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I raised my voice too.” He held her for a long moment. “We should get back out there.”
She pulled away and then flashed him a beautiful smile. “I’d say we need to revisit that later.” And she wasn’t referring to the shouting match.
Mother kept his smile from his face as he followed
her from the bathroom.
“I’ll take eleven p.m. to seven a.m. Monday through Friday for the next three weeks, including New Year’s Eve,” Ames volunteered after Mother and Annaka reentered the room.
“And I’ll take three p.m. to eleven p.m. Monday through Friday for the next three weeks too,” Sonia said.
“Put me in wherever you need me,” Peter Flenger, Annaka and Remi’s research assistant said. “Except New Year’s Eve. My wife and I have plans, reservations in Anchorage. Her mom will watch the baby overnight which she never does.”
Everyone chuckled a little.
“All three of you stepping up, helps a lot,” Annaka said. “Sorry about that, shouting like I did.”
“You have to be pretty stressed,” Remi said. “We understand.”
“Thank you. You have no idea.” Annaka’s eyes swept over her coworkers. “I’m still mentally processing it all. I can’t believe Patrick faked his kidnapping and helped anyone force me to enter the wrong data.” She paused and sighed. “And I can’t believe that he may have been covering up seismic activity caused by the drilling. Again, I’m sorry I yelled.” She faced Danny. “I’m sorry I yelled at you too. I know you are only trying to protect me.”
Mother grinned with understanding. “No worries. And I’m sorry I yelled back.” His eyes went to the others. “I do recommend that you all exercise extreme caution. We still do not know the identity of the two men who came in here with Patrick Keeling on Christmas Eve. When you are here, keep the door locked.”
“We will,” Remi said. “Though I don’t see what more they can hope to attain at this point. I’ve already notified the appropriate agencies of the inaccurate data in the report.”
“And I will be filing a report as to the circumstances that caused those entries. Whoever they were, will have to know that the erroneous reporting was a one-time thing. It won’t be able to happen again,” Annaka said.
Mother nodded. “If that is the case, then I’d say the threat level just dropped significantly.” Yeah, he hoped so anyway. “I’ll be back in, in a few minutes,” Mother whispered in Annaka’s ear.
He grabbed his coat and stepped outside. He called Lambchop. He and BT were just arriving at the Carstairs operating office in Anchorage. He’d dropped Sherman at the rental car facility to get a second vehicle for them. From there, he drove to the FBI lab, also in Anchorage, where Keeling’s laptop and cell phone were now at.
Mother filled them in on the site survey Carstairs was planning to start to expand their operation. This was the first real lead they had on the motive for forcing Annaka to submit that erroneous report. He also informed him that Keeling hadn’t shared this information with anyone at the research office as Ames thought he had.
“Good to know,” Lambchop said. “I’m glad you got a hold of us with this info before we went in. I’ll let you know what we find out.”
Mother reentered the research office just in time to witness one of these minor tremors. He felt nothing. He found it fascinating, watching the needle on the seismology equipment record it. “Where are your whales?” He asked Annaka.
“The entire pod is on the other side of the peninsula, near Seward,” Annaka reported.
“They all moved there together,” Peter said. “I correlated all the environmental data just before and after their departure from the inlet,” he told Annaka. “I sent it in an email to you, but there was nothing substantial to report.”
“Thank you, Peter,” Annaka said. She’d still review it. Her eyes found their way to Danny. He was watching her closely. “Beluga whales are smart. I also saw unusual territorial shifts before minor quakes, nothing as drastic as them all leaving the inlet though.”
“There was something I noticed right before they moved out of the inlet,” Peter said. “The hydrophone picked up increased calls from the whales.”
Annaka wasn’t surprised. She nodded.
“What does that mean?” Mother asked.
“Belugas are very vocal creatures. They’re called the canaries of the sea for a reason. They sing out a series of chirps, clicks, whistles, and squeals. It sounds like music to us, but to other belugas these sounds convey important information.”
“They communicate with each other?” Mother asked.
“Yes, they definitely do,” she answered with a smile. “It’s amazing. We’ve recorded their songs. I can even tell you which whale we are listening to, most of the time. Their songs are that distinct.”
Mother shook his head. “Wow, that’s incredible.” He again noticed how her face lit up as she talked about her beloved whales.
Indigo
Mother and Annaka met Sherman at the motel at just after nineteen hundred hours. After they left the research office, they went to Homer to the cell phone store. Annaka replaced her phone, ticked she had to pay so much to replace it. The missing one was only a year old. They brought meals from the diner for everyone for dinner. They’d driven Annaka’s car from the office. Lambchop and BT were five minutes out, on their way back from Anchorage.
Annaka unpacked the bag and laid the silverware out at each place. She’d gotten the diner’s fish fry for everyone tonight. The fresh cod catch that the local fishermen brought in was delicious, the portions plentiful. The diner’s homemade coleslaw was also very good. She’d even gotten a pie for them to have for dessert.
Lambchop and BT came through the door a few minutes later. “Thanks for picking up dinner,” Lambchop said.
“It smells really good,” BT added, opening the lid to one of the containers. “Is this one mine?” He flashed Annaka a smile.
“Three have baked potatoes, two have French fries. Pick whichever you want.”
They all sat at the table. Lambchop took a bite and chewed it before speaking. “We didn’t learn much at the main office of Carstairs. They seem eager to help and remedy any issue at their platform. We spoke with the assistant manager of operations. He thought the leak was fixed, was surprised to hear that the concentrations of oil are higher.”
“Was he blowing smoke up your ass?” Mother asked.
“I don’t know. Hard to tell,” Lambchop replied. “He did know about the site survey and the expansion plan if the oil field is confirmed.”
“Yeah, I think he shared more about it than I think the actual manager would have,” BT added. “If they move forward with the new site, it’s going to cost them a fortune to lay down a new subsea oil pipeline from that area to the main pipeline that transports the oil. He threw out some pretty big numbers.”
“Well, Remi and Claude Renault both freaked out when they heard about the possible location of the new drilling,” Mother said.
“With good reason,” Annaka chimed in. “I can’t believe the Alaska Department of Natural Resources approved the site survey.”
“If they knew the leak was still active, would they have?” Lambchop asked.
“I’m not sure. Remi seems to think it would bring more scrutiny to them and could hurt their chances.”
“The leak and the ground shakes both, according to Clint Ames. He believes the drilling activity is causing small earthquakes. He thinks the current drilling operations should be curtailed, not expanded,” Mother added.
“Now that sounds like one hell of a motive to me,” Lambchop said.
“Everyone at the research office will be working on getting the proof, now that we know. It would help if you could find a link between Patrick and Carstairs though,” Annaka said.
“Our digital unit is trying,” Lambchop said.
“Did this assistant manager open up the ID picture file of the local workers?” Mother asked.
“No, knew he wouldn’t,” Lambchop said. “He did take a look at the two renderings of our suspects. He claims he didn’t recognize them.”
Mother shook his head. “I wish Shepherd could have gotten a warrant to look through those employee pictures, but I knew that was a longshot at best.”
“Maybe something will turn up on
Keeling’s phone or computer,” Sherman said. “The FBI in Anchorage have both and have unlocked the phone.” He paused and shook his head. “You’re not going to like this Annaka, but Keeling has over fifty pictures of you on his phone.”
“What?” She demanded, stunned.
“It’s starting to look like he either had you under surveillance or he was a stalker. Alfrejd is leaning towards stalker. I’m keeping an open mind.”
“What kind of pictures?” Mother asked, his anger flaring.