by Dave Daren
He rubbed his finger along the bridge of his nose as I glanced back at the water bottle.
“So, humor me here, if you can’t make a visual judgement, what do you do?” I asked.
In part, I asked because I simply wanted to know, but better yet, I needed to know if Torres was the sort of expert that could testify to a jury in a way that they could understand. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he knew how to speak in technical jargon and nothing more.
Torres smiled, like he was happy I asked. He seemed like he genuinely enjoyed his job, but didn’t get to speak on it too often.
“Is a lawyer really that interested in environmental science?” he asked with a playful smile working its way onto his face.
“I’m a man of many hats,” I replied with a grin of my own. “Humor me.”
“Color me impressed, Archer,” he said before he cleared his throat. “Tell me if I get too confusing to follow. I have a habit of doing that. But, the most accurate way to figure out what’s in your sample here would be to use our mass spec.”
He paused to study me for any sign of understanding, but I must have looked as lost as I felt. He grinned and then nodded toward a boxy instrument on one of the other counters.
“Our mass spectrometer,” he explained. “In layman terms, it’s a machine we use to ionize any given material. That allows us to identify the different substances that make up the sample. Does that make sense so far?”
I gave a slow, thoughtful nod as bits and pieces of high school chemistry came back to me.
“I’m still following,” I said with a reassuring smile.
“Good, great,” Torres said. “So, we use tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography to break apart the sample into individual pieces, and then we work to find substances with the same level of ions to match what we uncovered. It’s not nearly as boring as it sounds.”
I didn’t think any of it sounded boring to begin with, even if it did sound more than a little above my paygrade.
“So, you’re able to use the sample I brought you for that?” I asked.
Torres waffled for a moment and tilted his head side to side.
“Well, yes and no,” he admitted with a sheepish smile. “While I do intend to run your sample through the mass spec, I’ll still have to make a trip out to the neighborhood you pulled it from myself to get a sample that follows the right procedural steps. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that science is any less Kafkaesque than government work. Especially when that science is government work.”
I felt like that might have been a joke, but too many seconds had already passed for me to laugh without it just sounding forced.
He seemed unbothered, like he was the sort of man used to people not laughing at his jokes.
“That makes sense,” I said with a nod of my head. “Thank you again for seeing me about this. The people in Piney Crest need help, and I’m sure they’re thankful, too.”
Torres blustered and gave a nonchalant wave of his hand, but I could see the sort of pride he obviously held for his job and the chance to play hero to people in need.
I couldn’t say I blamed him, given that more often than not, I felt the same way. Helping people, really helping people, was one of the best feelings in the world, and there wasn’t anything else like it.
“It’s my pleasure, really,” Torres said. “I don’t think there’s anything else I can do for you right now, Archer, but I’ll be in touch with you as soon as I have the results from your sample. It may be a few days before I can make it out to Piney Crest to gather a sample of my own, but I’ll keep you updated on that front as well.”
He snapped off his gloves and tossed them into a nearby bin before gesturing toward the doors of the lab, and I gave a gracious nod of my head before heading back out into the hallway.
I followed Torres out of the maze that the EPA considered to be a hallway and offered another firm handshake as a goodbye before stepping outside into the parking lot.
The temperature had clearly crept up while I’d been safe inside the lab, and I couldn’t help but be grateful I’d opted out of formalwear for the day. There was nothing pleasant about being sweaty in a suit. Only a few more cars had trickled into the parking lot and after sparing a quick glance at the heavy, leather-banded watch on my wrist, I realized less than an hour had passed.
I unlocked my car and made myself comfortable in the driver’s seat.
The idea of spending another four hours on Highway 6 didn’t exactly fill me with any sort of joy, but it was simply unavoidable, and as I pulled out of the parking lot, the radio played a soft, country song and my GPS barked out orders in its mechanical voice.
I’d only been on the road an hour and a half when my phone rang. I swore under my breath as I shifted in my seat to pull it from my back pocket. Lucky for me, traffic had slowed to all but a standstill in the early morning rush. I swiped to answer and hit the speaker button before I even offered a greeting.
“Kid,” Brody began as I started to ask who’d called. There was a sort of tenseness in his tone, an undercurrent of something I couldn’t quite place after just one word.
“Where are you?” He asked.
I glanced between the traffic ahead of me to the GPS on my dash.
“Uh, stranded somewhere between Navosta and Hearne on Highway 6, apparently,” I replied. “Why?”
Something about this call was already setting off the alarm bells in my mind, and they only got louder when Brody cursed for nearly half a minute.
“Shit, Landon,” Brody muttered when he was finally able to speak. “We needed you to get back here ten minutes ago.”
“Brody, what’s happening?” I demanded. “Is something wrong?”
“That’s an understatement,” he huffed. “Just get back here.”
He hung up before I could even ask him another question about what the hell was happening. Something churned in the pit of my stomach as I dwelled on what he’d said. Or, well, as I dwelled on what he hadn’t said.
I merged into the left lane in the hopes I’d be able to put the pedal to the metal.
For another thirty minutes, I rubber-banded along the highway, bumper to bumper with a dirty coupe and a shiny new SUV.
The time crawled by but somehow passed in an instant. It was strange how things moved when anxiety bogged down my mind. One minute, I had two hours left to drive, and the next, I pulled my car into its usual place in front of Landon Legal.
I swung out of the car with anxiety creeping up my throat.
Past the large window of the bakery, Hazel offered me a pleasant wave. I returned it with a much less enthusiastic wave of my own before pushing open the door of the firm.
I didn’t know what to expect on the other side, but like ripping off a Band-Aid, I didn’t hesitate.
I stalled in the doorway and felt my face blanch.
Seated across from my desk with his legs neatly crossed and an impeccable posture sat a man I’d only seen splashed across the news.
Abraham Knox.
He didn’t rise to his feet, but turned his watery blue eyes onto me with a thin, simpering smile on his face.
“Archer,” Knox said. “We have things to discuss.”
Chapter 5
I felt frozen in the doorway and could have sworn that time slowed to some sort of halt as I looked at Knox and the way he so comfortably seemed to sit in the chair at my desk.
He was like a blackhole that sucked all the air from the room, and it took me longer than I cared to admit before I was able to pull my focus from him. Even when I wasn’t looking at him, it was impossible to forget that he was there, because the overwhelmingly strong reek of his aftershave seemed to have gotten into the damn vents.
Brody leaned against the back wall with his cowboy hat on in a classic bit of posturing. If he was a cat, his hackles would have been raised. Evelyn was nowhere in sight, so I threw a confused look at Brody and raised my eyebrows in question.
“She went
to get lunch,” he said with a flat tone.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out Evelyn had left to avoid any sort of interaction with Knox, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I’d only been in a room with the man for less than five minutes, and I could already feel my skin crawl each time I caught a whiff of that damn aftershave.
But, unlike Evelyn, I couldn’t leave. And so, I simply straightened my spine once again before I walked over to take a seat at my desk. I sent a silent prayer of thanks up to whoever might have been listening that Brody had been able to keep Knox from sitting in my chair.
Knox looked at me with his beady eyes as I sat down. The shade of blue was so light, it nearly looked clear. They were the sort of eyes that had always made me uncomfortable with their odd lack of color. Needless to say, I’d never be chomping at the bit to stare deeply into Knox’s set under anything less than duress.
He sat uncomfortably straight in the lowback chair across from my desk. A heavy cane with a golden top leaned against the arm rest, and I wondered if Knox saw it more as a weapon than as a walking aid. This wasn’t the sort of man who’s radar I wanted to be on. But, I’d have been a fool to think it wouldn’t happen after I took the case.
“So,” Knox simpered without any real kindness in his voice. “If I had to reckon, I’d say you know why I’m here.”
His voice was cold, and he spoke like one of those old-school gentry, the sort of people I liked to think didn’t exist in our day and age, but clearly, did.
I set my jaw and did a silent count to ten. It wouldn’t do me any good to be overly combative with him. I knew the level of power and influence he had, if only because no one else had been stupid enough to take on Piney Crest’s case. I doubted I was in his good graces, but there wasn’t a need to throw myself on a grenade before anyone pulled the pin. I had always been smarter than that.
“Are you looking for legal counsel?” I asked with a pleasant little smile and a cock of my head. Behind him, Brody guffawed and poorly covered the sound with an unconvincing cough.
Well, so much for being on my best behavior. I didn’t do well with bullies, and that’s what Abraham Knox was, a bully. It didn’t take an expert to see that he wasn’t the sort of man used to being told no, and I derived some small level of satisfaction in the fact he didn’t seem used to my behavior.
The smile on his face remained intact, but something flashed behind his eyes, quick and mean. I kept smiling right back and folded my forearms on the desktop to relax my shoulders. If he wanted to be rigid about this, I was going to force myself into as close to casual as I could manage.
But Knox didn’t lean forward to take the bait. Something venomous flickered in his eyes, but he remained locked into his position in the old chair.
“Very cute, Archer,” he replied. “But I’m only here as a courtesy to you, son.”
As he spoke, he bared his teeth. They were startlingly white for a man his age. The only word I could ascribe to them was “unnatural.” The teeth paired with his watery eyes and ramrod straight posture reminded me of a certain cursed doll.
“A courtesy,” I repeated with a slow, disbelieving drawl. “A courtesy... in what regard, specifically?”
Knox looked unamused.
“I know you’re suing my company, and I know that young lawyers like you have all of this gumption and ambition,” he said with heavy emphasis on gumption. “But someone needed to tell you that you’re in over your head.”
He laid it out like it was some easy to follow math problem, and I was the student that assumed two plus two equaled five. I refused to let the smile drop off of my face despite the attempt to besmirch my intelligence.
“I’m fairly tall, so it takes quite a bit to be in over my head,” I said.
“I’m just trying to help you, Archer,” Knox began. “You seem like a... competent enough young man, and I would hate for something bad to befall your career. After all, you’ve just gotten established here in Crowley. It would be a shame if you were forced to leave for one reason or another.”
Knox smiled once again, and he looked about as pleasant as roadkill.
My nerves roiled in my stomach, and it took everything in me to swallow them down. I wasn’t the sort of man that believed in imposing my stature or status on others, but I rose to my feet anyway. Even seated, I could tell I towered over Knox.
“I appreciate the concern,” I lied. “But you understand, I’ve got a duty to the people of Piney Crest, and I’ll be damned if I back down because of a little turbulence.”
I smiled again as I stepped out from behind my desk. My eyes cut over to Brody where he still leaned against the wall. I would bet on him over Knox in a fight, but then again, I’d probably bet on a particularly stiff gust of wind over Knox in a physical fight.
But it wouldn’t come to that. No, Knox wasn’t the sort of man that used might to win his battles. He had more than enough money to grease more than enough palms, and the watery smile he gave me confirmed that. The man remained stubbornly in his chair, though I did notice that one hand had moved over to the handle of his cane.
“The people of Piney Crest,” he let the words linger in the air for a moment. “Like the nurse, yes? Or maybe the man who went on the news early this morning to cry wolf.”
Knox gave a shake of his head and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. His tone was the same one people might use when the dog chewed up the couch cushion.
“I’m sure they’re all lovely people when they’re sticking to their own business,” Knox added.
I moved a step closer to the chair, and Knox looked uncomfortable for the first time. He finally moved his cane to the side and with a barely discernible grunt, pushed himself up to his feet. He stood just a few inches under the bridge of my nose.
“Well, I appreciate you stopping by, Abraham,” I said with a smile. “I’m glad we could have this little... conversation.”
He did not smile back at me. Instead, he pushed himself away from the chair and stabbed down with his cane with each step, like he was trying to put holes in my floor. The rhythmic thumps echoed in the small space like the clicks of a metronome.
“You don’t understand what’s at stake here, Archer,” Knox broke his silence as he curled his free hand around the door handle. “But you will.”
He kept his back turned as he opened the door and disappeared onto the street. The door slammed closed behind him and left a stunned silence in his wake. A full sixty seconds must have ticked off the clock before Brody and I exchanged looks.
“Did he remind you of that one witch?” Brody asked as he snapped his finger. “Maleficent, from that Disney movie. With the cane? He could be her long lost brother.”
“I can’t remember the last time I watched a Disney movie,” I snorted.
Brody shrugged and pushed himself up off the wall.
“I have kids, Landon,” he assured me. “Not like I’m having sing-a-longs every damn night.”
I lifted my hands up in surrender but couldn’t help the snicker that escaped my lips.
“Maleficent aside, we have to be doing something right for him to come all the way down here, don’t we?” I asked.
I leaned against the edge of my desk and folded my arms over my chest to watch as Brody began pacing across the room. His boots scuffed against the floor with each heavy step. He took off his cowboy hat and set it on a stack of files on my desk as if it was somehow inhibiting his thoughts.
“Well, that depends,” he mused as he resumed pacing. “How’d things go with the egghead at the EPA?”
I tapped my long fingers against the edge of my desk and extended my legs out in front of me. I’d been too cramped in my car for too long and it felt great to stretch.
“Torres,” I filled in. “He said it looks like we’ve got something, but he’s not sure what yet. Told me that he’ll have to run some more tests to find out exactly what’s in the water, and it could be a few days before we hear anything else from him.
”
“I’ll be damned, then,” he breathed out. “The old bat’s contacts were no joke. Did he say about how many days we’ll be waiting, or are we just supposed to twiddle our thumbs?”
“No,” I said. “He needs to get out to the neighborhood himself to collect his own samples. No clue how long it’ll take given the four hour drive between us and Houston.”
Brody huffed, but there wasn’t anything either of us could do to expedite the process.
“Did you make any headway reaching out to the last fourteen houses?” I asked in an attempt to move the conversation away from Knox and his thinly-veiled threats.
Something about the visit rubbed me the wrong way, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on why. Maybe it had been the timing or maybe my gut was just picking up on what my mind already knew. We were taking on a titan, and we’d have been fools to think he’d lie down without a fight.
“Yes, and no,” Brody said and then corrected. “Six of the fourteen got back to me, but they weren’t much help. No real smoking guns, just the same thing we’d heard from everyone else. They started to get sick about two years ago with no rhyme or reason. Evelyn had started writing out a timeline for us before she left me to babysit Knox.”
“Where’s the timeline?” I asked as I pushed myself up to my feet.
“Hope you didn’t like whatever you had on that whiteboard,” Brody chuckled instead of offering a straight answer.
Before I could ask him what whiteboard he was talking about, he meandered over to the storage closet, and I blinked as he began wrestling out a large whiteboard on wheels. I hadn’t even remembered I’d had a whiteboard, but sure enough, as Brody struggled to get it out of the closet, the memory of a local high school’s yard sale came flooding back.
“Lucky for you, that chatty neighbor of yours stalled Knox on the sidewalk before he could come traipsing on in here,” Brody huffed after he managed to fully free the whiteboard.
He turned it around so I could see what Evelyn had compiled so far. The board was half covered in the same neat, curlicue font I’d seen on Evelyn’s mailbox. I’d assumed it was some sort of sticker, but apparently, that was just her handwriting. It was strangely at odds with the drill sergeant persona she carried with her. A list of names ran down the length of the board with approximate dates scribbled next to them. A few inches away was a much shorter list, and I could only assume this was the real timeline.