Dead Dry
Page 32
He nodded.
“I won’t.”
His gaze didn’t waver. It rested upon me like a feather, light yet strong and graceful in every detail. He said nothing.
“But I’ll ask you to do something else instead,” I said.
Fritz took a moment before asking, “And what is that?”
“Love me.”
“I do, Em.”
“I mean like a man loves a woman.”
His voice caught in his throat like he was in pain. “I do. I always have.”
I put a hand out and touched his face with my fingertips. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you like that.”
He stared into my eyes a moment, then averted his gaze, but leaned toward me ever so slightly, pressing his cheek against my hand.
I found my voice again. “Fritz, I love you, too.”
His eyes locked onto mine. He waited.
I said, “I needed time.”
“I know.”
“And you waited. Thank you.”
His eyes swam with tears.
I said, “And I want to marry you and be with you always.”
Every muscle in his body tensed.
I said, “I—I hope you’ll consider it, anyway. Consider marrying me and taking me as your wife. I want to have children with you, one child at least, if I haven’t waited too long. And I won’t take on dangerous cases because that wouldn’t be fair or reasonable to do if I’m somebody’s mother and somebody’s wife, and I’m real certain that I don’t ever want to go through anything like that again anyway. But Fritz, I’ve got to do something that scratches my itch to dig into things, like maybe consult on cases but not actually go out on collars or anything, because … because, you see, I’ve looked into you and you’re so still you’re like a mirror. You’re like a mountain lake first thing in the morning, the surface so smooth it’s reflective. I look into you and I see your depth and your stillness and your incredible ability to face things that are scary. And in that mirror I see myself reflected back. That confused me at first because I was seeing my own uncertainty and I thought it was all of me, but now I see the other half, the warrior me, the part I’d like to knit back together with the rest by not being so alone, and that’s why I love you so much, or a part of it, but also you’re just … so … loveable. And I’m not making sense at all, but I’m afraid to shut up because if I do maybe that’s the end of things, and I don’t want them to end, ever.”
Fritz had pulled his hands out of his pockets and put them on the small of my back and had begun, ever so slowly, to draw me into a hug that used both arms. “You’re making perfect sense,” he said, a huge smile curling his lips. “I’m with you—every word, every breath, every beat of your heart.”
“Well, good, because I couldn’t stand it if you thought I was crazy. Or if you didn’t maybe want me as much as I want you!”
“Shhh …” He pulled me nearer, closing his arms tightly around me, now bending his body to meet mine, his hips tight against me and rocking gently, his heart pounding, his lips nuzzling against my hair.
“Fritz,” I whispered, as I raised my face to meet his, time and space falling through the dark warmth he was creating within me. “I have so much to tell you.”
His breath filled my ear with a whispered reply. “We’ll have years and years to say everything we need to say, but first things first.” His lips brushed my forehead, my cheek, my nose, then hovered so close to mine that I could feel their heat, and I fell into his kiss.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As with previous books in the Em Hansen series, this little monster was a collaborative work. My colleagues have been exceedingly generous and often passionate in bringing to my attention ideas and information that they feel the public needs to know about. I am, therefore, indebted to my entire profession for support in creating these stories.
In particular this time, I wish to thank geologist Robert G. Raynolds of the Denver Museum of Science and Nature for sharing his knowledge of the geology and ground water of the Denver Basin and for his technical review of this book. Everything I learned about Denver Basin aquifers (and a good deal more) appears in Mountain Geologist: A Special Issue on Bedrock Aquifers of the Denver Basin (October 2004, vol. 41, no. 4), edited by the incomparable and indispensable Susan Landon with guest editors Robert G. Raynolds (yeah, the same Bob Raynolds) and Michele L. Reynolds. I am especially grateful for insights provided in “Stratigraphy and Water Levels in the Arapahoe Aquifer, Douglas County Area, Denver Basin, Colorado,” by Robert G. Raynolds (same guy again). Other texts that provided essential understandings for this book include Ancient Denvers, by Kirk R. Johnson and Robert G. Raynolds (beginning to get the drift about this Raynolds guy?); A Field Guide to Dinosaur Ridge, by Martin Lockley; In Search of the Warrior Spirit, by Richard Strozzi-Heckler; and The Art of War, by Sun Tzu.
Next on the hit parade of fabulously contributing colleagues comes (drum roll … dim the house lights and bring up the spot … a hush rolls over the crowd as men crane their necks, babies squeal, and women swoon … announcing … The stupendous! The magnificent! The astonishing!) Jim Reed of RockWare, Inc. Jim’s technical review of the text provided lots of juicy forensic stuff. I am also forever indebted to Jim for making me laugh as hard as I ever have on the convention floor at the Geological Society of America.
Many thanks to the members of NecroSearch International, in particular the same Jim Reed, for their excellent investigations of clandestine gravesites, which provided a model for investigations described in this book.
Multitudinous thanks also to geologist and minerals economist Janie Chermak of the University of New Mexico for helping me understand ground water as a mineral commodity and for her technical review of this book.
Big kudos go to science historian Michele Aldrich for her winning bid and generous contribution to the Geological Society of America Foundation silent auction, thus allowing the use of her name for a character in this book. Michele Aldrich, the science historian, is real; Michele Aldrich, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department detective, is entirely fictional, but is inspired by one smart namesake.
The technical accuracy of this book was improved by input from a great many people in addition to those mentioned above. Heading the list is CDR Hugh Replogle, USN(Ret.) VA-165, VA-128, VA-115, and his many brothers in arms, especially those at the Intruder Association (www.intruderassociation.org). Additional essential information and/or colleague reviews of parts of the text were provided by geological engineer Edmund W. Medley of Exponent® Failure Analysis Associates; geologist Jan Dixon; Wisconsin State Geologist Jamie Robertson; San Francisco Fire Department Captain David Drabble; Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Craig Meyer; geologist Marjorie Chan, Chair, Department of Geology, University of Utah; geologist Peter Modreski, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver; chemical engineer Karl Kaufmann, FMC Corporation; geologist John Dolson, Exploration Advisor, TNK-BP, Moscow; geologist William Siok, Executive Director, American Institute of Professional Geologists; attorney Chris Hayes; John Rider; Million Air customer service representative Mary Jacobs; and bon vivant Paul Rest.
As always, I am indebted to Kelley Ragland and Deborah Schneider for their support and to the Golden Machetes critique group—Mary Hallock, Thea Castleman, Ken Dalton, and Norm Benson—for beating the goo out of me.
As I love to do, I save the last and deepest thanks to those without whose loving support and indulgence these books could not be written: my ever-patient husband (and geologist and pilot, who checks the pilot stuff), Damon Brown, and our ever-clever son, Duncan.
ALSO BY SARAH ANDREWS
Earth Colors
Killer Dust
Fault Line
An Eye for Gold
Bone Hunter
Only Flesh and Bones
Mother Nature
A Fall in Denver
Tensleep
Raves for the novels of Sarah Andrews
DEAD DRY
“Fans of this se
ries will find plenty to like in Dead Dry, and any mystery reader who enjoys the lovely rocks of Colorado will, too.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“A terrific who-done-it….Fans will appreciate Em’s latest digging in the dirt gem.”
—Thebestreviews.com
“Filled with moments of suspense and twists and turns that will leave readers stuck to their seats….The characters are engaging, and they are the sort of people you would like to meet again.”
—Iloveamysterynewsletter.com
“Fans of information-packed suspense should be satisfied.”
—Publishers Weekly
EARTH COLORS
“Intriguing.”
—Publishers Weekly
KILLER DUST
“Ably combining science and suspense, Andrews once again entertains and educates.”
—Publishers Weekly
FAULT LINE
“The most intriguing complexities in Fault Line lie within Em’s own character.”
—The Washington Post
“Graphic, frightening, and entertaining use of earthquake science….Readers may never look at rock formations with the same innocence….Em Hansen is rapidly carving out a niche for herself as a forensic geologist…and may eventually make her field as popular as that of forensic anthropology or medicine.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The resourceful and intelligent Hansen makes a terrific series heroine….What has made the series shine has been the amount of ‘hard science’ that Andrews, a professional geologist herself, was able to work into the stories.”
—Booklist
AN EYE FOR GOLD
“Em Hansen is plucky and smart… [and] the mystery is complicated and absorbing.”
—Booklist
“Suspense every step of the way….Twists and turns that [will] keep you turning the pages.”
—The Press Democrat
“A fine series.”
—Library Journal
BONE HUNTER
“Andrews…has become a leading light. The fifth entry in her series rivets both as a crime story and as a discussion of the relationship between science and religion….Her novel is a suspenseful mystery spiked with dinosaurs, science, and religion: what more could readers ask for?”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The latest Em Hansen mystery is by far the best yet… Andrews makes the most of her paleontological background. She clearly knows her subject and, unlike many crime writers, she does not use the surroundings merely as window dressing. The novel is, in addition to a fine mystery, a lively exploration of the high-stakes world of dinosaur research and perceptive rumination on the debate between science and creationism.”
—Booklist
“Geologist Em Hansen’s adventures become more and more intriguing with each new book….A most fascinating tale.”
—Romantic Times
“Appealing characters and fluent prose.”
—Library Journal
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DEAD DRY
Copyright © 2005 by Sarah Andrews Brown.
Cover photo of landscape © Robert G. Raynolds.
Cover photo of sunshine © Francesco Bittichesu/Photonica/Getty Images.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
eISBN 9781429901291
First eBook Edition : March 2012
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005049404
ISBN: 0-312-93736-9
EAN: 9780312-93736-2
St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition / November 2005
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2006
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.