Page 7 of Winter's Heart
Nikki glanced across at Jacob, who was listening avidly to everything the deputy commissioner said.It seemed as if he was hearing this for the first time too.He raised an inquiring eyebrow in her direction, but said nothing, waiting for the deputy commissioner to go on.
“It wasn’t until I talked to the president of your Marine Conservation Institute, Dr.Morgan, that we thought perhaps something more sinister might be going on.He told me that the three of you were all working on the same project, investigating the Nordic fish farms belonging to Diàoyú Aquaculture, and that’s when alarm bells began to ring.So we went back and took a closer look into Antoine’s death.”The deputy commissioner paused to draw breath, but the hair on the back of Nikki’s neck was already standing on end; she didn’t like where this was going.
“By that time his scuba gear had all been sent away to be tested, which is common practice when someone passes away while diving.It was found that his tank pressure gauge wasn’t reading properly, and we now think he had less than half a tank of air when he went down instead of a full tank as his pressure gauge indicated.It seems his diving gear may have been tampered with.We don’t know how he got tangled in the kelp; maybe he panicked when he realized he was running out of air.The autopsy results also came back to show that the cause of death was drowning, which corresponds with our findings.”She could almost hear the deputy commissioner shrug on the other end of the phone, but she couldn’t be so blasé about the way Antoine had died.He must’ve been so scared, panicking, alone and afraid down in the dark depths.It made her feel sick just to think about it.
Of course, the deputy commissioner couldn’t know what she was thinking, and he continued on with his explanation.“We also questioned his dive buddy about why he absconded from Antoine’s side, and he told us he had to surface early when he found he had an equipment issue.”
“Leaving Antoine alone to fend for himself,” Nikki replied quietly.
“Yes.And once we knew what to look for, it seemed his dive buddy’s equipment failure may have also been sabotage, this time a defective depth gauge.At first we considered it might’ve been someone on the boat who damaged the gear, which would have narrowed our suspect list down significantly.But the boat was docked overnight, and everyone slept ashore, so the equipment could have been tampered with during the day before they left for the dive.Once we discovered all of this, Dr.Morgan insisted we contact you as he thought there might also be a threat to your life.And I agreed with him.”
Russell Morgan’s face swam into focus in her mind.Such a kind man, and it showed in his features; he was always smiling, always encouraging his staff, reminding her of a benevolent uncle.Deep brown eyes, full of empathy, and a swathe of long, gray hair he kept tied up in a man bun.He often admitted to being a bit of a hippy at heart, although he was as smart as they came; his intelligence and dedication to the marine center were some of the major factors that kept driving it to excellence.
The deputy commissioner spoke again, and Nikki dragged her thoughts back to the present.“Dr.Morgan also mentioned that Dr.Tammy Pittman was due to present your findings at a court case in two weeks’ time.So now we believe we have a motive.”
“Those bastards,” Nikki whispered as her worst fears were realized.
“Whatever you found out there on your research expedition is causing a problem.A very big problem,” the deputy commissioner said, oblivious to Nikki’s pain.“Might be highly damaging for the company involved.It seems like someone is trying to prevent the court from hearing the information you gathered by killing the people who did the testing and trying to make all their research disappear.We now know both Tammy and Antoine’s work computers are missing.”The deputy commissioner’s tone was ominous now.
The idea was so farcical that she could hardly wrap her head around it.Yes, Tammy had been slated to give evidence in a court case, and yes, their recent findings would indeed be damning for Diàoyú Aquaculture.Hopefully enough to shut the company down for good, but at the very least stop them using their corrupt fish farming techniques in the fjords.But was this really a case of corporate greed?She’d heard the term used many times before.Power brokers with a shocking agenda who thought they were above the law.But surely no company took themselves that seriously?How could anyone decide to choose profits over human life?Tammy and Antoine had been good people, making a difference in the world, and someone had brushed them aside as if they were less important than pawns on a chessboard.For what?To make more money?
“You must be joking,” Nikki whispered softly, still unable to believe it could be true.
“I’m sorry to say I’m dead serious,” the deputy commissioner replied.“It looks like this company is determined to make sure your team’s findings never see the light of day.According to Dr.Morgan, it could mean millions—perhaps even billions of dollars—in lost revenue for the company if Tammy, or any of your team, were to testify in front of the Norwegian court.We believe that this company—or someone in this company—now has you squarely in its sights.”
“Yes, but…” Nikki covered her mouth, but not before a small groan of fear left her lips.This couldn’t be happening.How could a simple data collection expedition turn into this deadly game of assassination?Both she and Tammy had been called to give evidence at court cases as expert witnesses many times before, but she could never have dreamed that she could be targeted for telling the truth.It was beyond imagination.The kind of thing that happened in Matt Damon movies, not in real life.
Two thoughts echoed around in her head.Tammy and Antoine were dead.And she was going to be next.Everything suddenly became so real that her panic turned to pure dread, making her hands shake uncontrollably.Bile rose in her throat, and she knew she was going to be sick.She clamped her hand more tightly over her mouth, but it did no good; her stomach heaved, then emptied itself, and she leaned over and vomited all over the wooden floor.
CHAPTER FOUR
“OH, GOSH, I’M so sorry.”Nikki looked stricken as she stared down at the mess she’d made on the floor.
But Jacob was more worried about the woman than about the vomit.He’d ended the call with the deputy commissioner, saying he’d call him back soon, then stood behind her, rubbing small circles on her back, watching her thin shoulders shudder until her violent retching had finally ended.Now as he stood over her, a strange impulse to take her into his arms, to protect her from what was to come, nearly overwhelmed him.He hunkered down beside her, careful not to kneel in the muck.Her face was so pale, her eyes so big and wide, it made her seem childlike and vulnerable.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, fighting back the urge to gaze deep into her eyes and tell her everything would be alright, that he vowed to keep her safe.God, he wanted her to be safe.But he’d always been a man who kept his promises, no matter what.And after his failure to protect Tristan, this wasn’t a promise he was sure he could keep.
“I’ll clean it up,” she said, and made as if to stand, but he kept a steady pressure on her shoulder.
“I’ll do it.You need to stay off your feet.”He busied himself finding a bucket, a cloth, and some rubber gloves in the small laundry off the mudroom.The horrific details of how and why her friends had died, added to the threat now placed on her life, had been too much for her.He wanted to kick himself for letting her join in the conversation.As a cop, he’d become desensitized to this sort of thing, and he should’ve remembered that.At least she hadn’t fainted this time.But in some ways, this had been worse.The look of pure terror in her eyes was like a spear through his gut.It would’ve been better if he’d talked to the deputy commissioner alone.That way he could decide what to tell her and when, keeping it on a need to know basis.Now she knew everything, and the idea terrified her.And him.
When he came back into the room, he found her standing, a grimace of pain on her pretty face as she took a step away from the table.
“Where are you going?Sit down,” he commanded.
“But...”she gestured to the recently digested soup now spread all over his floor.
“No buts, I said I’d clean it up.”
She gave him a murderous stare and continued to stand, holding out her hand for the cloth and bucket.Stubborn woman.At least the desperate fear was gone now; that was a small mercy.A woman’s tears had always been his kryptonite.
He ignored the daggers she was shooting in his direction and filled the bucket at the sink, pulled on the gloves, then got down on his hands and knees to wipe the floor clean.A small growl of frustration erupted from behind him, and he had to hide a smile.She might be stubborn, but his mother had always said that he was as headstrong as they came; she was no match for him.
As a way to distract her, as well as try to get his head around the facts of this case, he asked, “What do fish farms have to do with court cases and people wanting to commit murder?”Without taking his gaze away from his task, he noted in his periphery that she sat back in the chair.
For a moment, he thought she might not answer, but eventually, she said, “It’s kind of a long story.”At least her voice sounded stronger now, not helpless, as it had before.Good, at least she was thinking straight again.Using that scientific brain and not allowing herself to descend into chaos.“Do you know much about where the salmon in all the supermarkets comes from?”she asked.
He lifted onto his knees to wash the cloth in the bucket and shook his head.
