Page 72 of Forgotten Path
“He’s not the kind of person you want to get mixed up with,” Brianna added.
Craig scoffed. “Right. Who would want to get mixed up with a millionaire who has a successful business, a big house, and a fancy car?”
They shook their heads as if he was beyond help.
Steffi shrugged and picked up a sack of groceries. “Whatever. There’s no point in trying to reason with you.”
Brianna grabbed a bag, too, and the three of them started to cross the rec room.
He fell back beside Brianna and said in a low voice, “It’s pretty bold of you to judge me. Seems like you weren’t working for the most standup guy either.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?” Her voice shook.
“Doesn’t take a genius to realize you know something about who offered Doc money. There are only, like, two people in town who could afford to make a big donation. We both know my boss would never do it, so that leaves yours.” He paused. “Well, your former boss, to be more accurate. Is that why Hornbill fired you? Were you nosing around in his business?”
Steffi walked out the door, oblivious to their whispered argument. He was about to follow her when Brianna shifted her bag to her hip and clutched his wrist with her hand.
“Wait.”
He stopped walking and looked at her. Her eyes were enormous in her pale face.
“You really don’t want to go around saying stuff like that, Craig. For one thing, you have no idea what you’re talking about. For another, it’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” He repeated the word in a tone that suggested she was being dramatic, but his heart resumed its loud, fast drumbeat.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.” She held his gaze for an uncomfortably long time before releasing his arm. “You’re going to get someone hurt. Me, most likely.”
He swallowed around the lump in his throat and hurried out into the parking lot. What the heck was going on around here?
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
As she listened, Judy worked her fingers between the holes in the crocheted afghan throw’s squares. Bodhi watched the nervous tic with some interest. It was apparent she didn’t realize she was doing it because he highly doubted she was the sort of person who’d deliberately stretch a baby blanket out of shape. He paused to consider what sort of personwouldintentionally deform a blanket.
Mirabelle threw him a curious look. He blinked and returned his attention to the conversation at hand.
“Based on Dr. Ashland’s notes, the patient charts, and what Dr. Owens and I understand about the way marine toxins affect mammals, including humans, we think Doc was working on a theory that many, if not most, of the illnesses he saw in the clinic were at least partially caused by pathogens in the water, which accumulated in the shellfish.”
Judy was shaking her head from side to side. “No. That can’t be. I mean, sure, we eat a lot of shellfish here. For crying out loud, this is Oyster Point. But we don’t get the real bad red tides—not the way they do a little further down the coast. Our fish are clean.”
Mirabelle covered Judy’s hand with her own, stilling the movement. When she spoke, her voice was measured and encouraging. “It’s only a theory. But it’s one that Dr. King and I think explains a lot of the sickness you see here.”
The older woman frowned. “But I thought contaminated shellfish causes vomit, diarrhea, stomach cramps? That’s not sweeping through the town.”
“It’s true that stomach and digestive issues are common symptoms when there’s an outbreak of neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. And, you’re right, an outbreak like that often—but not always–occurs during an algae bloom.”
“So, why did Doc think it was causing all this other stuff?” She waved her free hand around. “Why do you think it is?”
Bodhi leaned forward in the rocking chair and chose his words with care. He wanted to make the theory easy to understand without alarming her. “There are other symptoms of acute NSP. Things like tingling lips, loss of coordination, muscle pain, and dizziness, to name just some of them. But, few studies have looked at what happens when someone has been chronically exposed to the neurotoxins that cause NSP, even at low levels. It’s reasonable to think that there could be a long-term impact on a person’s health if they’ve been consuming these toxins for a long time.”
She nodded shakily. “Okay, I see what you’re saying. But, it sounds unbelievable—we’ve been slowly poisoning ourselves?”
“Possibly,” Mirabelle cautioned. “We’re not sure.”
“And it’s also possible that brevetoxin—the pathogen found in the algae when there’s a red tide—isn’t the only marine toxin you’ve all been ingesting. There are others,” Bodhi explained.
“So if this theory of yours is right, what kind of illnesses are we talking about?”
“Possibly things like Craig’s persistent rash and your cough. Another toxin—often found in razor clams in colder climates—has been shown to cause memory deficiencies and confusion.”
