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"I don't know. But - but it involves some of the new recruits. The newer people on base, anywhere from a few weeks to a year. A few of them have turned up dead."

"Dead?" Cora's eyes widened. "How?"

"It seems like they were hazed. Found in the morning, beaten up. That’s what I heard. You know, it happens?" Her green eyes met Cora's.

"Yeah, I know," Cora said.

"But this went too far. Bad head injuries. Deliberately fatal for sure. Nobody knows who did it or what happened. Nobody's saying a thing."

"And the Army?" Cora asked.

Trisha shrugged. "They're investigating. Or they say they are. But they're hushing it up because something like this is bad, very bad, and who knows who's doing it? It’s not hazing. I’m sure of it. I think it’s murder, and that someone’s making it look like hazing gone wrong, because they know it’s the best way they can get away with it."

"Understood," Cora said.

Cora leaned on her elbows, her mind racing with the implications of what Trisha had just told her.

"I've got a friend there. She reached out to me. The newer recruits are scared, very scared. Nobody knows what's going on or if they'll find answers. I don't think they will. I don't know who else to turn to. But I know you, Cora. You're the only one I can trust to look into this and find out what's really going on."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Cora asked. "Are you asking me to investigate?"

Trisha nodded. "I don't trust the Army to do it right. Someone on that command chain is covering this up, and one person is all it takes. Maybe more. There’s a bad vibe at that base. Toxic. It’s one of the reasons I quit as a recruiter.”

“That sounds like it needs exposing,” Cora agreed.

“And I know you're good at what you do. I want you to find out who's behind this. And make sure they pay for what they've done."

Cora thought about it, her mind racing. She didn't really have time. In two days, she might know more about Rose. In two days, her mom's condition might deteriorate further. There were all sorts of pressures and demands she was facing.

And yet, people dying? She couldn't turn her back on that. And she had two days to spare. If she went digging, she might uncover what she needed to in that timeframe.

She turned, and nodded to Gabe. He picked up the drinks.

Then she turned back to Trisha.

"Okay," she said. "I'll do it. But my time is limited. I might have somewhere else I have to be, the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll do whatever I can."

“How much do you charge?” Trisha asked.

Cora shook her head. “No money. You can’t make me charge you anything. So don’t try. This is something that needs fixing, and I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” Trisha said, and Cora had never heard a more heartfelt meaning packed into two simple words.

But then, she added in a different tone, “Please, be careful. I’ve heard bad things about this base recently. Bad rumors. Things seem like they’re out of control there. I want you to find out, Cora – but I don’t want you ending up dead. Or else, disappeared.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Trisha didn't even wait for her drink, to Cora's surprise. As soon as Gabe came back, carrying the glasses, she got up and left. Gabe stared after her, looking as astonished as Cora felt.

"She told me what was happening," Cora said, taking a drink of her Coke. She kept her voice low. She knew that Trisha had been this secretive for a damned good reason, given her final warning. She wasn't going to risk that there were listening-ears around. But she sure as hell was going to tell Gabe everything, because she wanted to ask for his help on this.

"Army recruits, people who are relatively new in the system. They've been turning up dead in the morning at that big military base," she told him. "Three so far, apparently. All new, within the last couple of years. It looks like hazing gone wrong but nobody knows who's behind it, and someone in the chain of command is covering it up, perhaps because it makes them look bad."

"That's complicated," Gabe said. "And you're going to investigate?"

Cora nodded.

"On an Army base?"

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