Page 17

SEVENTEEN

Coming out to meet Dr. Erikson on her own had to be the most idiotic decision of Merritt’s life to date.

She liked to think of herself as an intelligent woman.

Her experience around the world and even over the last weeks running HGR proved that she had smarts.

So why had she ever thought that driving thirty miles away from Fairbanks into the remote Alaskan wilderness by herself to meet a man who had disappeared after her father’s mysterious death was a good idea?

Sure, the two-lane drive along the Chena Hot Springs Road was gorgeous with the way the river snaked along beside it. Towering birch swayed along the roadside while spruce, so dark they almost looked black, covered the mountains that stretched up on both sides of the road.

Even the section of forest that had suffered a recent wildfire was beautiful.

None of that helped lessen the anxiety that crawled further up her throat the farther she drove .

She was freezing, even though she had the heater cranked and her hooded sweatshirt on. Her entire body trembled from the inside out, and if she didn’t pull herself together, she was liable to shake herself right off the road.

The computer voice told her to turn in a hundred feet, startling a squeak from her.

She turned onto the dirt drive lined by trees that tunneled over the road. Her heart pounded harder and harder against her ribs until she thought it might bust through.

About a quarter mile in, the forest opened up to a small metal building in a clearing. A few dump trucks and a backhoe parked against the trees, but from the look of the small cleared area behind the building, the equipment hadn’t really been put to work.

Parking the car at the door, she took one more fortifying breath before she jerked her door open and marched to the door.

“Okay, Lord. Clear my mind. Make it sound and keep my fear from overrunning me.”

As prayers went, it wasn’t eloquent, but it was what she had. Her rap on the metal door echoed eerily around her.

A raven took off from a tree with a violent flapping of wings and creepy squawking. A gust of wind rushed past her, ripping at her hair, and she almost booked it for the car to speed away.

The door screeched open just enough to see in, cutting her thoughts of retreat short. The only thing she could make out in the dark gap was movement. Every muscle in her body tensed. She was a sitting duck.

“Merritt Harland?” The raspy voice barely reached her as another gust of wind howled through the clearing.

“Yeah.” She clenched her hands into fists so she wouldn’t cross her arms and curl in on herself.

“Come. Hurry.”

The door swung open, and a disheveled man gripped her arm tight and yanked her into the building. She yelped as darkness surrounded her, and the door slammed shut.

Light flooded the room, causing her to blink against the sharp, painful brightness. Metal scraping against metal, she whipped her head to where the man turned the deadbolt.

He slumped against the door, heaving out loud, raspy breaths. When he jerked his gaze to her, she couldn’t stop her step backward. His eyebrows winged beneath his unkempt hair, and he lifted his hands in front of him like she was a spooked horse.

Considering the last few minutes, the sentiment wasn’t far from the truth.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just… scared.” He huffed out a laugh, then cringed.

Merritt’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the disheveled man before her. She swallowed hard, trying to find her voice amidst the fear that wanted to consume her.

“Are you Dr. Erikson?” she asked, her words coming out in a breathless whisper.

He nodded, his eyes darting around the room as if searching for hidden dangers. “Yes, I’m Dr. Erikson. I’m sorry for the abrupt introduction, but we can’t talk here.”

Dr. Erikson’s obvious agitation did little to calm Merritt’s frayed nerves. She watched as he ran a trembling hand through his unkempt hair, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.

“Follow me,” he said without checking if she followed. “There’s something you need to see.”

He led her toward the back of the building, his footsteps echoing off the metal walls. Merritt’s hands slicked with sweat as they approached a sloping tunnel that led underground. The darkness seemed to reach out and grab her, pulling her into its depths.

Each step on the metal flooring sent a shiver down her spine, the sound reverberating through the narrow passage. Merritt’s anxiety began to creep up again, its icy fingers wrapping around her throat and squeezing the air from her lungs.

She tried to focus on her breathing. But as they descended deeper into the earth, the walls pressed down on her, threatening to crush her beneath its suffocating embrace.

Merritt’s mind raced with possibilities, each more terrifying than the last.

What if this was a trap?

What if Dr. Erikson was leading her down the tunnel of doom because it would be easy to hide her body?

She shook her head, trying to banish the dark thoughts that swirled in her mind.

As they walked deeper into the tunnel and metal turned to packed dirt, Dr. Erikson’s voice broke through the silence. “This is one of our research facilities. We study how underground mining affects the flora and fauna topside.”

Merritt listened intently, her anxiety slowly lessening with each step. Dr. Erikson’s passion for his work was evident in the way he spoke, his hands gesturing animatedly as he described the various tunnels that branched off from the main one and the studies they conducted.

“Unfortunately, budget cuts have forced us to suspend our research this summer,” he said, a note of bitterness creeping into his voice. “Guess the idiocy of the financial department worked in my favor for once. After I saw the news about your father’s plane crash, I knew I had to stay here. It was the only place I felt safe.”

Merritt’s heart clenched at the mention of her father, the pain of his loss still raw and fresh. She swallowed hard, trying to push down her grief.

“You think my father’s death wasn’t an accident?” she asked, her voice loud in the silent tunnel.

Dr. Erikson stopped walking and turned to face her, his eyes intense and serious. “I know all about cover-ups, Merritt. I’ve seen it happen before.”

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Have you ever watched The Conspiracy Files ? That show opened my eyes to the truth behind so many so-called accidents and coincidences.”

Merritt’s mind raced as she tried to process Dr. Erikson’s words. Could her father’s death really have been a cover-up or was this man a nut? The thought made her stomach churn, bile rising in the back of her throat.

She looked at Dr. Erikson, searching his face for any sign of deception or madness. But all she saw was a man who genuinely believed what he was saying, a man who had been willing to risk his life to uncover the truth.

“What do you think happened to my father?” Her voice trembled slightly.

Dr. Erikson’s expression grew somber, his eyes filled with sympathy. “I think someone didn’t want him to meet with me. Someone who had something to hide.”

Merritt’s pulse rushed in her ears as the implications of Dr. Erikson’s words sank in. If he was right, then her father’s death was no accident.

It was murder.

And she would find out who was responsible.

Dr. Erikson led Merritt into a small office, the space as disheveled as the man himself.

Papers and books were strewn everywhere, covering every available surface in a chaotic mess. The air was thick with the musty scent of old paper and dust, and Merritt had to navigate carefully to avoid stepping on the piles that littered the floor.

Erikson rummaged through one particularly precarious stack, muttering to himself as he searched for something specific. After a moment, he pulled out a sheaf of papers, his eyes lighting up with triumph.

“Here,” he said, thrusting the papers into Merritt’s hands. “This is what your father and I were supposed to discuss.”

Merritt’s heart raced as she scanned the documents, her eyes widening with each line she read. The papers detailed the potential for AMD at the mine site, and the numbers were far worse than anything she’d seen in the official reports.

“The mine’s current plans for mitigating the drainage are woefully inadequate,” Dr. Erikson explained, his voice tight with barely contained anger. “The acidity levels in the surrounding water sources could be catastrophic, not just for the environment, but for the people living downstream.”

He pointed to a series of graphs and charts, his finger trembling slightly as he traced the projected levels of contamination. “The mine’s own initial study shows that the drainage could be up to ten times worse than what they’ve publicly disclosed. You’re gambling with people’s lives.”

Merritt’s stomach churned as she absorbed the implications of Dr. Erikson’s words. If he was right, then the mine was not only putting the environment at risk, but also the health and safety of countless innocent people.

Why hadn’t she seen this study in all the reports she’d been scouring through the last two weeks?

She shook her head. “I haven’t seen any of this. These reports aren’t in any of the paperwork that I have.”

Dr. Erikson nodded, his expression grim. “That’s why your father wanted to meet with me. He knew something was wrong, and he was determined to make the mine safe, even if that meant putting the mining on hold.”

Merritt’s heart ached at the mention of her father. But she knew that she couldn’t let his death be in vain. She clutched the papers tightly in her hands, the evidence grounding her in the moment. She wasn’t about to let her father’s legacy be tainted by lies and greed.

She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders as she met Dr. Erikson’s gaze. “Tell me everything,” she said, her voice steady and strong. “I need to know it all if I’m going to fix this.”

Dr. Erikson leaned back against the cluttered desk, his eyes narrowing as he studied Merritt’s face. “I suspect that either the geologists were paid off or they were already on the payroll to ensure their reports came back clean. It’s the only explanation for why the official findings are so different from what I’ve discovered.”

Merritt’s heart sank as she considered the implications of Dr. Erikson’s words.

The thought of HGR’s own employees, people her father had trusted, being involved in a cover-up made her feel sick to her stomach. He had always prided himself on running an ethical company, but now she couldn’t help but wonder if that had all been an illusion.

“What needs to be done to make the mine safe?”

Dr. Erikson sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

“There are a few key steps that need to be taken before the mine can move forward. First, you need to conduct a thorough, independent assessment of the potential for AMD. No more relying on in-house geologists or third-party companies with questionable loyalties.”

Merritt nodded, her mind already racing with the logistics of arranging such an assessment. It would be costly and time-consuming. Her family was going to freak.

“Second,” Dr. Erikson continued, “you need to develop a comprehensive plan for mitigating any potential drainage issues. That means making sure the water treatment facilities can handle the toxic load, implementing strict monitoring protocols, and being transparent with the public about any risks or challenges.”

He fixed Merritt with a piercing stare, his eyes burning with a fierce determination. “And finally, you need to hold those responsible for the cover-up accountable. No more secrets, no more lies. The truth must come out, no matter how painful or damaging it may be.”

Merritt swallowed hard. She knew he was right, that the only way forward was through transparency and accountability. Yet she had no clue whom she could trust.

By his last message, her dad hadn’t either.

The people behind this could be anyone, even those closest to him. Taking on the very people who had been her father’s closest confidants, the ones who had stood by her side at his funeral, made her heart ache with a deep sense of betrayal.

She could trust Tiikaan.

That much she knew.

If she could convince Dr. Erikson to help with the environmental side of the mystery, maybe she could talk Tiikaan into helping her with the rest. He had contacts in Alaska that would help her find out if her father was truly murdered or if the plane crash was just an unfortunate accident. She’d text him as soon as she got to her car .

But first, she had a skittish scientist to convince to venture out of his burrow.

Merritt took a deep breath, her gaze locking with Dr. Erikson’s. “I need your help. I want you to lead the environmental team, to make sure that we do this right.”

Dr. Erikson’s eyes widened, surprise etched across his face. He shook his head, taking a step back.

“I… I can’t,” he stammered, his hands coming up in a defensive gesture. “I’m not cut out for that kind of responsibility. I’m just a researcher, not a leader.”

Merritt stepped forward, her hand reaching out to rest on his arm. She could feel the tension thrumming through his body.

“You’re the expert here, Dr. Erikson,” she said, her voice soft but insistent. “I don’t have a clue who else could help me make this right. But you do. You know the science, you know the risks, and you know what needs to be done.”

Dr. Erikson stared at her for a long moment, his eyes searching her face as if looking for any sign of deception or manipulation. He sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Merritt’s heart soared, relief washing over her in a dizzying wave. She squeezed his arm, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

She snagged a notepad and pen from the desk and scratched the address to the hangar Tiikaan parked his plane in, talking as she wrote.

“I’ll be heading back to Barrow in the morning. If you’ll meet me here, we’ll get started fixing this right away.”

Dr. Erikson’s nod turned to a shake of his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“I never imagined I’d be here either.” Merritt headed back toward the surface.

Dr. Erikson huffed a humorless laugh from behind her, then muttered, “Let’s just hope it doesn’t get us both killed.”