Authors: Mona Ingram
Jackson leaned across the narrow gap that divided them and took her hand. “There’s something else. What is it?”
She raised her eyes to meet his. How could he read her thoughts so readily? His hand was rough from paddling the canoe, but it was comforting. He gave her hand a squeeze.
“She had another major stroke about a couple of months ago; she’s not likely to recover.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Do you know what they suggested when I went in to fill in papers?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “They said they could allow her to starve to death, that it would be painless.” A tear ran down her cheek but she didn’t brush it away. “How could they suggest something so heartless?”
He continued to hold her hand. “I think they’re required to offer you that option.”
She shook her head. “Maybe so, but it was terrible.” She let go of his hand and slid back down into the chair. “Sometimes I feel guilty being up here, but my doctor said I had to get away or I’d be the one needing medical care. And I suppose he’s right, although compared to what Gran has endured my problems are inconsequential. He made a good point, though. If I break down, who will be around to look after Gran? I called twice today to see how she is and there’s no change, so I’m beginning to feel more comfortable with it.”
“You love her, don’t you?” His voice was gentle.
“More than anything. Things aren’t going to be the same when she’s gone.” She shot him a quick glance. “I
have
accepted it. I know she’s dying, but her doctors say she could last several more months. They just don’t know.”
“So what prompted you to come up here? It’s a few hours to get back to Vancouver.”
She smiled. “My husband went away and it seemed like the perfect time to get off on my own.” She considered telling him about Vince’s cottage, but changed her mind. “I’d heard about this area, and decided to explore.”
“And I’m glad you did.” He stood up, offered her his hand. “It’s getting late and I’d better get back. Dave will be wondering what happened to me.”
She rose, and her breath caught in her throat. They were standing close together, almost touching. He raised a hand and brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face. “I’m glad you’re here, Amanda. You’re an amazing woman.”
She almost came undone at his touch. Vince hadn’t touched her with tenderness for months now. She turned away, afraid that he would see the longing in her eyes. “Goodnight, Jackson.” She walked the few steps to the cottage door and then turned. “I’m glad I’m here too. See you tomorrow.” She opened the screen door and disappeared inside.
“You can count on it,” he said to the closed door.
It wasn’t until he started to paddle again that he realized how tired he was. He’d spent the entire day paddling from lake to lake, moving from resort to resort, casually speaking to anyone he could find. And yet still no leads on strangers in the area, or hints that would lead him to the grow-op. It would make a huge difference to the success of their operation if they could locate it before the top man arrived to inspect the crop.
Their intel was excellent. Their informant had worked at a grow-op on the lower mainland that had recently been busted. Eager for a reduction in sentencing, he’d passed on everything he learned, as well as everything he knew about the other workers. He’d reported that “the boss” would be visiting around Labour Day. They still didn’t know his name, but the informant had taken a photograph on his cell phone when the boss showed up unannounced to inspect the operation. Jackson touched his shirt pocket where he kept a copy of the photo. The informant had been released by mistake and had disappeared. Jackson couldn’t blame him; the people who owned this operation would be ruthless if they suspected that he’d talked.
He pulled up to the dock and tied off the canoe. His bed would be welcome tonight but he’d rather share it with Amanda. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had turned him on like this; he was becoming aroused just thinking about her.
He climbed the ladder to the loft and stretched out on the bed, fully clothed. Yes, he wanted her. He wanted to make love to her. But there was more to his desire than physical satisfaction. He wanted to take care of her, to comfort her, to banish the sadness that lurked behind those amazing hazel eyes. It was always there, just below the surface. It seemed impossible that he could fall in love with her so quickly, but he had. Amanda was a woman with whom he could happily share the rest of his life.
“Get over it, Galloway.” He got up, undressed and headed for a cold shower. “She’s a married woman.”
* * *
“Give me some good news, Galloway.” Traynor, Jackson and two other agents were sharing a booth at a restaurant in town. They had the place almost to themselves, but they still kept their voices low.
“Sorry, boss. I covered all the resorts in the surrounding lakes yesterday and didn’t pick up a thing.” He examined the calluses on his hands. “All I can say is this operation is tighter than a...” He looked up. “It’s tight.”
“Okay.” Traynor took a deep breath. “Let’s review everything we know.” He glanced at the two newer agents. “Fuller and Dirksen have been briefed, but as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as too much information.”
“Right” Jackson started speaking. “We got the initial lead from that bust this spring.” He glanced at the two men. “Down in the Fraser Valley. Remember?” They nodded. “We got a tip about a new grow-op in this area. There are microclimates all over the interior and they’ve positioned their operation to take advantage of this.”
“So it’s an outdoor operation?”
“Not completely. They’ve dug a couple of bunkers into the side of the hill. That takes a lot of planning and patience. They have to dispose of the excess soil and wait until the area returns to its natural state. But once it does, that’s where they start their seedlings.”
“Must be big bunkers.” The agent toyed with his coffee cup, the pushed it away. “What do they do for power?”
“That’s what makes this such a sweet set-up. There’s someone with brains behind this, not to mention money. They generate their own power. There are lots of streams in the area coming down from the mountain lakes. Makes it easy to set up a micro hydro system.”
“A what?”
Jackson gave a wry grin. “Don’t worry; I had to study up on it myself. What they do is set up a length of pipe with the outlet well below the intake. This controls the hydrostatic head pressure.” He could see he was losing them. “Okay, let’s put it this way. You’ve seen a water wheel, right? And you’ve seen how a relatively small amount of water can turn a water wheel. Well, imagine if you had that same water wheel under Niagara Falls, how fast it would spin. It’s the same principle here. Control the height of the fall and the volume of the water, and you can create power.”
Dirksen took out a pen and doodled on a napkin. “So the water comes out of the pipe, spins a wheel which then turns a small generator.”
“Exactly, and the generator charges a battery. From there it’s simple to hook an inverter up to a 12 volt battery, turning your 12 volts direct current into 12- volt alternating current, the same type of current that’s used to power normal household appliances.”
“Clever.”
The agent motioned for more coffee. “So they’ve got power. They’ve grown their seedlings. What next?”
“After the seedlings get to a certain height they move them outside. They’re already in pots, so this part is relatively easy. They water them on a drip system which anyone can figure out, and there you have it.”
“What about animals? Wouldn’t deer just love those nice tender shoots?”
“They don’t get a chance. Electrified wire at the right height is enough to keep them away. They string it from tree to tree and of course they run it off their battery power. Like I said, it’s a sweet set-up”
Dirksen smiled at the waitress as she refilled cups, and watched her walk away. “What about aerial surveillance? Wouldn’t all those plants show up?”
Jackson exhaled. “You’d think so. But with that stream nearby the area is lush and green already. It would be different if it was farther south where deciduous plants would stand out. The added insurance is that there are a lot of trees around for camouflage.”
“So we need to find this place.”
Jackson nodded. “Or get a lead on the head honcho.”
Fuller spoke up. “How do they get in and out? Isn’t there a trail of some sort that can be seen from the air?”
“That would make things a lot easier, but no. They go in on horses when it’s necessary. They have one guy living up there in the bunker so there’s not that much activity.”
Traynor listened thoughtfully, then changed direction. “There’s another angle we’ve been working on. How do they launder the money?” He looked at each agent in turn. “Our informant didn’t know anything about that of course, but they must run it through some businesses. We have people working on that end as well.” He turned to Jackson. “Keep at it. You still might be able to dig up something.”
“I’m working on it. You’ll be the first to know.”
Amanda wandered down to the boathouse after the breakfast rush. The sun was already high in the sky and Jackson had his shirt off already. She watched him take the top off a motor and set it down. His skin was smooth and tanned; muscles rippled just below the surface.
He looked up and their eyes met. “Hi,” he said. “Know anything about electric motors?”
She took a step closer. “I thought it looked different.”
He hiked his head in a northerly direction. “There are a couple of lakes up at the end of the chain that don’t allow high powered motors.” He looked down at the instruction booklet, which lay open on the dock. “But it’s not an easy one to fix.”
“You’ll figure it out.” She took a quick breath. “Would you like to go out for a picnic tonight? I could put something together and we could go out in–”
“Yes.” He cut her off. “I’d love that.”
“Oh.” She could feel herself blushing. “Well good, then. See you at eight o’clock.”
* * *
Thankfully the day passed quickly in the busy restaurant. Amanda replayed her short conversation with Jackson over and over, but it came out the same every time; she’d invited him to go on a picnic. She hadn’t intended to ask him, but the sight of him with his shirt off had unnerved her and the words had tumbled out. This couldn’t be happening, and yet it was. She was falling for Jackson in a big way. Every time she was with him she realized that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life when she married Vince.
She blamed herself. She’d been too eager to ensure that Gran was taken care of. Hard as it was to admit, she’d sold herself in exchange for care for her grandmother. What did that make her?
“
Senora
.” A grinning Carlos pointed to the grill. A few more seconds and the hamburger patties would burn.
She blushed, embarrassed at being caught day dreaming. “I was thinking about calling and checking on my grandmother.” It was almost the truth.
Carlos checked the restaurant and the outside tables. “This is the last group.” Why don’t you go and do it now? I can manage.”
She smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Carlos. I think I’ll go back to my cottage and call. Then I’ll come back and help you prep for dinner.”
Heat shimmered in the air as she walked across the compound. Almost every RV spot was occupied in the lead-up to the Labour Day Weekend. She’d learned from Kathy that RV traffic was almost non-existent in the winter, but that the cottages were popular with cross country skiers, and that some guests continued to fish through the ice on the lake. Carlos had already asked her for tips on cooking fish; they planned to start tomorrow.
* * *
“There is no change, Mrs. Reimer.” Amanda had established a relationship with the head nurse at the facility. “Ruby is resting comfortably but she’s still in a non-responsive state.”
It was the same report she got every time and Amanda knew that it was offered to make her feel better. How could they know if her grandmother was comfortable or not? But the staff was excellent, and that’s all that mattered.