Ever Look on Heaven's Scenes by Dave Eberhart & James Ward Kirk

Author:Dave Eberhart & James Ward Kirk
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: James Ward Kirk Publishing
Published: 2016-03-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

On the Piney River Timber Knoll Federal Reservation

John Stryker, Laura Tinsley, and Ralph Fleming lounged in the bow of the research boat. The trio looked toward the stern at Larry Denslow, a young biologist from the State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. With one hand casually on the wheel to guide the big boat around the sunken trees and sandbars, the tall, beach-boy-blond lectured his captive audience.

“Radiation exposure has been proven—proven, mind you—to cause tumors in the brain, cancers, leukemia, sterility, dysfunctional thyroids, birth defects, and miscarriages. Yet we’ve assigned the fox to guard the nuclear henhouse. Let me give you a for-instance about the wily fox. In 1977, the Department of Energy canceled its contract with a doctor that had been employed to study radiation effects on nuclear-plant employees. Apparently, the earnest researcher reached some conclusions about the risk of exposure that they did not want to hear. Sound like someone you know, Laura?”

Laura smiled at the reference to the Cancer Center’s Doctor Redding. Denslow returned the smile and continued. “The folks doing the epidemiological research sit in the back pockets of the nuclear establishment.” The biologist seldom lost eye contact with Laura as he spoke. Noting the special attention, Stryker tapped Laura on the arm and rolled his eyes. She shot him a warning look and wrote “BE GOOD” in block letters on her pad.

Bill Doherty had elected to forego the expedition. As he had emphasized to his partner, someone needed to start some serious investigative work and not go off to play Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. The accountant stayed in town to devote his energies to examining Phelps’ finances. The agents were also in disagreement about how to handle the radioactive stiffs that had been decanted from the radwaste barrels. Doherty felt they had enough to chew on investigating the missing plutonium stocks and wanted to pass off the homicides to the local field office.

Stryker vetoed his recommendation, reminding his partner what the Mayor had said about everything that happened in Timber Knoll being connected with the plant or the Cancer Center. His gut instinct was that the bodies were somehow tied in to the missing stocks. When he briefed General Steele via secure phone about their progress thus far, the big boss directed that no stone should be left unturned. Steele had explained that although the basic Intel was warning of a “dirty bomb,” the missing radioactive processed stuff screamed of even a more nefarious plot.

So far, the lid had stayed on about the bodies turning up in the barrels. Not even Laura had gotten wind of the discoveries.

Dressed in a tank top to better display his muscular arms, Ralph Fleming was sprawled in the bow pulpit. At his feet was his video gear. After wearing it aboard, he had unbuckled his heavy battery back from his waist. The battery pack and his camera were under a tarp at his feet. When water sprayed aboard, he fussed with the plastic sheet protecting them. After

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