Read Online Isolation by Mary Anna Evans - Free Book Online

anything out here?”
    â€œYes, you did do the right thing. I wasn’t accusing you. It’s just that this is not the first cleanup we’ve had to do out in these islands, and it’s certainly not the worst. You win the trophy for the smallest dump site in Micco County. Ten gallons of kerosene isn’t going to get you put on the Superfund list.”
    So there wasn’t a spot on the Superfund list for her? Praise God for small miracles.
    â€œAnd you also win the trophy for the oldest contamination problem I’ve ever seen. Did you have a chance to look at the mount on that kerosene tank?”
    She had. It had been a metal frame constructed so that the tank could be mounted on pivots. Someone filling a small kerosene can for household use could tip the tank forward with a single hand, letting the fuel pour easily out of a spigot. It was a clever design, built for an earlier age. It had been a long time since most people needed a daily supply of kerosene to run their households.
    â€œSo this isn’t the first cleanup you’ve done around here? Is it common for people to dump nasty chemicals on any convenient island?”
    Now she had Gerry’s attention.
    â€œOn islands?” he asked. “Oh, yeah. If they think they can get away with it, people will put nasty chemicals anywhere. It’s really easy to pitch them overboard, right into the Gulf, but sometimes they find a nice secluded place to bury it. Secluded and beautiful, just like this.”
    He made a sweeping motion with his hand that encompassed the island, the Gulf, and maybe even the sky. “Sometimes, the stuff wouldn’t have even cost all that much to dispose of properly. It’s just too much trouble to find out where to take it. Or maybe they’re afraid that paying for disposal will cost more than it really does. And then there are those people who don’t want to do things the right way, no matter what, because they don’t like the government telling them what to do. Micco County’s got enough undeveloped land to attract idiots like that. Those people are the reason the sheriff’s department partnered with the state environmental department to create my job.”
    â€œIt’s nice when the government’s right hand is willing to work with its left hand. And it’s rare.”
    â€œNo joke.”
    He lowered his eyes to the lab report in his hand, as if to signal that he really needed to get back to work. Faye couldn’t believe Gerry really thought he’d successfully deflected her from asking questions about Liz.
    â€œSo you’ve done enough environmental enforcement around here to make Liz’s acquaintance, maybe eat some meals at her marina?”
    She heard herself say the word “marina,” and all the conversational threads clicked into a coherent whole. Gerry looked like a man who realized she’d put two and two together, but who really didn’t want her to ask him whether he agreed that they equaled four.
    Too bad. She wasn’t finished with him. “Dumping in the islands requires a boat. People who use boats have to either get them in the water or keep them in the water. If I had your job, I’d keep my eye on any public boat ramps—and there aren’t any for miles around, but you already know that, don’t you?—and on private marinas like Liz’s that charge people to use their ramps and boat slips. There’s only one marina for miles around and Liz owned it. That’s why you’ve eaten more than a few meals she cooked. Isn’t it?”
    Gerry shrugged like a teenager who couldn’t be bothered to answer his parents’ questions.
    â€œAnd it’s why you were at her funeral yesterday. I get it that the sheriff had to be there as part of the investigation, but you’re not an ordinary detective. You’ve got this dual-job-thingie with the environmental department, and he’s got