The Gathering (Darkness Rising 1)

"Was it a man? Woman? Young? Old?"

"I'm ... not sure." He exhaled and leaned against the wall. "Okay, that sounds nuts. I'm not even sure I saw someone."

"You sensed someone?"

He made a face. "Now that really sounds nuts."

"Hey, if you're okay with me imagining myself as a pine marten, I'm okay with you sensing unseen assailants."

He laughed. "Mina Lee was right. The isolation is driving us crazy. We just hadn't realized it yet."

"Not the isolation. The mad science experiments. They've spiked the water with hallucinogens." I headed back to the sidewalk. "Your instincts are usually pretty good, though. Maybe Mina is lurking around here and you caught a glimpse of her. Let's wander a bit, see if we spot anyone."

TWENTY

WE ROAMED THE DOCKS and side streets for a while, but Daniel didn't pick up any more hints of danger. Had there ever been a threat? I don't know. Daniel's always been protective, but it's gotten worse in the last year. Since Serena's death.

Maybe this was his way of dealing with the guilt. He couldn't save her, so now he was on hyperalert with me, and being outside Salmon Creek only made him more anxious.

Finally, we headed to Pirate Chips on Commercial. It's a tiny place--seven counter seats and barely room to turn around. The best spot to sit is on the bench out front, near the wooden pirate. It's usually filled with teens, but today, maybe because it was Sunday, we had it to ourselves.

I got pierogies and poutine. Daniel ordered his usual: fish and a deep fried Aero bar with ice cream. I didn't comment on the bar. I used to ... until he pointed out that it was no worse than my poutine--fries with gravy and cheese curds.

"You wanted to talk to me," I said when we were halfway through our meal. "Or have you decided you'd rather not incur my wrath?"

He grinned. "Sorry, Maya, but your wrath isn't all that frightening." He leaned back on the bench and let out a sigh. "You are going to be mad at me, though." He spooned off a chunk of his bar before continuing. "When Corey said the reporter asked about Serena, it reminded me of stuff that happened right before she died."

I stopped in midbite, stomach clenching.

"Serena was going to talk to you about it, but she didn't get a chance. After she died, I was afraid it would seem like she'd confided in me and not you, and you didn't need that."

"What about?"

"She'd been feeling off," he said. "Not sick. Just ... off. Run-down no matter how much sleep she got. You were prepping for that Labor Day track meet, and Brendan had just sprained his ankle, sidelining him. You were under a lot of pressure to cover for him, and she didn't want you worrying about her. She had that singing competition coming up, so she was stressed and she figured that was the problem. She only told me because we were supposed to go to Nanaimo to catch a movie and she had to beg off. Her mom and dad were making her go to the clinic."

He set his spoon down in the bowl. "They gave her meds, but they were too strong. She went from feeling tired to being hyper and restless. Her mom called the clinic, and they told her Serena should stop taking them and come back in on Monday morning. Only by Monday ..."

"She'd drowned," I murmured. "When did her mom call about it?"

"Saturday, when Serena was getting ready to go meet you at the lake."

"So she'd probably already taken them for the day. You think that had something to do with her death."

"Not at first. Sure she was hyper, like she'd had a couple of energy drinks, but if I didn't know about the meds, I'd have chalked it up to a good mood. I wouldn't have suggested she skip swimming. It was only later that I started to wonder. What's always bugged me most is how it happened to her. How does a champion swimmer drown in a lake she's swum in all her life? The obvious answer is a cramp, of course. But Serena never got them."

"You think the medication did something."

"I think it's possible. They said it was new."

Around here, "new" meant it was a drug they were researching at the lab. They only use those with us if the drugs are at the very end of the testing regime. They're convinced it's safe, and they're giving it to us because it's the best around, not because we're guinea pigs. But that won't fly in court.

Daniel continued, "If a side effect caused her death, they'd be ruined."

"So they hush it up. They jump at the chance to let Serena's parents relocate. Now this woman is in town, a reporter or a spy, cozying up to the kids and asking about Serena."

"We need to talk to her."

Mina Lee was renting a cottage outside town. That wasn't unusual. There were no motels, no inns, no bed-and-breakfasts. All part of Salmon Creek's attitude toward tourists in general, which was kind of like their attitude toward wildlife within the town limits. Treat them with civility and respect, but don't give them any excuse to stick around.