Free Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep by Colleen Coble Page A

extinct.” She smiled. “But you look quite competent.”
    “The department did what it could to conserve the fish,” he said. “Sometimes nothing we do helps.”
    She nodded. “I didn’t mean to cast blame. I’ve heard about you and your conservation efforts, Mr. Matthews.” She stepped away from the river. “I’ll be in touch.”
    “You look familiar. What’s your name?”
    She blinked and looked away. “Marika Fleming. But we’ve never met. I’d remember someone like you.”
    Fleming. The name didn’t ring a bell. He tipped his hat and watched her walk out of the meadow and up the slope covered with wildflowers.
    He turned again to look at the fish. He had to figure this out and prevent it from happening again. He didn’t want any fish to go extinct on his watch either.
    He swung into the saddle and proceeded down the path along the river. Several times he saw what appeared to be dumping spots. Empty five-gallon buckets and trash littered the sites. But what could have beendumped with such catastrophic effect? He took water samples from each spot, labeled the bottles, then grabbed the buckets and lashed them to the saddle. He’d have them tested to see if they were tainted.
    Ribbon Trail petered out at an outcropping that rose thirty feet to a high, rocky shelf overlooking the river. Kade dismounted and looped Moses’s reins around a shrub. He climbed to the top of the cliff. From the view here, he could see nearly the whole watershed basin. The wilderness looked pristine. If he hadn’t seen the fish with his own eyes, he would have thought the water running through here was as pure as it looked.
    The old copper mine that MJ Pharmaceuticals had converted to a lab lay upstream, just beyond a stand of aspen. He dragged his binoculars out of the pouch at his waist for a better look. He brought the lenses to his eyes, and the figures jumped into focus. Two people in white lab coats were entering the mine. Yancy Coppler and Nora Corbit. He put his binoculars away and climbed down to his horse. He’d need to head over to the mine and take a good look at their waste disposal systems. But that would have to wait. First he’d have the buckets tested. Then he’d have a better idea of what to look for.
    What’s the matter, boy?” Jonelle Ketola crouched at the fence and peered in at Zane’s prize pit bull. Bruck was pacing the containment area on stiff legs. Jonelle didn’t dare put her hand in the pen when the dog was in this state. She hoped he would calm down soon.
    Zane yanked her back from the fence. “Careful. He’s pretty agitated. Maybe the dose of steroids and cocaine needs to be adjusted. He ain’t focusing like he should. I’ll cut tomorrow’s dose in half.” Zane stood, watching the dog prance around his pen. “He’s a fine specimen, the best dog I’ve ever had. Look at those muscles.”
    Jonelle nodded. Thick muscles rippled under the sleek, black coat. The dog would rather die than lose a fight. His reputation had spread far through the country’s underground dogfighting networks.
    It was getting hard to find someone willing to pit his dog against Bruck, but she knew what her husband planned. If he could get his hands on Samson, the event would attract hundreds of spectators. Everyone wanted to see Bruck lose. The dog’s defeat would satisfy the personal vendetta of some owners who had lost their dogs to Bruck’s drug-induced bloodlust. Their desire for Bruck’s defeat would blind them to Zane’s schemes.
    Jonelle held up the bowl. “I’ve got their food.”
    “You’re all dressed up. You heading to Houghton?”
    “Yeah, I want to start getting some baby stuff.” She tried to hand him the food, but he pushed it away.
    “Take it back. I’m not feeding them today. They have a practice match tonight. Simik brought me some bait dogs.”
    Jonelle grimaced. “I hate it when you use those dogs. They don’t hardly know what’s going on. Can’t you use rabbits or