We last read Chapter 8, where Beth meets with officials from the Office of Corporate Oversight, as she tries to discover what Bud Tanner wanted to tell her about the sale of the nuclear power plant. She meets Olivia Lockheed, the domineering woman in charge of the investigation, and Conner Bennett, the agency’s investigator with whom Beth will be working. They agree to begin their investigation by checking out the scene of the shooting near the plant.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
Conner Bennett walked up to Beth's Volvo just as she was getting into the driver's seat.
"You don't want me to drive?" he asked between chews of his gum.
"I've got this one," Beth answered. "You can navigate."
He shrugged as he sat in the passenger's seat, and studied her as she backed out of the parking space.
"I've read the file," he said. "Can you tell me why you want to start at the scene of the shooting?"
Beth tensed. She didn't want a professional investigator to critique her plans.
"Because I think the shooting might be a good lead," she said as they exited the garage. "And I want to picture the crime scene in my head at the outset."
Conner chuckled, causing Beth's face to twist in irritation. Now he was mocking her. What an ass.
"What would you do?" she asked, annoyance in her voice.
"People are the important part of this investigation. By now there's not much left, if anything, at the scene. I'd start with the investigating officer. Try to get more details."
"A colleague of mine tried reaching the officer, but he wasn't available," Beth said. "Only the chief."
Conner shrugged. "The officer shouldn't be too hard to find."
By now they were on the highway, heading north. Except during rush hour, it was easy and quick getting into and out of the city.
"We'll talk to him, eventually," she said. "The department up there isn't far from where the shooting happened. We'll scope out the scene and then talk to the officer."
"That's fine," he said with a shrug. "We'll have to hoof it through the woods to get to the location, based on the police report. I hope it's dried out some. I don't know if we'll find the exact spot, though. They probably had it marked at some point, but it's probably gone."
"We'll do our best."
As Beth drove, Conner turned his attention back to his phone. They rode in silence for several minutes.
"Your boss is quite the charming lady," Beth remarked.
"Olivia?" Conner answered. "She's fine. Businesslike at times. Can come off as unfriendly. Kind of like you, actually."
Beth grimaced. "As a matter of fact, I am quite friendly. Most people call me sweet."
"You sure don't seem it," Bennett replied. "Beth— can I call you Beth?"
"Yes, you can call me Beth, Conner."
"Good. If we're going to work together, you really need to drop the ice princess act." He had a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke. "Your boyfriend must love it."
"I—" Beth stopped herself. She reached up to where the engagement ring hung on a chain from her neck, feeling it through her shirt. She fought down the well of emotion rising within her. It had taken her months to not cry at the mere mention of John's name. She would not let Conner get to her.
"Actually, with that attitude, my guess is you don't have a boyfriend," he said with a chuckle.
She clamped her mouth shut, her sadness turning to anger. He'd never talk like this if he knew the truth. Or perhaps he would. Would he tease her about not having been on a date since John's death? She couldn't reveal another reason she hadn't dated— she spent her free time in a costume fighting criminals.
"Maybe you should just call me Ms. Harper," she blurted.
Now he laughed out loud. "Okay, Beth."
"Just pay attention to the GPS," she muttered as she shook her head.
They drove on in silence for several minutes, continuing north on the interstate toward Schuylkill County. Conner occasionally looked down at his smartphone, scrolling with his finger. She focused on the road, reminding herself to keep her cool.
"Let's talk about the case," he finally said. She nodded, glad to change the subject away from her love life.
"You think something fishy is going on, don't you?" he asked.
"Do you think it's a coincidence that someone was about to talk to me about the deal and the shooting, but was accosted before he could say anything? And even before that, he seemed petrified to talk to me?"
"If you talked to him the way you talk to me, no."
Beth cocked her head, shooting him a frown. He laughed. She shook her head.
"So you think there's a link between him and the nuclear plant?" he asked.
Beth hesitated before answering. She thought she had been certain, but now lacked confidence in her conclusion. "Could be. Perhaps not. That's what I want to find out."
"That would be quite the story for you, huh? Don't worry. If there's something there, I'll find it. They told you I was good, didn't they?"
Beth rolled her eyes. Great. Not only a jerk but an egomaniac. A few minutes passed before Conner spoke again.
"Where did you go to school?" he asked.
"A small school down south" Beth answered, intentionally vague, hoping this wasn't the start of a series of questions. She didn't want to talk about herself. Conner continued, though.
"When did you graduate?"
Beth glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. She considered not answering, but figured it would just spur him to ask even more questions.
"In May."
Beth could feel his raised eyebrows without seeing his face. She squirmed in her seat, feeling self conscious about her inexperience.
"Your editor must trust you, then. I mean, giving you so much rope."
She glanced over at him, trying to gauge whether he was complimenting her or teasing her. "Um, well, I had a story or two I pushed on my own that went well, and she rewards results."
"The gun story?"
Beth turned to him, surprised he knew of her work.
"I do my homework," he explained. "That was good stuff, actually. I've heard about that gun dealer, Grim. I'm surprised he talked to you. He really spilled a lot of info."
"I can be persuasive."
Conner nodded, pursed his lips, and didn't reply. Perhaps he was waiting for her to ask him questions about himself. He could keep on waiting, as far as she was concerned.
Another twenty-five minutes passed in silence as they climbed higher into the mountains north of Harrisburg. The outskirts of the city had ended abruptly a few miles earlier, giving way to farmland on either side of the interstate. Now the farmland ended just as abruptly as it had began, giving way to dense woodlands on both sides of the highway. The road rose at a steady rate, providing a view of the surrounding valleys.
"How much further?" she asked.
"The next exit," Conner replied.
It was pretty up here. The highway had stopped its climb, and now ran above the surrounding land, with the terrain sloping away on both sides of the road. The higher position afforded a view of green treetops rolling up and down the hills like waves, as far as they could see. Not a single manmade structure marred the natural beauty, causing Beth to wonder if people lived up here. These weren't true mountains, like the Rockies, but the view was still breathtaking.
Beth stopped her admiration of the scenery when the exit sign came into view. A moment later the ramp appeared, and she guided the car off the interstate.
"Left at the bottom of the ramp." Conner gave the instruction during a break from blowing a bubble from his chewing gum. Beth made the left, before heading straight onto an undulating road. A few miles rolled by in silence, before Conner called out directions again. He read from his phone and guided Beth through a handful of turns.
The further they drove, the more desolate their surroundings became. Within just a few minutes, the last of the houses disappeared from the sides of the road. A forest now surrounded them, with trees towering on both sides of the car. They had probably seen this area from the interstate, but the trees had hidden any hint of roads or other manmade construction.
After ten minutes and two more turns, they crested a hill. On the descent, Beth saw the twin cooling towers of a nuclear plant looming off in the distance, even above the trees. The plant sat in a valley, invisible from the highway. It almost seemed like an insult to its surroundings, with its concrete towers thumbing its nose at the thousands of smaller trees surrounding it. Two plumes of steam rose into the sky from the towers.
"Shame to have that mar the landscape," she murmured.
Neither of them said a word as the towers loomed over them. At Conner's direction, Beth took a left turn. This road headed straight toward the towers. As they closed the distance, it felt like the towers were reeling them in. When they reached a point where the towers couldn't seem any bigger, Beth spotted the plant entrance ahead, on the right side of the road. They drove past the entrance, with Beth glancing out the window to examine the setup. The woods blocked her view of all but the cooling towers. The entrance road disappeared as it curved back among the trees.
"Isn't all this power wasted up here?" Conner asked.
"You haven't done your homework, have you?" Beth jabbed.
Conner looked over at her, a smile creeping across his face. "So you have a sense of humor after all."
Beth ignored his backhanded compliment. "Actually, you're right in a way. From an efficiency sense, it would make more sense to have the plant closer to a population center since losses from transmission lines increase with distance. But back in the day when they built this, there was too much opposition to get it nearer to a population center. This one is far enough to be remote, while being on the far edge of what they consider close enough to be practical."
As Beth spoke, they came to a four-way intersection. Conner pointed to the right, onto a dirt road intersecting the main road. Beth turned onto it.
"The shooting happened back this way, off the road," he mentioned. "After about a mile, we'll go through an intersection and can find somewhere to park. Then we go on foot."
Beth nodded as she steered the car onto the dirt road. Dirt kicked up behind them, creating a cloud of dust that followed them down the road. The road weaved through the woods, following the contours of the hills as it ascended and descended. The road was fairly smooth, but the car still jostled and bounced as they moved forward. They drove through an intersection with another dirt road, and rounded another bend.
"Here's a good spot," Conner said, pointing to an area with a shoulder wide enough for the car.
After Beth guided the car to a stop and they climbed out of the vehicle, Conner pointed to the southeast.
"That way," he said, alternating his gaze between his phone and the forest. "As long as we don't lose the signal, I can get us close with the GPS on my phone."
Beth nodded and followed Conner as they marched into the woods.
"This is Wheldon's land?" she asked.
"Tough to say without a survey," Conner replied. "Either his land, or state game lands. The property line goes through here somewhere. If we go too far, we'll probably have to stop so we don't for sure cross onto his land."
"You can stop, but I'm not," she replied.
Conner said nothing as they continued forward, the ground damp under their feet. Beth wasn't dressed for a trek through the woods, with black leather boots, gray pants, and a black sweater. They picked and weaved their way through vegetation as it thinned near to the road. The woods were more quiet than Beth expected, with only the occasional chirping of birds to break the silence. The trees here were tall and their leaves full, choking off much of the light from the late summer sun and retaining the moisture from the previous day's rain. The floor of the forest was a mix of pine needles, moss, and dirt. The terrain was gently sloping, punctuated with an occasional steep incline or a defiant cluster of rocks and boulders.
They continued forward, roughly perpendicular to the road. Or so she thought. The trees hid the sun and the sloping forest looked identical in all directions, so she had no point of reference. After another minute of climbing up and down hills, she heard voices in the distance.
Conner started to speak again, but she cut him off, holding up a hand. "Do you hear that?" she asked. She pulled back her blond hair from one ear, and made a waving motion with her hand, signaling for Conner to remain quiet.
There it was again — the faint sound of voices, ahead and to their left. She started off in that direction, not consulting with Conner. She picked a path around a rock outcropping and climbed an incline. The descent on the other side was rough, but she picked her way across loose rocks without stumbling. Conner kept pace.
Up and down a slope they made their way, focusing on the sounds ahead, until, she saw daylight peaking through the trees in front of them. The voices were louder here.
Beth turned to Conner, gesturing for him to follow. Conner nodded and they approached the voices. As they picked their way around the tall oak trees, the sunlight pierced the leaves of the forest.
A sudden shower of rock and debris sprayed up ten yards from Beth. Crack! The unmistakable sound of a gunshot echoed several times through the air all around them. Beth's eyes flew open wide and she froze in place. Someone was shooting at them.
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Power Play — Chapter 9
For now, Connor’s pretty annoying, but he sure knows his stuff. I mean.....I know we NEED him and all, but I wish he didn’t get under Beth’s skin so much. And wow.....someone really doesn’t want them on that land if they’re willing to open fire on the two.....or maybe it was just an accident?