There was too much here. Zoe wastrying to see one thing, one clue, but the problem was that she could see itall. Everything, jumping out at her, crawling on every surface and even in thegaps between objects, telling her their distances and what that implied aboutroot systems and available nutrients. It wasn’t all useful. It couldn’t be. Buthow was she supposed to narrow it down?
Zoe reached for the pack of antidepressantsin her pocket, giving them a reassuring rattle before taking one out andpopping it onto her tongue. She swallowed with practiced ease, staring aroundat the riverbank, waiting for something to happen.
She knew from the printed reportthat the police had already taken the time to talk to Olive Hanson’s familybefore Zoe and Flynn had even arrived in the state. There had been nothingparticularly noteworthy about what they had said. It was just like Elara Vega.Hanson was an ordinary woman, without enemies or rivals, simply enjoying herown life in her own way. No conflicts with neighbors or estranged husbands, nosign of any trouble in her life, no change in her behavior. There was nothingthere, not a single lead, and Zoe didn’t believe there would be anything tofind.
So, why her? And why here?
Zoe’s cell phone rang in herpocket, startling her back to a more present moment. It was getting colder. Shestepped back from the taped-off area, the tape flapping sharply in the wind asit hung from stakes pushed into the ground, and dug out the phone. The displaytold her that Dr. Applewhite was calling, and she hesitated.
She didn’t want to talk to anyone.Not now, and not about anything personal. She had to solve this case—everythingelse was secondary. She hadn’t wanted to talk to her old mentor before, whenshe was simply sitting at home; now shouldn’t be any different.
Then again, Zoe thought back toall of the times in the past when Dr. Applewhite had helped her with her cases.Calmed her down. Made her see past the numbers, to understand the wood made upof the individual trees.
Maybe it would help again today.
“Hello?” Zoe said, answering thecall before she could think better of it and change her mind again.
“Oh, Zoe!” Dr. Applewhiteexclaimed, sighing as if in relief. “Where are you? I went to check in at yourplace and you weren’t there.”
A sharp pang of guilt, entirelyunexpected, hit Zoe in the chest. “I am allowed to leave my apartment, youknow,” she said, reacting with knee-jerk anger.
“Well, yes,” Dr. Applewhiteconceded. “It’s just that you haven’t, much. Lately.”
“I know.” Zoe took a breath of thesharp, cold air. “But I decided to.”
“Where are you, then?”
“Syracuse, New York,” Zoe said. “Orjust outside it. On a hiking trail.”
“On a hiking…?” Dr. Applewhiterepeated. Zoe wasn’t surprised at her reaction. It wasn’t as if Zoe was knownfor her appreciation of hard-to-reach nature spots, certainly not enough to goout of state to visit one. “Wait. Are you working a case?”
“Yes,” Zoe admitted. That was allshe said, at least for the moment. There was not a large amount she could saywithout getting into trouble if it ever came out that she had sharedconfidential case details with an outsider. Not that it had ever really stoppedher before.
“That doesn’t seem like a verygood idea, does it?” Dr. Applewhite asked, her tone incredulous. “Given thestate that you’ve been in lately?”
“What state?” Zoe snapped, herhead beginning to ache. “Maryland?”
Dr. Applewhite sighed. “You’ve notbeen speaking to anyone,” she clarified, even though they both knew it wasunnecessary. “You’ve been ignoring all of my visits and calls. And now,suddenly, you’re throwing yourself back into work?”
“My suspension ended,” Zoe toldher. “It was time. This is my job.”
“I know, and I know it’s importantto you,” Dr. Applewhite said. She hesitated before plowing on anyway. “Shouldn’tyou be taking some more time? You were badly affected by what happened. Youneed to take time to process your feelings. To let yourself grieve. You have tocome to terms with—”
“You know what?” Zoe interrupted,talking over her. “I am through with being told how I am supposed to be. Youhave all been doing it. You, Dr. Monk, and then Shelley. Shelley tried to makeme connect with my emotions, to feel rather than just seeing—and look how thatended up.”
Dr. Applewhite took a sharp intakeof breath. “Zoe, that isn’t fair. What happened to Shelley was—”
A beep across the line cut Dr.Applewhite’s words off momentarily. A signal that there was another call comingin.
“I am not discussing this,” Zoeseethed, ignoring her mentor’s words once more. “I have a case to investigate,and the other agent on the case is trying to call me. Goodbye.”
She didn’t wait to hear aresponse, simply pulling the phone away from her ear and looking at the screen.She thought she heard the beginning of a response from Dr. Applewhite, but sheignored it as she terminated that call and accepted the new incoming line fromAgent Flynn.
“Agent Prime?” Flynn’s voice wassomehow distant, and there was a rumbling noise in the background. He wasdriving with his device set to speakerphone, Zoe realized. “I have a hit on mycross-checks. A potential lead.”
“Good for you,” Zoe said flatly.It wasn’t perhaps the most appropriate response—after all, she should probablyshould have been happy that there was a new direction to take the case in—butshe was still shaking a little from her conversation with Dr. Applewhite. Theanger was surging through her in waves, filling her with an aggressive energythat she was ready to unload on any suitable target.
“I’m coming to pick you up,” Flynnsaid, seemingly ignoring her comment. “Are you still at the hiker scene?”
“Yes,” Zoe said sullenly, reachingout to kick at a loose stone with her boots. “I will walk back to the
