Shaw pointed to other pictures in front of him, selfies from the same series, taken at the company. He asked Parker, “Have you ever had a radiation leak at the plant?”
“No, never.”
“Anywhere in the area? Any accidents at all?”
“No...” Then she frowned. “Well, there was a traffic crash a few miles east of there. About six weeks ago. One of our trucks taking spent fuel rods to a disposal site missed a turn and—”
Shaw said, “And went into the river.”
“A tributary, I think. But, yes. Same thing.”
“Upstream of downtown?”
“That’s right. But there was no radioactive spill.”
“How do you know?”
“Because a spill would have to be reported. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The state too.”
“That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a spill. It just means no one reported it.”
“But...” Her voice faded.
Merritt was catching on. The former detective asked Parker, “How was the crash handled? Police called?”
“No police. No need. Single-vehicle accident. Marty took care of everything himself.” Parker frowned. “You know, one thing wasodd. The driver of the truck? He quit, just after the accident. Moved out West.”
“No,” Merritt muttered. “He didn’t move anywhere.”
Hannah turned away briefly from her watchman duties. “You mean, Mr. Harmon had him... killed?”
Her father nodded. “I’m afraid so, honey.”
Shaw said, “Now look at this one.” He tapped the image in front of him. Behind Hannah in this shot were pallets of chemical drums. One set of drums was stenciled with the letterski, the others withdtpa.
Shaw said, “The first one’s the symbol for potassium iodide.”
“My God,” Parker said. “But that’s...”
“An antidote for radiation poisoning. The second one, DTPA’s diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid. It binds to particles of radioactive material in the bloodstream and they pass out of the body through urine.”
A look to Parker. “Therewasa spill when that truck went into the river and it got into the Ferrington water supply. Then Harmon polluted the river intentionally with toxins, so everybody at risk would drink the bottled water he gave them—water laced with the antidote. He couldn’t afford even the hint of a radiation leak.”
“How do you know about this stuff?” Merritt asked.
Hannah answered. “Mr. Shaw, like, knows everything. His father was a survivalist.”
Shaw, Russell and Dorion had had a hundred hours of training in toxins and antidotes, radiation included. His sister took a particular liking to all things nuclear.
Merritt scoffed. “The great benefactor of the city... Bullshit.” Then he was frowning. “But he’d do all this, just to cover his own ass?”
Parker said, “Oh, nuclear’s always controversial. We have to do everything right. The smallest accident, with any injuries? It could close down the company.”
Hannah now asked, “What do you think, Mr. Shaw? How much time till it’s dark enough to leave?”
He joined her and gazed up at the sky. “Twenty minutes.”
Merritt, his eyes on Parker, said, “Shaw, Hannah, you two keep an eye out, would you? I want a word alone with my wife.”