Page 89 of Rescued Duty

Naya reached out her hand and tugged Zack down next to her. “You told me about the beauty of memories, right?” She turned to face him and laid her hand on his shoulder. “You could remember more good moments so you don’t forget.”

Zack tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a special way with words? Reminding people of the truth.”

“Once or twice.” She smiled. “Whatever’s in that box matters. The contents could help bring closure to their case too. Either way, you’re honoring their lives, Zack.”

He’d been the one to tell Naya to stop investigating leads for the story. And if the box contained vital pieces of information that tied the loose ends together, he’d be bringing her right back into this mess.

Yet she was here, walking alongside him through the reminders of what he’d lost. Zack didn’t want to shut her out. She was a part of his life. And that meant letting her intoeverypart of his world.

If the box held some of the missing puzzle pieces, he would simply turn it over to the police and let them add it to their investigation.

He set the box in his lap and turned the latch.

The ticking of the clock on the wall above him amplified the anticipation. His hands shook while he removed the contents one by one.

Sure enough, a few photos of his dad and mom lay on top. There was one of them holding Zack as a newborn and several of different trips and outings they’d taken over the brief years they’d had together. In each photo, smiling faces stared up at him.

Zack collected the pictures and handed them to Naya.

“Are these your parents?”

“Yeah.” He stared at the picture. The smell of sunscreen and the rumbling of waves took him back to that day on the beach. “Our last family vacation before the fire.”

“Your mom was beautiful.” She held the picture up next to his face. “You look just like your dad.”

“I always admired him.” Zack had wanted to be like his dad when he grew up. A man who loved Jesus and helped people.

“I never knew them, but I’d say you’re carrying on the family name well.” The gentleness of her words worked to smooth away the doubts.

“Thanks.”

Next, he pulled out a folded up piece of old parchment paper. A few yellow stains coated the back, and when Zack unraveled the document, his fingers turned to ice. He stared at an exact replica of the map of Pine Crest Pinnacle that Will had hanging in his hallway. The only difference lay in the red Xthat marked a location down by the river.

The paper shook in his hand. “Look at this.” He gave Naya the map.

He’d send this over to Detective Wilcox to investigate. The information was further proof of why the professionals should handle the case and that Naya had been spot on when she’d proposed that his parents’ deaths were connected to the water contamination story.

Naya gasped. Her eyes widened. “This is the same map that was in Will’s house.”

“Bingo.”

“And the river is marked with anX.”

“So the rumors of something being dumped into the river might be true.” Although there was still the question of how it was happening. “If that’s the case, how could it have gone on for so long without anyone growing suspicious?” Zack frowned. “If it started with my parents, then it’s been going on for over twenty years.”

“It’s a slow process,” Naya pulled out her phone. “Read this.”

She handed him the device, and he skimmed the article she had pulled up.

“PFAs are forever chemicals so they are nearly impossible to eradicate from the ground and water supply because they don’t break down. If more PFAs are added to an already contaminated site, they continue to build up.”

Zack said, “And it takes years for people to see the effects on their body until it’s too late and they find themselves battling thyroid diseases or ulcerative colitis.” He scrolled through the long list of health complications the article listed at the end.

“Exactly. If the chemicals have been dumped in increasing quantities and started years ago, no wonder people are now getting sick.”

Zack gave Naya back her phone then turned the map over and read the sentence etched in pen.Rats only go empty’n rivers.“Thesilly sentence my dad taught me is on here.” Zack read the next line. “Huh. It also says,It’s too important not to tell someone, P.”

Naya lifted the map and studied it. “You think your dad was trying to tell someone what he knew?”

---