Fatal Connection by Malcolm Rose Page A

it smells.’
    ‘Okay. Thanks,’ Troy said.
    On the way out, Lexi elbowed Troy and said, ‘Not a very funny comedy double act.’
    ‘Quite useful, though,’ Troy replied.
     
    Ethyl Products was the most northerly industry in the country. It sat in a remote spot in the river valley, about five kilometres from the estuary and open sea. It was a tangle of tanks, scaffolding and pipes thicker than tree trunks. And downwind there was a faint sweetness in the air.
    The factory made some simple substances for the chemical trade. Other factories took those basic building blocks and turned them into useful productslike plastics, medicines, perfumes and dyes. Online, Lexi discovered that Ethyl Products had been notorious. A few years earlier, the factory had switched to making acetaldehyde with a new process involving mercury sulphate. An unexpected and unwanted reaction resulted in a small amount of methylmercury. This, the most feared of the toxic compounds of mercury, was released into the river. It killed all the fish and most of the other local wildlife.
    ‘Do you still use mercury sulphate?’ Troy asked the Head of Operations.
    ‘No. Not any more. As soon as we realized what was going on, we discontinued that process.’
    ‘But do you still keep mercury sulphate?’
    ‘Er … No.’
    ‘Why hesitate?’
    ‘I haven’t been asked about it for years.’
    ‘Is the river still poisoned?’ Troy queried.
    ‘No. We test it to make sure. I’d happily swim in it – or drink it. The habitat’s fully recovered.’
    Lexi and Troy left Ethyl Products and made their way towards the estuary. To either side and behind them, hills rose up and, in places, water gushed down into the valley. There was no clear path. Dragging their boots through the scrubland, they battled alongside the river. They saw no evidence that anyother human beings had trodden the same route and no evidence of a pitched tent.
    ‘It’s a bit of a coincidence about Ethyl Products,’ said Troy as they trudged shoulder-to-shoulder, all the time scanning ahead and to the sides.
    ‘Yeah. But maybe not as much as you think. A lot of people used mercury till everyone realized how nasty it could be. There’s probably a story like theirs almost everywhere.’
    Troy gazed at the quiet countryside and said, ‘It’s nice out here.’
    ‘Huh. Too much empty space.’ She grinned and shielded her eyes with her left hand, ‘Too much sunshine and fresh air.’
    Troy stopped walking. ‘What’s that noise?’
    ‘What noise?’
    ‘That.’
    There was a definite scrabbling in the bushes a few paces in front of them.
    Lexi shrugged. ‘A rabbit? I don’t know.’
    ‘It could be a person. Hiding.’
    ‘Too quiet.’
    A couple of frightened blackbirds flew high into the air, issuing loud warning cries.
    Troy sighed. ‘Okay. Not a person.’
    ‘I’ll tell you what else there’s too much of.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Ground. There’s too much for us to cover.’
    Troy nodded. ‘I feel like I’m treading water. Not getting anywhere.’
    ‘What are we going to do about it?’
    Mentally drained, Troy shrugged.
    Lexi pointed upwards. ‘We’d be able to see a lot more – and finer detail – from up there.’
    ‘Like blackbirds.’
    Lexi took her life-logger in her hands. ‘I’ll see if our funny friends in Tight End Crime Central have got a drone they can send in our direction.’
    ‘Good thinking.’
    ‘I’ll make sure it’s fitted with a high-resolution camera.’
    ‘While we’re waiting, let’s carry on to the estuary and look for any signs of anyone else.’
    ‘Huh.’
    ‘We’ve got this far. We might as well carry on and see if there’s any hint of anybody fishing.’
    ‘Like what?’
    Troy shrugged. ‘Discarded fishing line. Footprints. Anything.’
    ‘All right.’
    In twenty minutes, they ran out of land. They arrived at a small sandy bay and the sea. The spotwas mostly unspoiled. The only feet that had patterned the beach were those of