Mute by Brian Bandell Page B

sulfur- and iron-rich water. The lagoon
doesn’t fit that bill and neither does the bloodstream, which has trace amounts
of iron. It’s possible that the bacteria may starve to death inside the host’s
body before it kills them. We really can’t say unless we find a living person
with an infection.”
    They could test Mariella for the bacteria, Moni
thought. If she had the infection, they could finally learn how it acted inside
a human host. What would happen then? They would rip the girl from her hands
and zip her up in a quarantine tent. With Mariella’s fragile mind still scarred
from her parents’ deaths, they’d lock her away with nothing keeping her company
besides her torturous thoughts.
    Moni couldn’t let that happen. So she kept her
mouth shut. It did no good.
    “Wasn’t Mariella out in the mangroves all night?”
Skillings asked as she sent Moni a needling glare that was thinly-veiled as a
look of concern. “We should get her tested for the bacteria.”
    “Good idea,” Sneed chimed in. “While we’re at it,
let’s give her vocal cords a good tune up.”
    “Excuse me. Mariella is perfectly healthy. I
haven’t found a spot on her,” Moni said. She clenched her hands in her lap so
the officers wouldn’t see them trembling.
    That lie didn’t comfort her at all. The bacteria
could still live inside the girl—dissolving her guts slowly like a Popsicle
melting on the table.
    Hoping that her eye for men had led her to someone
trustworthy for once, Moni penned a note in her lap that read, “Call me
tonight,” followed by her phone number. While the officers and the scientists
argued over what to tell the public about the bacteria threat, Moni passed the
note across the table to Aaron. With the sleight of hand of someone who had
passed many notes in his school days, he plucked it off the table and opened
it. His face lit up with a grin full of perfect teeth—no gold caps like Darren.
    By the way he flapped his eyebrows at her Aaron
probably thought that she made the first move because she wanted him then and
there. She really wanted him to check Mariella for the bacteria on the down
low, but Moni didn’t consider the invite leading him on as long as she could see
a hookup going down. She just didn’t plan on it that night.
    The meeting finally broke up after the lady from
the Water Management District agreed she’d put out a bulletin warning people
that they shouldn’t swim in the lagoon or eat anything from the lagoon until
the bacteria clears up. The announcement wouldn’t connect the bacteria to the
murders because Sneed didn’t want to let the killer know how they’re catching
his scent. He said an overconfident suspect would be more likely to make
mistakes.
    Brig. Gen. Colon had his own words for Sneed, but
no one else could hear them because the military man whispered them in the lead
detective’s ear. Sneed nodded. Moni couldn’t read his stoic expression. Judging
by the giddy-up in his step on the way out the door, Colon had heard something
in that meeting that rocked his world.

 
      * * * *

 
    The dreaded ring buzzed her cell phone as Moni
strolled back to her office. Her mind overstuffed with worry about everything
she had heard during the meeting, Moni answered just before her voicemail stole
it away.
    Checking the caller ID this time, she saw: Challenger 7 Elementary .
    “Hello,
Mrs. Mint?” Moni asked.
    “Hi,
Detective Williams,” the teacher answered. “I hate bothering you. I know you’re
working hard solving this case.” Moni made a guilty shrug that thankfully the
teacher couldn’t see. “A little something happened today. It’s really minor,
but I figured you should know.”
    The teacher did such a good job of downplaying it
that Moni’s heart skipped a beat. She thought of the vengeful Buckley twins
cornering Mariella and pelting her with rocks until blood streaked down her
smooth black hair.
    It turned out that Mariella hadn’t gotten hurt, but
the