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For a while, I just sat lost in my thoughts. I knew I couldn't allow myself to get buried by despair. It was time to put on my girl panties and deal. Chance and I would figure out some way to have a normal life—at least normal for us. Even if I didn't believe in myself enough to buy into that, I did believe in Chance.
"OK, what do we need to tell or ask Mr. Smith?" I asked with my pen poised above the pad in my lap.
Chance reached for my hand. He hadn't said a word. He knew I needed to work through the situation in my own head. "We'll figure this out, Babe."
"I know. Let's get to work on that."
By the time we pulled into the parking garage for the hotel where we stayed the previous night, I had a list of questions for Mr. Smith, a to-do list for both Chance and I, and a list of questions for the conference call Cassie scheduled with Mr. Meecham.
Unfortunately, it was already dinner time. Most of our tasks and calls would have to wait until morning. We decided to use the resources we had—the four us. We ordered room service dinner and met in our room. While we ate, we made assignments for the rest of the evening. Cassie was going to research the doctors who were involved with this—Wainwright, Wilhelm, and Dr. Braun. She'd even pull information on Dr. Wilson who was working on the medical project and Dr. Hilton who was the new vet at the BITES lab. Jared would see what information he could find online about the fire. If nothing else, he'd come up with contact information for the departments that would have been the ones to respond to a fire in that area so we could call in the morning and request copies of reports.
"Cassie, I know you can't share any details, but you said you guys have dealt with something like this before," I said as we refilled our coffees and teas. "How did you resolve that issue?"
"I'm not sure we ever managed to do that completely," Cassie said. "I know that's discouraging. BITES made a concerted effort to capture those involved, but the organization involved continues to function as far as we know."
"We lived with FBI guards for a while, but we didn't want to live like that forever," Jared said. "We decided we had to trust that the authorities involved would do their jobs."
"We made a conscious decision to get on with our lives," Cassie said. "To be honest, I can't believe now we might actually have added new players to the list of those who'd happily celebrate our demise. It's a sobering thought."
After Cassie and Jared left, Chance sent an email to Rene asking for contact information for their evidence expert and took care of some emails for his guide business.
I got comfy on the bed and called for a quick chat with Momma and then Gracie Layne. I don't know if it was a reaction to what happened at the cabin or just the accumulation of things that happened over the last few days, but I must have fallen asleep.
When I woke up the room was dark and Chance was in bed beside me. I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed I was dressed in my t-shirt and underwear, but my jeans were hanging on the hook on the bathroom door. While I was in the bathroom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I thought about putting on pajamas before realizing I never bought any. It didn't matter. I was too tired to care anyway. I crawled back into bed and snuggled into Chance's side with my head on his chest.
"You OK, Babe?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.
"Just sleepy," I said.