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They turned and saw Reine-Marie standing at the foot of the stairs.

“It goes to Jericho,” she said, looking straight at Jeanne Caron.

CHAPTER 8

Vivienne LaPierre held the litmus paper up against the sky. The color matched the fading blue to the east.

“Anything?” called Isabelle from the clearing where she was setting up their tent. When there was silence, she looked over. “Vivienne?”

It was a perfect early evening. Any breeze had disappeared, as often happened as the sun began to set. The air and water became perfectly still except where the biologist had dipped another vial into the shallows. This time, instead of the litmus paper, she brought out an eyedropper with solution.

“What is it?” asked Isabelle. “Did you find something?”

“I’m not sure.”

Though her fingers were numb from the frigid water, she continued to work, trembling slightly as she tried to squeeze liquid from the dropper into the small tube. She missed a couple of times before finally getting a few drops in.

After some moments the testing agent reacted, and the water changed color. Vivienne sat back on her haunches. “It seems to be at acceptable levels, but borderline.”

“Levels of what?”

Isabelle had just noticed the shifting colors of the evening sky, undulating shades of soft pink, reflected in the mirror-calm lake.

Red sky at night, she automatically thought. Sailor’s delight.

It wasn’t quite red, nor was it quite night. It was more like late afternoon, but the sun was going down earlier and earlier, especially there in the north. While the sun would still be up in Three Pines, here the light was already fading.

Two birds flew over the water, their wingtips just touching the surface, and far offshore Isabelle heard a plop as a fish leaped for an insect.

Vivienne showed Isabelle the litmus paper and the second vial. “In a healthy, pristine freshwater lake these would stay purple and the pH level should be at seven. This lake is at nine point five, perhaps ten.”

“Which means?”

“Something’s caused an increase in alkaline. Not dangerous.” She looked around. “At least not yet. Still looks like a healthy ecosystem. Of course that’s how it happens.”

Almost afraid to ask, Isabelle did anyway. “What happens?”

“The sudden collapse. A system looks just fine, and then, almost overnight…”

“But we’re not there yet.” Isabelle tried to keep her voice neutral, though even she could hear the disquiet. She looked past the biologist, across the water to the far shore.

“I don’t think so. But the lake is more out of balance than I’d have expected this far north. If it continues…” Vivienne pondered, then spoke almost to herself: “If anything, I’d have expected this”—she looked down at her tests—“to either stay the same or turn pink.”

“Why? What would that mean?”

“Acid rain. We know most lakes are at least slightly affected by it. But this shows the opposite.”

“What could be causing it?”

Now Vivienne spoke to herself. “I don’t know how enough of it could get into this lake.”

“Enough of what?”

“Phosphorous could upset the balance, raise the pH. Or maybe potassium. But still…”

“And this is a big lake,” said Isabelle. “It would take a lot to affect it. Are you worried?”

“Worried? No, not really. Perplexed.”