“Well, I didn’t think the killings had anything to do with corn until just now,” Lou said. “But I can see the possibility.” Then he related what he had observed about the corn—the unusual size and growth. “When we spoke with William Chester, he tried to convince us that the corn was just the by-product of a new type of fertilizer Chester Enterprises is patenting.”

“Genetically modified organism,” Darlene whispered. “So, do you think that Double M works for William Chester?”

“I don’t know,” Lou said. “There could be hundreds of corn shipments headed west.”

“Even if we narrow it down to a specific company, Double M is concerned about only one specific cargo train filled with corn.”

“So where does that leave us?” Lou asked. He realized he was intentionally avoiding too much eye contact with the woman, fearing she would feel, correctly, that he was staring.

“My instructions were to get you and Martin together. I guess Double M wants you to tell Martin what you’ve just told me.”

“Why? If Double M’s not going to tell us which train we’ve got to stop, what good will that do?”

“Maybe he’ll give us that information after you talk to Martin,” Darlene offered.

“Maybe. From what you’ve told me about your husband, I don’t think he’s going to do anything without demanding to know who Double M is.”

“If that’s the case, I will tell Martin what I know. I certainly understand there may be lives at stake, but I can’t begin to tell you the measures this man has taken to keep his identity a secret. Martin’s out of town right now. There’s no way I can get you a meeting with him until he gets back. Lou, if it is the corn, how do you think it’s affecting people?”

Lou shook his head. “I just don’t feel like I know enough, unless…”

“Go on, please.”

“From what we could tell, there are hundreds, probably thousands of acres of that GMO corn growing in Kings Ridge.”

“And?”

“And what if the problem is something airborne,” he said.

“Pollen?”

“Sure,” Lou said, “pollen! The tassels on the ears produce pollen that gets dispersed by the wind.”

“Airborne! That’s how people could be getting exposed. They could be inhaling the pollen and be allergic to it.”

“That would certainly explain some things I haven’t been able to understand.”

“Explain what things?” Darlene asked.

“The termites.”

Lou glanced back to ensure that his sudden enthusiasm hadn’t brought Victor any closer.

“Termites?” Darlene echoed. “What on earth do—?”

Lou put one foot up on a bench, leaned on his knee, and recounted the astounding setup at Joey Alderson’s small apartment, and the piranha-like efficiency with which his termites had totally dispatched a mouse.