Dead of Spring: An Alexa Williams Novel

by Sherry Knowlton

  “Lately,” Mrs. Lowry said. “We’ve had to fight the company tooth and nail for every new filter. They don’t pay for the bottled water anymore. That man from the company says the problem has been fixed. Fixed my ass.”

  Walt rose from the table, bringing the discussion to an end. “Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with us. Any questions, Alexa?”

  “What can you do about the water situation?” She looked at the aging couple.

  “We joined onto that Pine Creek lawsuit,” the husband replied. “I don’t usually have no truck with Mexicans. A lot of them have been part of the pipeline crews. Speaking Spanish everywhere you go. But that Alvarez, the lawyer. He seems like the right sort. We’re hoping he gets the gas company to accept responsibility. And gets us some money for our water situation.”

  As they left the farmhouse, Walt pointed out the fracking pad on the hill above the barn behind a narrow band of trees. Alexa had missed it earlier. “I bet that’s noisy in the summer with the windows open, especially when they come in to drain the tanks.”

  Walt took Alexa to two more homes, and they listened to two more stories similar to the Lowrys’ tale. One woman’s field had washed out, ruining a viable crop of feed corn, because the company had messed up when it constructed the containment pond.

  Another family had leased their gas rights but refused to allow drill sites on their property in an attempt to avoid damage from fracking. Alexa had been surprised to learn that this type of lease permitted the drilling bores to extend into the family’s land. Even though they had no pad and pumping station on their property, their water became contaminated with manganese and methane after their closest neighbor’s land was fracked.

  As they drove away from the last visit, Alexa turned to Walt. “This has been a depressing day.”

  “I’m going to show you the other side of fracking. But we could spend a week visiting folks who’ve been harmed or disappointed by Monongas. And we still wouldn’t cover them all.”

  Alexa slumped into the seat, overwhelmed. She shook her head in disgust. Fracking was less like a Martian invasion and more like a termite infestation. The termites had bored into Tioga County, undermining the foundation. Any day now, they might swarm to a new location, leaving behind a scarred landscape and collapsed lives that would take years, if ever, to restore.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Over a late lunch, Walt expressed his frustration. “I’m sure you picked up on the pattern. It’s the same old story. The gas company addresses the concern right after an incident that affects the family’s water or land. They pay for water or filters or restoration. But they don’t fix the root cause. So the problems continue, but the company becomes less and less responsive. They don’t return calls. They stop sending money or supplies. To make it worse, these days, the company is scaling back their pumping levels because of the lower market price for natural gas. That means the landowners’ royalty checks are shrinking.”

  “How much do they get in royalties?”

  “It varies. But one guy just told me that he received ten thousand dollar checks each month right after they drilled the first wells. The initial gas pressure was high. They really pump it out at first. About a half a year into it, things took a turn for the worse. Each month his royalty dropped. Last month, he got less than two hundred bucks. And this guy has a decent amount of acreage.”

  Alexa toyed with her salad. “All these people are dealing with major problems with no apparent solution―unless this class action suit gets some results. When do their leases expire? Maybe if the fracking stops the groundwater will be restored?”

  Walt shook his head. “There are a few rare exceptions, but nearly all of these leases last in perpetuity. Apart from the class action suit, the best hope for these landowners is that Monongas shuts down the wells on their property. Some of them aren’t pumping right now, but I don’t know of any that have actually been disassembled.”

  “That sort of puts a crimp in your resale value, I imagine.”

  “People do sell. But you’re right. It can be more difficult.” Walt dipped a french fry in ketchup. “But I want to give you the whole picture. In other cases, having a gas lease on the land makes it more valuable. If there are no water or other problems, buyers like the idea of a royalty check coming in each month. And there are many of my constituents, especially the ones with a lot of acreage, who’ve gotten rich from fracking leases. We’re going to visit one of those folks after lunch. And the local economy has benefitted from fracking.”

  “Jobs?”

  “The companies bring a lot of people in from out of state to do the drilling, but local folks have been hired by the trucking companies and other support systems. The drillers need places to live, buy goods and services, and so forth. The companies have improved some of the roads to make them passable for the big trucks. It’s a real mixed bag. A lot of people have seen real economic benefit.”

  “It sounds like Monongas wields a lot of power around here.” Alexa leaned toward Walt and lowered her voice. “Do your anti-fracking activities in Harrisburg piss them off?”

  He grinned. “Absolutely. They funded a candidate to run against me last year. Tioga County had never seen such fancy television ads. Lucky for me, the people didn’t like Monongas trying to interfere in local politics. You know the House runs every two years, so I’ve got another campaign coming up real soon. Who knows how I’ll fare?”

  Yesterday afternoon at the canyon flashed into her mind. “Has the company ever threatened you?”

  Walt’s expression darkened. “You mean a physical threat or something like that? I’d like to see them try.” After a moment’s pause, he gave her a searching look. “Why do you ask?”

  Alexa described what happened at the overlook with the two men wearing Monongas hats. “I might have overreacted. But I picked up a vibe that made me very uneasy.”

  “Some of these site bosses have been known to run roughshod over landowners, but why would someone from Monongas threaten you?”

  “Because of Jeannie’s lawsuit? Because I’m spending the day learning from the Master of Anti-fracking? I don’t know―just a feeling I had.” Alexa shredded the paper from her straw as she talked.

  “Do you want to report it to the police? We could swing by there on the way to our next stop.”

  “No. They didn’t assault me. They barely touched me. And I’m heading out of town tonight.” Alexa decided again she had overreacted to the two men. Still jumpy from being attacked in her hot tub, she was seeing menace everywhere. Walt’s voice drew her out of her thoughts.

  “Tonight? Stay the night and come over for dinner.” Walt’s expression was shuttered. “I’d like you to meet my wife and kids.”

  At the mention of a wife and family, Alexa went still, surprised at the intensity of her disappointment. Married? Of course he was married―a fortyish politician. But why hadn’t the subject come up? Why hadn’t she asked? Overcome with guilt at the schoolgirl crush she’d developed on this man, Alexa stole a quick look at his left hand. It was bare. At least she hadn’t missed a ring. She felt foolish, deflated, and relieved―all at the same time.

  Alexa struggled to keep her tone neutral as she replied, “What a lovely offer, but I have to get back tonight. I have a full schedule tomorrow. This next visit is the last on the tour, right?”

  “Right. Just let me text Sandy to let her know you won’t be coming over for dinner.”

  Alexa couldn’t decide if Walt looked disappointed or relieved as he texted his wife. Gazing out the window, Alexa sighed in silent self-recrimination. A married man. With kids. And you’re involved with John. What ever were you thinking?

  “So this is the fair and balanced part of the tour,” Walt said as he turned into another driveway. “Marjorie Bannon is very pleased with fracking. I wanted you to hear her point of view.”

  Marjorie welcomed them into her living room, gushing over Walt. “All the ladies in the church auxiliary always say w
e’ve got the most handsome representative in Pennsylvania.” She looked Alexa up and down. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing.”

  “We don’t want to take up much of your time,” Walt said. “But I hope you’ll share your thoughts about Monongas with Ms. Williams. I’m helping her learn more about fracking here in the county.”

  “Of course. I told your girl in the office I’d be happy to help.” She leaned toward Alexa and confided. “When my Ronald passed, he left me with this huge old farm and very little cash. I couldn’t carry on with the farm. My only option looked like selling the place and moving into an apartment in Wellsboro. Or find one of those retirement communities with all the other blue-haired ladies.” She fluffed her lavender-rinsed hair with a bejeweled hand. “But I love this old house. It’s where Ronald and I spent fifty years of wedded bliss. And where my two kids were born.” She picked up a family picture from the end table and handed it to Alexa. “Ronald, Ronald Jr., and Shirley.”

  “Lovely family.”

  Marjorie continued. “Then Monongas came along with the answer to my prayers. My land sat right in the middle of five other plots of land they’d leased. They needed my hundred and fifty acres to complete their plans. So I leased the whole lot to them for twenty-five hundred an acre. They drilled out on the far corner of the property, beyond the woods. I don’t even know they’re there.”

  “So you’ve had no negative effects from the fracking operations?” Alexa asked.

  “Negative effects?” Marjorie scoffed. “My dear, between the initial lease and the little bit I get each month from royalties, I have enough money to live on for the rest of my life. I go to Florida in the winters. And, unless I live past one hundred, my kids will get a nice, tidy inheritance. Except for marrying Ronald and having our babies, Monongas is the best thing that ever happened to me.” She looked at Walt. “Would you like some coffee or tea?”

  “No, Marjorie. Thank you, but Ms. Williams has a long drive ahead of her.”

  On the drive back, Walt told Alexa, “Marjorie pretty much summed up the pro-fracking point of view. There are a significant number of families who support it. They think the infusion of money into the area outweighs the negative effects. I’d say there are more people against fracking than for. But a lot depends on people’s priorities and their experiences.”

  “So fracking hasn’t impacted everyone’s water quality? Or had other negative effects?”

  “No. And there are studies out there that say fracking doesn’t affect water quality.”

  “But how do they account for what’s happened?”

  “They say a lot of these elements occur naturally in this part of the country. And that the water would be affected even if fracking didn’t exist.”

  “But you don’t buy it?”

  “I don’t. And a few more recent studies seem to confirm that fracking can affect water quality.” Walt pulled up to the curb behind Alexa’s Land Rover.

  She turned, hand on the door. “I really appreciate you spending the entire day with me, showing me fracking,” Alexa smiled, “from the ground up. It will help me better advise Jeannie. You’ve gone above and beyond.”

  “I enjoyed the day. It helps me to touch base with constituents every once in a while, to remind me why fighting fracking is so important.” Walt handed Alexa the cell phone she’d left on the seat.

  For a moment, their hands touched as Alexa took the phone. Frozen, they looked at each other in silence. Sinking into his gray eyes, Alexa had no doubt she and this man both felt the connection. The sizzle had been there from the moment she’d walked into his office at the capitol. Then, Alexa collected her wits and pulled the cell phone from Walt’s hand, scrambling out of the car. She leaned back in. “I forgot to ask. Did you lease your land to Monongas?”

  “No. When I inherited land from my mother a few years back, Monongas put on a full court press for the lease. She’d been too sick to deal with them, but they made another run at me. I told them to pound sand.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Rushing up the capitol steps, Alexa couldn’t help but rejoice. This would be the last meeting of the Human Trafficking Commission. The commission’s work had been important. She’d seen some of the lives laid to waste by trafficking and wanted it to end. One way was to make sure the Commonwealth’s laws reflected the latest tools to prosecute traffickers and aid their victims. But she just wasn’t cut out for politics and wrangling large groups of intense people.

  When she reached Senator Gabler’s offices, Lauren greeted Alexa. “As usual, Keisha’s tied up. I have all the copies of the reports and a brief agenda. Why don’t we go into the senator’s office? He’s on the floor of the Senate.”

  Seated on the senator’s couch, Alexa leafed through the final report and then ran an eye over the agenda. “Looks fine to me.”

  “Good. It’s been exciting working on this project.” Lauren summoned a diffident smile.

  “I want to thank you for the great job you did on this report. Of course, the committee set the direction. And Keisha and I were involved in the final product. But I know you did the bulk of the writing.” Alexa paused. “Your internship ends pretty soon, right?”

  “In two weeks. I have to do a written summary of my experience to get full credit. I’m moving out of my apartment the last day of April and will finish my summary at home.” Lauren’s expression became serious. “I want to tell you, Alexa, that I really admire you. I’ve learned a lot from you.”

  “Thank you, Lauren. If you need a letter of recommendation for grad school or a job, just let me know.”

  The intern leaned in from her chair next to Alexa. “I need your advice on something. That man, the one in the kitchen that day.”

  Alexa nodded.

  Lauren’s voice quavered. “There’s something going on. Not just the kitchen thing. Something bigger and maybe illegal. Keisha’s up―” the girl broke off when the door opened. “Oh, hi, Keisha.”

  “Did I hear my name?” Keisha asked as she strode into the room.

  “Yeah, I was just telling Alexa that you like the final report.”

  Alexa played along. She knew Keisha had advised Lauren not to rock the boat by reporting the earlier kitchen incident. Perhaps Lauren didn’t trust her boss with this new issue. “I agree. Despite the commission ending early, this report captures the key points we wanted to make. Another few months of meetings would have made little difference.”

  “I, for one, am just glad to get this off my plate.” Keisha’s tone bordered on disdain. “Senator Gabler has me spending all my time on energy issues these days.”

  Lauren seemed to have recovered her usual good spirits. “News flash. Did you hear? Keisha has been named executive director of the Energy and Environmental Committee.”

  “Congratulations.” Alexa kept her tone positive. But she couldn’t help but remember Keisha plotting this exact scenario the night that Senator Martinelli died at their feet.

  Keisha looked at her watch. “We better book. It’s ten till. Oh, I forgot. Alexa, Senator Gabler has to brief leadership on an energy matter. He won’t make the commission meeting. He asked me to convey his thanks for chairing the group.”

  The commission meeting went better than Alexa expected. The members voted unanimously to endorse the final report. It seemed like everyone was just going through the motions; the session lasted less than an hour.

  When the meeting ended, Alexa looked for Lauren. She wanted to hear what the intern had been about to confide in Senator Gabler’s office. But a procession of commission members came forward to thank her for chairing the group. By the time the room had emptied, Lauren and Keisha had both disappeared.

  Alexa took the elevator back up to the senator’s office. “Is Lauren here?” she asked the receptionist.

  She buzzed Lauren on the phone. “No one’s answering. Maybe she went to lunch.”

  “Can you ask her to call me?” Alexa placed her card on the desk.

  “Sure, Ms
. Williams.”

  Leaving the office, Alexa decided to grab a sandwich in the cafeteria before she drove back to Carlisle. On the escalator down to the East Wing of the capitol, Alexa caught sight of Keisha standing just outside the cafeteria, deep in conversation with two men. Alexa recognized them both. They were the guys from that lobbying firm―what was the name? Toland. The fortyish, no-neck guy, Nason Kurtz; and his boss, Walker Toland. She was surprised to see Keisha talking to them. When she’d pointed them out to Alexa at Senator Martinelli’s memorial service, the staffer had sounded impressed by their power in Harrisburg but had spoken with a mocking undertone. Alexa had gotten the impression she didn’t really know them except by reputation. And that she didn’t much respect either one.

  Yet, here she was, a few weeks later, thick as thieves with the powerful lobbyists. Then it hit Alexa. Of course. The lobbyists represented energy interests, and Keisha now served as executive director of the committee that controlled Senate energy policy.

  She studied the no-neck lobbyist, Nason Kurtz. The arrogant ass who’d reamed out Lauren in the kitchen that day. What a big man, throwing his weight around with a college junior. Alexa curled her lip in disgust.

  As she stepped onto the marble floor, Keisha looked straight at Alexa, then glanced away. The three split up. Keisha darted into the cafeteria. The two men sauntered into an adjacent corridor. By the time Alexa emerged into the cafeteria courtyard with her sandwich, Keisha was long gone.

  While she finished her lunch, Alexa ran through her emails and made a few notes for a client meeting later that afternoon. But, her mind kept straying to the unfinished conversation with Lauren. Perhaps the intern had decided to report this asshole for that day he went off on her in the kitchen. Or maybe he’d acted the same way with another young staffer? But, Alexa sensed that, during today’s earlier conversation, Lauren was speaking about something different. And the word she’d used, “illegal,” had an ominous ring. Even more baffling was the way Lauren broke off and changed the subject when Keisha entered the room.