Page 193 of The Case of the Missing Love Stone

Relief moves through the booth.

“They aren’t being pressured to rebond,” Tom says. “A counselor explained their options, including temporary separation and formal release. Maribel will decide what happens next.”

A place inside me loosens that I didn’t realize was still tight.

Tom removes a laboratory report. “The release-site water tested positive for a diluted compound related to the local GatorX carrier.”

Pepper reaches for the report before remembering it belongs to law enforcement.

Tom slides a copy toward her. “The concentration is too low to cause the acute recognition failures we saw with direct dosing,” he says. “But the old channel connects with marsh runoff, feeding the springs and the fountain system.”

Honey stops wiping the counter. “Are you saying it’s in the town water?”

“We have shut down the public fountains and issued a temporary advisory while additional samples are tested. The drinking-water plant has separate treatment, and those samples are currently clear.”

“Currently?” Junie asks.

“We’re testing everything.”

I stare at the branching blue lines on the map attached to the report.

The release site. The old channel. The springs. The decorative fountains tourists touch before making wishes for lasting love.

“All those packs who never used the bundles,” I say.

Tom’s expression turns grim. “Repeated low-level exposure may have made vulnerable bonds more unstable. We don’t know how long contamination has been present or whether GatorX is the only factor.”

My hands turn cold. Wes feels it through the bond. His purr deepens, and his palm spreads against my stomach. “You didn’t cause this.”

Roman takes my hand and presses it against his chest. His heartbeat remains steady beneath my palm. “You felt the damage before anyone else knew what it was.”

The truth settles slowly.

I remember every warning I gave that came too late or sounded too strange… every person who looked at me as though noticing danger meant I had invited it.

My sensitivity didn’t crack their bonds. It heard them cracking.

“I’m not a curse,” I say.

Honey’s eyes fill. “No, honey. You never were.”

Pepper keeps her voice matter-of-fact, which makes her words reach deeper. “You’re an alarm system with terrible customer service.”

A laugh escapes me. It shakes at the edges, but it’s real.

Wes kisses my temple.

Roman’s thumb moves across my knuckles.

Tom waits until my breathing steadies before continuing. “The botanical binder recovered from the water doesn’t match anything cataloged at the annex.”

Pepper taps the report. “It isn’t native to this part of Florida. Someone would need to import it or grow it under controlled conditions.”

“Which means the manufacturing source is elsewhere,” Wes says.

“And still operating,” Roman replies.

Tom looks at them. “I asked BESTF to extend your assignment. The annex evidence links the Hollow Saints to three other regional clusters. We need to identify where the base drug is being manufactured and determine whether the water contamination here was deliberate or runoff from local experiments.”