David Dun - At The Edge

Maria began gathering her things on the counsel table. When she turned around, she noticed him; for a brief second, before she caught herself, she flashed him her trademark smile.

In the main hallway, the crowd was thinning. Maria watched as Dan greeted Nate and an attractive red-haired woman.

She slowed to say hello.

''Pepacita had to tend to a sick cousin for a few hours,'' Dan said. "She left Nate with Lynette at the office, and he wanted to come see his dad."

''Actually, my son is sick and I have to go home,'' Lynette said. "I'm afraid if I take Nate, he'll get sick too. And then the boss will get sick."

"Vicious cycle," Dan said, smiling. "There is the old expression that is too common for the likes of you, Lynette, but I'll say it anyway: 'I don't know what I would have done without you.' " He glanced at Maria. "She's my organizer, some days my sanity, and when Pepacita's gone and Katie's at work, she's my second backup child-care person.''

"Don't forget nag. I'm his nag. When I get done with my husband, I start in on Dan."

"Maria Fischer, this is my assistant, Lynette Tisdale," Dan said. ''And this"-he smiled, tousling the boy's hair- "as you may already know… is your admirer."

"Well, I haven't seen you for a while," she told Nate. "You're getting more handsome every day." Nate grinned at her.

"Well, gotta go. See you later," Lynette said, nodding and moving off through the crowd.

"Hey, dude," Dan exclaimed to Nate.

"Hey, dude," the boy replied. "Are you done in court?"

"All done with the first one. I have one more quick one."

"Were you in court against Ms. Fischer again?"

"No, that was Monday."

"Who won?" He looked at them both.

Dan glanced at Maria. She did not try to hide her interest in his answer. "We both won."

"Were you mad?" Nate asked Maria.

"Nate apparently has some questions for you," Dan said. "I can tell."

She sat on a bench, getting to Nate's eye level. "I was mad. People cut down trees that I loved and I didn't have a chance to talk about it first."

"I like trees," he said. "But my dad likes to cut 'em so the mill people have jobs. He says growing new ones cleans the air."

"I think your dad's been teaching you."

"My dad's a pretty good guy, you know."

"Yes, Nate, I know he is."

"Could I get that on tape?" Dan said.

"It's a matter of perspective that I think might be lost on the tape," Maria said with a smile.

"Hey, we gotta talk. Let's get the science guys on the phone."

"I know, I know. Yesterday was awful. I'm doing what I can."

"Come for dinner. We can talk things out."

At that moment, Judge Traxler stuck his head into the corridor. "Could I see you a minute?" he said to Dan.

Dan hesitated, then reached for Nate's hand before following the judge.

"If you won't be long, I'll stay with Nate," Maria volunteered.

"You would?"

"I would be happy to entertain the better half of the family," she said. "Besides, I'm sure Judge Traxler would like your undivided attention."

Nate signaled to his father that he wanted to whisper, and Dan leaned over.

Finally Dan stood straight. ''If you were to come for dinner. Nate and I would help Pepacita cook for you," he said. "Nate figures that's an important sales feature that I omitted."

Maria was actually tempted for just a moment.

"Really, we need to talk about what I've figured out," Dan added. "Kim Lee disappears. Somebody tries to gas us. You know it was meant for you and me."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"It would be a working dinner."

"That's really thin." She half-smiled. "We don't need to go to your house to work."

"Please," Nate said.

Maria caught herself looking around to see if anyone was listening. "Just this one more time."

"Maybe you could just take Nate on home then."

"Yes, maybe I could."

"I've watched my dad in court before." Nate's round eyes widened and a look of concentration came over his face as he formed his next question. "Are you an enviro?"

"I'm an environmental activist. Can you say that?"

"Sure-'environmental activist.' " His pronunciation was flawless. "Is that the same as an enviro?"

"I think so, yes. But tell me the correct name again."

"Environmental activist." Like a sponge, she thought to herself.

"My mom died, you know."

"Yes. I was very sorry to hear that."

"You know, my friend Kenneth got a stepmom."

"He did, huh? What do you think about that?"

''I wish I could remember more about Mom. My dad tries to tell me, but he says it hurts too much."

Maria looked at Nate. Dan Young was a good parent, to have such a great kid-either that or awfully lucky.

Maria laughed. "Let's go," she said, walking to the exit. "You're a real charmer."

Nathaniel brightened at her tone. "What's a charmer?"

"A charmer is someone who pleases other people."

Nathaniel thought for a moment, then nodded. ''Do you like my dad?"

Maria smiled at him. His simplicity was pure, unspoiled- simple light in a world of shadowed complexities. "In some ways, Nathaniel, I think I do like him. I don't know him very well, though, and we don't agree about things."

"I like you a lot, but I don't know you very well," Nate said. "I can tell you're good."

"Now, how can you tell that?"

"You hold my hand tight like you don't want anything awful to happen. You'd yell at me if I played in the street." Maria laughed. "Well, that's all true. But you need to be careful about making up your mind about grown-ups too quickly."

Nathaniel gave her a conspiratorial look, ''My dad likes you."

"And how do you know that?"

"Will I get in trouble?" he asked with mischief in his tone.

"I won't tell."

"He let me go with you." He paused as if there were more. He motioned her to lean down in the manner that his father had earlier, and she stopped to put her ear to his lips. "He looks at you funny."

"I see."

"Are you married?" Nate asked as Maria backed her Cherokee out of its parking space.

"No, I'm not, but I have a man friend."

"Is he nice?"

"Yes, I think he is."

"Are you sure?" His serious demeanor and penetrating gaze called for a serious response.

"These would normally be considered very private questions," she said. Looking at him, she saw the disappointment in his eyes. "But among friends, I guess the question is OK. I suppose I'm not sure."

"My dad's nice."

Maria smiled and shook her head. She had never met such a determined nine-year-old. ''You and I can be good friends, but your father and I might just be what we call casual friends."

"What's 'casual'? I thought that was like pants." Nate thought for a moment. "So you and my dad don't do stuff together?"

''Right. But that doesn't mean you and I can't be friends.''

"We turn here," Nathaniel said suddenly. "This is the way my dad goes."

Nate was fast asleep in his bedroom, Pepacita was cleaning up in the kitchen, and they were in the den. It was 8:30 p.m. Maria was drinking coffee, Dan his Bud Light.

"Look at this picture," Dan said.

"It's a pretty good blowup of the giant round thing we saw. Almost looks like a kid's swimming pool."

"And this."

"What's that? It looks like a collapsed shack."

"Or a boarded-over hole in the side of the mountain."

"Like a mine."

''But this is still in the area where the mountains have a heavy coastal sediment content. I don't think there are any tunnel mines anywhere near the northern California coast. I've looked for historical mines."

He held up a listing of old mines kept by the state department of mines and geology. "There are none. And look closely here." He gave her a magnifying glass.

"Some kind of a line running from the pool to these boards or whatever this is."