Stephanie’S Stepside, Episode 2:

Blood on Toxic Ground

In this first sequel to Stephanies Stepside, Mairs graduate student protagonist, Stephanie Carson, of the western San Joaquin Valley, is back in the massive fields lying poisoned by toxic waste. In an effort to restore to productivity the huge once fertile semi-arid lake bed of the ancient Tulare Lake region of California, she has brought a whole team of young experts. Due to Stephanies excellent masters project preparation, episode 2 begins only months after Stephanies UC Davis research team has been selected and has just begun its work of verifying Stephanies research. Because of the supercharged economic engine that the California western Central Valley had been, powerful political and economic forces are soon preparing to clash in the hot, dusty, and now lifeless fields of the western Central Valley. It is not long before the silence of undulating heat waves slow dancing over a test field is broken by the sharp report of a high-powered rifle. The slump of a figure beside an old, but well-kept, red pickup and the metal on metal spang of a heavy bullet ricocheting away follow moments later.