Chapter 29
29
After they finished up at the university, they made their way to the Freshwater Lodge. Both of them were lost in thought as they drove. The temperature here in Fairbanks was substantially lower than it had been in Blackbear, a cold so intense it kept the exhaust from the mufflers from rising toward the sky.
“This is why people complain about the air quality here,” Lachlan said absently. He was still preoccupied with turning over various theories in his mind. “The inversion layer is so strong in the winter that the toxins in the air aren’t able to escape.”
“I think I prefer Firelight Ridge. But didn’t you mention something about hot springs?”
He hit the heel of his hand against his forehead. How could he have forgotten? “Let’s do it. By the time we get out there, it’ll be dark and there’s a good chance we’ll see some aurora borealis.”
She brightened immediately. “Let’s do it. If I have to leave Alaska, I’d like to go out with a bang, or at least a light show.”
He felt the smile drop from his face. The thought of her leaving Alaska so soon was hard to bear. Thinking about the mystery of the wolf attack had distracted him from the problem of SS. Or was it STD by now? But Maura couldn’t afford to forget about her situation, so he shouldn’t either.
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” he said softly. “Maybe you won’t have to leave. Gil said he was going to call around five, after he’d poked around a bit about that investigator. Maybe he’ll have some good news for us.”
She said nothing. Maybe she was too traumatized by her experiences to allow herself to hope. It wasn’t as if he could guarantee everything would be okay, that SS would change his ways and she’d be able to go back to her normal life.
“While we’re here in civilization, we should see if we can track down that professor,” she said, pulling out her phone. “You know, I have to say, good internet is a wonderful thing. Maybe you should consider that new cell service they’re offering in Firelight Ridge. Oh look! I think I found him!” She held up her phone to show Lachlan the screen. He was stopped at a red light, so he took a look and nodded.
She’d pulled up the website of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A gray-haired bearded man stared grimly into the camera. Professor Jason Reed, member of the Clean Energy Engineering faculty.
“Looks right. Let’s give him a call.”
“We’ll probably just get his secretary or something.”
He snorted. “Judging by my experience, he probably shares a secretary with the rest of the department. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
She made the call, and a moment later said, “I’d like to speak to Professor Reed. Yes, my name is Maura Vaughn and I’m a teacher in Alaska with some questions about his research.” She glanced over at Lachlan with a shrug, and he gave her a thumb’s up.
“Put it on speaker,” he mouthed.
She nodded and pressed the button. A moment later, an abrupt male voice came on the line. “Alaska? Where in Alaska?”
“Firelight Ridge, actually. I’ve been told you and your family spent some time in Wind Valley, and?—”
“Stay away from there.” The harsh warning made her jump. The light changed, and Lachlan drove through the intersection, then pulled over to the side of the road. He leaned closer to speak into her phone.
“Dr. Reed, my name is Lachlan McGowan, I’m a geologist who studies the jokulhlaup and?—”
“jokulhlaup? What does that have to do with Wind Valley?”
“Nothing, as far as I know, but?—”
“Like I told the teacher, stay away from there. My answer is no. Will be no, no matter who calls. Sometimes the price is too high and you have to draw the line. You’ve been warned.”
And the line was dead.
Lachlan shared a shocked glance with Maura. “What the hell was that all about?”
“I have no idea. Didn’t it sound like other people were calling him too?”
“It did. Interesting. I wonder if we should go see him in person.”
“Oh sure, it sounds like he’s always happy to have visitors,” she quipped.
“We didn’t have a chance to mention the wolves, or any of our other questions. Let’s call him back.”
She dialed the number again, but this time the secretary refused to put them through.
They decided to try again later, when the secretary was no longer expecting them, and drove onwards to the hotel.
“While we’re looking things up, check on the name Al Grover,” Lachlan suggested. “Let’s see if he’s connected to TNG Enterprises.”
“Nothing comes up with both of those names,” she said after a quick search. “But there are plenty of Al Grovers out there. What are you thinking?”
“Nothing in particular. Just looking for potential connections. Can you also check to see if anyone owns Wind Valley, or if it’s part of the park?”
She found a site that delineated the exact boundaries of the park and all its inholdings. “It looks like it belongs to the park. But it says here you can get a permit to conduct research in any national park. I wonder if that’s what the Reeds did.”
“Quite possible.”
In the parking lot, they parted ways, so that Maura could take the side entrance and Lachlan could book another night. He waited at the counter for the reception clerk, who was busy dealing with a customer who was disputing a charge. It was taking an eternity, it seemed, although according to the time on his phone, it was only a few minutes.
He didn’t like being separated from Maura, that was the truth. Not simply for safety reasons, but because he liked being with her. Her presence felt like springtime to him, like new fresh life being born. Odd, perhaps, since she was dealing with such a heavy situation. But that wasn’t how it felt when he was with her.
Even though she must be afraid all the time, she was still so curious and engaged and kind . She was taking the time to teach a motley collection of kids whose education levels ranged from private academy to basically raised by wolves. She’d taken the rustic nature of Firelight Ridge in stride, and never complained to Pinky or anyone else. He appreciated that quality she had of finding things amusing instead of irritating. He’d noticed it at The Fang, where the parade of eccentrics never ended. She listened to all the stories with wide-eyed interest. No wonder they all adored her. Everyone loved an audience.
He felt a sudden longing to be back at her side. She had the key to their room, and was probably inside by now, running herself a shower or clicking through channels on the TV.
He drummed his fingers on the counter, and finally the clerk came his way. She was a woman in her sixties with wiry gray curls. “You. You’re in trouble.”
“I am?”
“You’re supposed to tell us if it’s your birthday.”
“Excuse me?” Why would she think it was his birthday? He’d given her his ID when he’d checked in.
“We give our guests a discount on their birthdays, but you’re supposed to tell us. We can’t go checking everyone’s birth date. Bad boy.” She gave him a playful rap on the knuckles. “You’re forgiven, birthday boy. Now go have fun.”
He was totally lost, and it must have shown on his face.
She patted his hand. “Your brother showed up with balloons and a big ol’ cake.”
Alarm bells started going off like Easter Sunday church bells. “Really? He’s here right now?” He searched his memory for the description Maura had given Gil. “Big guy, lots of muscles?”
“That’s the one. Setting up as we speak. Sure hope it wasn’t supposed to be a surprise. Just in case, do you mind acting surprised?”
But he was already sprinting across the lobby toward the stairs. Goddamn it, things were much too casual around here in the wintertime when it came to checking IDs and so forth.
There was a man here. Possibly in their room, or waiting near the room, and Maura might already be face to face with him and…
He hurtled up the stairs, his footsteps sounding hollow on the steel utility stairs, then nearly collided with Maura as she came trotting down them. “Lachlan,” she said in surprise. “What’s the matter?”
“Have you been to the room?” His heart felt as if it might crash right out of his chest onto the stairs.
“No, I got halfway down the hall, then realized that I forgot the card key. Do you have it?”
Relief made him so light-headed that he grabbed the hand rail. “The clerk said there’s a man here who says he’s my brother.”
She went pale, her eyes dark against her skin. “SS?”
“No idea. I’m going to go check. Stay here.”
“No.” She grabbed at him. “Let’s just go. I don’t want him hurting you.”
“Why would he hurt me? He doesn’t know me. The most he’ll do is ask me questions, if he even gets the chance. But I don’t plan to give that to him.”
Maura stepped down so she was only one step above him, which put their eyes on the same level. Her expression was so deadly serious it gave him chills. “Lachlan. I beg you. Let’s just go. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. Did you book another night?”
“No. I didn’t get that far.”
“Then let’s go. We have the important stuff with us. Everything else, we can leave behind.”
“All your clothes are in there.” She’d brought a packed suitcase in case she couldn’t go back to Firelight Ridge.
“It’s just clothes. I don’t care.” She grabbed onto his hand and tugged him down the stairs, nearly making him stumble. “Luckily, you parked the car around the corner, out of sight of the room. He might be watching for us.”
He didn’t argue any more. If she felt this strongly about it, he wasn’t going to fight her.
Once they were in Sam’s Camry, he felt around in the glove box.
Bingo. Just as he’d suspected, Sam kept a pair of binoculars in the car. Birdwatcher for the win. “Let’s see if we can get a better look at this guy.”
“I don’t want him to see me.”
“Stay out of sight, I’ll take a look.”
While Maura snuggled under a coat to stay out of sight, he drove through the parking lot, as if headed for the exit, then paused at the stop sign. There, he twisted around and put the binoculars to his face, happy to see they were high-powered and crystal clear. He focused on their room, third from the right. Sure enough, someone was inside, though he couldn’t see his face. A man, tall and robust, with the physique of a linebacker. Big guy, lots of muscles.
“Does SS play football?”
“He played in high school, until he tore his ACL. He got a few concussions along the way too. Apparently he hated wearing his helmet.”
“Brain damage can lead to behavioral issues,” he said absently.
“I’m aware.” Her voice was muffled under the coat. “I have Internet. Or used to, before I came to Firelight Ridge. Can you see anything else?”
“A striped beanie. Green and yellow.”
“Crap. That definitely could be him. He likes beanies, even though his head looks really small in them, especially compared to his shoulders. He’s a big guy.”
“This guy fits that bill.” Lachlan had never placed any particular value on a person’s size; to him that seemed entirely irrelevant to what they were like as a person. Some of the bravest people he’d known were women and even children. Some of the most sweet-hearted were large men, such as Gunnar back in Firelight Ridge. Size didn’t factor into it at all, unless a bully made use of his size to exert control, as seemed to be the case with SS.
“How can he be here? Marco said he was arrested. Did they already let him go?”
“Maybe he’s out on bail. Maybe he has very liberal bail bond conditions. Or maybe he broke them.”
“Can we please go now? He hasn’t seen us, has he?”
“I don’t think so.” Lachlan set the binoculars on the passenger seat and cruised onto the main road. After he’d made a few turns, he tapped her on the back. “It’s safe now.”
She sat up, her hair a wild riot of static electricity. “Yet another awkward situation I can blame on that idiot.”
What must it be like having to deal with this sort of thing over and over again? He couldn’t really imagine it. How she’d maintained her sanity was beyond him.
“I have an idea,” said Lachlan thoughtfully.
“Drive to Canada? Sounds good to me.”
“No. I’m not sure what we should do next. But we can make some trouble for him, I think.”
“We can?” Her face brightened. “How?”
“Well, he’s the one pretending it’s my birthday.” He dialed the front desk of the Freshwater. “Hi, this is Lachlan McGowan, I was just talking to you a few minutes ago. Yeah, the birthday boy.” He rolled his eyes at Maura. “Listen, it’s kind of lonely celebrating my birthday with just me and my brother. Why don’t you tell the staff and whoever else is hanging around that they’re all welcome to my room for some birthday cake and balloons? The more, the merrier. Send everyone. And don’t let my brother leave because I have a special surprise for him.”
He hung up to find Maura gaping at him. “Lachlan,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
He grinned at her. “Hopefully that will buy us some time to get out of here.”
“And figure out how he found me.”
They both looked at her phone, which she’d plugged into the cigarette light charger. Quickly, she pulled it out and turned it off. “No more online research for me.”