Chapter 6 #3
Justin glanced at the time and still had fifteen minutes before his call, which he spent randomly poking around on the internet, looking into large mining projects from the period that had been the Platt Mine’s heyday.
He navigated chat boards and mining history websites, as well as sites by mining enthusiast clubs, something Justin hadn’t known existed.
Two topics stood out to him. One involved the Mob’s involvement. The second were the legends about supernatural creatures, like Knockers, who were said to live in the mines and either help or hinder miners’ efforts.
Justin started following the trail of articles about the Mob, and by the time his alarm went off for his call to Scott, he felt like he had discovered a whole new, sordid part of history that he had never heard mentioned in school or by local elders.
He bookmarked the sites to visit again later. Then he ran a hand through his hair, straightened his shirt, and hit the contact on his phone for Scott, listening as it rang.
“Right on time!” Scott smiled on the video screen.
“Been looking forward to talking with you all day,” Justin replied. Scott’s blond hair was mussed, and the golden plaid color of his flannel shirt brought out the brown in his eyes.
“Same here,” Scott replied.
“How was your day?” Justin asked
Scott shrugged. “I was busy, but with the kind of things you can cross off your to-do list but that don’t sound like anything when you tell someone about them.”
“Mine was fairly quiet,” Justin replied.
“I got the maintenance out of the way, so I don’t have to worry about it when you’re up here.
Then I let my curiosity get the best of me.
Liam and I flew up to Platt Mountain to get a look at the mine and the old ski resort.
I know you have to use the university’s pilot, but I wanted to see for myself. ”
“How did it go?” Scott asked.
Justin had worried that Scott might feel that he had overstepped by previewing his trip. He relaxed when he didn’t sense anything in Scott’s tone or expression more than curiosity.
“I think you get really cool assignments. We saw new equipment and buildings at the mine,” Justin said. “But almost nothing at all from the ski resort.”
“Pretty amazing, isn’t it? I’m glad you got a firsthand look because a lot of the photos don’t do it justice, or they’re very out of date,” Scott replied. “Even though we’re not landing and I’m not going to actually get close to anything, I feel like Indiana Jones.”
“The ruins were huge from the air. I can’t imagine how big they must be if you’re on the ground next to them,” Justin said. “Although I’m surprised at some of the mine buildings that have been left standing. They seem like a tragedy waiting to happen.”
“I was happy that the university wanted the article series, and the other sites are pleased with the history and old parks focuses,” Scott said.
“Are you hearing any details about who’s behind the reopening?” Justin asked. “That might tell you who your editor is tiptoeing around.”
“The group is pretty low-key and there’s almost nothing public other than what I shared, which was mostly speculation and rumor,” Scott said.
“My article series got greenlit because they tied into anniversaries of the mine and I was willing to focus on the positives, but I think the mining journal might be open to future articles, and the ski resort article has an economic development angle.”
“Which means?” Justin was still learning to translate Scott’s writer-speak.
“Speculation sells subscriptions,” Scott replied.
“Remember when you mentioned the Mob?” Justin asked. “I got sucked into going down an internet rabbit hole on mines, and organized crime came up fairly often. Liam had heard of it too. I didn’t know if it factored into anything you were working on.”
Scott shook his head. “No. The university doesn’t want bad publicity, and it isn’t worth the risk. So yeah, I found some stuff but shelved it.”
“I hope the bad guys aren’t involved with the new version of the mine,” Justin said.
Scott sighed. “Organized crime changes its form, but it never goes away. I did a lot of research after I watched The Godfather for the first time.”
“I’ve got to admit, when I think of ‘Mob,’ I think of guys in snazzy, expensive suits, not miners,” Justin replied.
“Mining used to be much more profitable back in the day. Profits shifted to other types of businesses, and the Mob shifted with it,” Scott said.
“I love that you know this stuff,” Justin said, and meant it. He’d had boyfriends in the past who were fun to go out with and good in bed, but who couldn’t talk about anything besides sports scores or a favorite television show.
That could be fun for a while, but Justin wanted a forever person who could hold a conversation. Scott checked off all the boxes.
“The thing about writing for a living is that I never know who I’m going to be talking to next, and I find the most fascinating—and largely useless—information. Maybe I should go on one of those game shows and win a million dollars.” Scott chuckled.
“Just let me know which game show and I’ll be in the audience, waving flags and holding up ‘Go Scott’ signs,” Justin said, only partly joking.
“My great-grandma used to watch them all morning and switch to soap operas in the afternoon,” Scott said. “I always thought it would be kind of cool to win all that stuff.”
“Then I’ve got another trivia question for you,” Justin replied. “Have you heard anything about mine monsters called knockers or Tommyknockers?”
“Wasn’t that a Stephen King book?” Scott replied. “And a movie?”
“Yes to both, but I don’t think they were based on the legend,” Justin said.
“Is that what you think you saw?” Scott asked.
“I don’t know. It creeped me out when I found out how deep the Platt Mountain mine went,” Justin admitted. “They stopped mining because it took over an hour to get to the last level they dug. That’s definitely horror movie territory.”
Scott chuckled. “I’m not fond of the dark, so I’d have been a terrible miner.
It’s not for everyone, but some folks make it work.
Most of the stories I’ve read about Tommyknockers say they helped miners and warned them about danger,” Scott continued.
“That might not be as exciting as some of the scary stories, but I like the idea that they were looking out for the workers. I think the miners who came from other countries brought the legends with them.”
“The thing we spotted from the air and the lady called the VFD about, do you think they came from the mine?” Justin asked.
Scott was quiet for a moment. “No. But maybe someone wanted us to think they were.”
Justin’s inner warnings pinged. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a great way to scare off nosy trespassers,” Scott replied.
“Dr. Jeffries at the Fox Institute said that because the mine was iron, it kept most types of monsters and ghosts away. If that’s true, then it’s unlikely the new creatures showing up came from the mine.
I stopped looking further, but like I mentioned before, the Mob has branches that deal with magic and the supernatural, and the rumors say the head honcho buying the mine is said to have a powerful witch in his inner circle. ”
“Okay, let’s assume that’s true,” Justin replied. “Why would they want a mine?”
“There’s a story about a powerful local witch locking away a malicious creature in the mine after it closed because iron negates magic,” Scott said. “What if that were true, and the new owner wanted that creature for their own purposes?”
Justin caught his breath. “I guess that could happen.”
“Now suppose that the new owner didn’t want people poking around. Spreading stories of ghosts and sending out some different weird creatures could scare people off,” Scott said. “It seems like a solid theory to me.”
“Did you mention this to Dr. Jeffries or the sheriff?” Justin asked. “Because it seems like it’s gone beyond ‘freelance research.’”
“Guilty. I may have a research addiction. And yes, I brought it up with Dr. Jeffries, but he shut down and didn’t really address it,” Scott said.
“I think Jeffries knows more than he’s said, but based on some of what he shared about keeping the area safe, I thought he’d want to know what I found.
I don’t have anything worth the sheriff’s attention.
and I don’t want to start out with him thinking I’m crazy. ”
“Please stay safe,” Justin begged. “I don’t care who runs the old mine, I just want you alive and with me.”
“No argument from me on that, I promise I stopped digging,” Scott replied. They were quiet for a moment, then Justin cleared his throat.
“Totally different topic,” Justin said. “Are you still planning to be here for Halloween?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Scott said. “Are you still making those pumpkin people?”
Justin laughed. “I’ll send you pictures. Mostly, I’ve just got the heads painted. They might be pretty spooky.”
“Are they going to be inside or outside?” Scott asked. “I thought they were part of a maze.”
“Mostly inside, although we might put a couple elsewhere,” Justin said.
“Our weather is crazy enough at Halloween that we didn’t want to take a chance of getting rained out or frozen out, so we’re setting up the maze in a big barn.
Since the maze tickets raise money for charity, that means people are still likely to turn out even if the temperatures go wild. ”
“Makes sense,” Scott agreed. “I can’t wait to see what you’re coming up with.”
Justin paused to take a drink of his coffee.
“Valerie came up with a fundraising idea. People contribute a piece of their clothing, and there’s a contest to see if visitors recognize the pumpkin person wearing those clothes.
The winner gets a gift certificate to eat somewhere in town, and we raise a little more money for the hospital. ”