Conard County Watch Page 3

  “Obviously,” he agreed. “What about farther up, like that guy just mentioned?”

  “He’s right. It’s more of a cleft beyond those trees there, but you can’t tell if it all happened at once. Maybe Claudia will be able to. Regardless, I looked at it last fall and it didn’t appear promising. Which doesn’t mean I won’t check it out anyway.”

  Cope fell silent, and Renee continued to stare at the rock face, but her thoughts were moving through time, not space. “You know,” she said after a minute, “it’s really weird that part of that narrow wall of rock collapsed like that.”

  She fixed her gaze on Cope. “It’s almost as if someone deliberately knocked it down. As if they wanted samples and disturbed more than they intended.”

  She watched Cope’s face darken, but he didn’t respond. Of course not. He was the one who had suggested security that she couldn’t afford. On the other hand, who the hell would want anything from here other than a cool fossil? And freeing something from the rock would take many hours. The most any trophy hunter could have hope of finding was something that was already loose.

  That hardly required full-time rent-a-cops.

  Another bunch of small rocks tumbled down from above. “Let’s get your hard hat,” she said. “Then I need to think about how we can stabilize the top of that wall.”

  “I’ve got some ideas.”

  She didn’t doubt it for a moment.

  Chapter 2

  The plan was to start off small, but the group didn’t feel all that small when they gathered at Maude’s diner that night, some meeting others for the first time.

  There were Larry, Maddie and Carlos, all undergrad interns. Then there were Bets, Mason and Denise, her three graduate interns. And last but not least, Claudia Alexander, the geology postdoc, a woman with short, no-nonsense dark hair and huge gray eyes that seemed almost too big for her face. She stuck out among a group of young people who seemed almost blended in their similarities. That would change as Renee got to know them all better, but for now she hoped no one expected to be called by name.

  “Okay.” She decided some honesty might be helpful up front. “I’m terrible with names. I’ll recognize your faces for the rest of my life, but give me time with your names. I’m better at identifying fossils.”

  Laughter rolled around the tables that had been pulled together with the permission of the diner’s owner, Maude. In fact, Maude was already pouring coffee all around with a great deal of clatter and frowning. A couple of Renee’s interns looked intimidated by this, but once Cope ordered a dinner for himself, suggesting they all do the same if they were hungry, they relaxed. Maude, he told them sotto voce, was a local character.

  Renee had met the woman last summer and was prepared for the graceless service they were receiving. Still, it was nice to know everyone was a target.

  Soon they had ordered a meal from the menus. Young, active, with healthy appetites. Not surprising. Renee ordered a steak sandwich along with the majority, knowing it would probably be too much to eat, but once the dig got under way they’d all be working long hours, most of them physical. In her experience, on a dig like this, most people lost a bit of weight. You ate while you could. Soon enough they’d all be sick of beans heated on the portable stoves.

  “I’m going to run over the basics again,” she said when everyone was served and eating. Playful conversation had been rather desultory as the interns tried cautiously to feel one another out. “We’re guests on tribal lands. Invited guests. That invitation will last only as long as we honor our hosts and their customs. Only as long as we treat the land as sacred, because believe me, the tribe believes that mountain is sacred. Tomorrow you’ll probably meet Gray Cloud, who is the Guardian of the Mountain in their culture, and one of the tribal elders.”

  She paused, looking around the table, assessing the expressions on the many youthful faces. At this point she saw nothing to trouble her.

  “I’m sure you all studied enough anthropology to know that the beliefs of local people are always to be respected, and your personal opinion of them does not matter. The local indigenous believe that Thunder Mountain, the mountain we’ll be working on, is sentient. You don’t have to believe that. You must respect it as if it is true, however. If one of the local tribe members tells you not to do something, stop at once. We can always talk with them if it’s something necessary, but in the meantime just stop. Trust me, when you see the rock face and fossils that are visible right now, you’ll fully understand what a tragedy it would be to find ourselves shut down because we were careless of their beliefs. Got it?”

  Heads around the table nodded. All those earnest young faces. She sincerely hoped their youth wouldn’t result in any kind of hijinks. “It’s time to act like the professionals you want to be. I’m counting on you. Questions?”

  The youngest guy at the table, Larry, she thought, waggled his hand for her attention as he finished chewing a mouthful of food. She waited patiently.

  He took a swallow of cola, then spoke. “How can a mountain be alive?”

  “The essence is really quite simple. The indigenous people believe that consciousness exists in everything, from the trees to the stones. It’s not limited to animals that run around. While the consciousness may be different from what we know ourselves, it still exists. Mother Earth, for example, is a living being, too.”

  “Okay,” Larry answered slowly.

  “Always give thanks for the gifts of nature.”

  She smiled. “Think about that before we go out to the site in the morning. The very stones will hear you, according to local tradition. The stones, the trees, the birds, the running water. If you at least make an effort to respect that, we might get through the summer.”

  The group fell silent as they pondered what she had said and thought about the summer ahead. Good. This was their last chance to change their minds while she could possibly find replacements. Plus, she wanted them to be very aware of the delicacy of their situation here. It would kill her if this expedition fell apart because they thought she was exaggerating the cultural limitations.

  At least no one argued with her, and no one tried to play “rules lawyer” by looking for a loophole in what she had said. That might be very promising.

  Conversation shifted to what they hoped they might see tomorrow, and what kind of discoveries might await them. Renee let them ramble and build up their own excitement, but didn’t join in. She hadn’t told very many about the potential size of this find lest she wind up with the paleontological equivalent of “claim jumpers.” Yeah, really, other professionals might try to grab the site for themselves.

  So for now she remained mostly mum and not even the members of her team had any real idea of what was out there. Tomorrow, when they saw that rock face for the first time, they’d probably light up like the Fourth of July. Not many got an opportunity like this.

  Enjoying her secret for the last few hours, Renee smiled and listened to the conversation. After they’d all finished eating and the bills began to arrive, she reminded them that they’d meet here at seven in the morning.

  Watching them scatter in the general direction of the La-Z-Rest Motel, which was clean if outdated, Renee remarked to Cope, “I hope we have enough four-by-fours to get them up there.”

  “We can sort it out in the morning,” he said reassuringly. “Make two trips if necessary. How early will you be going?”

  “Well before dawn. I’ll take Denise to start drawing. The shadows reveal so many mysteries.”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  She watched him drive off, wondering vaguely where he lived, then climbed into her own battered vehicle and headed for the motel.

  She pondered if she should take her camping gear with her tomorrow and just plan on staying on the mountain. She hadn’t much worried about it before, but that unexpected visit from a neighbor had bothered h
er a bit.

  Word was getting around Conard County, and from what Mercy had told her over the years, news spread like wildfire around here. Maybe they needed to have someone there all the time. Mentally she began to calculate their budget, and whether it would run to enough tents and sleeping bags. They already had folding tables, propane stoves, lanterns... Well, half a camp, anyway.

  Yeah, maybe she should leave her camping equipment in the back of her truck and get some help hauling it up the mountain tomorrow. Then she could shepherd them all through filling in their own blanks for camping out there.

  Then, making a final decision could wait for tomorrow. She headed toward her room at the motel and tried not to think too much about Cope.

  Nice guy, but every time she looked at him her thoughts wanted to wander far away from her purpose. She was here to collect dinosaur bones, not a gorgeous hunk.

  But man, he was definitely a hunk.

  Laughing at herself, she parked in front of the motel.

  * * *

  Cope headed back to the apartment he rented in the complex on the edge of town. There’d been a small building boom when the semiconductor plant had arrived years ago. Then the plant had picked up stakes, a lot of people had moved away, and these days you could pretty much have your choice of apartments in these four buildings. Not that there was a whole lot of difference among the units. One-and two-bedrooms were the most common, with a few three-bedrooms being the biggest. He’d chosen a two-bedroom with two baths and was content.

  He especially enjoyed standing under the hot spray of the shower. It was his first goal when he came home tonight. The fossil site had been dusty and the grit had clung to his skin in places. He supposed he was going to get used to that. He had in his former life with the Marines.

  Which was exactly what made a hot shower one of the greatest luxuries in his life now. To be able to stand under hot water and wash himself clean? Heck, he was probably an addict.

  As he stood under the spray letting soap and shampoo rinse off him, his thoughts turned to the fossil site and most especially Renee Dubois. She was a pistol, that one. Not a shy bone in her body, and he suspected she’d protect the dig site like a mother bear with a cub.

  Pretty, too. Well, more than pretty. He’d always liked auburn hair, but hers was accompanied by a pair of green eyes that seemed to be lit from within. Totally unusual.

  From what he’d seen today, she was strong and determined. She’d even been ready to face down that curious neighbor and had flatly told him he was on tribal land without permission.

  Yeah, a lot of people might have been reluctant to do that. However, the guy’s arrival had seemed odd. It was Renee’s first day at the site, and surely the man who owned the neighboring ranch had better things to do with his time, and surely the news of the excavation couldn’t have traveled the grapevine this fast? After a bit more than a year here, Cope had no trouble grasping how fast interesting news could make the rounds in this county, but this beat all. A day? Usually it took a death or a major fire to hit warp speed on the rumor mill. Unless a tribal member had mentioned it a while back. Or maybe the motel owner. They’d surely rented enough rooms for the group.

  Still it seemed a bit strange, although Butler had left easily enough.

  But being a fairly normal man, he soon forgot his inventory of Renee as a potential warrior and returned to his inventory of her as a woman. He suspected she’d object mightily to such thoughts, with every right. But he neither needed to act on them, nor needed to reveal them.

  Instead as he stood in his hot shower, he could remember her lifting her arms to regroup her hair. Her breasts had been suggestively outlined by the T-shirt she wore under her unzipped jacket. Full, but not too full. Nicely rounded. Inviting.

  All of her was female, though. He’d walked behind her on her way down the mountain and had been able to tell she wasn’t afflicted by the need to be so thin it had to be unhealthy. No, she had a good set of hips, a nicely rounded bottom and a bit of a sway to her step.

  She was also graceful as she navigated the broken and unsteady terrain. A woman in command of her body.

  He liked that. Hell, he liked her. And if he were smart, he’d just leave it at that. He’d volunteered to work this dig because of a huge curiosity and a desire for the experience. What he didn’t want to do was blow himself out of the water by expressing too much interest in the team leader. By making her uncomfortable.

  The Marines had taught him self-control. Time to use it.

  But then his thoughts drifted toward that unexpected visitor again. The neighbor. The man on horseback continued to trouble Cope, though he had no reason to explain it. It was just so soon after Renee’s arrival. Too soon.

  Maybe Butler had just wandered that way out of curiosity, not knowing whether anyone was there, having heard about the new cleft. It was possible.

  But Cope had spent too many years in a uniform in dangerous places to just dismiss the guy. He couldn’t imagine any reason the man could become a problem, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a reason.

  If he showed up again... Cope told himself to let it drop unless something else happened. He’d spent too long at war, and didn’t even trust his own suspiciousness any longer. Paranoia, he told himself.

  Cope reached out and reluctantly turned off the water and reached for a towel. Renee planned to get out there before dawn. He’d better get his sleep so he could follow along and be useful.

  * * *

  Over at the motel, Renee had taken Denise to her own room to talk. The room itself was pleasant enough, although it showed its age. The days when rough wood paneling on walls had been charming were long ago. The blue-checked curtains looked nearly worn out over the mini blinds; the chair and table in one corner might have been used as modern in a 1950s sitcom. The bedspread was a brown-and-blue plaid. But, Renee admitted, it was spotlessly clean as far as she could tell.

  Denise followed her in and perched on the edge of the bed.

  Renee spoke as she closed the door. “In the morning, before dawn, I want you to come up with me to the site. I don’t have to tell you what the early light does to shadows.”

  “Heck no,” said Denise. Her artistic ability was one of her biggest entrées into this world. “Got any photos for me?”

  Renee handed over her camera and flipped it to begin a slide show. Then she went to the bathroom and used the motel’s cheap coffeemaker to brew some for the two of them. At least there was more than one packet of coffee on the counter.

  “Wow,” she heard Denise breathe. “Renee, you gave me no idea!”

  “I didn’t want too much information getting out. You know of Dr. Bradley?”

  Denise glanced up. “The site thief? Everyone’s heard of him. I’m sure he’s not the only one.”

  “Exactly. Once we’re established I won’t feel it’s as important to keep a shroud over all this, but in the meantime... I’m thinking of camping out there.”

  Denise nodded as she continued to watch the slide show. “This looks revolutionary, Renee. Maybe we all ought to camp out there.”

  Renee gave a quiet laugh. “Nice idea, but once we start working we’re not going to have a whole lot of extra room. Maybe we can establish a base camp farther down the mountain. I’ll have to ask Gray Cloud.”

  The slide show came to an end and Denise looked at her. “Gray Cloud is really your cousin?”

  “By marriage. My cousin Mercy is a wildlife biologist. She met him on Thunder Mountain a couple of decades ago when she was studying the wolf pack up there. If you ask her if the mountain is sentient, I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes.”

  “And you?”

  Renee shrugged. “I’m not here to judge. I’m here in the hope that I can prove a theory of mine. Or disprove it, as the case may be. And that fossil bed is so rich it ought to provide a whole lot of answers, plus
new questions.”

  Denise nodded and put the camera down. “So you want me to sketch all this before we start poking around? With measurements and a grid so every find can be localized?”

  “Exactly,” Renee said, filling two cups with coffee and walking through the door to perch on the edge of the bed.

  Denise accepted the coffee and sat cross-legged, clearly thinking. Her gray sweater and blue jeans signified she was used to a far warmer climate. Renee was happy in her T-shirt and jeans.

  “Okay,” Denise said presently. “You’ve got your whole team here, right?”

  “At least for the start, yes. We may need more later, depending.”

  “How would it be if you choose the part of the face where you’d most like to start working? Then I can start the grid there and work outward, so you can get started quickly. All I’d need to do is take a quick survey of the entire face, measurements and so on, so I’d know where I’ll eventually be heading.”

  Renee felt her excitement bubbling up again. “I didn’t think we’d be able to start so soon!”

  Denise grinned. “It might still be a couple of days. It’s just that the whole grid doesn’t need to be done first.”

  Renee felt lighter somehow, as if realizing she might be able to get to work sooner had lifted some kind of load.

  Denise picked up the camera again and restarted the slide show. “This is amazing, Renee. Just amazing. Early-morning light?”

  “To get the best use of shadows.”

  Denise nodded. “Can you get me out there before dawn tomorrow? You can show me where you want to start, and I can begin sketching until we’ve got enough light to do measurements.”