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“Is everyone here from the original research party?”
“No. Trudy and Ann are our second mess hall attendants. We had a dedicated boat pilot, but she had to move on to another gig, and I haven’t found a replacement yet. Charlie’s been doing that duty, too. Let’s see… Tannis, the landscape architect—”
“I met her tonight.”
“She arrived just a few weeks ago. Umm, most of the naturalists have arrived over the course of the past few months, each with their responsibility for some aspect of reporting. Honestly, I can’t keep track of all the scientists. I just make sure they have what they need to get their job done and don’t hurt themselves or others while they’re at it.”
“Which up to this point—”
“Project from hell,” Vaughn reports. “But no more hellish than the past few. Well, maybe a bit more. God, I’m tired.”
I eye him curiously. “Do you think the proposed resort will happen?”
“Haven’t seen anything to convince me otherwise.”
“Even the discovery of recent remains?”
“Especially not that. Historic remains would’ve involved a delay. This… The feds will arrive, ask questions, remove bones, and that’ll be that.”
“So probably not related to the sabotage, then?” I surmise. “Because if this was another delay tactic, surely there are some kind of ancient relics somewhere that could be planted here for show.”
“When you put it like that…” Vaughn sighs. “So this project has now been subject to both bad luck and a dead body.”
“Which technically means, she’s had some bad luck, too.”
He gives me a look. “You know I don’t mean—”
“Look.” I’m tired, cold, and desperately want a brownie. “You’re an experienced project manager. Off the top of your head, is the base camp suffering from bad juju, or something more?”
He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it. “Something more,” he concedes abruptly.
“Agreed. Now, according to you, Charlie’s above-average skills have gotten you this far. Meaning maybe the next thing to go wrong will either be something he can’t fix or outside of his purview altogether.”
“Comforting thought.”
“Think of it more as proof of concept. Next unfortunate incident, we’ll know for sure.”
Vaughn rolls his eyes. He seems calmer, though. I’ve hardly fixed his problems but maybe it’s enough to have someone to talk to. As head of this enterprise, he can hardly confide in the others.
“What’s your biggest fear?” I ask him now. “Like, the worst thing that could happen?”
He stares at me in apprehension. “Why?”
“Because if you’re that worried about a saboteur, it might be something to start protecting against.”
“Well, a storm of this magnitude, which can inflict damage while hindering evacuation, certainly rates up there. Though wind speeds aren’t something a person can control.”
“Good point. Outside a natural disaster.”
“The cistern collapsing, which would cost us our fresh water supply. On the other hand, Charlie could probably rig a makeshift desalination tank to get us through. Plus, we have bottled water stored in the freezer.”
“Keep going.”
“Injury. Some kind of mass casualty event that would impede our ability to aid one another and/or evac. Also, the loss of the comm tower, which would cut us off even more from civilization.”
“Are there guns or weapons around?” I ask sharply, because this certainly rates as one of my top three fears. Make that the top one.
“One rifle, one shotgun, both secured in a locker.” He nods his chin toward a tall metal structure in the corner of his office. “I have the only key.”
