Dalton sighs. “Yeah, Will insisted on an actual story. We knew they might have heard the ATV. We had a rifle, which his guys could confirm. I said that while we were heading back, we spotted a caribou, took a shot and got lucky. That meant we needed to get the ATV. We called for that, loaded up the caribou, and attracted the attention of a damn bear, which we did not want to lead to his camp.”
“Nice.”
“Will’s idea. Anyway, we described the bear, said it was a bit thin heading up to hibernation season so it might be desperate.”
“A friendly warning from a friendly neighbor.”
“That’s us.”
“Anything else?”
“Not really. He just wanted the report. Seemed satisfied that the hikers had moved on. I did say that we’re still concerned and will be scouting, but we will avoid their territory. He appreciated that.”
I nod. “That frees us to search for Gretchen. Any chance we’ll meet his patrols out there?”
“Hard to say. He seemed satisfied the hikers were gone, but he’s not the type to volunteer information. I said we’d leave any updates at the message spot.”
We’re inside Lilith’s house, which is a one-room cabin that reminds me of an above-ground hobbit hole. It’s tiny, cozy,and perfectly furnished for one person. Or one person and her pet wolf, but Nero is outside with Storm today. There are two chairs. I’m in one, and Lilith in the other. Dalton sits on the floor. They’re drinking beers we brought in a care package, while I sip tea.
I’ve told Lilith the whole story. When I finish, she sighs, and I say, “I’m sorry.”
I know she’s getting increasingly frustrated with the situation. We grumble because we built Haven’s Rock only to have a mining camp put down stakes a few miles away. But Lilith was here first. It’s like building your dream home surrounded by undeveloped and unwanted land, only to have houses spring up around you. Obviously, you don’t own the surrounding property, but it’s still frustrating.
“There’s something else,” I say, and I tell her that Nero was spotted by one of the mine workers. I explain that we claimed it was Raoul, but she shakes her head.
“They’re going to realize I’m here,” she says. “It’s been a miracle they haven’t already.”
“Not a miracle. Hard work. With you having to watch where you walk, where you hunt, how much noise you make. Because it’s a town of men, and you’re a woman on your own.”
“Yep. I’m sure most wouldn’t bother me, but it only takes one to decide I must be terribly lonely out here by myself. And there’s guaranteed to be one.” She stretches her legs. “I do believe it’s time for me to move on.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
She shakes her head. “It’s not your fault. I’d be fine with your little hamlet as neighbors.” She hoists her beer. “It even comes with perks. But I can’t keep living so close to the miners. There’s something wrong with that camp, and we all know it.”
I shift in my chair and look at Dalton. The guard the camp shot last year claimed something was going on, and he offered to tell us, and then—seconds later—he took a bullet. That should mean we locked down until we had answers. But the guy wasn’t offering us free intel. He wanted us to pay him a small fortune, and he’d been accused of killing a miner, so he seemed to be just blowing smoke, willing to lie his way into an exit strategy.
Since then, everything has been quiet. We set our territorial boundaries and both sides respect them. We are two self-sufficient communities who have had one negative interaction, and the problem was resolved. So what do we do with that? Investigate them for the sake of curiosity? We sure as hell wouldn’t want them doing that to us.
“If something’s going on,” Dalton says, “it’s not interfering with us. I know it’s a problem for you, and we’d like them gone, too. We’ve discussed everything we might do to convince them to move on but…” He shrugs. “If they didn’t leave for the winter, they aren’t leaving for any inconvenience we might devise.”
“That wasn’t a plea for help,” Lilith says. “It’s a mining operation that is actually mining—I’ve seen them working. It’s also heavily guarded. Best to leave them alone. I just can’t trust them to leavemealone.”
“You’re always welcome in our town.”
She smiles. “I know. I think I’m reaching the end of my Yukon days, though. Time to pull up stakes and relocate. It’ll need to be someplace where I can pass off Nero as a husky. I’ve been thinking northern BC.”
“We’ll help in any way we can. And we’ll be sad to see you go.”
“It’s time. Between those miners and this hiker business, it’sprobablypasttime. So you don’t know what happened to the wife?”
“We haven’t searched yet. That sounds awful but—”
“Not your problem. Neither is the dead guy. I know you’ll look for her, and I’ll keep an ear out. If she might have killed her husband, though, I’ll probably lie low. I’m not too worried about her sneaking up while Nero’s here.” She sips her beer. “But you’re thinking she might not be a hiker.”
“We have no idea. There are several reasons why someone might be checking out our town. It could also be about the gold mine—they’d definitely attract spies.” I glance at Dalton.
Dalton sits up. “Awkward question time, but we gotta ask. Any chance these people could have been looking for you?”
