And he has no answer for that either.
At Lilith’s cabin, we give Anders and Yolanda a much-deserved break. We’ve discussed having Dalton stay behind, while one of them returns with me, but they’re prepared to finish this, and I appreciate that.
They head out for a walk, while Dalton settles in, making coffee. I begin the interview on an equally comfortable note. That’s much easier now. Gretchen is almost certainly an innocent victim and deserves my sympathy. I ask how she’s doing and promise we’ve made arrangements to fly her out in the morning,which is technically true. She’s obviously irritated at being confined to this cottage, but I stress that we’re going to make sure she’s picked up safely, guarding her the whole way. That subtly reminds her that this is protective custody, and she relaxes.
“So,” I say as I settle in with my half cup of coffee. “I only have a few more questions, I hope. We’re making progress. Can you start by telling me about Matthew Gordon?”
Her head shoots up. That’s the name of their miner friend, the one we knew as Mark. At her startle, grim satisfaction swirls in me. I’ve caught her off guard, as I expected. Yet her expression isn’t furtive or worried. It isn’t wary or even confused. There’s a flash of surprise… and then she smiles.
“You knew Matt?” she asks.
I make a noise she can take as assent.
“I never even considered that. I should have. We knew he was mining up here.” Her smile falters. “Oh. You… Do you know what happened to him?”
I keep my expression impassive and only say, “No.” Then I wait for her to ask what Idoknow.
“He died in a car accident,” she says softly. “Him and his wife. Driving home from up here actually.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “No, I didn’t hear that.”
She lifts one shoulder. “It barely made the news even in their township. Single-car accident. We heard about it through a mutual friend.”
“Oh?” I frown. “We were under the impression you two and Matt were close.”
Her gaze shifts, uncomfortable. “I knew Matt’s first wife. From university. We were the friends. Matt could be…” She trails off with a shrug. “Sometimes you get lucky, and your friend marries a great guy who just fits in, you know? You like him. Your husband likes him.”
She flushes, her discomfort growing. “We didn’tdislike Matt. But once Helen was gone, there wasn’t any reason to keep in touch.”
“I thought he was in a similar field to your husband? Both profs. Both interested in mining.”
“Matt was the prospector. Blake’s only interest is—” She swallows, grief flashing. “His only interestwasacademic. Sometimes, I think that’s why Matt pursued the friendship, though. He mined in the Yukon. We were locals, and my husband had connections, through his job.”
“When was the last time you spoke to Matt?”
“A few years ago.” A grimace. “He needed something from Blake, as usual. Information about this area, actually. He’d been here the year before, scouting.” She looks up sharply. “Remember I told you someone raved about this region? The natural beauty? That was Matt.”
“Do you know whether he found anything up here?”
Confusion, and then a slow smile. “Oh, is that why you’re asking? Got a bit of gold fever yourself?” She shrugs. “He never mentioned finding anything, but he wouldn’t even if he did. He played fast and loose with the claim laws, too, so if he found anything, I doubt he claimed it officially. If you were hoping for tips, I don’t have any.”
I shake my head. “We’re more worried about someone following up on his claim. We prefer to keep this area quiet.”
“If he filed a claim, I think it would have been considered part of his estate. I don’t know who that would have gone to. They didn’t have kids. His parents? Siblings?” She shrugs. “If you’re concerned about more people passing through, just check for a claim, but like I said, I doubt he made one, and he certainly wouldn’t have left notes. I’d say you’re safe.”
“Thank you. We knew he’d been in the area a few years ago,and the person running our background searches came up with a connection between you and him, which was concerning.”
A wry twist of her lips. “Small world, huh? Nope, it isn’t a coincidence. Just…” Her eyes glisten with tears, and she looks away. “When Blake wanted to come here, I resisted. I said it was too late in the season. I gave lots of excuses, some of them valid. But really, it just gave me a bad feeling, and I knew that was associated with Matt. I…” She swallows. “Never trusted him, and I knew that was a silly reason not to come here. It wasn’t as if we’d run into him.” A humorless laugh. “Wasn’t as if he’d lured us here for some nefarious purpose. But it feels like that, because we came and…”
She turns fully away now, crying softly. I pass her a tissue and refill her coffee.
When she recovers, I ask gently, “I hate to keep poking, but we’re really trying to figure this out, Gretchen. I knew Blake was the one who wanted to come. You say it was because Matt gushed about it. Is there any chance Blake was looking for Matt’s claim?”
A short laugh. “Definitely not. He liked Matt more than I did, but he always said Matt was wasting his time out here. All this natural beauty, and Matt kept his head down, digging for gold when the real treasure was all around him.”
When I go quiet, she stiffens. “You don’t believe me. You think my husband came here to find gold, and that the hike was an excuse. It’s the end of the season. Winter is right around the corner. We have no mining equipment. Laying a claim requires work, and we’d have no time to do that before weather forced us out. If we planned to just find it this year and mine it illegally next year, our very presence here could jeopardize a future claim. An illegal claim would cost Blake his job.”
“Someone killed your husband,” I say. “It wasn’t us. But ifMatt found gold, that would explain how someone else could be here. Someone who might not appreciate Blake poking around.”
