I speak up, “I don’t think that’s what it is. I think Margret wants to make sure the gold goes to the town like Thomas wanted.”
“Then she should’ve never involved Hawthorne,” Richard mutters as he passes by me.
We file into the house where Ella has coffee and breakfast waiting. As we eat, we share the details of our night—the confrontation, Margret’s betrayal, and most importantly, what we found when the equinox sun hit the wolf marking.
“Another cairn downstream,” Kane muses, studying the video Julia captured on her phone. “And it has the same wolf symbol?”
“Smaller, but yes,” Richard confirms. “I believe it’s another directional marker, but I couldn’t examine it closely without alerting Hawthorne’s men.”
“So what’s our next move?” Lana asks, looking around the table. “Hawthorne’s expecting us at his office this afternoon.”
I exchange glances with Declan, who gives me a slight nod. “We wait,” I say decisively. “Hawthorne’s watching us too closely right now. If we go back immediately, we’ll lead him straight to whatever Thomas Wolf was hiding.”
“But the equinox—” Richard begins to protest.
“Is over,” I finish for him. “But more importantly, Hawthorne has no idea what the wolf mark revealed. He doesn’t know about the cairn downstream. The alignment won’t happen again until the fall equinox, who knows if it will even show up then.”
“So we let him think we found nothing?” Julia asks.
“Exactly.” I lean forward, warming to my strategy. “We act disappointed. We meet with him, listen to whatever story he wants to sell us, and appear to lose interest in the whole thing.”
“For how long?” Lana asks, her eyes meeting mine across the table.
“A few days, at least,” I reply. “Maybe a week. Long enough for him to think we’ve moved on. Then we go back in force, with proper security, and follow that marker to wherever it leads.”
Declan nods approvingly. “It’s the right call. Hawthorne won’t be able to find anything even if he looks—not without knowing what the equinox revealed. And he’ll have to wait until the fall or next spring for that.”
The plan is met with general agreement, though Richard still looks troubled. I understand his impatience—he’s been chasing this mystery for decades, and now we’re so close. But rushing in would only put us all at risk.
“You’re sure about the meeting with Hawthorne?” Jake asks.
“Yes,” I say firmly. “Lana, Richard, and I. We hear him out, act like kids that were given a good talking down to, then get ourselves the hell out of there as quickly as possible.”
“I’m coming too,” Julia insists. “I’m part of this now.”
I don’t argue—having another witness might be useful, especially one as observant as Julia has proven to be.
The next few days pass in a strange limbo. Our meeting with Mayor Hawthorne goes exactly as expected—he’s all smiles and false concern, spinning a tale about how the Wolf Mine tragedy was a regrettable accident that NTM has learned from.He even offers Richard a consulting position with the company’s historical department, which Richard politely declines.
Throughout it all, we maintain the facade of researchers who’ve hit a dead end, gradually shifting our focus to other aspects of local history. Lana spends time at the Pinecrest library, researching the early settlement period. Julia takes tours of the town’s historical buildings. I help Jake with farm work and make myself visible around town.
Meanwhile, most of Declan’s team has headed back to the lodge, except for a few men who continue their surveillance, confirming that Hawthorne’s people are still watching us, though with decreasing intensity as days pass.
“They’re buying it,” Kane reports on the fifth day. “Police presence around the waterfall has dropped to just one patrol every twelve hours.”
“And where is Margret?” Richard asks, his voice carefully neutral.
“Back at her ranch. She hasn’t had contact with Hawthorne since the night at the waterfall.”
I glance at Lana, who’s been staying at Jake’s since that night. We’ve shared a room, finding comfort in each other’s presence despite the tension of our situation. She catches my eye and gives me a small nod. We’re thinking the same thing—it’s almost time.
On the seventh day, we make our move. Before dawn, a small team assembles at Jake’s farm—Lana, Julia, Richard, me, and four of Declan’s best men, including Hawk. We’ve plannedmeticulously, establishing multiple diversion points and escape routes.
“Remember,” I tell everyone as we prepare to leave, “this is strictly exploring. We find what’s there, document it, and get out. No heroics.”
The drive to our drop point is silent, each of us lost in our thoughts. We approach the waterfall area from a different direction than before, using a rarely traveled logging road that skirts the eastern boundary of Jake’s property.
“No signs of surveillance,” Hawk reports after scouting ahead. “We’re clear to move in.”
