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Chapter 10
Wynona called her boss, got her voicemail, growled in frustration, hung up, and dialed again. She knew this was sort of a professional tantrum, but she did it anyway. She was about to spend the night in a cold forest. She wanted to be higher on the director’s priority list.
The tantrum worked. Sarah answered on the second ring.
“I found an excellent outfitter,” Wynona said without preamble. “He studied the photographs from the hiker and thinks that he knows the exact trail she was on.”
“Sure,” Sarah scoffed.
Wynona scowled. She’d been expecting a more celebratory response. “Anyway, it’s a long trail, a big area. Can we get some more manpower?”
“Just get out there and see what you find. I can’t justify extra boots on the ground yet.”
“We’re far less likely to find anything without those boots.”
“You said you were up for the task.”
“I am,” she said quickly. She was quite pleased with how things were going so far. She never expected to have an actual trail pinpointed. “Can I hire locals?”
“Absolutely not,” Sarah snapped. “Spend some time in the area, and then get back to me. You might have more luck than you think.”
Wynona didn’t know what to think of that. She perfunctorily thanked her boss and hung up.
When she reentered the small conference room, Tucker had gone back to pouring over the photographs. “Learn anything new?”
He looked up. “I assume you want to go in before dusk?”
She nodded.
“It’s going to feel cold.”
Wow, patronizing much? “Really?” She feigned surprise. “It never occurred to me that it would get cold in the dark in the South Dakota mountains.”
He scowled. “It won’t be cold enough to be dangerous, it could get unpleasant. Forgive me for worrying about your team’s comfort.”
Now she felt like a heel. “We could ...” And then she knew. She’d pictured them out there with a small campfire, but she would need a fire permit for that, and that wouldn’t be easy in a national forest. “You’re familiar with the regulations. What does it take to get a fire permit?”
He shook his head. “There is no way they’re going to give us one. The forest is a tinderbox right now.”
“Tinderbox?” she repeated, amused. She didn’t think she’d ever heard a man use that word. At least not one from this century.
A weird sheepish smile came over his face, and he looked down at the floor. What wasthat?
“Do you have any other ideas?” she pressed.
“I pulled some tents out in case someone needs a break, but other than that, I think we just have to dress warm and keep moving.”
