Page 23 of Dead Mountain

She took it. “But did Garcia request—”

“Request what? Did he take you off the case? No. What he did was assign it to me. And my first decision as lead agent is to remain as your mentor and elevate you to agent number two. If . . . you feel ready.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I’m ready, sir. Absolutely.” She tried to sound confident, but her voice squeaked a little.

“One priority,” he said, “is to find that final body. We’re going to expand the search team already at work in the mountains—that’s going to be your bailiwick. And while you’re at it, have them establish more effective barriers around the cave.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Stop by my office at five and bring your ideas for a plan of investigation.”

When he said nothing else, she at last looked at the envelope. It was unmarked and contained a single sheet of paper that, she realized, was a list of all nine victims of the Dead Mountain tragedy.

Victim

Cause of Death

Location of body

Next of kin

Andrew Marchenko

Exposure

Fire

Dmitri and Ann Marchenko

Henry Gardiner

Exposure

Fire

Thomas Gardiner

Michael Mastrelano

Exposure

Fire

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