Page 97 of Fire Peak

“Yes. We made a deal. We agreed that I’d assume ownership of Fire Peak, and just leave his name out of it. I told everyone the dead body in the forest was Bulldog’s. Chadwick’s. I notified his parents. Chad took Vasily’s identification and all his things, and disappeared. I never knew where he went. I thought maybe he went to Russia and it turns out I was right. He went to Chechnya and became involved with a separatist movement. That’s his new cause,” she added bitterly, gesturing at the phone in Charlie’s hand. “Fire Peak means nothing to him anymore.”

“Why did he break the deal?” Charlie asked.

“They need funds, him and his group. He remembered that Fire Peak has these unusual minerals, and realized they’re actually worth something now. He wanted me to sell to a group of investors so they could develop a mine, and split the profits with him because we bought the property together. I told him to go fuck himself. Vasily has no rights here. Bulldog might, because we bought the property together. But he couldn’t come forward as Chadwick Tudor since Chadwick’s supposed to be dead.”

Nick remembered the agreement they’d found. “That’s why he needed that mineral rights agreement instead. Vasily’s name is on that one.”

“Yes, but they couldn’t find it. I’d destroyed my copy of it long ago. I didn’t know another copy existed.”

“So they couldn’t find that agreement, since it was moldering away behind the safe. They couldn’t blackmail you, since Bulldog couldn’t risk exposure either. That’s why they tried to scare you,” said Charlie.

Charlie shifted position, her arm brushing against Nick’s. She was getting antsy, he could tell. So was he. But their best bet to stop this disaster was this tiny elderly woman at the heart of all this. They had to let her talk.

Which she did, in that same detached way. “They thought I cared about the lodge. But I care more about the mountain. All I want is to protect it.”

“So why not just sign it over to the federal government, make it part of the national park?”

April shook her head. “You can’t trust them when it comes to resource exploitation. They might put the mining rights up for bid.”

“Okay, then the Nature Conservancy or something. A wilderness preservation group. I know a lot of them.”

“I tried.” April blew out a deep breath. “Believe me. I even reached out to someone at the Nature Conservancy. Bulldog overheard me on another one of his damn listening devices. He threatened to set fire to the whole mountain if I went forward with that. All of these trees, all of the wildlife, burned. It would take a century to recover. I couldn’t bear to see that kind of devastation.”

“I overheard you on the phone!” Charlie exclaimed. “You were talking about an entire something being devastated. That madman threatened to burn all of Fire Peak?”

“I believed him. So I came up with a different plan.”

Charlie’s phone buzzed. “Tell April she has five minutes before the first spark is lit,” she read out loud, then looked up at April and said urgently, “This is our last chance to stop it. You have to tell them something. Tell them…tell them they can increase the amount they’re mining.”

“It won’t be enough. They want to go big.”

“Then tell them… you’ll set up an advisory committee. Find a way to mine it without harming the mountain. Something. Maybe it should be mined, did you ever think about that? It’s safer than lithium.”

“No. Out of the question.”

April drew herself up straight and took one long look out the window, where the custom-crafted timbers of Fire Peak Lodge reflected the golden rays of the afternoon sun. It was a beautiful sight, but she turned away from it. “They can burn it down. They can expose me, ruin me, bankrupt me. I won’t give in to their threats. I can’t let them wreck the sacred mountain. I’ll protect it even if the lodge is gone.”

Charlie and Nick shared a glance. This must be that plan April had mentioned. “How are you going to do that?” he asked warily.

“Did you know that perilium doesn’t burn, it smolders? Those underground fires are nearly impossible to stop. They’ve tried it with coal seams, but coals fires can extend for miles underground. They can burn for decades. Perilium reacts to fire differently. Once fire has touched it, it’s worthless.”

“You’re going to set fire to the perilium?” Charlie cried. “How is that not going to wreck the mountain?”

“It won’t. The perilium will still be there, but it will be unusable. No one will ever try to mine it again.”

“What about the fumes? Solomon said they can be toxic. We saw some dead birds, probably from where they were mining.”

“Mining perilium creates toxic fumes. And sure, once it’s been ignited, there may be some minor off-gassing, but it’s underground. If any fumes reach the surface, they’ll be minimal. We’ll have to cordon off any risky areas, but that’s my work. My mission. Fire Peak will be saved.”

A text came into Nick’s phone.

“It’s Hailey!” he exclaimed as he stared at it. “She took Vasily’s—Bulldog’s—sat phone from him, and barely got a chance to text. She says they’re with Solomon and he’s taking them to some kind of cave. But there’s no signal now.” He looked up at Charlie. “Can you track it anyway?”

“Yes, let me get my laptop.” She slid it from her messenger bag, flipped it open, and tapped the keys at a frantic pace.

April’s urgent voice made them both look up. “You said they’re with Solomon?”

“Yes, why?” Nick strode to her and gripped her by the shoulders. “What does Solomon have to do with this?”

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