Page 24 of Wind Valley

She seemed to appreciate that. After a few moments of thought, she nodded. “I have three Chilkoot kids in my class. You’re right, their safety is more important. Anyway, we know more about that man now than we knew before. He must be in the military, right?”

Lachlan switched out of reverse, turned the snowmobile around and gave it some gas. This time, he didn’t go fast because he wanted to keep a careful eye on the snow. What would have happened if they had run over the grenade? Probably nothing. But if they’d somehow dislodged the pin… He shuddered at the thought.

“Not necessarily. I think grenades can be used for demolition purposes, too.”

“But why would someone have one out here? Or more than one? Maybe they had a whole bagful, but only dropped one.”

“All good questions. I don’t know any of the answers. Did Elias say anything about where the wolf bite victim was staying, or where he might be now?”

“No, nothing. I doubt he knows, but we can check.”

They decided to drive back to Firelight Ridge, with a quick stop at the Chilkoots’ to alert them that there was a stray grenade on their property.

And then something else occurred to Lachlan. What if it actually belonged to the Chilkoots? “Maybe we should go straight to Gil,” he told her. “The Chilkoots have an interesting history around explosives.”

“Fine, but I definitely want to hear that story.”

When they reached the truck, the Chilkoots who had been working at the hoop house had left, which made their decision to go back to Firelight Ridge even easier. “They really don’t like strangers popping in,” he explained as they loaded the snowmobile back onto the trailer. “And they have the firepower to back that up. At least they used to. I know things have changed, but I’m not sure how much.”

“Oh, it’s definitely story time. I need all the back history here.” Maura loved stories, he’d learned. Pinky’s stories, Solomon’s stories, legends from the Ahtna, tall tales from the mining days, drunken yarns at The Fang.

He finished securing the Arctic Cat and they both climbed into the cab of his truck. On the dash rested a folded piece of paper.

“Was that here before?” Maura asked.

“Definitely not.”

She picked it up and scanned it. “Wow, this handwriting is terrible. I can barely read it.” She squinted and read each word, one by one, as she deciphered it. “The man ur looking for made a misteak. Hes gon. Don’t come back.”

13

“Okay, that’s just…creepy. Partly because of the handwriting. I think this font would be called ‘serial killer.’” Even though Maura was trying to make light of it, that was just to hide the fact that she was rattled. She wished she hadn’t picked up that note, or that she hadn’t taken her gloves off first. Who else had touched it? She tossed it back onto the dashboard and wiped her hands. “Got any sanitizer?”

“In the glove compartment.” Lachlan picked up the note—gloves still on—and examined it. “Pretty cryptic. I think we should show this to Elias too. He might know who wrote it and what they’re talking about.”

Lachlan’s calm manner helped her relax. She drew in some long breaths, counting inhales and exhales, the way her antianxiety specialist had taught her. It was just a note written by someone who was barely literate. That was all. A warning.

“You’re assuming one of the Chilkoots wrote it.”

“Only Chilkoots live out here, so yeah.”

“How do you know?” As Lachlan turned the truck toward town, she glanced back over her shoulder. Low clouds gathered over the clearing, their edges tinted a vivid shade of peach from the setting sun. The hoop house blended in with the snow fields, then disappeared as they drove downslope.

“That’s a good point,” said Lachlan. “I only know what I’ve heard. Anything could be going on out here. The Chilkoots rarely come into town.”

“Except for the kids in my class.” Maura wondered about the ethics of asking the young ones questions about their unusual family situation. Then again, she wasn’t working for a school district. She didn’t have to follow any rules. The parents—and guardian, in the case of Ruth Chilkoot—had signed a waiver.

“How do they get to school?”

“There seems to be a rotating schedule of adults who bring them in. I don’t know any of them except for Ruth. She comes on Wednesdays because she does the shopping then.”

“Do you have a good relationship with her?”

“Do you mean would I feel comfortable interrogating her about a mystery man who got bitten by a wolf and left a grenade behind? And whether she knows who’s trying to warn us away from looking for him?”

“That was the idea.” Looking embarrassed, he shrugged. “Sorry. Once something grabs my curiosity, it’s hard for me to let go. You should have seen me in graduate school. I’d go up to four days without sleeping at all.”

An image flashed through her mind of student-Lachlan—fired up about some project, all bedhead and wild green eyes. She wished she had known him then. “Did you have a girlfriend?” she asked, surprising herself with that out-of-the-blue question.

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