Page 54 of Wind Valley

It didn’t seem to bother Lachlan, who stayed laser-focused on topic. “Do you think something might be disrupting their habitat and the wolves are reacting with atypical behavior?”

“It’s one theory.”

“Would an earthquake do it? We had a 5.6 a couple of months ago.”

Roger Jones shook his head. “Doubtful. Wolves are used to earthquakes.”

“What if it’s something physiological that’s influencing their cognitive function?”

“There would be only one way to determine that. You’d have to capture a wolf and bring it in for a brain scan.” Roger Jones laughed a little at that. “If you decide to go that way, I insist on being part of it. It must happen humanely.”

“I thought you were going to say safely.”

“That too. But wolves, you know, they’re my passion. You’re simply a colleague.”

Maura raised her eyebrows at Lachlan, who smiled and mouthed, “He’s teasing.”

“What if the wolf was dead? The way things were going, I wouldn’t be surprised if he beaned himself on a boulder and that would be that. Would you be able to tell anything from an autopsy of his brain?”

“Possibly. Remember Mad Cow disease, the misshapen proteins that eat away at the brains of cattle? Wolves are resistant to those prions, but some geneticists think that could change. Let’s hope it’s nothing like that, but sure, if you stumble across a wolf carcass, notify me immediately and keep it frozen.”

“No problem there,” said Lachlan dryly.

They ended the call shortly after that. Lachlan and Maura both slumped back in their chairs. It was a lot to take in. Lachlan propped one ankle over the other knee and bounced his leg in a nervous habit she’d grown to recognize.

“If there is some kind of habitat disruption, it might explain why we’ve seen other odd behavior in the wildlife.”

“Would it, though? Aren’t animals used to humans coming in and building and changing things? They just adapt. They move somewhere else, or they learn how to steal our food.” Maura snapped her fingers. “I read somewhere that mice have evolved to be better problem solvers because we humans hide our food from them.”

“Co-evolution,” Lachlan said thoughtfully. “But that happens over generations. In mice, that’s a quicker process because their lifespans are so short. Wolves live much longer. They can live up to thirteen years, as opposed to about a year and a half for a mouse. These changes that we’re seeing are more abrupt.”

“Something drastic is happening, then.”

“So it seems.”

29

After they finished up at the university, they made their way to the Freshwater Lodge. Both of them were lost in thought as they drove. The temperature here in Fairbanks was substantially lower than it had been in Blackbear, a cold so intense it kept the exhaust from the mufflers from rising toward the sky.

“This is why people complain about the air quality here,” Lachlan said absently. He was still preoccupied with turning over various theories in his mind. “The inversion layer is so strong in the winter that the toxins in the air aren’t able to escape.”

“I think I prefer Firelight Ridge. But didn’t you mention something about hot springs?”

He hit the heel of his hand against his forehead. How could he have forgotten? “Let’s do it. By the time we get out there, it’ll be dark and there’s a good chance we’ll see some aurora borealis.”

She brightened immediately. “Let’s do it. If I have to leave Alaska, I’d like to go out with a bang, or at least a light show.”

He felt the smile drop from his face. The thought of her leaving Alaska so soon was hard to bear. Thinking about the mystery of the wolf attack had distracted him from the problem of SS. Or was it STD by now? But Maura couldn’t afford to forget about her situation, so he shouldn’t either.

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” he said softly. “Maybe you won’t have to leave. Gil said he was going to call around five, after he’d poked around a bit about that investigator. Maybe he’ll have some good news for us.”

She said nothing. Maybe she was too traumatized by her experiences to allow herself to hope. It wasn’t as if he could guarantee everything would be okay, that SS would change his ways and she’d be able to go back to her normal life.

“While we’re here in civilization, we should see if we can track down that professor,” she said, pulling out her phone. “You know, I have to say, good internet is a wonderful thing. Maybe you should consider that new cell service they’re offering in Firelight Ridge. Oh look! I think I found him!” She held up her phone to show Lachlan the screen. He was stopped at a red light, so he took a look and nodded.

She’d pulled up the website of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A gray-haired bearded man stared grimly into the camera. Professor Jason Reed, member of the Clean Energy Engineering faculty.

“Looks right. Let’s give him a call.”

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