Page 64 of Wind Valley

One truck waited in the parking lot, headlights aimed toward the plane so they could see what they were doing. Struggling against the wind, Maura made her way toward it. Molly jumped out to help her the last few yards.

“How was the flight?” she called over the whine of the wind. “And why do you smell like,” she sniffed, “sulfur?”

Maura collapsed into the passenger seat of Molly’s truck. “It’s been a day,” was all she could manage before dissolving into laughter of sheer, exhausted relief.

34

Molly drove them into town, through darkness filled with wild wind and spinning gusts of snow. Most people were already hunkered down for the storm, with the only business still open being The Fang. That was where Lachlan had left his truck.

He hoped it was still here. Out here in Firelight Ridge, people left their keys in the ignition in case their rig needed to be moved while they were gone. Vehicle theft didn’t happen, but there was plenty of vehicle borrowing.

As Maura and Lachlan climbed out of Sam and Molly’s truck, bracing themselves against the wind, Sam rolled down the passenger-side window. “We’re going to head home before things get too bad. You should do the same.”

“We will,” Lachlan assured him. He wanted to get a quick update from Bear, then drive directly home, with the hopes that Maura would come with him.

Maura said softly, over the howl of the wind, “I don’t know how to thank you, Sam. But I’ll figure out a way.”

“No need. Just stay safe, you two.”

The Fang had already emptied out except for Nick Perini and Bear, both sitting on bar stools, and Lila, who danced around the bar counter and hugged them both.

“I was so worried,” she told them. “I just had a feeling something was going to happen in Fairbanks.”

Lachlan knew that her “feelings” were always to be taken seriously. “We’re fine. But really glad Sam was able to come get us before the storm hits.”

“We’re going to close The Fang soon, we were just waiting for you. Do you want some minestrone?”

“That sounds like heaven,” said Maura, still shivering even though The Fang was toasty warm.

Lachlan realized he couldn’t even remember the last time they’d eaten. That happened to him a lot when he was working on a project. Maybe escaping an obsessed stalker counted as “project”?

As they feasted on soup and sourdough bread, Nick told them about Jackie Silver’s adventures in Firelight Ridge. “After she went to your house, Lachlan, she went out to the Chilkoots’, because someone said Maura might be doing some home tutoring out there.”

“We did go out there,” Maura said. “But it was for something completely different. I guess that’s how rumors get started. What did the Chilkoots tell her?”

“You know how they feel about anyone associated with the government. They demanded to see a search warrant and then told her to leave their property. On the way back to town, she got surprised by a moose in the middle of the road. Has anyone else noticed that they’re acting strangely these days?”

Bear had one hip propped against the bar while he listened. “I’ve been hearing some odd reports, yes. Not just the moose. People, too.”

Lachlan exchanged a glance of alarm with Maura. Habitat disruption was one thing, and would affect the wildlife. But people? He thought about the Reed child who had gotten sick. Was the mystery issue spreading to humans now? “What do you mean by that?” he asked Bear. “What’s going on?”

“Secrets. People are keeping secrets. I don’t like it.”

They all looked at him in surprise. Bear was generally a quiet man, the kind people turned to for help with broken heaters and supply runs and anything else the townspeople needed. He was so key to the community that it was hard to imagine it surviving without him. The town didn’t have a mayor, but if it did, Bear would have been elected in a landslide. He got along with everyone, even the most eccentric of old-timers. Lachlan had never heard him speak so forcefully.

“What sort of secrets?”

“The kind with non-disclosure agreements.”

“NDA’s? Who does that kind of thing out here?” asked Nick.

“No one, until now.” Bear gave a very bear-like snarl. “Martha’s been acting weird for a while, and I finally got her to open up. Someone offered her a ton of money for her property, but she had to sign an NDA just to look at the offer.”

A collective gasp rose up. “Martha’s selling her farm?” Lila exclaimed.

“No. She declined. She can’t say anything about the offer, but she thinks other people are getting them too. She says it’s linked to that cell phone company. The oldtimers are warning everyone not to sign up for it, so I took a look at the fine print. The contract gives the phone company right of first refusal if you want to sell your property.”

“Charlie and I found out the company’s owned by an entity named TNG Enterprises,” said Nick alertly. “Is that who’s demanding the NDAs? Do you know anything about them?”

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