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  “It was back there,” VanDusen said, shining his light farther along the cavern wall near the picks and shovels leaning there.

  “And at no time was there any mention of anyone seeing this monstrous bear anywhere around here, was there?” Nichols asked.

  “Nope, except for that kid. But we don’t need to worry about him for the moment since he’s a drooling vegetable in the psych ward at the hospital right now. That massive dose of Thorazine we keep pumping into him certainly keeps him quiet. Apart from Willy Senior, whether the bear got to anyone else up here, though, is anybody’s guess,” VanDusen concluded.

  “All right, let’s go look for Watkins and Oritz,” Nichols said.

  “And then we’ll grab some gold!” Chance hooted, swigging from his flask.

  “Jesus! Would you keep your voice down!” VanDusen said, angrily.

  Chance muttered something under his breath to VanDusen about shoving things into places where the sun never shone. Then he burped, his sour, gaseous eruption reverberating throughout the cavern.

  The three men moved silently away into the swirling steam, Chance still staggering behind. His flashlight’s beam wavered wildly over the cavern walls and floor as he tried to maintain his balance on the rocky, uneven ground.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “Die, Dracula, die!” Alex said, holding the post tight as Trip gave it a few final whacks for good measure, driving the pointed wooden stake into the ground. The last ‘Bear In Area’ sign had now been planted, and not without some irony, Austin noted, as it was directly in front of the conservation office. After looking at his wristwatch, he realised it was almost 12:06 P.M. He placed his hands on his hips and addressed the troops. “Okay, guys, that was great work this morning. Thanks for all of the help! Let’s call it lunch for now, and it’ll be my treat at The Burger Barn!”

  Austin’s comment elicited an excited ‘Yes!’ from Alex and a ‘Woo-hoo!’ from Trip. They were both starving. Pounding posts all morning had left them with quite an appetite and Austin was sure there’d be a few burgers filling the hollow legs of his son and the empty belly of Trip in the very near future.

  All in all, they had put another forty Bear Aware signs around the town. It wasn’t just the outlying areas that they were concerned about anymore. The way that Angus had been expanding his territory, there was an excellent chance he might find his way into town, so it was imperative everyone in Lawless was aware of THIS particular bear.

  Earlier, while the boys had been putting some of the signs up, Austin had been on the phone to the radio station to ensure they were keeping up their warning notices regarding the bear. Reba Casalino mentioned that she’d already been doing so at Christine Moon’s direction all morning, but that she’d make sure the afternoon and evening disc-jockeys did so as well. Austin thanked her and asked that they emphasise the ‘extreme caution’ part. After the attack on Frostbite Fred's the other night, Reba said she wouldn’t have a problem with that, explaining she’d been there the night before covering the musical act that had been playing at the pub, HipBone. She’d already been informing her listeners that morning of the events that transpired at the bar the night before but leaving out the goriest of details to avoid distressing her audience too much and creating problems with the CRTC.

  Trip and Alex were climbing into The Works Silverado when Constable Oscar Olsen pulled up in his police car, flapping his arm out the window, waving at Austin, “Hey, Austin! Come here a second,” he called. Oscar looked tired, with large black circles under his small beady eyes. Austin had known Oscar his whole life, just like the chief of police. They had gone to school together in Lawless from kindergarten to senior high and Austin had always felt a little sorry for the man. His whole life, Oscar had always scuttled along in the shadow of Vandusen, kowtowing to the other man, being berated and belittled almost every day, first in his school life and then again in his career with the police force.

  “Hey Oscar,” he said, walking up to the police car. “What’s happening?”

  “Just finished up processing the scene at the bar.”

  “You just finished now?”

  “Yeah, the RCMP showed up as well, of course, and by the time we got everything documented to their level of perfection, it was almost noon hour! VanDusen went home to get some sleep at about eight o’clock this morning, but I was there the whole time.” His mouth opened wide, and a large yawn escaped.

  Austin nodded, folding his arms as he listened, then said, “The boys and girls in red serge certainly do like to dot their ‘I’s and cross their ‘T’s, don’t they?”

  “God, do they ever!” Oscar sighed.

  “So, what’s happening now?”

  “The Chief is going to be with Mr. Chance and Mayor Nichols up at the resort, sorting something out there. He said it would take all afternoon, so I’m in charge again at the moment.” He yawned once more. “We’ve still got three other members down with the flu that’s going around at the moment, so it’s all on me right now.”

  “Well, at least things seem quiet at the moment.”

  “I hope they stay that way until the Chief gets back.” Oscar was never a man to take pressure well and visibly shuddered as he spoke.

  “Me too. Well, thanks, if you hear any other news, let me know. Keep the population safe, Oscar,” Austin said, turning to walk away.

  “Hey, Austin, one other thing before you go.”

  Austin turned back, “What is it, Oscar?” He detected a note of trepidation in the constable’s voice.

  “About this bear.” Oscar’s face sagged, a look of shame on his face.

  “Yeah, it’s big, hairy and hungry. What about it?”

  “I think I might know where it is, but I’m not supposed to say anything.”

  “What? What do you mean you might know where it is?” This was big news, indeed.

  “Well, after the quake, a new cavern opened up near the back half of the resort on Gold Ridge, past where the old ski runs end near the glacier. It happened just after that earthquake in January. We've had some problems at this cavern over the last few days. Most of the people working there have been disappearing.”

  “Working there, doing what?” Austin wondered if gold might somehow be involved.

  “I can’t say, but I think it could be the bear. I think it might have eaten them."

  “Is that what they’re checking on now?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right, Oscar, thanks for the info. Let’s just keep this between you and me for the moment.”

  “Will do.” Oscar sounded relieved. He started the police car back up.

  As Autin turned and started walking back to Trip and Alex, Oscar called out once more, “Austin!”

  He turned back, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

  Oscar said, “When you see VanDusen, be careful around him.”

  “More so than normal, you mean?" What was Oscar so afraid of?

  “Yeah, just watch your back.” A look of grave concern clouded his face. “Seriously, watch your back.”

  With that, Oscar pulled away, giving a quick wave to Trip and Alex.

  He stood there at the side of the road, pondering his recent conversation with Oscar. Watch his back? He knew VanDusen was a couple of nuts short of a jar of butter sometimes, as well as a misogynist, but he didn’t think he would ever have to watch his back around the man. It seemed that perhaps things were a little more serious up on the hill than Chance was letting on. Was there gold in that cavern like Jerry surmised? Gold that everyone involved was trying to be so very, very secretive about? So much gold, perhaps, that they were willing to kill for it?

  Austin shook his head, clearing the web of thoughts. He climbed into the driver’s seat of the Silverado, saying, “Soups on!” A round of cheers came from his work crew, almost loud enough to drown out the noise from their stomachs, audibly growling for burgers and fries.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Set inside the cavern a half-doz
en metres, the bright orange tent’s location allowed someone to have a campfire without the flickering light acting as a beacon on the mountainside when the sun went down, if and when the fog cleared for a while.

  Hunkered down next to the tent, Christine craned her neck, looking up into the dim light that filtered through the cavern’s entrance. A fissure in the rock wall next to her ran up toward the ceiling and disappeared into the darkness. It appeared to turn into a natural vent, allowing for the smoke from a fire to have a place to go and not smoke a person out like a side of ribs at Frostbite Fred’s.

  While she waited for the snowmobilers to arrive, she’d taken off her backpack and rifle and hidden them inside the tent, allowing her to sneak about with greater stealth. Glancing about her environment, she noted a couple of large boulders just discernible in the dark behind her, farther along the wall. It looked like they could provide her with some additional cover, if need be, and hopefully allow her to blend into the background. She filed the thought away for future reference.

  Over the sound of the steaming water gushing from the entrance, she heard male voices conferring with each other and getting closer by the second. Risking a sneak-peek, she leaned forward on her haunches and peered around the corner, trying to catch a glimpse of the new arrivals to the cavern. As she adjusted her position, she felt her legs starting to cramp. Not now, not now, she thought. Her time snowshoeing was coming back to haunt her exhausted calf muscles. She hadn’t had a chance to stretch out before she’d ducked into cover behind the tent, and she was paying for it now.

  Her eyes widened at the sight of the first person coming through the cavern’s entrance. With rifle extended, Chief Reggie VanDusen slowly probed his way inside, turning this way and that, taking point. What in God’s name is he doing up here, she wondered?

  The sense of surprise at the Chief’s appearance was replaced by open-mouthed wonder when she saw who came through the entrance next. A tall, grey-haired gentleman wandered in, looking rather put off by having to be in such a place. Thanks to her visit to city hall last week, she recognised this man as none other than the Mayor of Lawless himself, His Worship, Bob Nichols. Okay, now, really, what the hell is HE doing here?

  Finally, staggering along at the end of this little conga-line was a small, portly man in a loud orange parka. He trailed behind the other two men by a good distance, his path taking wide sweeping arcs as he attempted to walk a straight line. When she saw him swigging from a silver hip-flask held in one gloved hand, she knew it could be only one person, Ray Chance. Christine could almost smell the fumes coming off the man from where she hid.

  The group paused near the entrance and spoke quietly among themselves for a moment. Thanks to the acoustics of the cave, Christine was able to overhear most of what they said. She knew that this was also a two-way street and that any noise she made could be easily heard by them as well.

  Christine ducked back behind the tent and bit her lower lip, stifling a groan in response to the pain of her cramping calves. She dared not move, just in case she made a noise and alerted the new visitors to her uninvited presence.

  “Watkins!” Chance hollered.

  In a barely-hushed whisper, the mayor said, “Chance, shut the fuck up!” The men were obviously concerned as to what else might be lurking inside the cavern with them. They talked between themselves quietly a moment longer, then Chance shouted out loud once more, saying, “Go get some gold!”

  VanDusen chided, “Jesus! Would you keep your voice down!”

  The men started walking farther back into the cavern, and Christine silently stood in a half-crouch to alleviate some of the cramping in her legs. Massaging her knotted muscles as she moved, she eased herself along the rough wall, settling back down into a more comfortable position near the first of the two boulders.

  So that’s why you boys are sneaking around up here, she thought. You’ve got yourselves a little gold mining operation going on here. That’s a pretty good reason not to tell anyone you might have a bear problem up here as well, she thought with a frown. She pulled out the Iridium satellite phone from her side pocket and turned it on, shielding the screen with her hand to block the light as she did. The signal strength metre on the screen showed minimal connectivity due to the surrounding rock. Hoping it would be enough, her fingers flew across the keypad as she silently fired off a text message into the ether.

  The cramping in her left leg intensified, tightening into an even larger and more painful knot. The muscle was now a hard ball, causing her to suck air involuntarily through her teeth as she gritted them together in pain. She was desperate not to make any noise, but as the charlie horse worsened, her leg spasmed heavily, causing it to jolt against some loose stones near her boot. They clattered noisily across the cavern floor, and the sound of low footsteps retreating away from her suddenly stopped.

  “What was that,” the mayor asked, sounding very nervous.

  “I hope it’s not that friggin’ bear,” Chance slurred.

  “Just hang tight, I’ll check it out,” VanDusen’s low voice growled.

  Christine heard footsteps from the other side of the cavern, crunching across the uneven floor, rapidly approaching her hiding spot. Panicked, she needed a new place to hide and recalled the information she’d filed away in her brain earlier.

  In the near blackness, she crept toward the boulders next to the cavern wall. They were out just far enough to allow her to squeeze into the recess if she were lucky. Staying low and still stretching her leg out in an attempt to mitigate some of the cramping, she tried to pull herself sideways into the gap. But something was already there, blocking her way.

  She reached her hand in to feel what was stopping her progress. The object was hard, cold, and covered in what seemed like Gortex fabric. Moving her hand around a moment longer to try to get a better feel for the object, she wrinkled her face in distaste and suddenly jolted back in disgust. Her hand was covered in something cold, wet and very sticky. An unmistakable smell wafted toward her nose and it told her everything she needed to know.

  Her world was suddenly filled with a brilliant white light. She heard the distinctive sound of a shotgun being cocked, followed by a voice from the far side of the tent, “Move a muscle, and I’ll blow your fucking head off!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  The Burger Barn was a large, red barn, which, like its name implied, sold burgers. The structure was an actual barn that had been converted into a restaurant back in the late 1980s. At the time, the owners, Ed and Marie Popov, had spent many, many months and an equal amount of dollars fixing the old barn up to make it passable to the public health inspector. And they had done a fantastic job of it. The first thing to go had been that pesky barn smell that just didn’t do anything to whet people’s appetites. Now, when you walked into the Burger Barn, the only thing you smelled was some of the finest flame-broiled Angus beef burgers this side of Alberta.

  Alex entered first and held the door for his dad and Trip.

  “Thank you, kind sir. You’re a scholar and a gentleman,” Austin said as he entered.

  Trip followed Austin through the open door, giving Alex a thumbs up and a smile as he passed.

  The interior of the Burger Barn was eclectic, to say the least. It looked like Ed and Marie had started the decoration of the restaurant with a western motif, but over the years had transformed it into a showcase of whatever Ed and Marie found funny or intriguing.

  Some of the colourful collection that lined the interior of the cavernous structure had been brought in by regular customers over the years who loved the interesting mix of bric-a-brac that covered the walls. And they were always looking for something new on display since their last visit. It seemed that part of the draw of the place, apart from the food, was the colourful gewgaws all over the walls and ceiling for people to look at while they ate.

  Needless to say, the two-story-high interior walls of the dry, old barn were getting quite crowded. Over the years, Ed and Marie had bee
n inundated by a tidal wave of assorted artefacts from their fervent fans wishing to help them out. As well, the Popovs had added new trinketry of their own to the decor of the barn’s interior on a regular basis. Eventually, they’d had to tell everyone that though they appreciated the thought when they were presented with some new knickknack or other, they just didn’t have room to put everything up on display. As it stood now, the collection was amazing and covered almost every square inch of space of the building's walls and ceiling.

  The restaurant boasted a dozen heavy, pine tables that dotted the lower level of the large space. Across from them, underneath the old hayloft, a modern, stainless steel kitchen gleamed. Next to it, a beautiful wrought iron staircase spiralled up into the loft. Up to two dozen adventurous diners could enjoy their burgers and the spectacular scenery if they wanted, or maybe go up there just to see more of Ed and Marie’s assorted oddities.