“And this second body is definitely connected to the fake hikers?”
“No. Nor are the hikers definitely fake.”
I list off all the evidence that supports that theory.
“The mining camp is chipping its employees?” Petra says. “On the one hand, major privacy invasion. But on the other?”
“Maybe we should do it, too? Only we’d get permission obviously.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing the miners signed some document they barely read that would allow the tracking. But if our dead man doesn’t have a tracker then he’s not their employee.”
“Mmm. I can’t say that absolutely. But yes, there is no proof he works for them and also no proof that he wasn’t with Blake and Gretchen.”
“So a trio of espionage agents, with orders to kill two members once the data has been retrieved. Apropos of nothing, did I hear you guys run movie nights more often?”
“Yeah, yeah. Too many James Bond movies. I’ve already made that joke at my own expense. So I’m way off base.”
Petra exhales. “Well, it depends. Was I routinely sent on missions and ordered to kill my colleagues? No. Was Ieverordered to kill them? No. Did I personally know anyone who was ordered to kill their colleagues? No. But, of course, that wasn’t the sort of thing you’d confess in the spy pub over brewskis.”
“You never tookmeto a spy pub,” Yolanda says.
“I could, but then I’d have to… Well, you know. But youguys understand my point. I didn’t work in the sort of environment where fellow operatives were killed to shut them up. I did know people who worked in things closer to what you’d find in the movies. Private operations. I heard stories of those agents being killed when they completed a mission. Or being killed when they discovered something they shouldn’t. Or when they developed a conscience. There’s a lot out there, and it’s not all MI6, CIA, covert-government-operations stuff.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Let’s take that and jump to our two possible targets. Haven’s Rock or this mining company. Could someone be hired to spy on you guys and then kill their colleagues? I can’t see it. Sorry. Maybe in Rockton. Maybe if you were operating some nefarious and highly profitable operation.”
“Which we are not.”
“Correct. Haven’s Rock is the opposite of profitable. On the other hand, I can see the old council spying on you for basic espionage.”
“Trade secrets. Their new version of Rockton is failing.”
“And Haven’s Rock is thriving. Gran also mentioned they might want to lure you guys back to the fold. I can see that, too. From experience, I’d say they’d be analyzing your operation and seeing whether you’re stumbling, maybe in need of help. And if not, then maybe they could change that.”
“Sabotage us.”
“Yep. But that would mean embedding a spy. What would they learn lurking around the forest? Nothing except that your patrols are very good and would find them if they got too close.”
Yolanda says, “What if theyknowwe’re doing fine. Could they move straight to sabotage?”
“Yes. However, that’s not the kind of operation where you kill your fellow agents to keep them quiet.”
“So their target would be the mining company,” I say.
“In my opinion, yes. From what Gran says, that is one hell of a secretive operation, tightly run. It’s not a few guys panning for gold in the forest. It’s not even some small firm running a claim.” She pauses. “Are we sure they’re actually mining?”
“We keep our distance,” I say, “but we’ve been close enough to confirm that.”
“Not sure what else they’d be doing,” Yolanda says. “If there’s money to be made up here, it’s in gold.”
“Maybe there’s something to mine besides gold, something even more valuable. It’s not a massive operation, which would make me wonder how much gold they’d be getting. Either way, considering how professional—and paranoid—these guys are, they have a serious operation there, making serious money. Which could mean serious espionage.”
“So—” I begin. “Hold on. I’ve lost my kid.”
As I hurry to find Rory, Petra calls, “Isn’t she barely crawling?”
“She’s fast,” I call back. “Also, her mom is a little distracted.”
