They hadn’t driven far before Connor said, “Fireworks. Not cast boosters.”
“He could have those, too, just tucked away somewhere,” she said.
“His story about wanting to keep more land out of being developed rang true to me,” Connor said. “A lot of people feel that way.”
“Maybe those are his true sentiments,” she said. “Or maybe he’s good at telling convincing stories.” She stared out the windshield at the clear black sky, stars like pinholes of light. “The fireworks could be intended as a distraction for something bigger.”
“That’s what happened New Year’s Eve,” Connor said. “Someone probably used the commotion from the fireworks to cover up the noise of breaking into the munitions magazine.”
“Right. So while the fireworks are going off, Shane and whoever he recruits could be blowing up something else.”
“What else?” Connor asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Something big and expensive that would distract the resort from pursuing the new development?”
“How are we going to find out and stop it?” he asked.
She liked the way he saidwe. As if he really was invested in helping her now. “I’m going to keep digging,” she said. “You can talk to people, too. Find out if anyone has seen or heard anything suspicious.”
“I will. But MLK weekend isn’t that far off,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”
“It will be enough,” she said. “It will have to be.”
“I’ve heard somerumors that some of those who are opposed to the ski area’s expansion may increase vandalism to resort property,” Connor told his patrol crew the following Monday morning.
He had been off Sunday and had spent much of the day thinking about the meeting with Shane, about the stolen cast boosters and about Stacy. He liked remembering the way she had felt in his arms on the dance floor and how he could forget everything else when he was talking with her. More than once he had thought about trying to get in touch with herbut had hesitated. She was here to work and might resent his interference.
“I’m asking you all to be extra vigilant. If you see anyone in an area where they aren’t supposed to be or messing around with ski resort equipment, be sure you get their name and let them know they’re at risk of being banned.”
“Who told you there was more vandalism planned?” Anders asked. He sat with his long legs stretched in front of him, Darth sprawled beneath him.
“Doug talked to me about it,” Connor said. This was close enough to the truth he could say it with a straight face.
“We catch people all the time where they aren’t supposed to be,” Raz said. “They’re always ducking ropes to ski in untracked snow or messing around closed lifts. And you remember last month, when I caught that guy trying to pry the window on the number four patrol shack.”
“He was trying to get the phone he had dropped and someone had turned in,” Lily said. “It was locked in the shack.”
“It was. But that didn’t give him the right to break in,” Raz said.
“Just keep your eyes and ears open,” Connor said.
Lily was the last to leave after the meeting ended. She sidled up to his desk. “Everything okay with you?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” Or as fine as anyone could be, knowing someone who was probably up to no good was out there with a bunch of powerful explosives at their disposal.
“You just seem distracted.”
“This job does that to a person. Scott could probably tell you all about it.”
She smiled at the mention of her partner, Scott Linden, former head of ski patrol. “You’re doing a good job,” she said. “You’re much better tempered than Scott was.”
He laughed. “I won’t tell him you said that.”
“Oh. He already knows what I think.” She shrugged. “I’m not one to hide my feelings.”
How do you do that?he wondered after Lily had left.How do you lay out every emotion for possible ridicule or embarrassment?Children could do it, but figuring out what most adults were thinking and feeling was like chipping away at a marble block. Sometimes even he didn’t know what his real emotions were.
“Got a minute?”
