“You’ll need to leave everything as is until the feds can get a look at it,” the sheriff said.
“When will that be?” Doug asked.
“Don’t know,” Howard said. “But this area is off-limits until then.”
“When am I going to get the additional patrollers I’ve been asking for?” Connor asked. “We’re down one patroller and one dog. It would help a lot if I didn’t have to pull double duty handling munitions and directing patrol.”
“Once we get approval from the government for the new expansion, the hiring freeze will be lifted,” Doug said. “Until then, you’ll have to make do. You’re doing a great job so far.”
Making dowasn’t a good policy when it came to protecting people’s lives, but Connor had made that argument more than once already and been met with the same corporate line. He whistled for Farley and left with the sled in tow.
Patroller Anders Iverson met Connor in front of ski patrol headquarters. The tall Nordic blond was red-faced in the cold. “I was just coming to look for you,” he said. “Everyone’s waiting.”
“I got held up a little,” Connor said. “Tell everyone to come out here, and we’ll get started.”
The team gathered around him. They were a mixed lot of young men and woman. Five of them, like Connor, had avalanche rescue dogs, but the dogs had remained inside in their kennels. The last thing they needed during avalanche mitigation work was a dog getting spooked and running in the wrong direction. They organized into two-person teams. Connor liked for the same two people to work together as much as possible. The more they knew each other’s habits and tendencies, the less room for error, in his opinion.
“Before we get started, I have to tell you someone broke into the magazine last night,” he said. “Cut a hole in the back wall and stole some boxes of cast boosters.”
Someone in the back swore loudly. The others looked stunned.
“Keep your eyes open out there,” Connor said. “Report anyone acting strangely. And keep your ears open, too, in case anyone brags about it.”
“Who would do something like this?” asked Lily Alton, the newest member of patrol. The brown-haired twenty-eight-year-old had transferred to SkyCrest from a closed sister resort and immediately clicked with the team. Connor had put her with him on avalanche mitigation.
“The sheriff thinks it might be someone from the group that’s been protesting the resort expansion,” Connor said. “But I don’t know.” He uncovered the sled with that day’s supply of cast boosters. “For now, we need to get to work. We’re already behind schedule.”
“Someone could do a lot of damage with that much explosive,” Anders said. “What’s law enforcement doing about it?”
“The sheriff is contacting the feds,” Connor said. “I imagine they’ll send someone to look into it.”
Anders moved in closer and kept his voice low. “They’ll want to question you,” he said.
“Sure. I’ll have to tell them what I found.”
Anders shook his head. “No offense, but you might want to talk to a lawyer.”
“Why?”
“Who do you think is going to be their number one suspect? The man who had access to the munitions magazine.”
“Someone cut a hole in the back of the building. They didn’t have to have a key. Not to mention, I’m the one who reported the theft.”
“Yeah, but you know the resort is going to hush this up quickly. Don’t let them pin this on you.”
Anders and the others left.
Shaken, Connor stared after them. This definitely wasn’t the way he had thought to start the new year.
Chapter Two
Avalanche mitigation had a set routine, even though each day’s targets might vary. The teams loaded backpacks with canisters of explosives and detonators. Each member carried a crimper in one pocket and a lighter in the other. Always the same pockets. The idea was to be able to safety-fit the detonator, light it, then throw the canister at the target terrain in a smooth, safe routine with as little variance as possible.
The rest of the patrollers headed up the slopes in snowmobiles. Lily joined Connor as he was kenneling Farley. “That’s really scary, thinking of someone out there having explosives like this,” she said.
“It is,” Connor said. “But there’s not much you and I can do about it except be on the lookout for anything suspicious.” He closed the door on the dog’s cage. Farley had already curled up on his bed and closed his eyes.
Outside, Lily climbed onto the waiting snowmobile. Connor loaded his share of the cast boosters, then mounted up and set off.
