“I thought I was telling the story.” Deb hooked a thumb in the direction of her husband. “What he just said.”
“If you were hunting a Bigfoot, where would you look?” Stone asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Deb said flatly. “I’m not joking about that. Even if it doesn’t exist, this wilderness alone is too much for most people.”
“I understand,” Stone assured her. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important.”
“It’s just not something we get into,” Deb said. “If customers mention it, we pretend to listen out of politeness.”
“How about the logging camps?” Stone asked. “Do you know if any of them are owned by a man named Kane?”
“Didn’t know that name when your friend asked me, and it still doesn’t ring a bell,” Deb said. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you anything else. She hasn’t been around in several days. Her room was empty, so we figured whatever business she had out here, she was finished with it.”
“She only left behind the book she borrowed from me,” Vince offered.
“What book was that?” Constance asked.
“A book about Lewis and Clark. There’s a rumor that they discovered a treasure cave in these parts. Miss Paige was quite interested.”
“I think she was being polite,” Deb said.
Vince ignored her, but the twinkle in his eye said he had not missed her rejoinder. “I told her about a spot not far from here where Lewis and Clark made camp.” He paused, scratched his chin. “Come to think of it, she asked if there was a lumber camp near there, and I told her that Davis and his outfit have set up on that very site.”
Stone smiled. Finally, a lead!
“Be careful around Davis and his outfit, if that’s where you’re headed,” Deb warned.
“Why is that?” Stone asked.
“Almost everyone around here gets along fairly well. We’re all in the same boat, cutting down trees for a living or making a living off the people who do the cutting. But Davis and his crew, they’re just different. They’re standoffish, and they don’t hire locals. And those Germans that work with them.” She shivered. “I can’t put my finger on it, but they aren’t right. I hope your friend didn’t run afoul of them. We truly did believe she had left town.”
“Hopefully she has,” Constance said. “Thank you for your help.”
Alex was waiting for them beside the truck. “What’s the plan, boss?”
“I think it’s time we split up. We’ve got two clear lines of inquiry. One is Kane’s lumber camp, which seems to coincide with the Lewis and Clark clue from Trinity’s note. Moses and I will follow up on that one.”
“Which leaves us to ask around about Bigfoot,” Alex groaned.
“Look on the bright side,” Constance said. “You get to spend the evening in the company of an intelligent woman.”
“Both women and intelligence are in short supply at our hose, so that sounds lovely.” Arm in arm, they headed across the street to the speakeasy.
16- The Lumber Camp Again
Stone ignored the stares as he and Moses strode into the logging camp. In any event, he doubted many of the looks were for him. Unlike the other lumberjacks he’d seen in Rockmire, there was not a brown face among this crew.
Wood smoke hung low in the damp air, carrying an acrid scent to his nostrils. Over the years he’d developed heightened senses, which was not always a pleasant thing. Beneath the smoke and the damp, earthy smell hung the foul aroma of human habitation: body odor, cheap whiskey, tobacco smoke, and the reek of a nearby latrine. He ignored it all, keeping his eyes trained on a big, blond man who sat on a stump, drinking from a tin cup.
The man’s eyes widened as he spotted the newcomers. The fellow stood, his gaze uncertain. This was Davis, the foreman.
“You two lost?”
“We’re right where we intended to be,” Stone said. “I’ll make this brief. We’re looking for a friend.” He described Trinity, and saw a spark of recognition in the man’s eyes.
“I don’t…” Davis started to shake his head, but froze beneath Stone’s icy glare. “I don’t know where she is,” he amended. “She did stop by about five days back, maybe a week? Said she was a reporter.”
“What was she inquiring about?” Stone asked.
“Deaths. Well, the rumors of deaths. It’s all a bunch of lies, though. This is a safe camp.” Davis’s gaze flicked up and to the side and he blinked several times before continuing. “I answered her questions and she left. Said she was going back to Washington. DC.”
“Maybe the ape men got her,” a burly blond-haired man rumbled in a heavy German accent. Several of the lumberjacks let out raucous laughs.
“Shut your mouths,” Davis snapped.
The men ignored their foreman, and continued to laugh, but fell silent under Stone’s cold stare. He turned back to Davis.
“I need your help.” His tone said it was anything but a request.
Davis looked around at his men, then nodded. “Walk with me.” He put his hands in his pockets and walked out of camp at a relaxed gait, as if he were out for an evening stroll. When they were out of earshot, he finally spoke.
“The townsfolk are always trying to blame their troubles on us. But it’s their women who are disappearing, not our lumberjacks.”
“Missing women?” Stone asked.
“A few women have gone missing and some of the drunks in the saloon blame it on Bigfoot.” He made a face to show what he thought of the idea.
“What do you think happened to them?”
“I know for a fact that one of them made off with a lumberjack, skin as dark as this fellow here.” He inclined his head in Moses’s direction. “Her old man is too ashamed to admit it. He’d rather people think she made off with an ape man.” Davis forced a grin.
“You haven’t had a single man vanish?” Stone asked.
“That’s why I wanted to speak to you in private. We did have one man disappear a few months back. I told the men that a company man had taken him away. They do that from time to time. The truth is, he wandered off one day and was never heard from again. The men are so superstitious about Bigfoot, and the Indians have been filling their heads with stories about sightings in the area where Klaus disappeared.”
“What did he look like?” Stone asked.
“Like a bear with mange. Huge German, reddish brown hair everywhere but on his head.” Davis frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“When I was in Seattle I met a man by that name who fits the description to a T. You don’t know a man named Ward, do you?”
Davis flinched, then froze beneath Stone’s cold stare. After a silent second, he cleared his throat. “Never heard of him. Now, I need to be getting back. I hope you find your girl. She’s a pretty one.”
Stone knew the man was hiding something, but at the moment there was nothing to be gained from further questions. He would have to conduct his own investigation.
“Thanks for your time. You might see me again.” He shook the man’s hand, giving it an unnecessary squeeze. Davis winced, but whether it was from the handshake or the thought of Stone coming back, who could say?
17- The Woodsman’s Complaint
The Woodsman’s Complaint was even worse than Alex had expected. The tables and chairs were mismatched and the wooden floor needed sweeping, not to mention a good mopping. He crinkled his nose as he caught a whiff of stale beer and urine. He felt immediately out of place, but it was all the town of Rockmire had to offer.
“I regret I can’t take you somewhere nicer for our first date.” He immediately felt his cheeks grow hot and he forced a laugh.
“You can make it up to me when we return to civilization. And by that, I mean D.C., not Seattle.” She patted his cheek sweetly. “Besides, we are here for information, not to soak up the atmosphere.”