asked.
“Shoot.”
“Now I want you to know this is all preliminary and I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes or anything,” Marie started.
“Uh-huh.”
“Yeah, well, okay.” She smiled and looked down to her notes. “I am an investigator with the Department of Agriculture assigned to corporate logging firms to ensure ethical practices in the communities that they operate.” Arch nodded. She acknowledged and looked back down at her notes. “So, we have been getting some unofficial reports of people being asked to leave their property when they have not signed over any lease to log their land. So my question to you, do these reports have any validity?”
Arch simply stared at her for a few moments. He pulled open the bottom left drawer of his desk and looked to grab a pack of cigarettes. He stared at the bottle of whiskey and glanced at her again, thought it best not to reveal any impropriety in the operation, especially drinking whiskey straight at 2:30 in the afternoon. He grabbed the cigarettes and a book of matches. He lit one and placed the cigarette between his lips and took a long puff. He blew it straight at Marie, but pretended it wasn’t intentional. He stared outside and looked at the rain beat against the window.
“Blowing pretty hard out there huh?” Arch asked.
“What?” Marie replied.
“The wind, the rain, you know the storm,” as Arch pointed outside.
“Oh yeah, whew, must be hard to work in this.”
“We work in it all, sweetheart,” taking another puff. “I ain’t got a clue as to what those people are talking about. Everything we do here is on the up and up. We didn’t get to be the best logging operation in Montana for kicking people out of their homes,” Arch stated.
“Hmm, okay, there have also been reports about the residents being warned not to speak out against any operation in the area or there may be repercussions,” Marie said.
“What kind of repercussion?” Arch replied slyly.
“Well they said that if they didn’t sign over their deeds at reduced rates, someone was going to come find them, and remind them of what an agreement means. These are just reports.”
She smiled.
“Ah ha, I see.” Arch replied, “Nope, none of that funny business going on here.”
“I have a couple-” Marie attempted.
“Well, if that’s all, we really have a lot of work to do here.” Arch insisted.
She smiled again. Marie got up and walked over to the door. She handed Arch her card, forcing him to walk over and retrieve it. He did.
“I’ll be in touch, Mr. Grimes,” Marie said as she walked out the door. The rain was pouring and she placed the metal clipboard over her head as she ran to her Jeep Cherokee. She got in and sped off. Arch watched her as she left. He had seen folks like her through his whole career, never stopped him once. Time and time again they tried, but he always found a way around it, or through it. They had never come with such specific information before, which caused him to skirt the edges of alarm. He may need to call an old friend.
“Hey!” Arch yelled to Fred, who was smoking a cigarette in his truck. “Why the fuck everyone not working?”
“Well, sir, they’re a bit shaken up.”
“’Bout what?”
“We went to that cabin, you know, that the scouts found?” as he put the cigarette out and ran into the office out of the rain.
“Uh-huh.”
“One of the guys stepped in a bear trap, took his leg clean off.”
“Shit.”
“We got him to the hospital, he’s gonna live.”
“What about the cabin?”
“There was some old guy livin’ there.”
“Some old guy?”
“Yeah, he was like a frontier person or something. Had a bunch of animal skins he was wearin’. I think he did something to that trap to make it for humans.”
“Why you say that?”
“It was filed down, like a teeth of razor blades.”
“What you tell em’?”
“We’re coming through in a couple weeks, best be gone.”
Arch stared at him, then
“Shoot.”
“Now I want you to know this is all preliminary and I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes or anything,” Marie started.
“Uh-huh.”
“Yeah, well, okay.” She smiled and looked down to her notes. “I am an investigator with the Department of Agriculture assigned to corporate logging firms to ensure ethical practices in the communities that they operate.” Arch nodded. She acknowledged and looked back down at her notes. “So, we have been getting some unofficial reports of people being asked to leave their property when they have not signed over any lease to log their land. So my question to you, do these reports have any validity?”
Arch simply stared at her for a few moments. He pulled open the bottom left drawer of his desk and looked to grab a pack of cigarettes. He stared at the bottle of whiskey and glanced at her again, thought it best not to reveal any impropriety in the operation, especially drinking whiskey straight at 2:30 in the afternoon. He grabbed the cigarettes and a book of matches. He lit one and placed the cigarette between his lips and took a long puff. He blew it straight at Marie, but pretended it wasn’t intentional. He stared outside and looked at the rain beat against the window.
“Blowing pretty hard out there huh?” Arch asked.
“What?” Marie replied.
“The wind, the rain, you know the storm,” as Arch pointed outside.
“Oh yeah, whew, must be hard to work in this.”
“We work in it all, sweetheart,” taking another puff. “I ain’t got a clue as to what those people are talking about. Everything we do here is on the up and up. We didn’t get to be the best logging operation in Montana for kicking people out of their homes,” Arch stated.
“Hmm, okay, there have also been reports about the residents being warned not to speak out against any operation in the area or there may be repercussions,” Marie said.
“What kind of repercussion?” Arch replied slyly.
“Well they said that if they didn’t sign over their deeds at reduced rates, someone was going to come find them, and remind them of what an agreement means. These are just reports.”
She smiled.
“Ah ha, I see.” Arch replied, “Nope, none of that funny business going on here.”
“I have a couple-” Marie attempted.
“Well, if that’s all, we really have a lot of work to do here.” Arch insisted.
She smiled again. Marie got up and walked over to the door. She handed Arch her card, forcing him to walk over and retrieve it. He did.
“I’ll be in touch, Mr. Grimes,” Marie said as she walked out the door. The rain was pouring and she placed the metal clipboard over her head as she ran to her Jeep Cherokee. She got in and sped off. Arch watched her as she left. He had seen folks like her through his whole career, never stopped him once. Time and time again they tried, but he always found a way around it, or through it. They had never come with such specific information before, which caused him to skirt the edges of alarm. He may need to call an old friend.
“Hey!” Arch yelled to Fred, who was smoking a cigarette in his truck. “Why the fuck everyone not working?”
“Well, sir, they’re a bit shaken up.”
“’Bout what?”
“We went to that cabin, you know, that the scouts found?” as he put the cigarette out and ran into the office out of the rain.
“Uh-huh.”
“One of the guys stepped in a bear trap, took his leg clean off.”
“Shit.”
“We got him to the hospital, he’s gonna live.”
“What about the cabin?”
“There was some old guy livin’ there.”
“Some old guy?”
“Yeah, he was like a frontier person or something. Had a bunch of animal skins he was wearin’. I think he did something to that trap to make it for humans.”
“Why you say that?”
“It was filed down, like a teeth of razor blades.”
“What you tell em’?”
“We’re coming through in a couple weeks, best be gone.”
Arch stared at him, then
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