Read Online Avalanche: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery (Sheriff Bo Tully Mysteries) by Patrick F. McManus - Free Book Online
Authors: Patrick F. McManus
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motors were attached to the stern. Tully suspected they were both jets, because props would get torn up in a river. The river drifted upstream in a placid back eddy around the dock. Out twenty feet or so the current swept along with considerable force. Upstream, a footbridge suspended from large cables spanned the river. On the far side of the river, several young men raced snowmobiles furiously back and forth along the bank. Got to be locals, he thought. He wondered if one of them might be the naked person DeWayne had thrown down the front steps of the lodge.
11
THE DOG TEAM SPRAWLED ALONG its towline, most of its members asleep or yawning. Their driver sat on the sled, her chin resting on her gloved hands.
“About time you got back!”
“I had to get some of my troops activated. Now do you think your mutts can get me to the top of that ridge up there?” He pointed.
“They would love to. But don’t call them mutts. They have feelings too, you know.”
“Sorry.”
Tully climbed aboard the sled and got a good grip on both sides. Janice yelled, “Mush!” The dogs took off in a spray of snow and tails. They reached the top of the ridge much faster than Tully had even imagined, the dogs scarcely breathing hard.
“Can you run me down the ridge now?” he asked.
“How far?”
“Several miles. I’d like to look at the avalanche from the top side.”
“Mush!”
Tully pulled his stocking cap down over his ears, crossed his legs, and rested his head on the back of the sled. The runners sizzled through the snow. The mountains around were achingly beautiful. Far down below he could see the black line of the river wending its way through the canyon. He could even make out some of his favorite fishing holes, as well as the campsite of his and Susan’s aborted tryst. He thought he should put up a marker. Maybe in a year or two he would think of the proper wording. He was still pondering the words for the marker when they reached the avalanche site. Susan shouted “Whoa!” and jammed down the brake. She then put down the snow hooks to keep the dogs from running off with the sled. He pushed himself up and walked over to the edge of the ridge. The slope had been scraped nearly bare by the rush of snow, ice, trees, and rocks. Several minutes passed before he found what he was looking for, a line of gray spots that ran across in a line a hundred feet or so down from the top of the ridge. Tully tugged on the corner of his mustache as he studied the spots. He walked back to the sled and sat down on it.
“Home, James.”
“We’re not moving an inch until you tell me what you found out.”
“Just the ordinary,” he said.
“And that is?”
“I think somebody might have tried to kill me. And maybe Pap, too, for good measure.”
“Not again!”
“Afraid so.”
“How can you tell?”
“You see those gray spots down there in the snow? I’m pretty sure somebody laid out a line of ditching dynamite. The concussion from one stick sets off all the others.”
“Why in heaven’s name would someone want to kill you?”
Tully laughed. There are plenty of reasons. “The real question is how did they know we would be coming along that road when we did?”
“Maybe it was just a coincidence you happened along at just the right time. You ever hear that coincidence confounds reason?” She sat down on the sled next to him. The dogs, sprawled out along the towline, turned and looked back, apparently wondering what the next move was.
“Even if you won’t sleep with me,” she said, “I hate to think about somebody trying to kill you.”
He put his arm around her and gave her a hug. “Well, while we’re up here, I better check in with the office and make sure things aren’t falling apart there.” He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket and dialed.
Daisy answered. “Boss! We were worried sick waiting for you to call. You might have been buried in that avalanche!”
“Almost was. Pap said if it had led
11
THE DOG TEAM SPRAWLED ALONG its towline, most of its members asleep or yawning. Their driver sat on the sled, her chin resting on her gloved hands.
“About time you got back!”
“I had to get some of my troops activated. Now do you think your mutts can get me to the top of that ridge up there?” He pointed.
“They would love to. But don’t call them mutts. They have feelings too, you know.”
“Sorry.”
Tully climbed aboard the sled and got a good grip on both sides. Janice yelled, “Mush!” The dogs took off in a spray of snow and tails. They reached the top of the ridge much faster than Tully had even imagined, the dogs scarcely breathing hard.
“Can you run me down the ridge now?” he asked.
“How far?”
“Several miles. I’d like to look at the avalanche from the top side.”
“Mush!”
Tully pulled his stocking cap down over his ears, crossed his legs, and rested his head on the back of the sled. The runners sizzled through the snow. The mountains around were achingly beautiful. Far down below he could see the black line of the river wending its way through the canyon. He could even make out some of his favorite fishing holes, as well as the campsite of his and Susan’s aborted tryst. He thought he should put up a marker. Maybe in a year or two he would think of the proper wording. He was still pondering the words for the marker when they reached the avalanche site. Susan shouted “Whoa!” and jammed down the brake. She then put down the snow hooks to keep the dogs from running off with the sled. He pushed himself up and walked over to the edge of the ridge. The slope had been scraped nearly bare by the rush of snow, ice, trees, and rocks. Several minutes passed before he found what he was looking for, a line of gray spots that ran across in a line a hundred feet or so down from the top of the ridge. Tully tugged on the corner of his mustache as he studied the spots. He walked back to the sled and sat down on it.
“Home, James.”
“We’re not moving an inch until you tell me what you found out.”
“Just the ordinary,” he said.
“And that is?”
“I think somebody might have tried to kill me. And maybe Pap, too, for good measure.”
“Not again!”
“Afraid so.”
“How can you tell?”
“You see those gray spots down there in the snow? I’m pretty sure somebody laid out a line of ditching dynamite. The concussion from one stick sets off all the others.”
“Why in heaven’s name would someone want to kill you?”
Tully laughed. There are plenty of reasons. “The real question is how did they know we would be coming along that road when we did?”
“Maybe it was just a coincidence you happened along at just the right time. You ever hear that coincidence confounds reason?” She sat down on the sled next to him. The dogs, sprawled out along the towline, turned and looked back, apparently wondering what the next move was.
“Even if you won’t sleep with me,” she said, “I hate to think about somebody trying to kill you.”
He put his arm around her and gave her a hug. “Well, while we’re up here, I better check in with the office and make sure things aren’t falling apart there.” He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket and dialed.
Daisy answered. “Boss! We were worried sick waiting for you to call. You might have been buried in that avalanche!”
“Almost was. Pap said if it had led
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