-one. Do you copy?â
âGo ahead, S&R -one.â
âYouâre going to want to see this, sir.â
âWhat have you got?â
Cole listened to the distant voices. He risked a glance around him and saw that both Rick and Derek were watching him. The FBI agent continued to watch the earth below.
âWeâve got something here about two miles from your position. Thereâs a gully that drops off toward Waterton Lake off Mount Boswell. Weâve got a body, sir.â
âIdentification?â
âTwo of the team are on site now. Weâre on top. Hold on.â
A long moment passed. Cole could feel his heart beating in his throat. He strained to hear the conversation in the headset over the din of the Black Hawk.
âWhat have you got, S&R -one?â Special Agent McCallum sounded less jocular than when he was giving instructions to the hiking party.
âMale, deceased, massive trauma to the back of the head. Looks like he fell. Weâve got recently disturbed talus and scree. They have a wallet. Hold. Okay, weâve got possible ID . Foreman, Blake. Weâll have to confirm with the autopsy. Thirty-six years old, address is in Georgia, but the licence is expired.â
âAlright, Iâll pass the word up here that we have our missing person. Weâll have Evidence Recovery on station in the next hour. Youâre in a second crime scene, S&R -one.â
ELEVEN
OTTAWA, ONTARIO. FEBRUARY 13.
BY 8:00 AM BRIAN MARRIOTT was back at his office, digging. But digging for what? he asked himself, elbows on the desk, head in his hands. He picked up the phone and dialed the number of Rick Turcotteâs parliamentary office, but all he got was voice mail. Ministers and parliamentary secretaries usually huddled around 7:30 each morning, so it was likely Rick and his staff were in the ministerâs office. Brian left a message.
For the next hour he skulked around various parliamentary newsÂletter web pages and searched for anything he could find about todayâs announcements. When his phone rang at 9:00 AM , he jumped. He snatched the receiver up. âMarriott, AEG .â
âMr. Turcotte is holding for you,â said a womanâs voice.
âPut him on, please.â There was a pause.
âBrian, you called?â
âMr. Secretary. Yes, I did. That was quite the reception last night.â
âAre you pleased with the announcement? You got what you wanted, didnât you?â
âI guess Iâd like to read the full instructions for the regulatory review before I say one way or the other.â
âWell, I can arrange to have them sent over, but it will have to wait until after todayâs press conference. This government doesnât want any leaks. Will you be there?â
âIâm considering it.â
âYou should be. This is good news for you.â
âSo you say, Secretary.â
âI do. Iâll see you there. I have to go, Brian. Eleven AM . Donât be late.â Rick Turcotte hung up. Brian looked at the receiver in his hand and did the same.
A moment later, the phone rang again. He thought it might be Turcotte calling back. It was Joe Firstlight from the Blackfeet Nation. Brian let out his breath. âHi, Joe, how are things in big sky country this morning?â
âCold and dry. We havenât had any snow here in a month. Last winter we had record snow; this year, nothing.â
âExtreme fluctuations in annual weather patterns are one of the consequences of climate change.â
âIf this keeps up, weâre going to have to truck water in as early as June this year. Listen, you asked me to dig around about High Country Energy. I did. Thereâs some pretty testy people right now on the Blackfeet Council. Iâve got a pretty good idea of whatâs happeningâwhy weâve been shut out, and why HCE has had the doors opened wide for them.â
âDid you find out
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