Gray Mountain: A Novel(72)

Samantha felt like crying. Just listen, she said to herself. He needs to talk.

“I’m going to find these guys, Samantha, do you hear me? If it takes every dime I have and every dime I have to steal, I’ll track them down and get revenge. Donovan wasn’t afraid to die, neither am I. I hope they’re not.”

“Who’s your number one suspect?”

“Krull Mining, I guess.”

“And that’s because of the documents?”

He turned and gave her a look. “How do you know about the documents?”

“I flew with Donovan to Hammer Valley one Saturday. We had lunch with Vic in Rockville. They were talking about Krull Mining and let something slip.”

“That’s surprising. Donovan was more careful than that.”

“Does Krull Mining know he has the documents?”

“They know the documents are missing and they strongly suspect we’ve got them. The documents are deadly, poisonous, and beautiful.”

“You’ve seen them?”

He hesitated for a long time, then said, “Yes, I’ve seen them and I know where they are. You wouldn’t believe what’s in them. No one will.” He paused for a moment as if he needed to shut up, but he also wanted to talk. If Donovan trusted her so much, then perhaps he could too. He went on, “There’s one memo from the CEO in Pittsburgh to their headquarters in London in which the CEO estimates the cost of cleaning up the Peck Mountain mess at $80 million. The cost of paying a few tort claims to families hit by cancer was estimated at only ten million max, and that was on the high side. The tort claims at that time had not been filed and there was no certainty that they would ever be filed. Thus, it was far cheaper to let the people drink the water, die of cancer, and maybe spend a few bucks in a settlement than it was to stop the leaks in the slurry pond.”

“And where is this memo?”

“With all the rest. Twenty thousand documents in four boxes, all tucked away.”

“Somewhere close by?”

“Not far from here. I can’t tell you because it’s too dangerous.”

“Don’t tell me. I suddenly know more than I want to.”

He released her hand and slipped off the picnic table. He bent down and picked up a handful of pebbles and began tossing them into the ravine below. He was mumbling something she could not understand. He went through another handful, then a third, tossing them at nothing in particular. Shadows were forming and clouds were moving in.

He walked back to the table, stood beside her and said, “There’s something you should know. They’re probably listening to you. Your phone at the office, maybe even a bug or two in your apartment. Last week we had a guy comb the office again, and, sure enough, there are bugs everywhere. Just be careful what you say because someone is listening.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“For some strange reason, Samantha, today I’m not in the mood to bullshit.”

“All right, all right, but why me?”

“They watch us closely, especially Donovan. He’s been living for years with the assumption somebody was listening. That’s probably why he flew to Charleston yesterday to meet with the lawyers face-to-face. They’ve been meeting in various hotel rooms, staying away from surveillance. The thugs have seen you hanging around with us. They have all the money in the world so they watch anybody who comes and goes, especially a new lawyer in town.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’ve talked to my father all afternoon about airplane crashes.”

“Which phone?”

“Both, office and cell.”

“Be careful with the office. Stick to the cell. We may even start using prepaid cell phones.”

“I’m not believing this.”

He sat next to her, took her hand, and flipped up the collar of his jacket. The sun was dipping behind the mountains and the breeze was stronger. With his left hand, he slowly wiped a tear from his cheek. When he spoke his voice was scratchy and hoarse. “I remember when my mother died I couldn’t stop crying.”

“It’s okay to cry, Jeff.”

“Well, if I can’t cry for my brother I guess I’ll never cry for anyone.”

“Have a go. It might make you feel better.”

He was quiet for a few minutes, silent but not tearful. They squeezed closer together as darkness settled in and the breeze came and went. After a long gap, she said, “I talked to my father this afternoon. Needless to say he’s devastated. He and Donovan became real pals in the past month or so and Dad admired him a lot. He also knows everyone in this particular field and can find the right experts to analyze the crash. He said that over the years he’s handled many small aircraft fatalities.”

“Any that were deliberately caused?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. Two of them. One in Idaho and one down in Colombia. If I know my dad, he’s on the phone and computer right now looking, checking out experts for small Cessna crashes. He said the main thing is to make sure the airplane is secure at this point.”

“It’s secure.”

“Anyway, Marshall Kofer is on board if we need him.”

“Thanks. I like your father.”

“So do I, most of the time.”

“I’m cold, are you cold?”