He wasn’t finished. “We’re in a bit of a pickle with this grizzly situation mixed up in it. I don’t want this smeared all over the nation like some major grizzly mauling because it’s not. It’s simply an issue of remains. You heard him, the guy didn’t even put up a fight. He was half-dead already.”
I nodded.
“But I also don’t want this going down as some hyped-up park murder either. I don’t know what freaky thing happened out there, but I can tell you it was just some weird fluke. Nothing’s as scary as it first seems.”
I shrugged. “That’s what I’m here to try to find out, sir.”
“I understand that, but you need to know where I’m coming from.”
“I do understand.”
“Good then. You’re welcome.”
It took me a second to recall that he was responding to my earlier thank you for the ride. He smiled a stretched smile, a little too tight, toothy, and coffee stained, and the corpse’s skeletal Halloween smile stabbed into my mind. “You know,” he continued, “one of my top priorities this year is to strengthen communication between the four hundred and fifty employees and fifteen hundred volunteers the park has.”
I grabbed the door handle to signal my departure. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
“It is a good plan. And teamwork—we’re looking for teamwork when it comes to Glacier, between all its factions. Canada and us, the tribes and us, DC and us.”
“I can see that that would be good too.” I stayed put in my seat, my hand still reaching out to the handle.
“And with this particular investigation, I’m thinking a little teamwork is important as well.”
I shrugged. “Most certainly, sir. It’s been a teamwork situation since the get-go with the county sheriff and their forensics lab, your rangers, Park Police, the Department of the Interior, the state crime lab.” I gestured in the direction of the university nestled against the brown, eastern hills of Missoula. “A lot of chefs in the kitchen already. But by nature, certain things in an investigation need to be kept under wraps.”
“I understand that, but I need to be kept apprised of all developments.”
I gave him a single nod, not feeling like making a verbal affirmation. I thought of saying, Isn’t that what Monty is for? Instead, silence dropped heavy into the space between us.
“So”—he wrapped his hand around the keys in the ignition, ready to turn the car back on— “that’s why I’ve been keeping in close touch with Walsh, Smith, Bowman, and Sean Dewey.”
I climbed out of the car and looked back in, resting my elbow on the door. I decided I needed to play nice. “Look, whatever I’ve got is yours unless it somehow jeopardizes something in the investigation, which I can’t see why it would. So no worries.” I forced a smile.
“Good, then you also shouldn’t have a problem with the fact that I’ve spoken to your boss and we’ve come to an agreement that my office will handle anything to do with the press.”
This didn’t necessarily bother me; dealing with the press was a pain in the ass, but it was crucial that it was done right. I knew, of course, that reporters had been in to check the activity logs with both the city and the county, as they do every day, and that they knew about the dispatch to Glacier. And I knew, from Sean, that Walsh and he had agreed that the feds would handle all releases. What I didn’t know was that Ford had talked Sean into deferring to Ford’s department for all releases.
I thought of how Ford and his gang handled my father’s mauling.The saved clippings I saw only once before I left for college. My mother kept them in the top drawer of a bedside table in her room, the thin paper now slightly yellow with age and smelling like the oak of the drawer. A strong urge to walk away without saying a thing overcame me. I fought it. Told myself that he would do all he could to protect the park, and this was a plus for me to not have to deal with
I nodded.
“But I also don’t want this going down as some hyped-up park murder either. I don’t know what freaky thing happened out there, but I can tell you it was just some weird fluke. Nothing’s as scary as it first seems.”
I shrugged. “That’s what I’m here to try to find out, sir.”
“I understand that, but you need to know where I’m coming from.”
“I do understand.”
“Good then. You’re welcome.”
It took me a second to recall that he was responding to my earlier thank you for the ride. He smiled a stretched smile, a little too tight, toothy, and coffee stained, and the corpse’s skeletal Halloween smile stabbed into my mind. “You know,” he continued, “one of my top priorities this year is to strengthen communication between the four hundred and fifty employees and fifteen hundred volunteers the park has.”
I grabbed the door handle to signal my departure. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
“It is a good plan. And teamwork—we’re looking for teamwork when it comes to Glacier, between all its factions. Canada and us, the tribes and us, DC and us.”
“I can see that that would be good too.” I stayed put in my seat, my hand still reaching out to the handle.
“And with this particular investigation, I’m thinking a little teamwork is important as well.”
I shrugged. “Most certainly, sir. It’s been a teamwork situation since the get-go with the county sheriff and their forensics lab, your rangers, Park Police, the Department of the Interior, the state crime lab.” I gestured in the direction of the university nestled against the brown, eastern hills of Missoula. “A lot of chefs in the kitchen already. But by nature, certain things in an investigation need to be kept under wraps.”
“I understand that, but I need to be kept apprised of all developments.”
I gave him a single nod, not feeling like making a verbal affirmation. I thought of saying, Isn’t that what Monty is for? Instead, silence dropped heavy into the space between us.
“So”—he wrapped his hand around the keys in the ignition, ready to turn the car back on— “that’s why I’ve been keeping in close touch with Walsh, Smith, Bowman, and Sean Dewey.”
I climbed out of the car and looked back in, resting my elbow on the door. I decided I needed to play nice. “Look, whatever I’ve got is yours unless it somehow jeopardizes something in the investigation, which I can’t see why it would. So no worries.” I forced a smile.
“Good, then you also shouldn’t have a problem with the fact that I’ve spoken to your boss and we’ve come to an agreement that my office will handle anything to do with the press.”
This didn’t necessarily bother me; dealing with the press was a pain in the ass, but it was crucial that it was done right. I knew, of course, that reporters had been in to check the activity logs with both the city and the county, as they do every day, and that they knew about the dispatch to Glacier. And I knew, from Sean, that Walsh and he had agreed that the feds would handle all releases. What I didn’t know was that Ford had talked Sean into deferring to Ford’s department for all releases.
I thought of how Ford and his gang handled my father’s mauling.The saved clippings I saw only once before I left for college. My mother kept them in the top drawer of a bedside table in her room, the thin paper now slightly yellow with age and smelling like the oak of the drawer. A strong urge to walk away without saying a thing overcame me. I fought it. Told myself that he would do all he could to protect the park, and this was a plus for me to not have to deal with
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