chalkboard. “A what?”
I pointed toward the tracks in which he was driving. “Big snowcat; square like a very large lunchbox.”
He shook his head. “Nope, we pulled onto the main road from our cabin and started driving out. Haven’t seen anything except you.”
I shifted the knapsack farther up on my shoulder, crouched against the Jeep for cover, and could see a blonde-haired woman in the passenger seat. “How far up is your cabin?”
He paused and glanced at the woman before resting his eyes on me again. “Look, Sheriff—if you are a sheriff—I don’t want any trouble . . .”
I fumbled with the opening of my coat and tried to unbutton the top button so that I could show him my badge, but my gloves made it slow going. I finally got my jacket open enough so that he could see it. “There.”
He stretched out the next words. “All right.”
“I need your help.”
He really looked worried now. “To do what?”
“Give me a ride back up this road.”
He looked around, as if to emphasize the point. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
He sighed and placed the palms of his gloves on the steering wheel. “Sheriff, we’ve been listening to the radio and they say that they’re . . . that you guys are going to close the roads.”
“They’re already closed, in both directions on 16. Once you get out of here you’re only going to get as far as Tensleep Canyon to the west and Meadowlark Lodge to the east. If you’ve got food, supplies, and heat, I’d advise you to go back to your cabin till the WYDOT guys can break through.”
He glanced at the woman again, and she folded her arms and looked out the other window. He tipped his hat back and looked at me. “Actually, the electricity went out about an hour ago.”
I thought about all the cabins I knew of on the mountain. “Don’t you have a secondary heating source?”
“A what?”
“A fireplace or a stove?”
He nodded. “Yeah, there’s a fireplace.”
“Firewood?”
“Yeah.” He sat there without looking at me and then spoke. “We think we’d rather take our chances.”
I stared at the side of his face. “You’re not listening. The roads are closed, and I’ve got three sheriff’s departments, search and rescue, a couple of detachments of HPs, and the majority of WYDOT shoveling their way up here. If you go on, you’re going to end up sitting on the roadway waiting for them to clear it, and if they don’t do that before you run out of gas, you’re going to get very cold. My advice is that you go back to your cabin and let me borrow your Jeep.”
He set his jaw and stared at the instrument panel with a disinterested nonchalance. “We’d rather go ahead.”
I thought about how I could just commandeer the Wrangler, but how far would that get me and how much time would it take?
I took my arm off his mirror. “When you get down to Deer Lodge, don’t go in—there’s a guy cuffed to a water pipe in the main building. My advice is to head east. You’ll get as far as Meadowlark; one of my deputies is in charge, and they had power the last time I was there—that’s probably your best bet.”
His mood suddenly brightened. “Great. Thanks!”
I felt like smacking him but instead rebuttoned my coat and started past; it would appear that no matter the price, the boatman was not going to ferry me across.
Not losing any time, he gunned the motor, and the shiny, black vehicle leapt forward, the rear fender extension clipping my hip and bumping me. I watched after the retreating vehicle as he squirreled it in an attempt to get away. The music surged back up, and I’d swear they were laughing.
“Happy motoring.”
I made the mile to the Battle Park cutoff in pretty good time—but the Thiokol hadn’t cut off.
I shined the Maglite up the pathway, but the calf-deep snow on the road was pristine. I reached up and banged the tin sign, loosening the snow that revealed the large black numbers on the yellow
I pointed toward the tracks in which he was driving. “Big snowcat; square like a very large lunchbox.”
He shook his head. “Nope, we pulled onto the main road from our cabin and started driving out. Haven’t seen anything except you.”
I shifted the knapsack farther up on my shoulder, crouched against the Jeep for cover, and could see a blonde-haired woman in the passenger seat. “How far up is your cabin?”
He paused and glanced at the woman before resting his eyes on me again. “Look, Sheriff—if you are a sheriff—I don’t want any trouble . . .”
I fumbled with the opening of my coat and tried to unbutton the top button so that I could show him my badge, but my gloves made it slow going. I finally got my jacket open enough so that he could see it. “There.”
He stretched out the next words. “All right.”
“I need your help.”
He really looked worried now. “To do what?”
“Give me a ride back up this road.”
He looked around, as if to emphasize the point. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not.”
He sighed and placed the palms of his gloves on the steering wheel. “Sheriff, we’ve been listening to the radio and they say that they’re . . . that you guys are going to close the roads.”
“They’re already closed, in both directions on 16. Once you get out of here you’re only going to get as far as Tensleep Canyon to the west and Meadowlark Lodge to the east. If you’ve got food, supplies, and heat, I’d advise you to go back to your cabin till the WYDOT guys can break through.”
He glanced at the woman again, and she folded her arms and looked out the other window. He tipped his hat back and looked at me. “Actually, the electricity went out about an hour ago.”
I thought about all the cabins I knew of on the mountain. “Don’t you have a secondary heating source?”
“A what?”
“A fireplace or a stove?”
He nodded. “Yeah, there’s a fireplace.”
“Firewood?”
“Yeah.” He sat there without looking at me and then spoke. “We think we’d rather take our chances.”
I stared at the side of his face. “You’re not listening. The roads are closed, and I’ve got three sheriff’s departments, search and rescue, a couple of detachments of HPs, and the majority of WYDOT shoveling their way up here. If you go on, you’re going to end up sitting on the roadway waiting for them to clear it, and if they don’t do that before you run out of gas, you’re going to get very cold. My advice is that you go back to your cabin and let me borrow your Jeep.”
He set his jaw and stared at the instrument panel with a disinterested nonchalance. “We’d rather go ahead.”
I thought about how I could just commandeer the Wrangler, but how far would that get me and how much time would it take?
I took my arm off his mirror. “When you get down to Deer Lodge, don’t go in—there’s a guy cuffed to a water pipe in the main building. My advice is to head east. You’ll get as far as Meadowlark; one of my deputies is in charge, and they had power the last time I was there—that’s probably your best bet.”
His mood suddenly brightened. “Great. Thanks!”
I felt like smacking him but instead rebuttoned my coat and started past; it would appear that no matter the price, the boatman was not going to ferry me across.
Not losing any time, he gunned the motor, and the shiny, black vehicle leapt forward, the rear fender extension clipping my hip and bumping me. I watched after the retreating vehicle as he squirreled it in an attempt to get away. The music surged back up, and I’d swear they were laughing.
“Happy motoring.”
I made the mile to the Battle Park cutoff in pretty good time—but the Thiokol hadn’t cut off.
I shined the Maglite up the pathway, but the calf-deep snow on the road was pristine. I reached up and banged the tin sign, loosening the snow that revealed the large black numbers on the yellow
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