Conard County Watch. Rachel Lee

once. Maybe Claudia will be able to. Regardless, I looked at it last fall and it didn’t appear promising. Which doesn’t mean I won’t check it out anyway.”

      Cope fell silent, and Renee continued to stare at the rock face, but her thoughts were moving through time, not space. “You know,” she said after a minute, “it’s really weird that part of that narrow wall of rock collapsed like that.”

      She fixed her gaze on Cope. “It’s almost as if someone deliberately knocked it down. As if they wanted samples and disturbed more than they intended.”

      She watched Cope’s face darken, but he didn’t respond. Of course not. He was the one who had suggested security that she couldn’t afford. On the other hand, who the hell would want anything from here other than a cool fossil? And freeing something from the rock would take many hours. The most any trophy hunter could have hope of finding was something that was already loose.

      That hardly required full-time rent-a-cops.

      Another bunch of small rocks tumbled down from above. “Let’s get your hard hat,” she said. “Then I need to think about how we can stabilize the top of that wall.”

      “I’ve got some ideas.”

      She didn’t doubt it for a moment.

       Chapter 2

      The plan was to start off small, but the group didn’t feel all that small when they gathered at Maude’s diner that night, some meeting others for the first time.

      There were Larry, Maddie and Carlos, all undergrad interns. Then there were Bets, Mason and Denise, her three graduate interns. And last but not least, Claudia Alexander, the geology postdoc, a woman with short, no-nonsense dark hair and huge gray eyes that seemed almost too big for her face. She stuck out among a group of young people who seemed almost blended in their similarities. That would change as Renee got to know them all better, but for now she hoped no one expected to be called by name.

      “Okay.” She decided some honesty might be helpful up front. “I’m terrible with names. I’ll recognize your faces for the rest of my life, but give me time with your names. I’m better at identifying fossils.”

      Laughter rolled around the tables that had been pulled together with the permission of the diner’s owner, Maude. In fact, Maude was already pouring coffee all around with a great deal of clatter and frowning. A couple of Renee’s interns looked intimidated by this, but once Cope ordered a dinner for himself, suggesting they all do the same if they were hungry, they relaxed. Maude, he told them sotto voce, was a local character.

      Renee had met the woman last summer and was prepared for the graceless service they were receiving. Still, it was nice to know everyone was a target.

      Soon they had ordered a meal from the menus. Young, active, with healthy appetites. Not surprising. Renee ordered a steak sandwich along with the majority, knowing it would probably be too much to eat, but once the dig got under way they’d all be working long hours, most of them physical. In her experience, on a dig like this, most people lost a bit of weight. You ate while you could. Soon enough they’d all be sick of beans heated on the portable stoves.

      “I’m going to run over the basics again,” she said when everyone was served and eating. Playful conversation had been rather desultory as the interns tried cautiously to feel one another out. “We’re guests on tribal lands. Invited guests. That invitation will last only as long as we honor our hosts and their customs. Only as long as we treat the land as sacred, because believe me, the tribe believes that mountain is sacred. Tomorrow you’ll probably meet Gray Cloud, who is the Guardian of the Mountain in their culture, and one of the tribal elders.”

      She paused, looking around the table, assessing the expressions on the many youthful faces. At this point she saw nothing to trouble her.

      “I’m sure you all studied enough anthropology to know that the beliefs of local people are always to be respected, and your personal opinion of them does not matter. The local indigenous believe that Thunder Mountain, the mountain we’ll be working on, is sentient. You don’t have to believe that. You must respect it as if it is true, however. If one of the local tribe members tells you not to do something, stop at once. We can always talk with them if it’s something necessary, but in the meantime just stop. Trust me, when you see the rock face and fossils that are visible right now, you’ll fully understand what a tragedy it would be to find ourselves shut down because we were careless of their beliefs. Got it?”

      Heads around the table nodded. All those earnest young faces. She sincerely hoped their youth wouldn’t result in any kind of hijinks. “It’s time to act like the professionals you want to be. I’m counting on you. Questions?”

      The youngest guy at the table, Larry, she thought, waggled his hand for her attention as he finished chewing a mouthful of food. She waited patiently.

      He took a swallow of cola, then spoke. “How can a mountain be alive?”

      “The essence is really quite simple. The indigenous people believe that consciousness exists in everything, from the trees to the stones. It’s not limited to animals that run around. While the consciousness may be different from what we know ourselves, it still exists. Mother Earth, for example, is a living being, too.”

      “Okay,” Larry answered slowly.

      “Always give thanks for the gifts of nature.”

      She smiled. “Think about that before we go out to the site in the morning. The very stones will hear you, according to local tradition. The stones, the trees, the birds, the running water. If you at least make an effort to respect that, we might get through the summer.”

      The group fell silent as they pondered what she had said and thought about the summer ahead. Good. This was their last chance to change their minds while she could possibly find replacements. Plus, she wanted them to be very aware of the delicacy of their situation here. It would kill her if this expedition fell apart because they thought she was exaggerating the cultural limitations.

      At least no one argued with her, and no one tried to play “rules lawyer” by looking for a loophole in what she had said. That might be very promising.

      Conversation shifted to what they hoped they might see tomorrow, and what kind of discoveries might await them. Renee let them ramble and build up their own excitement, but didn’t join in. She hadn’t told very many about the potential size of this find lest she wind up with the paleontological equivalent of “claim jumpers.” Yeah, really, other professionals might try to grab the site for themselves.

      So for now she remained mostly mum and not even the members of her team had any real idea of what was out there. Tomorrow, when they saw that rock face for the first time, they’d probably light up like the Fourth of July. Not many got an opportunity like this.

      Enjoying her secret for the last few hours, Renee smiled and listened to the conversation. After they’d all finished eating and the bills began to arrive, she reminded them that they’d meet here at seven in the morning.

      Watching them scatter in the general direction of the La-Z-Rest Motel, which was clean if outdated, Renee remarked to Cope, “I hope we have enough four-by-fours to get them up there.”

      “We can sort it out in the morning,” he said reassuringly. “Make two trips if necessary. How early will you be going?”

      “Well before dawn. I’ll take Denise to start drawing. The shadows reveal so many mysteries.”

      “I’ll see you then.”

      She watched him drive off, wondering vaguely where he lived, then climbed into her own battered vehicle and headed for the motel.

      She pondered if she should take her camping gear with her tomorrow and just plan on staying on the mountain. She hadn’t much worried about it before, but that unexpected visit from a neighbor had bothered her a bit.

      Word