As Cash and Colcord entered the lodge, she saw her boss, McFaul, surrounded by a gaggle of security personnel. He had apparently just arrived by helicopter. She felt a freezing sensation in the pit of her stomach.
“Ah, Agent Cash, there you are!” McFaul said, seeing her come in. He came striding over. “A quick word?”
Cash didn’t say anything. He drew her away from Colcord and the others to a quiet corner. Arms crossed, she waited for him to speak.
“I came up here, not to interfere,” he said hastily, “but to provide assistance. I know this might be a bit of a surprise—”
“It is.”
“You aren’t fully aware of what’s going on in the outside world. This is huge. I mean, it’s not just front-page news in Colorado—it’s national. We have to show everyone—the governor, the citizens of Colorado, the politicians—that we’re on top of this. That we’re pulling out all the stops.”
Cash waited.
“So I’m here to support you.”
Cash nodded but didn’t say anything. Not speaking was making McFaul nervous. She wasn’t going to make it easier for him.
“The fact is,” he went on, “the investigation is three days old, and frankly, it seems the killers are running circles around everyone, with their crazy rituals and now this—the killing of an animal. We need to show progress, and I mean now. I’m sure you understand.”
He stopped. She waited and then said, “Is that all, sir?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Certainly.”
“How did Barrow come to know yesterday evening that you were coming up here today?”
He stared at her and flushed. “Well, of course, we had to inform him. Nothing unusual about that.”
“Right.” She told herself she’d made her point and not to pursue it further. “Sir, may I make a recommendation?”
“Of course.”
“I think we should ask the governor to call in the National Guard. To aid in the searching, at the least, if not to relieve Erebus security of some responsibilities. I’m uncomfortable that almost all the searchers and security in here are Erebus personnel. There’s always a possibility that someone at Erebus might be involved.”
McFaul looked at her steadily. “Agent Cash, I respect your idea, but such a step might terrify the public. Also it’s an overreaction. Think what the media would do with that. It would garner huge headlines—NATIONAL GUARD CALLED IN. It would make us look like we’re panicking. Erebus security is top-notch, and you yourself tell me they’re being cooperative. Correct?”
“Yes, sir, but—”
McFaul held up a hand. “Do you have any reason to suspect Erebus is involved?”
“A couple of things. The killers seem awfully familiar with Erebus’s security and routines. And Maximilian omitted telling us about a third mine up here, which we’re going to search later today, if possible.”
“I spoke to Maximilian about that—in fact, he brought it up. It was an oversight. And he gave you maps of the mine right away, and he volunteered to open it up for you. Right?”
“Yes, sir.” Once again, McFaul was communicating what might be privileged information to a potential suspect.
“Surely you can see that calling in the National Guard would create problems,” McFaul said.
Cash said nothing.
“What’s your plan now?” he asked.
“For right now, I’m going down to security and take a look at the video of the mammoth attack.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Very good, sir.” She had to suck it up and not do or say anything stupid. It was her first case as AIC, and it wasn’t going well. If she valued her career at the CBI, she needed to be careful.
She and McFaul headed down to the main security station, through the central monitoring room, to a door in the back, which led to a private screening room with plush leather seats, like a fancy home theater.
Maximilian met them at the door. “Our scientists often use this room to observe the animals,” he said. “Behavioral research, wellness checks, food consumption, that sort of thing. Please, have a seat in the front. I’ll stay back here with the projectionist.”
Cash took a seat next to Colcord, McFaul on the other side. She hoped McFaul wasn’t going to tag along with her everywhere.
“What I’m going to play for you,” Maximilian said, “is the video feed from Tom Thumb’s camera. Which, by the way, appears to have been taken. And turned off, with the batteries removed—which also disables the internal GPS.”
“Where’s the buttered popcorn?” Colcord murmured to Cash.
“I was about to make the same joke,” Cash murmured back, “until I realized it was in bad taste.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay, here we go,” said Maximilian. “The video includes sound. It was shot in visible-wavelength light using night-adapted CCD video. We find that offers more clarity and color than thermal night vision.”
The screen sprang to life. They were suddenly in the midst of the herd of mammoths, seeing from the point of view of Tom Thumb, in the center of the group. Once again, Cash was floored by how big they were—so much more massive and bulkier than elephants, made even larger by the addition of heavy mats of three-to-four-foot-long hair. The mammoths were huddled together, in the deep forest, surrounded by giant trees, bluish moonlight filtering down. Their combined breathing sent clouds of condensation into the cold night air, and there was a gentle sound of sighing and, underneath that, a low chorus of gentle rumbling sounds.
“What’s that?” Colcord asked.
“Mammoths purr,” explained Maximilian. “Just like cats. Especially when they’re sleeping. So do elephants, by the way.”
“They’re asleep now?”
“Yes. They mostly sleep standing up.”
A minute or two in, the purring suddenly stopped, as did the heavy breathing. The ears of the mammoth in front twitched and swung out, and it raised its furry trunk to test the air, waving it this way and that. Meanwhile, the rest of the herd awakened and became alert, eyes open, ears moving. Tom Thumb pressed against the flank of a big mammoth, evidently his mother.
The herd now stirred, and several others raised their trunks, including the large bull, who raised his head and trunk, his great coiled tusks, each one the length of a truck, glistening in the moonlight. They had definitely sensed something they didn’t like. The animals were nervous but didn’t seem to know from which direction the menace was coming. Tom Thumb huddled even closer to his mother.
There was a soft crack like the striking of two sticks together, which sent a ripple of apprehension through the animals, ears swinging, trunks probing the air. The mammoth in front began to move, and the others followed suit. They lumbered through the forest, staying together, walking over small trees and breaking fallen trunks with their gigantic feet, making a racket as they moved. These were not quiet animals.
Another crack! came, louder this time, and closer.
Now the animals were alarmed and moved a little faster.
A crack! emanated from in front, and the lead animal halted abruptly, turned, and started off at a right angle. But a crack sounded from that direction, and the animal halted again, backing up. It raised its trunk and gave a trumpeting sound of alarm, ears flapping. Tom Thumb struggled to stay with his mother. After a moment of confusion, the herd started moving in another direction.
Suddenly, a bright light flared briefly from behind, an orange blaze of fire. The mammoths wheeled away from it and started moving fast, not exactly running but striding swiftly, trunks in the air. The bull trumpeted loudly again. Cash could see they were close to panic.
Another flash of fire, and a third, one side and then the other. The mammoths were now spooked and almost running.
Something zoomed out of the darkness, spiraling in—a flaming torch, thrown from behind. It struck Tom Thumb’s mother with a shower of sparks, bouncing off her flank. She let out a screech and began running.
Now the mammoths fully panicked, breaking into a full-on stampede, running pell-mell through the forest, crashing through bushes and small trees. Tom Thumb struggled to keep up with his mother, trumpeting piteously, while the mother raced ahead. Waving torches on either side panicked them further. Cash tried to see who was holding the torches, but all she could see were the dark outlines of people, wearing, it seemed, the same bizarre masks and camouflage as before.
“The attackers are taking advantage of the mammoths’ great fear of fire,” said Maximilian.
The mammoths were running like mad. The mammoth mother had abandoned her baby and was tearing along far ahead, while Tom Thumb fell farther and farther behind, stumbling and crying and trumpeting shrilly. The whole herd was leaving the baby behind in its panic. Cash found it hard to watch.
Another thrown torch arced through the air and struck Tom Thumb on the back. He let loose a terrified squeal, and then stumbled over a tree trunk, going down with a crash, while the rest of the herd continued fleeing through the forest.
The little mammoth struggled to get back up, flailing and screaming hideously. There was a thumping sound—the sound of blows on flesh—followed by a wet ripping sound, and the animal’s screeching turned into a cough, the final piteous sounds of horror choked off by a gurgle and then subsiding into silence.
The camera’s point of view had been thrashing about as the mammoth was attacked, but suddenly went still, showing a portion of the ground.
A hand swooped around and covered the lens, and moments later, the video cut off with a crunch, followed by static.
“Show that sequence again,” said Cash. “Slow motion.”
Maximilian backed it up to the point where the mammoth went down and played it in slow motion. The sound too was slowed down, and the high-pitched screams became a throbbing, deep groan. The hand finally appeared, and then it was over.
“I didn’t hear any gunshots. It sounded like the animal was being stabbed.”
“That’s right,” said Colcord. “That gurgling sound of blood toward the end sounded like a blade or something went into the animal’s lung.”
Cash swallowed. “How much was that animal worth?”
“Tom Thumb cost us twelve million dollars to de-extinct. He was actually the least expensive of our animals, being one of the latest. We’re getting better at the techniques. The large cow was his surrogate mother, of course.”
“I thought you said they couldn’t breed.”
“They can’t. She carried him as a fertilized, implanted embryo.”
“It wasn’t nice to see how she abandoned her baby,” Cash said.
“I want to see that hand again,” said Colcord. “Play it frame by frame.”
Maximilian went through it.
“Stop.”
A frame froze on-screen. Behind the approaching hand, she could see the blurry, partial outline of the upper form of a person, a man’s torso, evidently the owner of the hand, reaching around.
“Can we get that enhanced?” Cash asked.
“Yes,” said Maximilian. “We have some editing tools here. Hold on.”
The image disappeared and then reappeared, framed in an editing box. Cash watched as the projectionist sharpened it, added contrast, goosed up the color. But it wasn’t much help, except to reveal a little of the strange homemade camouflage of leaves and grass and twigs. Definitely a he, though, considering the broad, muscular torso. The head was, unfortunately, out of frame.
“Send the office the full-res of that entire video,” said Cash. “We’ll have our imaging lab back in Arvada see what they can do.”
“Will do.”
“Did any of the other cameras on the mammoths record anything useful?”
“Unfortunately not.”
“Send all the videos along too, just in case. And what about the stolen camera. No way to track it?”
“Only if the batteries are put back in.”
Colcord’s cell rang. He answered, spoke for a moment, then hung up. “The dogs are here.”
Maximilian escorted them back through the CCTV room and to the main guard station. Sam Acosta had just arrived in the parking lot outside, his van parked. He came over, gave Colcord and Cash each a quick nod. “What we got today?” he asked.
“A murdered mammoth.”
“How fresh?”
“Trail is about four and a half hours old,” said Cash. “But I have to tell you something—Detective Romanski tells me that the killers are disguising their scent with some concoction made with mammoth dung and bile.”
Acosta stared at her. “Wow. Okay. That’s a problem because there’s mammoth scent all over the place. But we’ll see. Let’s get going, no time to waste.”
“I want you to take along security backup,” said Cash. “Just in case.” She waved over two Erebus guards with assault rifles, geared up with body armor and helmets. “You all got radios?” Cash asked. “Make sure you’re able to communicate. There’s spotty cell reception beyond the lodge.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“If you get close to them or corner them,” said Cash, “don’t be heroes. Radio for backup.”
“Very good.”
McFaul said, “I’m going to stay back here, get settled, and wait for the forensic vet. You go on ahead with the dogs.”
“Yes, sir.” Thank God, she thought.
Cash and Colcord and the two guards loaded into a jeep and drove up the road to the mass of parked cars below the kill site. Acosta followed in a van with his dogs. He parked behind them and unloaded the dogs, and the five of them hiked up the slope to the dead mammoth.