Tori and Javi pushed open the weathered wooden door of the Mountain View Café, a rustic retreat that promised warmth from the biting chill outside. The scent of pine and freshly ground coffee mingled in the air, an inviting contrast to the crispness of the alpine winds. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by panoramic windows framing the majestic Colorado mountains, their peaks dusted with snow like confectioner's sugar on a grandiose dessert.
They chose a secluded table with an unobstructed view of the jagged horizon, the landscape a silent witness to their clandestine meeting. Tori pulled out a chair, its legs scraping softly against the worn floorboards, and settled into it with Javi mirroring her actions across the table. The picturesque scenery outside belied the gravity of their task, the serene white slopes harboring secrets as deep and treacherous as any crevasse.
“She coming?” Javi asked.
Tori nodded. “Sheriff said she’d meet us here.”
“What do you think she’ll give us?”
“Dunno. But that’s the point.”
The two of them turned as the door to the small cafe suddenly opened, jingling on a bell.
A woman appeared, wearing an unnervingly thin jacket despite the inclement conditions. She had bright, frizzy hair and a big nose. Glasses perched comfortably on this nose, and her lips were colored in bright red lipstick.
"Dr. Marlow!" Tori called out in greeting as the avalanche expert hurried towards them.
"Please, call me Elise," the expert said as she sank into the chair Tori had indicated. There was an economy to her movements, each one precise, no gesture wasted—traits honed by years of navigating hazardous terrain.
"Thank you for meeting us," Javi murmured, his gratitude genuine but laced with the weight of unsaid urgency.
"Of course," Elise replied, her voice low but clear, a reflection of the serious nature of their conversation yet to unfold. "I hear you've had some trouble in these parts." Elise raised a hand, gesturing at one of the waiters to approach.
The man hastened over, a small pencil emerging in his fingers, hovering over the notepad in his other hand.
"Espresso, please," Elise ordered, her gaze never leaving Tori and Javi. The waiter nodded and scurried off, leaving them in a cocoon of anticipation.
Tori leaned forward, her fingers splayed on the weathered wood of the cafe table, framing an invisible landscape of concern.
"Elise, we believe we’ve found some evidence of what happened on the mountain, but we wanted to get your expertise up front to make sure we’re on the right track," Tori began, her voice low, the undercurrent of urgency palpable. "How do avalanches begin? What sets them in motion?" She wasn’t going to tip her hand yet. She’d bring up the fireworks, but first she wanted Dr. Marlow’s unfiltered perspective and explanations.
Elise's eyes, sharp and discerning, fixed on Tori. "Avalanches are complex," she explained, her tone pedagogic yet tinged with gravity. "They're not just about snow falling down a mountain. It's about the conditions that make the slope unstable."
Javi listened intently, his posture rigid with the tension of their mission. Tori's hands clenched tighter, knuckles whitening like the snow they discussed.
"Picture the slopes out there," Elise continued, gesturing toward the panoramic window showing the night and the light-speckled slopes with a controlled movement. "The angle of the slope is critical. Too steep, and it’s a natural chute for snow to barrel down. But even moderate slopes can fail under the right conditions."
"Snowpack stability," Tori interjected, recalling her briefings.
"Exactly. Layers of snow accumulate over time. Some bond well, others don't. Weak layers buried beneath can become sliding planes." Elise's explanation was methodical, her experience in the field evident in the concise nature of her words.
"And triggers?" Javi asked, breaking into the conversation, with a frown creasing his brow.
"Triggers are... unpredictable," Elise said, pausing for emphasis. "Additional weight, such as new snowfall, or even a skier can set it off. Vibrations, too—from machinery, or in your case, perhaps something more sinister."
Tori's mind raced with the implications, each piece of information locking together like the intricate layers of snowpack they were discussing—stable until disturbed.
"Thank you, Elise," Tori said finally, her gratitude sincere but overshadowed by the enormity of their task. "You've given us a clearer picture of the enemy we face."
"Nature isn't the enemy," Elise corrected softly, her eyes reflecting a lifetime spent in reverence of the mountains. "It's those who manipulate it for harm that we must stand against."
"We found these," Tori said, sliding the evidence bags across the table to Elise. The expert's brow furrowed as she inspected the contents with a critical eye.
Elise let out a soft exhale. "Fireworks," she stated, more to herself than to her companions. “You found these in the avalanche zone?”
Tori nodded affirmatively, and Dr. Marlow turned her attention to the recovered fragments, chewing her lip in a moment of thoughtful reflection.
The colorful wrappings, once vibrant and festive, now seemed soggy and limp, and Elise grimaced slightly as she leaned in, her trained eyes narrowing. With meticulous care, she rotated the first firework, examining the seams where the paper met the cardboard, her touch feather-light yet assured. A small frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she beckoned Tori and Javi closer with a tilt of her head.
"See here?" Elise's finger traced a nearly imperceptible line along the tube. "This isn't a standard issue. It's been resealed."
The cafe's ambient chatter faded into the background as the three huddled over the evidence.
Elise extracted a small tool from her jacket pocket, prying at the end cap of the firework with practiced ease. The cap gave way, revealing its innards—a concoction far more deadly than any pyrotechnic filler should be.
"Plastic explosive," Elise announced, her tone clinical yet carrying an undercurrent of urgency. "A small amountbut coupled with the firework's propellant... it's enough to initiate an avalanche under the right conditions."
“Wait, did you say plastic explosive?” Javi asked.
“I did demolitions training as part of FEMA certification,” Elise replied. “You can tell by the way this was resealed. Here and here. And see this? It’s detonator residue. Someone who knows their stuff packed these."
Tori's mind whirled with the implications. The deliberate tampering with fireworks to incite deadly avalanches was no amateur's work. She glanced at Javi, a silent understanding passing between them like a current of electricity.
"Who would have the know-how to do this?" Tori asked, her voice taut with restrained urgency.
Elise leaned back in her chair, the weight of knowledge settling on her shoulders like a heavy shroud. "Law enforcement," she said simply.
Tori's heart skipped a beat. The implication hung thick in the air—the very people meant to uphold the law might be behind these calculated acts of destruction.
Javi's jaw clenched, his eyes darkening with a mix of anger and determination. "We need to look into the local law enforcement," he stated, his voice firm and resolute.
Tori's expression hardened, her thoughts racing—calculating the implications, the precision required to engineer such a device. It was no amateur's work; this was the signature of someone intimate with destruction, someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
"Whoever did this understands both spectacle and force," Tori murmured.
"Indeed," Elise agreed, her voice a whisper lost in the mountain winds outside. "And that makes them doubly dangerous."
Javi's jaw clenched, the muscles working silently as he processed the revelation. He reached out, touching the firework as if to confirm its reality, his fingers brushing against the cold evidence of malice.
"Thank you, Elise," Tori said after a moment, her gratitude edged with a newfound resolve. "Your expertise is invaluable."
Tori's fingers hovered over the damning evidence, a frown etching deep lines into her forehead. The small cafe, an oasis of warmth against the chilling grandeur of the Colorado mountains, now felt like a stage for a darker play. Demolition explosives concealed as fireworks. Why? For concealment? Just as a way to launch the charge into the air? What was going on?
"Could it be someone local?" Javi asked, his voice low and tight with concern. He flicked a glance at Tori, his brown eyes reflecting both their shock at the expert's findings. "Someone who knows the terrain... knows how to use these?"
"Plastic explosive," Tori murmured, the words tasting like betrayal on her tongue. "This isn't amateur hour. It's military-grade."
Elise leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable. "Access to such materials is restricted," she said carefully. "Typically, law enforcement agencies have the clearances needed. Doesn’t have to be a big outfit—could be a small office… even a sheriff’s office…”
Javi's hand clenched into a fist on the tabletop, knuckles whitening. Tori's mind raced through the implications—each as treacherous as the snow-laden slopes that surrounded them.
"Then we need to look at everyone," Tori stated, her voice steady despite the chaos brewing within. "No one is above suspicion."
"Carefully," Elise added, her lips a thin line. "Such accusations carry weight. And consequences."
"We'll start discreetly," Javi agreed, the former soldier in him rising to meet the challenge. "Gather what we can before making any moves."
"Discretion will be key," Tori affirmed, feeling the pieces of the puzzle aligning with a grim finality.
"Thank you, Elise," Javi said quietly. "You've given us a lot to consider."
Elise merely nodded, her eyes shadowed by the weight of knowledge. Tori extended a firm handshake across the table, her gaze locked with Elise's. Dr. Marlow managed a tight-lipped smile, the gravity of their conversation lingering like the scent of coffee in the air.
"Just doing my part. Stay safe, both of you."
With that, Tori and Javi stood, their chairs scraping softly against the wooden floor. The cafe's ambient chatter encased them as they made their way to the exit, but it was a distant hum against the heavy thoughts in Tori's mind.
Once outside, the grandeur of the Colorado mountains loomed before them, an indifferent witness to the turmoil unfolding in its shadows. They walked side by side, the gravel crunching beneath their boots as they navigated through the maze of parked cars.
"Local law enforcement," Tori mused aloud, the notion leaving a bitter taste despite the fresh mountain air. The idea that someone sworn to protect could be behind such devastation was a jagged pill to swallow.
"And with access to explosives," Javi added, his brow furrowed in concern. "It narrows down our list of suspects, but it complicates things. Trust in those circles is hard-earned."
"Which means we tread carefully." Tori's tone was a steel blade—sharp, cold, precise. Even as the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a golden glow on the snow-capped peaks, a chill settled over her.
"Carefully," Javi echoed, his footsteps deliberate. "But swiftly. There's no telling when this predator will strike again."
"Let's pay a visit to the sheriff's office," she declared, her eyes meeting Javi's in the rearview mirror. "See what truths lie behind the badge in this town."