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Rockmire was a small logging town. Truth be told, it was barely a town at all. A combination filling station and country store stood on one side of the dirt road. Across the street was an establishment called the Woodsman’s Complaint. A hand-painted sign out front advertised soda pop, but the man who came staggering out the door had obviously been drinking something stronger.
Stone wasn’t all that surprised. Prohibition was growing increasingly unpopular and seemed likely to be repealed in the coming years. Already, many jurisdictions were turning a blind eye at speakeasies, provided the establishments were discreet and made generous donations to the local powers that be. Was the revenue department really going to send an agent into the Cascades to try and stop a town full of lumberjacks and hunters from having a drink? Stone wasn’t a heavy drinker by any stretch, but he thought a grown man ought to be able to decide such things for himself. And a woman. He heard Trinity’s voice inside his head, and it made him smile.
A few cabins stood nearby. One of them was larger than the others and the sign outside proclaimed it to be a boarding house.
They pulled up to the filling station and were pleasantly surprised to see that the owners were apparently happy to do business with anybody. As Stone was parking the truck, they saw a black man exit the store, chatting amiably with a Yakama Indian and a white man. They clambered into the back of a truck driven by a Chinese fellow and drove off. Stone saw Moses gaping at the truck as it disappeared.
“You thinking about moving West?” Stone asked.
Moses grinned and shook his head. “Virginia is home. I just wish it loved me as much as I love it.”
Stone couldn’t think of anything useful to say. He gave a sad nod and inclined his head toward the store.
“Let’s go inside. I’ll buy you a Coca Cola.”
“You think they have that out here?” Moses asked.
“I had one at the Amsterdam Olympics, and that was a few years ago. Surely they have it out here.”
“You were at the Amsterdam Olympics?” Alex asked.
“Not officially. Actually, forget I told you that.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “You know I hate it when you do that.”
The shop owners were a couple named Vince and Deb. They were polite, but seemed uncertain what to make of these newcomers. Sensing their discomfort, the men browsed the store while Constance engaged the couple in casual conversation. She asked about the town and learned that Deb owned the boarding house, which was currently filled to capacity with married loggers and their families. Most loggers lived at the logging camps and only ventured into town for supplies or a drink at the saloon.
When Constance asked if the couple had seen Trinity, the air grew thick with tension.
“She came in here a couple of times, but she didn’t talk,” Vince said.
“Knowing Trinity, I find that difficult to believe,” Constance said. “At minimum, she would have peppered you with friendly questions until you felt like you’d been turned inside out.”
Vince flashed a smile. “I only meant that she didn’t say much about herself.”
“She has gone missing and we’re trying to find her,” Constance said. “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
Watching from the far side of the store, Stone saw the couple exchange nervous glances. They knew something but were reluctant to say.
“Please,” he said, approaching the front counter. “I appreciate that you are respecting her privacy but we need your help.”
Deb did a double-take, then relaxed. “I know your face. You are her fellow, Rocky Smith, something like that?”
“Brock Stone, and I’m surprised she called me her fellow.”
“My words, not hers. She showed me a photo of you. Said you were not as bright as you are handsome.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Alex chimed in.
“You calling him handsome?” Moses said.
“No. I mean, oh never mind.” Alex marched up to the counter, paid for his soda pop, and drank it in silence while Deb and Vince filled them in on what they knew about Trinity.
“She seems like a bright girl, a bit hard-headed. I like her,” Vince said.
Deb turned and frowned. “Since when have you liked hard-headed women?”
Vince cocked his head, frowned, and then his shoulders sagged beneath his wife’s stern gaze.
“How about I let you tell the story?” he said.
“I think that would be for the best. Have a Coca Cola, dear.” Deb patted her husband on the shoulder and gave him a gentle shove toward the drink cooler. “You’ll have to excuse him. The storm last week wiped out most of his herb garden.”
“About Trinity?” Constance prompted.
“Like you said, she asks a lot of questions, so many in fact that it’s hard to know which answers she’s actually interested in. She stopped in a few times, visited the saloon at least once. She slept at the boarding house, but usually came in late and left early.”
“Did you get any sense of what she was actually investigating?” Constance asked.
“Judging by what I’ve heard from people who come into the store, not that I asked, mind you, she was interested in two things: local logging business, and the Bigfoot.”
“The what?” Moses asked.
“The Indians call him Sasquatch. He’s a big, hairy ape man who lives in the mountains.”
“Have you seen this giant ape man?” Moses asked.
Deb shrugged. “I’ve never gotten a good look at him, but I’ve seen things moving through the forest that aren’t any known creature that lives out here. And trust me, I’m no tenderfoot.”
“But she never told us which lumber camps she was investigating, or where she might have gone to look for a Bigfoot,” Vince said.
“I thought I was telling the story.” Deb hooked a thumb in the direction of her husband. “What he just said.”
“If you were hunting a Bigfoot, where would you look?” Stone asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Deb said flatly. “I’m not joking about that. Even if it doesn’t exist, this wilderness alone is too much for most people.”
“I understand,” Stone assured her. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important.”
“It’s just not something we get into,” Deb said. “If customers mention it, we pretend to listen out of politeness.”
“How about the logging camps?” Stone asked. “Do you know if any of them are owned by a man named Kane?”
“Didn’t know that name when your friend asked me, and it still doesn’t ring a bell,” Deb said. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you anything else. She hasn’t been around in several days. Her room was empty, so we figured whatever business she had out here, she was finished with it.”
“She only left behind the book she borrowed from me,” Vince offered.
“What book was that?” Constance asked.
“A book about Lewis and Clark. There’s a rumor that they discovered a treasure cave in these parts. Miss Paige was quite interested.”
“I think she was being polite,” Deb said.
Vince ignored her, but the twinkle in his eye said he had not missed her rejoinder. “I told her about a spot not far from here where Lewis and Clark made camp.” He paused, scratched his chin. “Come to think of it, she asked if there was a lumber camp near there, and I told her that Davis and his outfit have set up on that very site.”
Stone smiled. Finally, a lead!
“Be careful around Davis and his outfit, if that’s where you’re headed,” Deb warned.
“Why is that?” Stone asked.
“Almost everyone around here gets along fairly well. We’re all in the same boat, cutting down trees for a living or making a living off the people who do the cutting. But Davis and his crew, they’re just different. They’re standoffish, and they don’t hire locals. And those Germans that work with them.” She shivered. “I can’t put my finger on it, but they aren’t right. I hope your friend didn’t run afoul of them. We truly did believe she had left town.”
“Hopefully she has,” Constance said. “Thank you for your help.”
Alex was waiting for them beside the truck. “What’s the plan, boss?”
“I think it’s time we split up. We’ve got two clear lines of inquiry. One is Kane’s lumber camp, which seems to coincide with the Lewis and Clark clue from Trinity’s note. Moses and I will follow up on that one.”
“Which leaves us to ask around about Bigfoot,” Alex groaned.
“Look on the bright side,” Constance said. “You get to spend the evening in the company of an intelligent woman.”
“Both women and intelligence are in short supply at our hose, so that sounds lovely.” Arm in arm, they headed across the street to the speakeasy.