Page 80 of Present Danger (Rocky Mountain Courage 1)

THIRTY-SEVEN

The next day started early. After giving statements regarding the previous day’s events, Terra and Jack piled into her vehicle to drive to an archaeological dig near Jackson Hole—a three-hour drive one way.

She’d suggested that they could accomplish more by going their separate ways, but Jack insisted he wanted to ride along. She hadn’t wasted time arguing with him, though she knew he’d shifted to protective mode. They’d both been left shaken by what happened yesterday. In the end, Terra was glad for his company.

The day would be a long one, most of which would be spent traveling. But they could use the time to discuss what they’d learned so far.

The first couple of hours, they rehashed everything that had happened. Terra hoped she would remember something more about the man she’d seen. Some small clue that would give them insight into who he was, but he was good at creeping around and keeping his face in the shadows. Neva, Jim, and the cabin were entangled, and Terra strongly suspected the man she’d seen running from the cabin was the same man she’d seen running from Neva’s home.

“We’re driving three hours so you can show the artifact to your expert friend. You know, you could have let the Billings Curation Center look at it. That’s sort of out of the circle of locals.”

“That’s Bureau of Land Management’s repository. Not forest service.”

“So? Think of artifacts discovered when an oil company is drilling, and the BCC holds stuff for all kinds of agencies. They could have kept it for you, and their archaeologists could have looked at it. No need to spend six hours driving.”

“Are you trying to tell me you don’t like being in the car with me this long, after all? I mean, you insisted on riding along.”

He chuckled. “Not what I mean. You know what I’m saying.”

Terra passed a car on the curvy two-lane road leading into Jackson Hole—the valley between the Wind River and Teton ranges. Home to Grand Teton National Park and gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Gorgeous place.

“Look, that’s still local as far as I’m concerned. And as I mentioned, I trust this guy, at least where artifacts are concerned.” Oh, great. Terra hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.

“Sounds like there’s more to the story.”

“There’s no story.”

“If you say so.”

Terra hadn’t wanted to drift into personal territory during this drive, but she and Jack shared a volatile past. One they’d never talked through or worked out. In a way, it was just left there hanging with no true closure, and here they were together again in a completely different capacity.

She opened her mouth to give at least a heads-up about her expert friend. Her openness would head off any knee-jerk reactions on his part, though she couldn’t know he would have any reaction at all.

She sucked in a breath to speak—

“That’s it.” Jack snapped his fingers. “That must be it.”

“What are you talking about?

“Neva Bolz’s connection. We were talking about the curation center.”

“What does she have to do with the curation center?”

“Not the center, but the oil and gas. Think about it. Artifacts can be discovered when oil and gas wells are being drilled. Federal or private, aren’t archaeologists called in at that point? Maybe Neva was somehow involved with the looting of a drill site turned archaeological site.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.” Admiration swelled in her heart. “Seriously, I should have made that connection already.”

Jack stared at his cell. “I’ll see what more we’ve come up with on her company and her background, and look into any archaeological sites her company has run into.”

“She traveled, Jack, so that search has to be broad and wide.”

“She was murdered in Montana. Jim was murdered in Montana. We’ll start in the county seat of Big Rapids and work our way out from there.”

Terra turned onto a winding road leading into the Gros Ventre Wilderness area.

Jack groaned. “I think my call is going to have to wait.”

“No signal?”