The Fundy Vault Read online

  “If you insist on seeing anything now, you need to have a warrant. Do you have a warrant?”

  Riley stared back at him. I knew she hadn’t had the time to get a warrant.

  Suddenly there was the roar of an engine and the tanker emerged from the trees at the top of the bluff.

  “Dammit! Now it’s too late,” Riley said, directing her annoyance at Jacob. The trucker slowly negotiated the incline and then drove onto the bridge and stopped in front of the cable. He gave a couple of beeps and put up his hands up in a gesture of exasperation at our cars blocking his way.

  Jacob signalled for him to wait a minute.

  The sky was a bit brighter, and I took out my phone.

  “While I’m here, I just want to get a couple of shots,” I said.

  “Absolutely not allowed,” Jacob said.

  I quickly took a picture of the tanker waiting on the other side of the cable. Then I took one of Jacob. “Not bad,” I said. “You look kind of grumpy though. Should I post it?”

  “Stop this!” he said. “Why can’t you be reasonable?”

  “Reasonable, Jacob? Think about it! You called me yesterday and said you wanted to come and talk to me and tell me everything. I was so pleased and relieved. But it was a trick! You showed up with those two creeps and turned my house upside down and stole Aurelia’s computer!”

  “Back! I stole it back! You were the one playing games. Tricking my sister into letting you into Aurelia’s cabin so you could ‘leave a note for her’—so sweet and friendly! And then stealing her computer and who knows what else! I had every right to come and take it back from you.”

  “No. You needed it back because it’s chock full of evidence about what’s going on here. That’s what Aurelia was researching. She had discovered exactly what this place was all about. That’s why she came here in the first place and that’s why she’s dead, isn’t it? She was killed for what she knew!”

  The waiting trucker lost patience and started leaning on his horn.

  “All right! That’s enough,” Riley yelled over the din. She looked at Jacob. “Tell your bosses I want an appointment for an official visit. And I expect it to be soon. So get that arranged immediately. Otherwise, I will be back with a warrant. I also need you to come in for an interview, Jacob. You’ve got some explaining to do about your involvement on Caroline Beach, and your part in illegally entering and ransacking Roz’s cottage yesterday. I’ll be contacting you to set that up.”

  Jacob turned abruptly and got into his car.

  We got into the cruiser and Riley put it in gear and backed away from the bridge. “And you, Roz! What was that big speech you gave me yesterday about how we should be sharing information? All this Aurelia stuff is news to me. I want to know exactly who she is and what you’re talking about!”

  Chapter 21

  “You already know who Aurelia is,” I countered, as we headed back along Jasper Creek Road. “You saw her through your binoculars, wrapped in the flag, tangled in the roots. Aurelia is the girl in the tree.”

  “No one knows who that girl is, Roz. She disappeared in a helicopter before she was identified.”

  “It’s a long story, Riley, but I have evidence that the girl whose pictures I showed you last night is Aurelia Strange. She’s—she was—an environmental journalist. She came up here from Portland, Maine, to pursue an investigation. I still don’t know how she wound up dead, but after seeing the state McBride was in when we found him, it doesn’t surprise me. In fact, I’d say you and I are lucky to be safely out of there as we speak.”

  “So what was all that about you stealing her computer?”

  “Eventually she ended up staying at Jacob’s mother’s cabin—that’s where I found her computer. I had it in my hands long enough to see she had files on her desktop labelled “Fundy.” Then Jacob arrived with his two nasty pals and, like I said, I was out of there. I’d hidden it, but I should have kept it with me. I blew it. I was afraid they’d come to rough me up or something, but they’d come for the computer and, like a dope, I left the place wide open for them, and they found it.”

  “It’s evidence. We can seize it.”

  “Maybe, but they’ve likely destroyed it.”

  “What else?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What else about Aurelia?

  “I can barely stand to think about her. She graduated from King’s a few years back. Just this spring, she won an emerging journalist award in Maine. She believed the prize money was meant to bring her back to Nova Scotia. She was smart and talented and enthusiastic and she died for no reason other than her work to uncover some greedy scheme.”

  “You think they killed her?”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of an autopsy—they made sure of that. But…yes, that’s what I think.”

  “So what goes on with those tankers? Do you know?” Riley asked.

  “That’s where McBride comes in. He may have found out, and paid the price.”

  We had begun driving down the highway into the valley. “We need to talk to him about all this. I’ll head for the hospital,” Riley said.

  “Let me call Sophie first.” I took out my phone.

  “Hey, Soph! How’s everything?”

  “McBride’s doing a lot better, Roz. Almost normal.”

  “He was never normal, Sophie. Listen, I’m with Corporal Monaghan and she needs to ask McBride some questions—should we come now?”

  “He’s scheduled for a couple of tests this morning, and then they’ll decide whether to release him.”

  “Okay. Let’s stay in touch then.”

  “Roz? Don’t forget Molly.”

  “Right. I’ll get her. Thanks.” We rang off.

  “So, no interview yet. McBride’s having tests. Can you drop me back to Kingsport? I need to get his car, and then go pick up Molly in Wolfville.”

  We turned onto North Medford Road and drove towards the coast. The sky was clearing over the Minas Basin.

  “I’ll go back to headquarters to do some research on the Jasper Creek location—rattle some chains, see if there were any permits issued for whatever is going on up there. I mean, helicopters, tanker trucks, electronic cables—it’s not exactly a Mickey Mouse operation. It must have been inspected.”

  “Björn was shocked when he saw that bridge. Neither he nor his colleagues knew anything about it.”

  “My guess is they’ll never make that appointment for me to look the place over. I’m going to set to work on getting a warrant ASAP,” Riley said.

  We turned onto Longspell Road. Grace was set up across from the farm by the side of the road on a camping stool with her watercolours and her easel.

  “Another world,” I said.

  “You got that right. It’s like a dream out here.”

  Riley let me off at my cottage. The cat was on the stoop. “Time for lunch?” I asked. Her tail twitched and she leaped off the stoop and disappeared into the dense brush on the other side of the fence.

  “Okay then,” I hollered after her. “I’m going out to eat!”

  I got into McBride’s car. Why not get a bite in Wolfville? I barely had a crust of bread on hand, anyway. I drove back along the road and when I reached the farm, Grace signalled for me to stop. I pulled over and crossed to where she was set up with her easel.

  “How’s everything, Rosalind? Björn told me about your friend who was rescued from Caroline Beach. Is he all right?”

  “The two of you seem to specialize in beach rescues,” I said. “McBride is recovering, thank goodness, and he may get out of the hospital today. His wife is with him—you met her the other day.”

  Grace nodded. “Oh yes, Sophie.”

  “That’s right.” I was circumspect, not knowing whether she was aware of Björn’s long-ago romance with Sophie.

 
“Björn has some information for you,” Grace said. “Something about the bridge. He had to go teach this morning, but he mentioned wanting to get in touch with you.”

  “I’m heading in now to pick up McBride’s dog, so maybe I can track Björn down on campus.”

  “Here, I’ll give you his numbers.” She wrote them down on a scrap of watercolour paper and handed it to me. “There’s his cell, and the second one is his office number.”

  “Perfect. Thanks Grace. I love your painting.” She had perfectly captured the spirit of a litter of piglets frolicking in the farmyard with the sows in the background, lolling in the mud.

  “I paint the pigs all summer. They sell like mad. Those sows just turn out one litter after another. Soon this bunch we’re looking at will be teenagers and there’ll be more little ones. That Boris is a busy boy.”

  “Boris the boar?”

  “Well-named!” she said.

  “And so handsome!”

  I got back into Ruby Sube and continued on to Wolfville. The vet’s office was just down the road from a new Italian café. I parked in the lot across the road. As I walked towards the café, the door opened and I recognized the woman who was leaving.

  “Frida?” I said.

  “Oh yes—Roz! Listen, my colleague Genevieve will be back next week and I know you were interested in talking to her about Aurelia’s research.”

  “I’d love to meet with her. On Wednesday I start working on a Beckett project, so will she be back before then?”

  “She’ll be back Monday. What is the Beckett? Genevieve and I are both fans. Is there a performance?”

  “Most likely we’ll have a staged reading next Friday evening at the Jasper Creek Centre. I can let you know. It’s short dramatic works.”

  “Here’s my card. Oh, and I have Genevieve’s here too with her email address. So let us know. Back to work!”

  I went into the café and ordered a sandwich and a cappuccino and decided to sit on the patio in the sun. I got out the numbers Grace had given me.

  “Professor Sorensen,” Björn answered immediately.

  “Hi, Björn. It’s Roz. How are you?”

  “Very good, and you?”

  “I’m well, Björn. McBride might be released today, and I’m in town to pick up his dog. I saw Grace. She mentioned you might be looking for me.”

  “Yes. Yes indeed. I’ve been doing a little checking to find out who’s behind that monster bridge and what its true purpose is.”

  “And?”

  “Well, first of all, it was built for a completely different reason—oh, excuse me, Roz, there’s a student here to see me. Office hours, you know. Anyway, I will talk to you soon. Maybe Grace and I will take a walk up the road and drop in later.”

  “Please do. I’m intrigued,” I said.

  My sandwich arrived and I was so thrilled just to look at it and to know that I could eat it. Lunch! A rare event. It was perfect. I ate every crumb, finished my cappuccino, and headed up the road to the vet’s.

  Molly gave a little woof when she saw me, and began batting her tail vigorously against the cage frame. She seemed much stronger.

  “Now for the real pain,” I said, getting out my credit card.

  “I know. They should have Medicare for pets,” the assistant said.

  “We’d mortgage our houses for them, though, wouldn’t we? I can’t tell you how grateful I am to see her so alert.”

  “Once they start to mend it’s kind of miraculous.”

  “Thank you, and please thank the doctor for me.”

  We left the vet’s and stepped into the sun.

  “Now go slow, Molly-girl,” I said. “No dancing.”

  It felt good to have her with me. Molly had always been easy company. I opened the passenger door of Ruby Sube and she climbed up onto the seat as she’d been doing since she was a pup.

  My phone bleeped.

  “What’s the latest, Sophie?”

  “The patient is cleared for departure!”

  “Really! Well! I was going to take Molly to the cottage, but I’ll come straight to Kentville. What’s happening with the Gateway Security guys?”

  “Clint is here, bless him. He’ll stay until McBride is safely on his way, and he said he would let Arbuckle know they’re done here. So far today, there’ve been no sightings of Flopsy and Mopsy.”

  I laughed. “Finally, some names that really suit them.”

  “Courtesy of Scary Doris the night nurse.”

  “See you in twenty minutes.”

  “Don’t bother to park, Roz. We’ll be down by the door watching for you.”

  Chapter 22

  As Sophie promised, she and McBride were ready and waiting outside the main doors of the hospital. McBride shed a few happy tears when I let Molly out of the car, and then we all climbed into Ruby Sube and made our way back to Kingsport.

  McBride dozed off partway there. “Yup—he still sleeps a lot,” Sophie said.

  “You must be exhausted yourself,” I said. “You didn’t exactly have a proper bed.”

  “I don’t know what I’m running on, but right now I feel great. Relieved, I guess.”

  “I’ll get in some food later and we can have a real dinner tonight. They sell chickens and pork and greens at the farm. Maybe Björn and Grace would like to join us…or would that be too much?”

  “No, it sounds good. I’ll prepare it with you, Roz. I think McBride would appreciate being able to break bread with the man who helped to save his life. So, have there been any new developments?”

  “Lots has happened, but the best news is that I think I finally have an ally in Corporal Monaghan.”

  “Good, because McBride and I talked about driving into Halifax early tomorrow. We need to go home.”

  “Did I hear my name?”

  I looked in the rear-view mirror. I was shocked to see how drawn McBride’s face was. “Good timing! We’re here. I’ll put the tea on.”

  Half an hour later we were all relaxing in the Adirondacks, taking in the mid-afternoon sun. Remarkably, even the cat and dog seemed content, as they stretched out together on the stoop.

  “This is what a vacation’s supposed to be like, isn’t it?” I said, forcing myself to chill. I was chomping at the bit for details about what happened to McBride—but he deserved a moment of peace before digging it all up and reliving it—revolving it all, as Beckett would say.

  Just then Grace and Björn appeared in the driveway with their two dogs.

  “Join us!” I said. “Would you like some tea?” I stood quickly, preparing to take Molly indoors, away from whatever doggie fray might ensue—but miraculously all the animals stayed calm, as though an instinctive understanding had passed between them.

  “No to the tea, thank you,” Björn said. “We’re just on our walk and we saw the cars. I was hoping you would be out of the hospital.” He reached out to shake hands with McBride.

  “I’m on the mend, and I understand that’s largely thanks to you.”

  “Well, I helped Sophie and Roz find their way to Caroline Beach, and that terrible cave, but it was really Sophie who was leading the charge.” He smiled across at her.

  “Have you been able to recollect what happened to you, Mr. McBride?” Grace asked.

  “I’ve often been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this one takes the cake, and yes, as for what happened, the details are fuzzy, but it’s starting to come back to me.”

  “Earlier today,” Björn said, “I mentioned to Roz that I had acquired some information on that Jasper Creek site. Shall I fill you in?”

  I looked at McBride. He nodded.

  “Please,” I said.

  “Well, the industrial bridge and the gravel road that climbs up to the ridge were constructed almost two years ago by a communications company to pr
epare for the installation and maintenance of a new cellphone tower. However, that plan was scuttled—something to do with the signal not transmitting consistently. I’m not surprised, by the way—the magnetic properties of that ancient rock formation are unique and more powerful than we might think. Apparently the telecom people found a place further inland for the new tower.

  “I would wager that by the time these tanker trucks started taking advantage of the bridge and the road, no one was paying attention to that abandoned, isolated site anymore. I can find no official permits on record. The current activity, whatever it is, may be legal, but it’s more likely happening ‘under the radar,’ as they say.”

  McBride nodded. “A covert venture that will last as long as they can get away with it.”

  “However,” Grace added leaning in, “it’s not unheard of for some nefarious bureaucrat to craft himself a little sweetheart deal should the opportunity present itself.”

  “Right,” I said, looking at Grace in a new light. “McBride, I need to know what you saw, and what happened up there. Are you up for telling us about it?”

  He stared a moment at the ground, as though attempting to unearth the memory. “I can try,” he said, looking up at me.

  “You called me from the bridge, to tell me about it, but we lost the connection…so then what did you do?”

  “I remember looking up at that hill and thinking: why not? Just check it out…that’s right…so I ducked under the cable, and Molly and I crossed the bridge for a quick hike to the top of that bluff. The sun hadn’t set. I figured I had at least an hour of daylight.

  “What about your car?” Sophie interjected. “What did you do with it?”

  McBride shook his head. “I don’t remember moving it. I must have left it parked just there…by the road that leads to the bridge.”