Ghost Canyon (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 7) by Anthony Strong (ebooks that read to you .TXT) 📕

then looked back at Harlan. The implied threat was obvious. “Here’s how this is going to work. You give me your excuse for not paying, and I’ll decide if I like it enough to cut you some slack.”

“Okay.” Harlan nodded, his mind racing.

“And make it good.” Rossi smiled and glanced toward the weights machine, which made what he said next even more disturbing. “I’d hate for you to have an accident while you’re working out. That truly would be a shame…”

Chapter Fifteen

Robyn Miller slept fitfully, her dreams haunted by images of torn bodies and dying screams. She woke at 8 AM and rose, thankful the night was over, then dressed and headed from her bedroom on the ground floor at the back of the building behind the saloon bar. The room had once been a lean-to storage area, but she had rebuilt it, blocking off the outside door, and opening a new entry from a corridor running adjacent to the bar. It was small, but functional, and best of all it didn’t deplete her stock of guest rooms on the floors above.

She made her way to the brand-new commercial kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it brewed, she fed Tieg, and then strolled through the saloon bar and into the lobby.

There was no sign of Carlton. He lived in a dilapidated cabin at the other end of town, which was not actually far away considering that the entire town was comprised of fourteen structures in various states of repair, and a dusty, unpaved street. This was in stark contrast to how the settlement would have looked during the town’s heyday. Back then there were many more buildings, including a bank and an assay office. At its height, the town boasted a population of two thousand. Most were prospectors lured by the promise of riches buried deep in the surrounding hills. There were at least six different mines operating. They were mostly small, abandoned when the miners realized that the promise did not live up to the reality. There was not as much gold hereabouts as it first appeared. The only operation that produced any large quantity was the Ghost Canyon Mine, which was also the closest to town, and even that had dried up after a few years. Without the lure of precious metals to keep them there, the town’s fortunes dwindled along with its population until there was nothing left but a bunch of dusty old buildings baking in the sun.

Robyn stepped onto the veranda. Tieg followed her out, still licking his chops. The dog flopped down with a grunt, head on his paws.

When Robyn looked back up, she noticed the police car was no longer stationed at the foot of the trail. The A-frame barricades were still there, but they were now unguarded. Then she noticed movement further up the canyon. It was the two FBI special agents. They were picking their way back down from the direction of the mine. They still wore khaki pants and polo shirts, but at least they’d had the good sense to swap their sneakers for hiking boots.

When they drew close, the younger of the two, Agent Barnes, waved a greeting. She waved back and waited until they reached the hotel and mounted the steps onto the veranda.

“Out for an early morning walk?” She asked.

“We felt it would be prudent to check the mine and see if there was any activity,” Agent Fowler replied.

“And was there?” Robyn asked hopefully. They had closed the metal gates at the mine’s entrance the previous evening, but had not padlocked them, hoping the two missing geologists were still alive and would find their way out.

“There was not, I’m sorry to say.” Agent Fowler shook his head. “And given the circumstances of their disappearance, I must conclude both men are dead.”

“I concur.” Agent Barnes stepped past Robyn and kneeled to pet Tieg again. He scratched behind the dog’s ears, which elicited a satisfied snort from the animal.

“But you’re still going to look for them, aren’t you?” Robyn asked.

“Not at this time,” Barnes said, glancing up. “Those tunnels aren’t safe. It would be foolhardy to send more searchers in when it could very well lead to more deaths.”

“Safety has to be our number one priority,” Fowler agreed. “Given the extremely slim odds of finding them alive, we cannot risk more casualties. We did, however, leave the gates unlocked, should either of them have survived.”

Robyn nodded. She understood their concern but wished something more could be done. Then she remembered Agent Fowler’s request that she prepare a third room for a specialist. Someone who could resolve the situation. For the first time since the lone geologist stumbled back down the trail, wild-eyed and terrified, she felt a glimmer of hope.

Chapter Sixteen

Decker sat in the Gulfstream jet’s spacious seat and watched the ground slip away beneath them as the sleek aircraft took to the sky.

He reflected on the briefing that had occurred two hours previously. Adam Hunt kept it short, telling him only that three people had died under mysterious circumstances in an abandoned goldmine outside Las Vegas and the local FBI field office had requested CUSP’s help. It was a quid pro quo situation. CUSP operated as an international organization free of oversight by any single government. Yet they needed access to the resources of other law enforcement and military organizations, both clandestine and otherwise, in order to do their job. If they needed satellite images of a certain region, they could access NSA spy satellites, for example. CUSP had operational agreements with organizations as diverse as England’s MI5, the CIA, the French intelligence service known as DGSE, and of course, The FBI.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out Hunt was not pleased about sending one of his operatives on a goodwill mission, but he knew future cooperation between their agencies rested upon CUSP fulfilling their part of the bargain when called to do so. He also admitted that the situation in Nevada