Hell's Roundabout. Benjamin Vance

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СКАЧАТЬ the tracks were still discernable. He parked and started sweeping, but found it almost impossible to tell if the car that made the tracks had just backed perfectly over the ones it made going in. The more he swept, it seemed the more snow obliterated his sweeping. He finally gave up and decided to visit a Toyota dealership to check on tire makes for a Prius.

      Finding a dealer was not easy in the snow, especially for a Texas boy, but he persevered and finally found a used car dealer with some snow-covered Toyotas on the lot. The place was open and a salesman actually opened the door to the showroom for him. The salesman provided his card and got him a cup of coffee and they settled down in the warm office to talk some.

      Army found the guy very knowledgeable and willing to share his information. Apparently the Prius original tires for the model year of Mrs. Peterson’s Prius were Bridgestone. Because the Prius is heavier than a comparable non-hybrid it has special high pressure, low rolling resistance tires which would leave a pronounced tread pattern and actually might succeed in obliterating a previous track. It both frustrated and relieved Army.

      The salesman had no idea about tread patterns, but Army decided he might find a similar pattern on one of the Toyotas in the lot. He received permission to try, with no help from the salesman. He couldn’t find a perfect match for his tread photo, and he was still at square one.

      As he headed to his rented SUV he thought better about leaving so quickly and decided to test the salesman’s general knowledge of the area. He stuck his head back in to ostensibly thank the man and suddenly remembered to ask one other question. He asked about the history of the Peterson’s iron mine. The salesman’s face lit up as Army thought it might. He proceeded to tell him about the history of the mine and almost every aspect of the operation including the union troubles and theft of heavy processing machinery which caused the final closing. When asked about what was mined there he grinned and said, “Lots of stuff, lots of stuff.”

      Army just seated himself again and let the man ramble. He said the advertised mineral was iron ore, but apparently there were a lot of other rare minerals mined including extraordinarily strong Magnetite. The minerals mined during the war were kept secret, because some said there were special minerals in the area that had almost magical properties. It was hinted some were even used for the Manhattan Project and in the first atom bomb. He suspected they were what are known currently as Rare Earth minerals, but who knew then what really came out of the mine.

      The man’s facts turned to conjecture at every other opportunity, and it was up to Army to pick out the important data from the conversational. When he’d had enough, he feigned a meeting time, thanked the man profusely and left with his mind racing.

      When he returned to the motel for lunch he found he had two messages, one from John Gilbertson and one from Chiara. They both had his cell number and he wondered why he didn’t receive the calls. He called Chiara first.

      “Hi Army, first of all, I just wanted to let you know that cell phones hardly work in this area, no matter what company you have. Secondly, Mr. Gilbertson called me personally and asked if I could let you into the Peterson house. Apparently, he received a call from Sheriff Shepard in California requesting you be allowed to pursue your investigation. When would you like to see it?”

      “Well Chiara, thank you very much. Did you call Mr. Tanner and ask if he could accompany us?”

      “Yes, I did and he said any time after lunch would be fine. Have you been doing anything this beautiful New York morning?”

      “As a matter of fact, I have. I checked on the tire tracks, the standard tires on a Prius and the minerals mined at the Peterson mine. I found out a lot. How about we meet at about 1:00 p.m. to go through the home, and I’ll tell you then? Would that suit you?”

      “Yeah, that’ll be fine with me. I’ll call Mr. Tanner and let him know.”

      Jeff Tanner met Army at a previously agreed to crossroads and led him to the Peterson house where Chiara was waiting. She looked excited to get in the home and if the truth be told, Army was very anxious to see it too, based on what he’d heard from Chiara.

      They all took off their coats and overshoes and started with the very large study and library combination. There were mementos everywhere that suggested the Peterson’s had a childless, but otherwise rich and active life together. Army instructed the other two to look for anything that might suggest that Mrs. Peterson left quickly or was kidnapped. They found nothing of the kind, but what they did find were photographs of the mine in its heyday, with descriptions of mining procedures and minerals extracted. There were strange geologic names Army had to write down to be sure they could be referenced later; for what reason, he didn’t know … yet, and he photographed everything of interest.

      The trio stayed in the house and toured outbuildings for about two hours and found nothing more that could be construed as out of place or incriminating to any party. Mr. Tanner was helpful and upbeat, and Army found Chiara to be insightful and very intelligent. It was she who realized that the day Mrs. Peterson disappeared was the anniversary of Mr. Peterson’s death. That assured Army the most probable automobile to make the tracks at the cemetery was Mrs. Peterson’s Prius.

      When the trio finally stepped outside and prepared to leave, they found the sun peeking through the clouds and very little snow still drifting through the crisp air. Army announced he was going to take another stab at uncovering the tire tracks on the hill overlooking the mine. Chiara asked if she could go and on the way asked if they could check for tracks on the three roads accessing the lake. He asked why, but before she answered, he understood. She thought Mrs. Peterson may have driven her heavy Prius into the lake to end her own life.

      Army swept the load of snow from three sections of one track, took photos, but was not convinced the vehicle backed over its tracks. They actually found four entrances to the lake, but found no other tire tracks at all. Since the trenched-lake was not a great fishing hole and difficult to approach, apparently Star Lake itself remained much more of an attraction for fishermen and skaters.

      Chiara seemed pensive during their circumnavigation of the lake and he ascribed it to losing a good friend. However, she finally spoke up and asked that they visit the home of a family she thought may know a caretaker of the mine property. She didn’t know for sure there was a caretaker, but had heard Lois refer to an old caretaker a couple of times.

      Army offered, “If there is a caretaker, he may be able to offer some insights as to what was mined there and if anyone has been living around the area of the mine or trespassing.”

      Chiara hesitated, looked at him, grinned and said, “Now please don’t think I’m nuts, but there’s a lot of superstition about that mine. People around here think it’s haunted or some of the souls of the guys killed there during the war haunt the place. People have reported seeing people walking on the lake in the summer, strange lights around the lake and stuff like that. I heard that during thunder storms lightning hits on that hill more than anywhere else around here and people actually have souvenirs of lightning strike glass; where lightning melts the sand or dirt into strike-looking glass objects. I’ve actually seen one and it’s pretty neat.”

      She was quiet then and was looking through her own reflection on the passenger side window, toward the lake disappearing behind them. He turned his head to catch her reflection and her face seemed haloed by the condensation on the inside of the window, giving her a Madonna-like appearance. He said, “Hey, I’m really sorry about Mrs. Peterson. I’m going to get to the bottom of this mess if I possibly can. If you could see the accident site in my hometown you’d understand why I’m going to make this my mission.”

      She turned her head from the window to address him, “You understand that it’s physically impossible for the remains in that accident СКАЧАТЬ