Angels and crooks

by Nuredhel

Bard and Thran are getting used to their lives as married but they do still have their jobs and it makes things very interesting at times...AU story, sequel to Beast.

19. Down with the sickness

Chapter 19 Down with the sickness

Bard didnt feel at home at all, he could only compare this with the party at Thingol's where he had been like a black sheep in a herd of perfectly groomed show animals. The driveway leading up to the mansion was wide enough to have room for a parade and it went through a park which did resemble that of the Versailles, or something of that sorts. He and Thran had been sent up north by Thor to help the police of a mountain city solve an odd case which was unlike any other they had encountered. The crime rate up north was low and the police was not accustomed to anything beyond the customary bar fight and quarrelling spouses. Thor owed the chief of that police station a favour and so he sent Thran off since he was a profiler and Bard did tag along simply because he was in need of some fresh air as Thor described it. The mountain city was of old a mining town, then the area north of it became a national park and now it was a tourist destination. The many hot springs were attracting everything from photographers to amateur geologists and the wildlife was also very much an everyday presence. Here you could risk meeting an elk grazing in your driveway or discover that your garbage dumpster had become home to a family of racoons. The locals were used to it but the tourists were not and Bard happened to know that the park rangers were close to tears from sheer frustration on a regular basis.

The case was high profile, in fact it was so famous already it had become a problem. Bard had never seen that many journalists gathered in one place since the case he was in when he met Thran and Thor had sent them off rather fast, to avoid too much attention being thrown at their own station. The city of Formenos had become the place to be seen for the jet set and many very famous people did own cabins and homes there. What they were approaching was not the home of some movie star, it was old money and by that they meant truly old money. The family who owned the grand estate was very private and said to be richer than even the founder of Microsoft but they never flaunted their money and they were the pillars of this society. In short, they owned everything there or at least most of it and as Thran said it, they were loved by everybody for they were anything but posh and uppity. Their vast fortune was spent on every charity imaginable and Bard could believe it when he saw the building they were driving up to. It was elegant, timeless and yet awe inspiring. Thran smiled. "The Tudolak family came from Russia in the 17 hundreds and made a fortune trading furs. Then they switched to gems and gold and they have kept making money ever since."

Bard stared at the façade of the impressive building, there were vines climbing it and bright splotches of intense colour told him that there were flowers in many places. It did look inviting, not at all sinister like so many other old buildings he had encountered. The car did stop in front of the main entrance and Thran did slide out of the car with his usual elegance. The door opened and an elderly man wearing a sort of uniform did appear, he did bow his head with a very polite smile. "Be welcome gentlemen, the lady of the house is expecting you"

Bard had a hard time controlling himself, he felt as if he had entered some Agatha Christie novel, where the butler most certainly was the main suspect. He was close to asking the man if he was the one behind it all but he managed to stay calm and sent the butler a rather sheepish grin. Thran did follow the man as if it was the most natural thing in the world but Bard felt like an odd animal right away. The hallway they entered was grand and beautiful and it did even smell good.

After a few staircases and corridors covered with old paintings and other antiques they entered a sort of study, a small group of people had gathered there and they were all visibly distraught. The youngest person there could be in her thirties but the person who did draw the attention towards her were the true lady of the house. Bard did bow rather deeply, out of sheer instinct. The woman was in her late eighties and rather frail looking, she sat on the couch wearing a very lovely silvery grey velvet gown and her hair and makeup was perfect but it couldn't hide the fact that she was old, and that she was in deep grief. Next to her another woman sat, also clearly in grief, she was perhaps in her sixties and rather pretty in a plump way. Thran did bow his head. "I am very glad you agreed to meet with us my lady, first of all, allow me to offer you our deepest condolences."

The old woman did close her eyes for a second. "Then there is no doubt? It was…him?"

Thran sat down in a chair the butler pushed forth and Bard got another one, it was so soft it felt as if it was about to swallow him whole. "I am sorry, but it was your grandson, there was no doubt. The coroner did recognize the tattoo on his arm and the other things you did mention"

The woman sighed. "Yes, his missing little toe, and the scar on his right knee. Oh gods, my dear Bertram, how could this happen?"

Bard had tried to forget what he had seen for some hours now, the body which laid on the table at the local coroners had stunned him. He had been sure that this was some very old murder victim but apparently it wasn't so. Thran smiled. "I can assure you that we will do whatever we can to solve the mystery"

The young woman who stood behind the couch did look as if she was about to faint. "Was… was he murdered?"

Thran did turn his gaze at her, she was very pretty and obviously not off this family for she had a narrow chin and an oval face and most of the family there had a very characteristic broad jaw and high cheekbones. "We cannot say anything for certain yet I am afraid, but we do suspect foul play yes"

The plump woman let out a wail. "It cannot be true, my son…everybody loved him!"

The older lady seemed to be made from steel for she did raise her head. "The sheriff haven't told us anything, except that Bertram was found dead. Under what circumstances was he found sir? You can tell us, we are…used to tough news"

Thran sighed and made a grimace and Bard realized that Thran wanted him to explain so Thran could watch the reactions and see if anybody did react in an odd manner. Bard did clear his voice. "He was found in a barrel at the bottom of the old quarry, his body…it was covered with sulphur dust, and dried out in some manner. It did look like a mummy. The coroner had to…re-moisten the tissues to be able to identify him"

The mother was pale like a ghost and the elderly lady laid a hand on her shoulder. "There there dear, be strong Louisa, remember who you are"

Thran waited until the woman managed to get a hold of herself, she did blow her nose and her eyes were red and puffy but she held her chin up. This family was tough as old nuts. "So, Bertram went missing a week ago today?"

Bard had a hard time believing that the body he had seen had been dead for only a few days, it was truly astonishing. The old lady nodded. "Yes, he went to the golf course to talk with the manager about a new club house but never made it that far. They found his car parked by the road and it was obvious that he had hit some animal but he was nowhere to be found."

Thran nodded. "Mrs Tudolak, do you know of anybody who would have wanted to hurt Bertram?"

The old woman sighed and smiled, she was a very lovely woman even if she was old and there was a certain type of gentleness in her gaze that told Bard she was a genuine person, not some false high class bitch. "Please dear, I am Nadya, we are after all going to work together aren't we? No, my son was beloved by everybody, there wasn't a mean bone in his body and he was dedicated to our family and little else. He had a few hobbies but that was all"

Louisa sniffed. "He loved painting, and arranging flowers, and he was a very good singer too"

Thran tilted his head and his eyes were calm, he did always calm down people when he was like that, it was probably a gift he had gotten. " From what I have learned about your family Bertram wasn't an heir?"

Nadya shook her head. "No, he is far down on the list of potential heirs. My oldest son Friedrich is the main heir and head of the family business, then it is my daughter Justine and her children. Louisa here and Bertram are number twenty and twenty one on the list respectively, they have cousins and other family members ahead of them"

Bard had to frown. "Why is that?"

Louisa did smile, a very faint smile. "Neither of us wants that sort of attention, nor the responsibility. Bertram…he went to university because he had to, to follow the tradition. But he didn't like it and he never had good grades, he is a practical man Sir, not an academic"

Nadya nodded. "And in our class that is frowned upon, so he kept a low profile"

The young woman who stood behind the couch did sob and hid her face. Bard took a deep breath. "You are his fiancé?"

The woman nodded slowly, her eyes were a bit red. "Yes, we have been engaged for five years now, I cannot believe that…"

She broke down and the butler did put his arms around her shoulders very gently, he did follow her out of the room and Bard stared at Thran, the tall blonde was obviously thinking. "I have understood that Miss Sophia is a foreigner?"

Nadya nodded. "Yes, originally from France, the daughter of a very wealthy businessman there. They met by coincidence and well…I know what the tabloid press has said but she isn't like that at all"

Bard looked from person to person. "Excuse me, but I am not keeping up with that sort of news, what are you referring to?"

Louisa closed her eyes as if in pain. "Many said that Sophia is a gold digger, that she only was after fortune and wealth but everybody knows that Bertram isn't rich. He is an average man, not some jet setter"

Thran nodded. "But there were some problems to begin with?"

Nadya made a vague gesture. "Oh I wouldn't call it problems. Sophia is a child of her…class. Formed by her upbringing you may say. She wasn't used to us being more down to earth if you catch my drift? But she has adapted very well and we had such great hope for them, they were a lovely couple and just right for each other"

Thran smiled. "I see. Well, back to the basic questions, Bertram didn't have any enemies at all?"

Louisa shook her head and the others there did the same, Bard had realized that the family was huge, the people present were just those who did live there at the moment. One of the other men there was standing by the fireplace, he had a small glass of brandy in his hand and his face did look as if melancholy was his most profound emotion. He did put the glass down and turned towards them. "Bertram couldn't harm a fly, he did spent a lot of his money on donations for the local animal shelters, if he had been born into another family I bet he would have chosen a career as a vicar or something. He was spiritual, a truly pure soul"

Bard couldn't help but thinking about what he had seen, the body which was stuffed into that barrel had looked like something out of a painting by that medieval painter who did make such grotesque depictions of hell, what was his name again, Bosch?

Thran sighed. "Alright, is it okay if some of our technicians go over his computer and phone?"

Nadya nodded. "Of course, be welcome to check his rooms and everything, we want to know what happened to him"

Thran got up. "The techs will be here soon, we better get going, we have to check out the site where his car was found"

One of the other women there did step forwards, she was petite and rather dark but had the typical facial features. Bard had learned by now that she was one of the cousins, daughter of Friedrich and a successful neurosurgeon of all things. "If Bertram truly did hit an animal he would have tried to find it and help it, maybe he came across someone who saw him as a threat?"

Thran smiled at her. "That is what I think too, the woods here are vast and nobody knows all the people who call it home. You do have our numbers, call if you remember anything which can be of significance and I mean anything!"

Everybody did mumble and Bard got up, he was shocked to find out that it was possible to get out of that chair without needing a lift. The car was waiting for them, and Thran entered with a friendly smile at the female driver. She was obviously employed by the family and looked fairly young. The car did start and they drove down the long road towards the main road, Thran was obviously thinking and Bard didn't want to interrupt. "I am sure she was right, Bertram tried to find whatever it was he hit and saw something he shouldn't have seen, could have happened to anybody"

Bard frowned. "Sure of that?"

Thran shrugged. "I cannot think of any other explanation? There would be nothing to gain from killing a man like him. He wasn't rich, he wouldn't inherit much from the family and he was basically a nobody. I would go as far as calling him his mother's errand boy"

The driver did slow down a bit and she made a gesture. "Sirs? If I may be so bold?"

Thran did lean forwards. "By all means Miss, is there anything you want to say?"

The driver nodded. "I have worked for the family for five years now and they are wonderful people, Bertram was a genuinely good person but I know he was troubled for the last few days before he did disappear. He wouldn't say what it was but it was serious whatever it was, I could tell. He was usually very chatty when I drove him around but he turned so very silent and he did look almost nervous at times"

Thran was suddenly tense. "You say you drove him? Where?"

The driver swallowed visibly. "Once to the city hall, he was not himself when he returned to the car, he was sweating and pale. And another time to a restaurant downtown. He was there for quite a while and he did look angry when he came back to the car"

Bard stared at Thran. "It could be something…Miss, did he always use this car or was it just a few times?"

The driver sent them a swift smile. "He usually drove his own car but it was in for repairs for a few days, something about the suspension. He hated being dependent upon others."

Thran smiled. "Thank you. Do you remember the name of the restaurant?"

She gave the answer immediately. "The feathered goose, it is a gourmet restaurant, rather famous"

Thran nodded, his gaze was a bit distant. "I know of that restaurant yes, it is very high class"

The driver did hit the main road now and had to concentrate on the driving but Thran turned to Bard. "This may lead somewhere, that restaurant is very exclusive but I am rather sure they do have security cameras, and they have a very specific group of patrons."

Bard nodded. "Yeah, it is a restaurant for those with more money than the bank right?"

Thran grinned. "Yes, and a very elegant palate, they serve very unusual delicacies. Mostly foreign and often very odd"

Bard made a grimace. "Right, are we going there now?"

Thran shook his head. "Nope, the head of the park rangers is to meet us at the police HQ, apparently he has come up with something"

Thran held his cell phone up and there was a text there, telling them to return asap.

The driver did take them back to the police station and they saw a huge rugged pick up truck standing outside. It was dirty and probably custom made and there was a gun rack at the back and also some huge crates. Bard didn't really want to know what they did contain.

The chief of the station was a guy in his late fifties, he was a very quiet person and did remind Bard of the sloth in the movie zootopia, he did look as if the world passed him by in slow motion and Thran had mentioned that this man was the sort who rarely got angry but when he did he probably exploded like a H-bomb. Now Mr Baker was sitting behind his desk with his gaze locked on the screen and deep wrinkles across his forehead. He hated the computer and had kept telling them that he was born into the wrong century. Next to the desk was some chairs and in one of them sat a guy who did look a lot like a bear, at least when it came to size. He was probably the tallest man they had ever seen and he was wide too but not fat in any way. This was a lean and elegant person with long auburn hair and an impressive beard. He did look like a Viking in some manners, and the worn clothes and the smell of tree sap and smoke told Bard that this was a man who knew the woods, probably better than anyone else. Mr Baker did smile at them as they did enter, he raised his hands. "Gentlemen, meet Mr Orome Wald, he is head of the park rangers"

The man got up and he almost hit his head on the ceiling beams, he had to be seven feet if not more. "Sirs"

The voice was deep but pleasant and Thran did shake his hand, it felt like trying to shake hand with a huge ham, the guys hand was massive. "You have got something for us?"

Orome did nod, he held up a small plastic bag with something in it. Thran took it and it was hair. "Found this on the car of the deceased, it is deer hair"

Bard looked at the tuft of hair. "Really? Then he did hit a deer?"

Orome did grin. "Yes, and no"

Thran frowned. "What do you mean?"

The huge guy grinned, his teeth were incredibly white. "The late Bertram did hit a deer alright, but it was already dead. These hairs come from a deer who has been in the tender care of a taxidermist."

Thran had to blink. "What?"

Orome smiled even wider. "Yeah, odd right? But he hit it right in the middle of a sharp turn, if he came around that stretch of road in a hurry he wouldn't have had time to see that it wasn't a living animal, he would just see that it was a deer and hit the brakes"

Bard nodded. "Makes sense, but the impact? Could it be hard enough to cause him any harm? I mean, he must have left the car right? And seen that it was a dead deer"

Orome grunted. "The impact did dent the front of the car pretty bad, my guess would be that it was a very cheap trophy, the taxidermists use different fillings and the cheap ones become very heavy, I think they use a sort of rubber based paste and mix it with fibre. The expensive ones are light, and more lifelike"

Thran looked at the park ranger with narrow eyes. "So, somebody does place a cheap taxidermy deer in the middle of the road and then Bertram hits it and leaves the car, then what?"

Orome shrugged. "Well, judging by the tracks it was very deliberate for I searched the area, the soil was soaked since it rained pretty heavily but there was most definitely two sets of tracks leading away from the crash site, and I don't think he came freely"

Bard was getting tense. "What makes you say that?"

Orome took a deep breath. "Listen, I make a living from this right? I track things, and I have followed more tracks than you can imagine. Even in the mud and with the tracks half erased by the rain the heavier of the persons did drag his feet, and he was unsteady too. "

Thran tilted his head. "Wait, you said heavier person? Was the other person smaller?"

Orome nodded. "Yes, much lighter, possibly a very young man, or maybe even a woman!"

Thran stared at the floor for a second, you could almost see him thinking. "Bertram was a rather big guy, he wouldn't have allowed a woman to overpower him, she must have had a gun or something then"

He turned to Mr Baker. "Call the coroner again, ask if there is any sort of substance in Bertram's blood, I have a strong suspicion"

Orome sort of looked at them. "Call me if there is anything, I need to go now. They have called me, another case"

Mr Baker grunted. "Bear attack?"

The ranger smiled but it wasn't a pretty smile. "Yes, unfortunately. The third this month, it is old Grog for sure"

Bard had to blink a few times. "Ah…excuse me, old Grog?!"

Orome nodded. "Yep, a grizzly, huge one. Probably one of the older males in the park and he is vicious. Should have been put down years ago but the bastard is smart, he does evade us each time we try to catch him"

Thran stared at the ranger with narrow eyes. "I thought the national park tried to avoid destroying wild animals?"

Orome nodded. "Normally yes, it is a tragedy each time we have to put down some of our wildlife, we try every other option first but old Grog is a special case. He has developed a taste for humans you see, we think he has been kept as a pet when he was a cub and he has no fear of humans because of this."

Bard sighed. "Goddamn it, a bear on a killing spree. Has he killed people before?"

Orome nodded. "Yes, two people, three years ago. A couple who went camping in a no go zone. He ate most of them so he isn't one to waste anything but we tried to catch him and it failed completely. We think he does leave the park and find shelter and a den somewhere else. But we have no clue as to where"

Thran frowned. "Are the citizens of this area in danger?"

Orome shrugged. "No idea, as long as he does find food out there it should be safe but I am not bloody sure anymore. The last attack was in a suburb, he may have started to feel his age and old toothless bears are the worst. They go for the soft tender meat, meaning humans!"

Thran did shudder visibly and Orome did wink at them and left the office, Bard was rather sure that a bear who was able to trick this man was not born yet. Mr Baker did cross his arms over his chest. "So, anything new?"

Thran shrugged. "Bertram did visit the city hall a few times and according to his driver he did seem upset. And he did also visit the Feathered goose and returned looking pissed off!"

Baker did frown. "That place is above my pay grade, they serve stuff I cannot believe that anybody would want to even taste, let alone dine upon."

Thran snickered. "Yeah, but it is all very expensive and when it is expensive it becomes good, even if it taste like an old unwashed jockstrap."

Mr Baker did cringe and Bard swallowed hard. "So, do we check the restaurant?"

Thran shook his head. "No, they don't open until nine, very exclusive remember? You have to order a table two months ahead at least. No, we go for the city hall. If Bertram was there several times it has to mean something"

Bard did look a bit shocked. "I thought we were going to look at the site where the car was found?"

Thran shook his head vigorously. "It has been checked by the excellent officers of this station already, I doubt we will find anything useful there at all. No, we head for the city hall, it is open still I guess"

Bard stared at Thran. "You have a hunch?"

Thran smiled, it was a very wide smile. "Yes, I do. Bertram wasn't important, he wasn't part of the family business but he was part of the family and I cannot help but feel that this has to do with the family name"

Mr Baker did promise to call the coroner and they left, the city hall was just a few minutes of walk from the police station and the fresh air felt wonderful. It was very different from the city they lived in, the air there never tasted this fresh and crisp and the view was stunning. The tall ragged mountains did look like a postcard and Bard had to stop and take a few photos with his cell phone. He would send them to the kids. The city hall was a very grand building but it wasn't very old, the first one which had been erected when the city was built had burned in the fifties and a new one had been built on the ruins of the old one. This one was impressive but not very pretty, it did lack a soul the way Bard saw it. It was a modernistic monster and Thran did look at the structure with an expression of slight disgust.

The doors did lead into a sort of reception area where a security guard sat half asleep in a chair and a woman in her late fifties sat behind a desk with a newspaper. She did look bored but perked up when she saw the two men heading her way. She put the paper away and tried to look welcoming and awake. Thran showed his police badge and she did tilt her head and tried to smile, too bad she had teeth which did remind Bard of a hamster Bain had owned once upon a time. "How may I be of assistance Sirs?"

Thran smiled his most relaxing and gentle smile. "We are investigating the death of Bertram Tudolak, we understand that he was here quite often?"

The woman nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, we have heard about it, terrible!"

She leaned forth over the desk and since she was a busty one the desk started to creak from the strain. "He was here a lot yes, over the last two months. He was visiting the archives you see, I think he was looking for something."

Bard had picked up a notebook. "Really? Do you know exactly what?"

The woman shook her head. "No, I am not familiar with the archives but do go up, it is the first door to the left. The one in charge of the archives can surely help you, he is here right now you see. "

Thran smiled again and the woman was melting like a glacier in the summer sun. "Thank you ma'am. "

They did walk up the stairs and found the door, it was rather anonymous and marked with city archive and under it some scribbles which could be interpreted as "archivist Neil Stormfront"

They did knock and heard a clear enter from inside, they opened the door and found a room which was filled with shelves. It did look like a labyrinth and there wasn't much room for anything else there except a small desk and some chairs. A young man sat behind the desk, he had huge glasses and was so skinny he did look as if even a gentle breeze could sweep him away like a piece of dust. He did look up and Thran showed his badge again, the man frowned "Police? I assume you are here because of Bertram?"

Thran nodded. "You are indeed right, you must be Mr Stormfront?"

Bard had a hard time not chuckling, the name was indeed odd. The archivist did send him a rather tired glance. "I know, my name sucks! I had hippie parents ok? They changed their last name to Stormfront, God alone knows why. But I am grateful still, they named me Neil, not Shiny flower or Snowflake or something like that"

Bard had to giggle, that would have been precious indeed. Thran managed to keep a straight face. "Yes, we are here because of Bertram, he was here rather often?"

Neil got up, he was not only skinny, he was small too. "Indeed he was, he was going through the old maps of the city and the surroundings, he was looking for the original papers regarding a certain mine"

Bard did wet his lips. "Really? Do you know why?"

Neil did look a bit nervous, but he straightened his back. "Bertram made me promise to never tell anybody, but now he is dead and well, I think you ought to know"

He did reach into the desk and pulled out a small file. It did contain some old maps and papers. "Here it is, I was told to keep the papers here, why I don't know but I know that Bertram didn't want the family to know of this"

Bard did touch the first map reverently, it was very old and yellow and cracked and it showed a city which was a little more than a gathering of shacks. "So, what is so special about that mine?"

Neil made a grimace. "Bertram didn't really tell me a lot, but he spent two months looking for that map and he did also make a lot of odd requests on the net, I didn't see just what he was searching for though. He did just mumble about spread rate and levels. But the mine has been closed for more than a hundred years and it did belong to his family until it was deemed to be worthless. Then it was closed off. I think he wanted to know whether or not it was possible for anyone to get their hands on it by pressuring the authorities, or through illegal means"

Thran frowned. "So, why did he want the maps then?"

Neil did lower his voice. "I think somebody did contact him several times, wanting to buy the mine. The old lady would never accept such an offer but I think whoever it was did push him and he tried to find a way out of the predicament"

Bard felt a thrilling sensation running down his spine. "Did he mention who?"

Neil shook his head. "No, not directly, but he did mumble about "she" from time to time, he didn't like whoever it was. It had to be important though"

Thran did pick up the file. "Is it okay that we keep this?"

Neil shrugged. "I guess so, just don't harm the papers. They are freaking old"

Bard smiled. "No chance"

Thran did stop Bard as they exited the archive, he did look intense. "Listen, the mine is at the bottom of this, I am rather sure of it."

Bard made a grimace. "But it was worthless?"

Thran nodded. "The key word is was Bard, even if they couldn't get anything out of it in the 18 hundreds don't mean that they cannot make a profit of it today, we have better equipment and other methods now remember"

Bard shrugged. "I guess so, does the map tell what sorts of mine it was?"

Thran looked at it. "No, it doesn't. It is just listed with a number and the name of the owner, too bad. "

Bard made a gesture. "Maybe the lady at the entrance does know of anybody who knows what type of mine it was? This city should have a historian, or geologist right?"

Thran just grunted. "We can ask, that won't do any harm for sure"

The woman was sitting behind the desk still, her face was a bit intense. "Gentlemen, I wonder if you have heard the rumours?"

Thran frowned. "What rumours ma'am?"

She rolled her eyes. "People here can be vicious or rather, the guests are. Some have said that it was Bertram's fiancé who killed him and others claim that he had gambling debt and that the mob is behind it"

Bard had to hide a wicked grin, Bertram as a gambling addict? That didn't add up at all. Thran smiled. "I can assure you that none of that is true, but we do have a question for you, is there a historian here, or a geologist?"

The woman did look a bit confused, then she nodded "We have a geologist, she lives down by the lake. She works for the department of agriculture and wilderness management"

Thran smiled even wider. "Good, do you know the address?"

The woman wrote something down on a note. "Here Sir's, but I am warning you, she is what we used to define as a spitfire"

Thran looked at the note, it said. "Adina Sharp, Lake avenue nr 19 B."

Bard turned to Thran. "Do we visit her?"

Thran looked at the watch. "Yes, but right now I bet she is at work, however, I think we should visit the Feathered Goose, the restaurant isn't open yet but the workers has to have arrived by now, preparing takes many hours"

Bard nodded. "Right, whoever he met there pissed him off"

Thran smiled and walked out the door with his chin up. "Exactly, it could be that it was that person who wanted to buy the mine, for whatever reason"

They walked over to the police station and got a cruiser there, the restaurant was on the other side of the city and quite a drive away since the roads were very winding and odd. The restaurant was dark but there was light on the back and they saw that some people did arrive there at the same time as they did. Thran took a deep breath and straightened his jacket, he knew that his looks often opened doors, he did look like somebody with both wealth and influence and he knew how to use it. There was a person standing at the back door, he was smoking a cigarette and he was obviously in a hurry, he did look at them with some confusion. "Ah, we aren't open until nine?"

Thran showed his police badge. "We are investigators, we would like to talk to the manager?"

The young man did look at the badge with huge eyes, then he put out the cigarette and rushed inside. Some minutes did go by, then a very well dressed elderly gentleman with a goatee and a very well-groomed appearance did show up, he did look a bit curious but not alarmed in any manner. "Yes, how may I be of assistance?"

Bard tried to look as if he did fit into this sort of environment. "One of your guests has been found dead, we know he was here some time ago and that he met somebody. Do you have surveillance in the restaurant?"

The man took a deep breath. "Officially? No, but yes, we do have some cameras. We had to start using surveillance some years ago, we had a surge of pick pockets and some were bold enough to enter the restaurant pretending to be guests. "

Thran nodded. "You do know the name Bertram Tudolak?"

The manager smiled. "Of course, he was among our patrons, he wasn't here very often but he did always leave quite a tip and he was pleasant and a very cultural and refined man, we did love him"

A peculiar scent did drift by through the open door and the manager did sneeze. Thran had to frown. "Burned wool?!"

The manager nodded. "Yes, we are trying a new delicacy these days, from Norway. Smoked sheep's head, cleft in half. They say the eyeball is the best thing. The whole thing is barbecued over an open flame but the chef has to burn off the wool first"

Bard had to swallow hard, he had problems imagining food that would look at you as you ate it. Thran just smiled politely. "I am sure it is delightful, so, the recordings?"

The manager did wave his hand. "Follow me, we keep the recordings for two weeks, but you are in luck this time for the machines we use broke down due to a lightning strike a week ago and the tape hasn't been reset. "

They went through a typical restaurant kitchen with chefs and workers scurrying about like caffeinated squirrels and then they passed by an office and a room which had to be a sort of storage. The room with the computers was small, almost a closet but it was packed with equipment and a guy sat behind the desk working on something. He did jump as they entered and looked a bit like a startled bunny. He had very long front teeth and Bard wondered of the word Dental Braces were taboo where he was from. He could have needed some, badly. The manager smiled. "Duncan, this is investigators from the police station, they want to take a look at the recordings from that evening when Bertram was here?"

The lad blinked. "Wednesday the fifth right? I remember that one"

Bard did cock his head. "Why?"

Duncan grinned and Thran shuddered, the lad did remind him of the Cheshire cat from the old book about Alice in Wonderland, grin and everything. "Because it was a scene, and we don't have them here all that often"

He did turn on a rather large screen and Bard saw that most of the equipment was the type you would expect to find in a casino security room. "What's with all the expensive stuff?"

The manager did smile, he did look a bit sheepish. "My fault really, we didn't need all this in truth but I made a blunder. I did contact a security firm which does make surveillance packets for casinos and other places like that, wanted to know if they could downsize it for us. But before I knew it I had purchased the whole cow, not just a gallon of milk if you catch my drift. And it was too late to go back on the deal whence the bill came"

Duncan did turn on some sort of device and the screen came to life, they saw a table which was right in front of them and a woman was already seated there. Thran did blink, he did lean closer to the screen and his eyes were suddenly those of a hawk who has spotted a fat pigeon. "Look at her Bard, tell me what you see"

Bard did wet his lips, the room was rather hot and dry and he felt as if he could need a beer, or preferably a dozen. "Ahm, a woman in her early twenties? Long blonde hair, heavy make up. Expensive handbag, nice clothes, classy?"

Thran shook his head. "Nope, I see trash."

He did point at the screen. "See her dress? It looks like Gucci but it is a fake, so is the handbag. The hair is a wig, her nails are fake too, cheap glue on nails. And her body language is odd"

Bard frowned. "What do you mean?"

Thran tapped on the screen and Duncan did look a bit pissed for a moment. "She tries to look as if she belongs there, as if she is relaxed and on top of the situation but take a look at her right foot"

Bard nodded, she was flipping it up and down all the time. "She is nervous"

Thran nodded. "Very nervous"

The woman had a small envelope in front of her on the table and she did touch it ever so often, as if to ease a nervous animal. Thran tilted his head. "It is her pay check, her hope and dreams. "

Bard did frown" Really?"

Thran nodded. "She isn't here about the mine, that is for sure. I think I already have this one figured out"

They saw that a man did approach the woman, his body language was stiff and awkward and the woman did stand up and smiled, Bard thought that she did smile like a fat snake who has seen a lame mouse right in front of it. He did recognize Bertram though, he was even more plain now than on the photo's the investigator had seen, he wore just casual ordinary clothes and nothing about his appearance told of any wealth. The woman tried to hug him and he sort of shrugged her off, sat down with a rather harsh expression on his face. Thran stared at Duncan. "Is there audio available for this?"

Duncan shook his head. "Unfortunately no, but I can read lips?"

Thran brightened. "You can? Excellent, what the heck is she saying to him?"

Duncan leaned forward, the buck teeth did protrude a bit and Bard did almost expect the man to start squealing like a spooked rabbit. "Ah, she is rather smug, telling him it is time to pay up"

Bard saw that the woman did slide the envelope over to Bertram, grinning while doing it. Thran did stand there with a face like a mask, Bard knew the expression, his partner had already figured this out. Bertram did open the envelope and pulled out some papers, he did take one look at them, then he threw them down onto the table. Duncan was focused, his eyebrows did almost touch the hairline. "You have the wrong person here honey…"

He tilted his head. "She says something I cannot interpret, then he answers" I had mumps when I was twelve, I am infertile. That little trick of yours don't work on me"

They saw that the woman's face fell and Bertram did lean forth, his expression one of barely concealed rage" Go ahead, rape some other poor idiot, I doubt you have a kid at all"

He leaned back and smiled, a very nasty smile. "If I was you I wouldn't ruin that expensive boob job with a suckling baby"

The woman screamed and threw her glass of water at him and he ducked and tore the papers in half. "I can give you one advice "sweetheart", get out of this city and don't ever return!"

Duncan turned to them. "Did I do well?"

Thran nodded. "Oh yes, she is a gold digger, of the most vicious type. "

Bard was blinking. "He did speak of rape?!"

Thran nodded. "Yes, I think I know this one's MO too. She drugs rich men, has her way with them and then, a year or so after she confronts them and tells them that they are a daddy and has to pay up"

Bard looked as if he had tasted something nasty. "But then she has to fake a lot of papers? What about DNA tests?"

Thran almost growled. "I will send out a wanted alert, she has to be stopped. Such tests can be faked, in special if she does collect some hair and stuff of the guy while he is unconscious."

Bard stared at the image on the screen, Duncan had frozen the frame and Thran did get a few very good images of the woman's face and sent it off to the head quarters. "She probably imagined that he would be her sugar daddy or something"

Thran was mumbling. "I have seen that sort of trick before, they get in bed with rich guys and make sure to get pregnant, or pretend to be up the yard. It happened to a friend of mine many years ago, he did pay child support for more than five years until he happened to meet the kid, and saw that the lad was half African. He was Swedish himself and the mom pale too so nope, it wasn't his kid after all"

Thran did send a text to the Headquarters. "I am gonna ask Bertram's fiancé about that rape thing, if he ever mentioned something like that to her"

Bard scoffed. "Probably not, no guy wants to admit to having been roofied. That is the sort of thing which only happens to girls who drink too much remember?"

Thran nodded. He petted Duncan on the shoulder. "Thank for your help, you have been of great help my friend."

Duncan was beaming with pride and Bard was rather sure they had made his day complete. The manager did look a bit shocked. "I had no idea that something like that has happened in my restaurant, it is…it is shocking!"

Thran sighed. "Believe me, it is nothing. Don't worry, I am rather sure that it won't happen again."

They did thank the manager for his cooperation and help, then they left and Bard was hit by a sudden wave of nausea again, the smell of burned wool was intense again. Thran did grin. "Be glad they aren't serving another of the Norse delicacies, Lutefisk"

Bard tried to wrap his tongue around the word but failed miserably. "What is that?"

Thran shrugged. "Dried cod which has been placed in a bath of lye for a week, then washed in water and boiled, the smell cannot be described with words"

Bard gasped. "I now understand why the Vikings were such hardy people, if that is what you eat on an everyday basis you have got to be tough or die"

Thran just laughed and they drove off again, this time towards the lake. It was time to visit the geologist and they found the house easily enough. It was in a row of smaller buildings which did look very cosy and inviting and 19 B had a huge rose hedge in front of it and there was a couple of Jack Russel terriers running around in the small front yard. The dogs were yapping rather viciously and Thran made a grimace. "I prefer large dogs, I really do. These tiny ones make me nervous"

Bard had to laugh, they had two Irish wolfhounds by now and Jean had also bought a massive dog which had to be at least half Russian Ovtcharka or something of the kind. It kept the coyotes off the property for sure, and anyone with harmful intent. The dog did look like a grizzly bear in the dark.

A woman with short steel grey hair and a heart shaped face with narrow eyes did appear in the door, she did look a bit apprehensive and Thran did show his badge so she wouldn't believe that they were Jehova's witnesses or something like that. "I am sorry to disturb, but we need some professional help regarding a case"

The woman suddenly looked interested. "Really? What do the police need me for? I am a geologist?"

Thran dared to step through the wrought iron gate. "We have some questions regarding an old mine"

Adina did blink, suddenly she did look very eager indeed. "Do come inn, that is quite a coincidence, I have just finished a report on the geology of this area, and its history"

Bard did shove one of the yapping terriers away from his feet and she laughed. "Garnet, Geode, get away from the nice policemen"

She made an apologetic grin. "I bring them along on my excursions, they are very good to have in area's with rattlers and rats"

Thran had to whistle. "Rattlers? They kill rattlesnakes?"

She nodded. "Yep. One do distract the snake and the other one do finish it off, they are small but vicious. Have saved me from nasty bites more than once. It is a danger which comes with the territory"

They entered a tiny living room which was cramped to say the least. There were equipment everywhere, tables with samples of different types or rocks, maps and hammers and chemicals. Thran had large eyes and she did make a sheepish grin. "I am sorry about the absolute mayhem but my lab…well, my colleague did blow it up a week ago, it was an accident, a Bunsen burner which was left on for a wee bit too long and well, I have to work from home until they fix the damage."

She managed to clear enough room within a couch for two people to sit down. "So, what is it you are after? What mine are we talking about?"

Thran found the map in the file he carried. "An old abandoned one, owned by the Tudolak family and then abandoned somewhere in the 18 nineties we think"

She gaped for a second, then she smiled, a very wide smile. "Oh that one, damnation, that is a very interesting subject. Why the interest?"

Bard sighed. "Somebody did approach Bertram Tudolak and asked to buy the mine"

Adina nodded. "Alright. That means that this person is out for something else than normal, for that mine is worthless. They were digging for gold there but the vein ended and they hit a layer of extremely dense granite. Couldn't get through"

Thran frowned. "Could that have changed now? I mean, with modern equipment?"

She shook her head. "Nope, we know more about geology now than before, there is nothing left there, not even pretty crystals. But there is something odd about that mine though"

Bard did lean forth, he felt eager. "Oh?"

She smiled. "Or not as much the mine itself but the area it is in, it is in a very narrow and deep canyon and the natives did shun the area, said there was something there which made people sick, said it was evil spirits there. I don't know but there is something odd there for sure, I have seen some pretty strange plants there."

Bard frowned. "You have been there?"

She nodded. "Yes, two years ago, to check for possible avalanches. The city wanted to build a road through the canyon but they had to forget the idea, the rock there is rotten in many places. To secure the entire canyon would be a waste of money"

Thran tilted his head. "So the mine is worthless, then why would anybody want it?"

She seemed to be thinking hard. "Ah, this may be nothing but…"

Bard smiled. "Don't hold back, anything may be of importance here"

She took a deep breath. "Listen, this is a rumour among geologists alright? Nothing confirmed, but they say that there was a geologist who got hired by someone to explore the mine, ten years ago. And some say that she found something in there, a sort of natural cave system, but she disappeared a while later, nobody has heard of her ever since and I think it is more of an urban legend. It isn't really the right type of rock for caves, they tend to collapse rather quickly. But if it is below the layer of granite…well, I wouldn't call it impossible"

Thran did look a bit intense. "Do you happen to know the name of that geologist?"

Adina shrugged. "All I know is that she wasn't from around here, I think she came from Mexico? Valdez? I think her last name was Valdez yes!"

Thran snapped his fingers. "People don't just disappear, we should be able to find her. And find whoever it was who hired her"

They got up and Adina smiled. "If I can be of any more help don't hesitate to call me"

She handed over a card and Thran put it into his wallet. "We will, thank you for your cooperation miss"

Thran was quiet until they got back into the car, then he made a grimace. "That mine has to contain something important, or something dangerous!"

Bard did squint. "Why do I get the feeling you don't like the idea very much?"

Thran shrugged. "Call it a spider sense, something about this is menacing."

He was buckling inn when the phone rang, it was one of the technicians who were working on the case and he was excited. "Sirs, I have something. Bertram did have a very controlled economy, but each month he did pay two and a half grand to some account out of state. He did take the money from different accounts, never the same amount from each but it always summed up to the same amount."

Thran tensed up. "Really? Did he hide it?"

The technician was almost panting. "Yes, the papers tell of everything from gas to table cloths but the money all went to that one account. He didn't want his family to know for sure"

Thran was intense, Bard could almost feel it. "Find that account, it has to mean something, and do it asap"

The technician was grunting. "On it, it may take some time, I don't know what bank it is in"

Thran put down the phone. "This is odd, now, let us go through what we do know. That woman who did try to trick him into paying child support can be removed from the picture, she is not involved in the murder. Then we have the person who wanted to buy the mine, who was that and why that mine? And now that monthly payment? It too has to be something special since he tried to hide it from everybody! "

Bard shrugged. "Maybe he did have a kid somewhere after all?"

Thran shook his head. "No, remember? He had the mumps, he was sterile. No, this is something else. And then that missing geologist. It is connected, I am telling you!"

They drove back towards the headquarters and Bard was trying to think. What could it be that Bertram was hiding? He hadn't told the family of the mine, it was obvious, and those money? It wasn't shockingly much but enough to be noticed, even in a huge economy like that of the Tudolak cooperation. Mr Baker was waiting for them, it was getting late so he had ordered some food and they ate in a hurry. Thran did lean back and sighed, he felt tired and frustrated, this case was confusing. Baker did hand over some papers. "Take a look at this"

Thran did stare at the pages, it was a report from the coroner. "Bertram had tranquilizers in his system? Animal tranquilizers?!"

Baker nodded. "In a very high concentration, enough to kill a person pretty fast. And the coroner did find a small puncture wound at the base of his neck"

Bard frowned. "A needle?"

Baker shook his head. "No, blow dart. The type vets use, whoever did place the fake deer there didn't want Bertram to survive, it was an assassination for sure. And the tracks through the woods were covered but ended at the quarry where he was found. The barrel must have contained something which did dry the body out, the coroner thinks it was natron. The stuff the Egyptians use to dry out mummies before they are wrapped up. There has been some cases of people dumping chemicals in that old quarry. There was some sulphur there too, the culprit must have rolled the body through the stuff, possibly to hide the smell from coyotes and bears. "

Thran grunted. "Right, then we know how poor Bertram did die, and that the killer actually intended to kill him there and then. Check if there are any vets in the area who are missing any tranquilizers, this stuff cannot be bought over the counter so it has to have been stolen."

Baker went to his computer. "I am on it"

They were half asleep from the intake of food when the phone rang, Mr Baker did jump out of his chair and answered and he did put it on speaker by accident. It was Orome and they did recognize the deep voice immediately. "Baker, send a swat team, no, send all of the teams you have, heck. Call in the national guard!"

Baker did frown. "What? What is wrong?"

The deep voice had a tone of disbelief. "It is old Grog, except, it isn't him, not really. He has freakin' grown, must have some sort of tumour or something for fuck me sideways, I have never seen a larger bear ever! He must weigh in at two tonnes by now!"

Baker was blinking. "Are you kidding me?"

Orome was obviously running, they could hear feet and somebody was panting. "No, he just shredded two officers here, and toppled a pick up. The bear is mad man, hyper aggressive."

Baker gaped, he did look like a fish abandoned on dry land. "Ah, are you sure it isn't the darkness which is fooling ya? He could be rabid…"

Orome did sound a bit tired. "Listen, I know bears right? That fucking bear has turned into a monster, he has grown a lot just over the last year! I am not lying, we emptied my .38 and two assault rifles plus my elephant rifle into him and he just shrugged it off like it was mosquito bites. Something is off!"

Thran was listening with eyes wide open and Bard was gaping too. "Ah, seriously? Two tonnes?!"

Orome was grunting. "About that yes, alert the city. If the monster heads that way we have a situation"

Baker tried to catch his breath. "Will do"

Orome grunted again, he was obviously running through the woods, in the distance they could hear someone screaming. "What is the heaviest weapons you have?"

Baker was running his hand through his hair, his eyes were bulging. "Ah, Ar-15's?"

Orome was cussing so bad it was a wonder the wall paper didn't catch fire. "Shit, fuck a duck, crap a doodle. We have already tried that, didn't do diddeli squat, could have tickled him with a stick, same result. "

Bard felt a bit faint. "Ah, the national guard?"

Orome was breathing fast. "Yeah, call them. They have armour piercing ammo for sure. Nothing less will do"

Baker was grasping for his cell phone. "Where are you?"

Orome could be heard jumping over something. "At Deer point, heading towards Keller's creek. He is on the chase but not very fast"

Baker was going through his phone list and Thran got up, walked over to the map on the wall. It showed the area and he did point his finger at Keller's creek and Deer point. He did look rather sinister. "I wonder…"

Bard followed him. "I don't like that expression?"

Thran nodded. "See what I see? It's not far from that canyon, with the mine"

Bard felt utterly confused, they heard that the call was ended, the phone seemed to hit something. Baker was calling the national guard, he was trembling and had a hard time explaining the situation.

Thran's phone went off, it was the technician again. "Guys, it is a hospital, in Mexico. They specialize in rare diseases, and injuries!"

Thran was a bit pale. "Send me the name, now!"

The technician was fast, the name ticked inn right away and Thran did google it, he did leave the bear situation to Baker, he had to be able to take care of it. Bard was listening as Thran tried to call the hospital, that was when his own phone went off too. It was a number he didn't know but it was probably local and when he answered they heard a hysterical woman's voice. "It is Louisa, oh god, somebody has taken Sophia, from her rooms!"

Bard blinked. Why did the apocalypse seem to be happening there and then? "Calm down, did somebody kidnap her?"

Louise could be heard keening. "Yes, oh please help. She went upstairs to get her jumper for it is chilly here and then we heard crashes and screams and then a car took off from behind the house and she is gone"

Bard felt cold, it was probably a very professional snatch and grab then. "Louisa, listen to me, this is important. Do not leave the house, call security, we will be there shortly"

They heard someone yelling in the background and the phone went dead. Thran was wild eyed and Baker was obviously trying to convince some lieutenant of the importance of sending a troop of well trained soldiers. It was obviously not easy. Finally Thran got through to the hospital and someone speaking Spanish did answer. He had to wait for a while for somebody who could speak English and Baker did manage to convince the officer that yes, they had a situation there.

Bard was jogging around, waiting for Thran to be finished so they could speak to the Tudolak family and see if they could find Bertram's fiancé. Thran did present himself and asked about the monthly sum of money and the lady at the other end didn't want to tell them anything until Thran did mention that Bertram was dead and that it was a murder investigation. Then she got someone else who knew more and they heard a sort of melancholic voice which had to belong to an elderly man. He did present himself as Doctor Jerome Jerez and he was obviously the doctor in care of the hopeless cases. Thran asked about the money and Dr Jerez did sigh. "Those money is for the care of a patient we have here, a very tragic story really"

Thran swallowed. "Let me guess, the patient is a woman? A former geologist?"

The man on the other end was quiet for a moment, when he came back the voice was intense. "Senor, how did you know? The patient is indeed a geologist, Anna Valdez, she has been here for over nine years."

Thran closed his eyes. "Tell me, is she suffering from some sort of poisoning?"

Dr Jerez could be heard swallowing. "Yes, Bertram Tudolak did hire her to investigate an old mine, somebody wanted to buy it and wouldn't quit asking him about it and he wanted to find out why it suddenly was so attractive. She didn't find any gold but said she had seen something impossible while being down there, something which had fallen. And when she came back home to Mexico she fell ill, we didn't realize what it was until it was too late."

Thran nodded. "Radiation sickness right?"

Dr Jerez was going through papers, his hands had to be shivering, they could hear it. "Yes, very severe. She is alive but…she is in a vegetative state, her brain is injured. Bertram felt guilty and has kept paying for her care"

Thran sighed deeply. "Dr Jerez, thank you. You have been of immense help. I will make sure that the money keeps coming"

He did end the conversation and stared at Bard with dark eyes. "That mine is death Bard, I think I know what that geologist found"

Bard saw that Baker was heading out to meet the national guard and he swallowed hard. Two crisis on one evening was one too many. "What?"

Thran threw his jacket on again and they were running towards the car. They heard sirens and some squad cars did race by, somebody had been thinking fast for the air raid sirens started sounding, giving the listen to radio signal. "There must have been a river running through that canyon once upon a time, and if there is a cave system down there something was washed down into it. A meteorite"

Bard cussed. "Are you fucking sure?"

Thran nodded. "Some of those can be extremely radioactive"

Bard started the car and it roared forth. "Why would anyone want a radioactive meteorite?"

Thran was almost panting. "I think you know…"

Bard felt dizzy. "Oh bloody…fuck. "

Thran was sweating. "This isn't about the mine or wealth, this is about terrorism Bard, on a grand scale. And they won't let anybody stand in their way"

Bard swallowed hard. "Then we have to find the one who wanted to buy the mine, and we need to do it now!"

Thran stared at his phone. "I feel like calling Orome and warning him, that bear has probably hibernated in one of the caves, and gotten some sort of pituitary gland problem, it is the victim of a mutated form of cancer"

Bard frowned. "You think so?"

Thran tried to smile as they got into the car. "Research have shown that creatures can grow bigger when exposed to radiation"

Bard tried not to think of the old Godzilla movie he had seen sometime in the 90's. That depiction of the monster had been absolutely terrifying. What if Old Grog did continue to grow?

Thran did drive, it was dark now and the road was filled with cars, the sirens and the light made the other drivers hit the curb to let them pass by. The mansion was filled with light, some of the security guards were running around as if their shoes were on fire and it was a scene of chaos. Thran moaned when he saw the action, if there had been tire treads there they were gone now.

The butler did greet them as last time, but he did look a bit like a ghost and his eyes were glassy. "Follow me, they are waiting"

Thran and Bard did storm into the living room, it was a smaller one and rather cosy, more like a normal living room in an ordinary home. Nadya was trying to calm down Louisa and Bard saw that the others there looked shaken and Thran did take a deep breath. "People, it is time to be completely honest with me now. Bertram probably got killed because of an old mine you own, do anyone here know something about that?!"

Nadya went even paler than before and she had to sit down, her eyes were huge. "Oh god, oh no!"

Thran was staring at her, his eyes were sharp" Speak!"

Louisa stared at her mother, eyes wide and chin trembling. "Mother?"

Nadya trembled. "Fifteen years ago I was contacted by somebody who wanted to buy the mine, I refused. That place is worthless and the rock is not solid, it is a death trap. So I turned the offer down in a rather brusque manner. But I know that the same people did contact Bertram some years later, and that he too did reject them very firmly. I didn't intervene for I knew my son, he would never do anything stupid. They must have believed that he was my heir or capable of making me change my mind"

Thran sighed. "They have probably tried again then, several times. Tell me, who were they?"

Nadya closed her eyes. "A firm from the north of here, they run mines and such. Angband industries"

Bard frowned. "Why does that name strike a bell in my head?"

Thran almost growled. "Because there was a scandal involving them some years ago, they had been taking over a strip mine and didn't replace the top soil they removed as they were supposed to. It was a shit storm"

Nadya sighed. "Their leader is rather famous, he is a tough one, a man of the old school. He is ruthless and driven but honest, I know that for a fact. He would never kidnap anyone, I am not so sure of his associates though"

Bard stared at Thran who looked as if he was thinking hard. "I have met him. Melkor Angband, he is an old fellow now but he did have a rather large group of associates. Some see him as a sort of mob godfather and I think they are right. But as Nadya says, he is honest. Mean if he needs to be but his methods are always clean."

Bard grunted. "But somebody did kidnap Sophia and it has to do with the mine, could it be somebody else?"

Thran shook his head. "Not very likely, you said the first contact was fifteen years ago?"

Nadya did nod. "Yes, it was a letter, from Angband industries. It offered a ridiculous amount of money for the mine but like I said, I wasn't tempted. "

Thran did look very intense. "Was that letter signed by the leader himself or someone else?"

Nadya did look a bit confused for a moment. "I…I cannot seem to remember?"

Bard took her hand. "Do you keep all business correspondence?"

She nodded. "Yes, but fifteen years? That's in the basement"

Thran snapped his fingers. "People, you know the basement, go down there and find those papers, they may tell us where Sophia is. Hurry"

Nadya did wave her hand. "The letters came in June I think, they have the Angband industry letterhead."

Two of the relatives did run off and Bard and Thran went up to Sophia's room, the place did look like a mess and the window was smashed. Bard did wet his lips. "Know what? This doesn't look very professional after all, look at the mayhem?!"

Thran touched the frame of the broken window, he did stare at it with narrow eyes. "You are right, this was premeditated but not done by a pro, that is for sure."

He did lean forth and stared at a piece of frame, then he waved his hand. "Bard, take a look at this, what do you think it is?"

Bard came over, in a crack in the wood they saw something, a small flake of something bright blue, with sparkles in it. Thran fished it out using a handkerchief and Bard blinked. "A piece of a finger nail?"

Thran nodded. "Yes, and I did notice that Sophia has French style manicure. The attacker was a woman"

Bard had to gape. "Are you kidding me?"

Thran shook his head. "I am starting to think that we have got this all wrong after all"

Bard shook his head. "Whoa there, what are you talking about?!"

Thran stopped and turned on his heel, stared straight at Bard. "Listen, Bertram was tricked into stopping his car, then probably hauled off into the woods and the body found in a barrel down at the bottom of an old quarry. That speaks of rage, and hatred even. This room speaks of the same, and at an escalating level"

Bard nodded. "So what have we failed to see?"

Thran sighed. "I think we are about to find out, pretty soon"

They went back downstairs, just as the butler came running out of the basement with some papers, he was waving them and looked excited. "Gentlemen, look what we found"

Bard took the papers, the letterhead was very visible since the firm used very bold letters in a gothic font and the colour was bright red. The letter was a standard business proposal but the name at the bottom was what caused Thran's eyebrows to touch his hairline. He handed it over to Bard. "Look, do you see what I see?"

Bard nodded. "Thuringwethil Angband? The boss daughter?"

Thran shook his head. "No, niece, apparently sharp as a razor and just as driven as her uncle."

The handwriting was very elegant, clearly a woman's and yet powerful. "She is a jet setter and rather famous but she is sprung from the same roots as her uncle for sure. Very hard when it comes to business and extremely smart"

Bard looked at the letter again. "It was fifteen years ago, why try again so many times, and keep trying?"

Thran made a nasty grimace and shrugged. "I have no idea, I guess we will have to go to the source. "

Bard frowned. "The source?"

Thran nodded. "If this was done by Thurinwethil it is not normal behaviour for a businesswoman, they do have a reputation for playing dirty at times and for using every possible method to get what they want but they have never hurt anyone, ever! They may blackmail, they may buy your debts and force you to sell but never murder, the old man is very adamant about that."

Bard felt a bit confused. "So what are you saying? What are we to do?"

Thran picked up his phone. "Baker?"

The sheriff answered. "Yes, this better be important, the whole city is going to hell or so it seems, that bear or whatever it has turned the area into a war zone"

Bard swallowed hard. "Ah, how?"

Baker did sound exasperated. "Someone did listen in on the police radio, now every gun nut and hunter with a larger than God complex is out there, to "save" us from the bear. It is mayhem, so far we have had two cows shot, a horse and someone did shoot their own truck"

Thran did scoff. "I can imagine, could you provide us with a helicopter?"

There was a second of silence "Are you nuts? We have two, and both are needed to find that goddamn overgrown Teddy"

Thran took a deep breath "Listen, we think that Melkor Angband's niece has Sophia, I must speak with the old man. It takes just half an hour to fly out of here and over to their headquarters but it will take two hours by road, or probably more"

Baker could be heard moaning "Alright fine! It is dark anyhow so the choppers don't see anything. Are you at the mansion? Expect one in five"

Thran smiled. "Good, thank you. We will be ready"

Bard took a few deep breaths, there were things he hated more than flying a chopper in the dark but they were few, and he couldn't remember them there and then. "Do you think we'll even get to speak with the boss himself?"

Thran did nod. "I have met him, once. At a party for a charity someone did organize. He may be a tough old bastard and rather ruthless but he is not going to accept that any of his employee's use filthy methods. "

They ran outside to the lawn and saw that a helicopter was approaching from the city, they heard sirens and the roads were packed with cars, trying to leave. The news had spread fast or so it seemed. The lawn was huge so the pilot had no problems landing and Thran jumped inn. "We have to get to Angband Enterprises, fast!"

The pilot nodded. "Alright but strap yourself inn tight, it is strong winds tonight and the weather is nasty over the mountains"

Bard rolled his eyes, this was getting better and better. Thran was on the phone with Baker again, ordering someone to see if they could find the type of car Sophia had been dragged off inn, or where it was heading. There were traffic cameras on the main roads but the chances were that the culprit didn't use those roads but the smaller local ones.

The flight was a bumpy ride to say the least. Bard felt as if his entire stomach was about to say goodbye when they finally did descend towards the huge factory area, and he was sure that he was just as green in the face as Kermit the frog. The helicopter did land on a pad outside of the fences and Thran did take a deep breath.

There were security guards there and they had both guns and dogs. Thran told the pilot to stay and then he walked up towards the gate, he had the natural grace of someone of importance and the head of the guard did meet him, obviously aware of the fact that this was somebody he ought to listen to. Thran was saying something, pointing at Bard, the helicopter and his face was very stern. He did look almost menacing and the guard did lift a radio and was talking fast. Then he nodded and Thran waved his hand, called Bard over. "Mr Angband has agreed to speak with us"

The guard did lead them through the gate and another man came to greet them, he was probably a sort of body guard but was dressed like a butler and he did look like a very controlled and pleasant person. Bard was glad they both were dressed well, and that Thran knew how to behave among the upper classes, he felt misplaced as usual.

They were taken to an office which had a whole wall made from glass, it did enable the people who visited the place to see the whole area. Bard knew that there was money in mining and oil but this office didn't really speak of any wealth. There was little luxury there, and it was very Spartan when it came to decorations and furniture. They did only have to wait for a couple of minutes, a door opened and a man entered the room. He was very old, that was apparent but there was still some traces of black in his long silky hair and the face was still handsome. He had to have been even taller than Thran but now he was bent and weak and used a cane to walk and Bard did notice that his hands were covered with velvet gloves.

Thran did bow his head. "Mr Angband."

The old man coughed and managed to make a sort of smile. "Mr Oropherson, I am pleased to see you again, that party was a very pleasant evening"

Thran smiled. "Yes, indeed it was"

Melkor did tilt his head. "You said that my niece has done something very stupid?"

Thran closed his eyes for a second. "Yes, yes she has. Did you know that she has tried to buy and old mine from the Tudolak family for the last fifteen years?"

The old man did raise his head, his eyes got hard. "Yes, she told me, fifteen years ago, said she had discovered that it was valuable after all. I told her to knock it off, that piece of land is just crap, rotten rock and no gold left, just granite. And not even the type you can use for building stuff"

He coughed again. "But she didn't back off?"

Thran made a grimace. "No, apparently she has tried to force Bertram Tudolak into selling the mine, or using him to make Nadya sell it rather."

Melkor was silent for a few seconds. "Bertram is dead isn't he? And you think that Thu did it?"

Bard had been silent but he felt that it was better that he delivered the bad news. "Yes, and now she has kidnapped Sophia, Bertram's fiancée. "

Melkor seemed to shrink, like a wheel with a hole in it. He coughed again, rather viciously. "Take a look at this then gentlemen!"

He walked over to his desk and took out some papers. It was letters like the one they had found in the Tudolak basement, with the Angband letterheads and all. Thran did take a look at them and he almost gasped. "Oh my…what is this?"

Melkor sat down. "Letters signed by my niece, I knew you would see it"

Thran handed the letters over to Bard. "Look at the signatures"

Bard did and frowned. "What the heck? This cannot be the same person?"

Thran sent him a sad grin. "It is, does she have a diagnosis?"

Melkor shrugged. "I don't really know, she has been acting more and more like a mad woman over the last year, I have been forced to take action and remove her from some of her chores here. She cannot be trusted anymore. I thought…"

He did cough and wiped his mouth. "I thought she was just depressed for a while, her husband did leave her two years ago, for some young bimbo and well, she is proud my niece, very proud"

Thran nodded. "Those who are proud crack pretty fast."

Melkor managed to smile. "I know, pride is never a good trait. It is a sin you know"

Thran looked down. "Is it true what they say about you?"

Melkor nodded . "About the fact that I am dying? Yes, I have weeks left, if I last that long. "

Bard felt shocked. "Cancer?"

The old man smiled, a very sad smile. "Yes, a very rare form of it, extremely aggressive, came out of thin air three years ago. "

Thran looked sad. "And it cannot be cured"

Melkor shook his head. "No, after I had an accident some decades ago I cannot be treated like ordinary cancer patients, my veins are too fragile. I have always had such a strong health but it has failed me, at last"

Thran looked at Bard and his eyes were hard, and dark. "When you die, who is your heir?"

Melkor shrugged. "I have only Thu left now, her brother died ten years ago in an accident in a mine we were opening and her father has been dead since she was five. "

Thran took a deep breath. "She is your sole heir or what?"

Melkor closed his eyes. "Yes, but of late…she has acted in a bizarre manner, and…I decided to remove her from my will, and make the entire firm into an ordinary stock based business. She will keep some of the stocks of course but I have already organized the sale of the rest. "

Bard felt a bit sick again. "When did you do this?"

Melkor sighed. "Some years ago, before I fell ill"

Thran sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sir, your cancer was no coincidence, neither was the death of Bertram and the death of her brother. She did indeed find something very valuable by that mine, and she has used it, to make you sick."

Melkor blinked, his face was ghostly grey. "I cannot believe that…"

Thran sat down and stared at the old man. "She found a radioactive meteorite, and she has probably used it to poison you, over time, to make sure the treatments you receive fail. She tried to cover up her tracks by killing Bertram who most likely had figured it out and she would probably have tried to make you change your will again, just how deteriorated is her state of mind?"

Melkor was quiet, his voice did shiver when he started to speak again. "Very, she is still clever and shrew like an old vixen but she has turned malevolent, mean. She no longer care about the rules"

Melkor stared out of the windows and for a moment you really saw his age clearly, he did look like a man who truly was well above a hundred. "I have worked so hard my entire life, I have sacrificed what other people see as a natural part of life, a family, close relations. I have stepped on many toes and caused much misery for sure but I have repaid for that by creating jobs and values which have benefitted this nation. And now…"

He sighed and the face was sad. "Those who soar high do fall in the end, this is my fall from grace I fear, and she is the one who started it. "

Thran was quiet, there was compassion within his eyes. Melkor had been tough as old nails and a real old bastard in many ways but he was a human being and now he was suffering. "Sir, we need to find her, do you have any idea of where she may have taken Sophia?"

Melkor sent them a very melancholic grin. "She has taken over much of the organization over the last year, unbeknownst to me. I just found out recently, she has sold off things and equipment we do need, but she has obviously a need for money which far exceeds her rather substantial paycheck. I have taken precautions of course"

He walked over to a desk by the corner and entered a code on a hidden console, a drawer did slide forth and he did pick out a tablet. He handed it over to Thran. "She does drive a Pontiac, a beast of a car. There isn't much on the road which can keep up with it, but I have placed a tracker in it. It cannot be traced from within the car or near it but I can keep an eye on where she is, approximately"

Thran opened the tablet. "You do really have a problem with trusting her"

Melkor made a scoffing sound. "Thranduil, I do not trust anyone. It is a life long lesson and one I have learned very well. Thu has made odd decisions which makes no sense, she has insulted people, threatened them too. She is a loose canon on the deck and if she was younger I would have placed her over my lap and given her a few really good whacks"

Bard stared at Thran. "Could she be an addict of some sorts?"

Thran nodded. "Most likely. Mr Angband, what sort of education does she have?"

Melkor made a sort of grin. "She wanted to become a vet as a kid, started the education too, but she then changed to banking and finances, why I don't know."

Thran took a deep breath. "Right, then we know how she knew how to tranquilize Bertram, she probably got the drugs and the blow gun from some veterinarians office. "

Melkor did tilt his head. "We own a small zoo? With a vet, Mr Berentz, he is in his sixties and not what I would call up to date but very skilled. She has always been the apple of his eye, or rather, she was when she was younger. She sort of fell out of favour when she started to release some of the animals"

Bard turned around on his heel. "Did she happen to release a bear?"

Melkor frowned " A bear? No? I don't think so…or wait a minute…"

He did sit down and started a small desktop, then he waited for a moment and started typing. After yet another minute he did nod. "She did in fact let out a young grizzly, it was taken inn for treatment, had been caught in a trap and Mr Berentz felt that it was too weak to survive but she was getting increasingly strong willed back then and let it back out into the forest. I doubt that it did survive"

Thran looked at Bard with a curious glance within his eyes. "What?"

Bard did wet his lips. "Ah, I just thought that…well, Orome said that Old Grog could have been kept as a pet? What if it was a bear who really has learned to hate humans?"

Thran frowned. "It cannot be that old? Bears don't live for that long?"

Bard shrugged. "Who knows really?"

Thran made a grimace. "But if she was interested in wildlife for a period of time she probably visited the canyon and noticed the odd plants and managed to put two and two together, she probably got inside of the cave system somehow. And knew what she found too, she is after all very smart. "

Thran stared at the tablet. "According to this the car is placed somewhere south of the city, in an area with no residents"

Melkor nodded. "An area we were supposed to buy but I pulled the plug on it even when she was protesting. The area is too ragged to be used for anything, the costs will far exceed the profit"

Bard tried to think rationally. "Mr Angband, did Thu live here? Does she have rooms here?"

Melkor nodded. "Yes, my butler can take you there. But please, be fast. If Thu really has kidnapped that young woman…I fear for her life then, Thu has been very irrational of late"

Bard tried to smile and Thran did grasp the old man's hand, shook it gently. "Thank you sir, this has been very helpful"

They followed the butler and Bard couldn't help but feeling sorry for the old man, he was watching how his life's work was being torn apart and much of it thanks to the one who should have ensured that it did continue.

The butler did take them into a small apartment at the back of the office complex, it wasn't very large but opulent and overly luxurious. It looked as if the owner had tried to squeeze as much as possible into the area just to show off her money and influence. But Thran did notice something, there were empty pale spots on the walls and some things were obviously missing. The butler did stare at the walls with a face devoid of expression but Thran saw through it. "What is it man? Spit it out"

The butler did take a very deep breath and he made a grimace. "Sirs, I have to tell you this. She has been selling a lot of her valuables of late, even her jewellery. I have seen it but I cannot say anything, she does pay me you see and I need the money. I have a criminal record so no others will hire me and…"

Thran nodded. "I see, why? You must have some idea of why she does this?"

The butler ran his hand through his hair, he did look nervous. "Listen, you didn't hear this from me, but she has a habit ya see."

Thran did look very intense. "Alright, a habit. What sorts of habit?"

The butler grunted. "The very expensive one, a new drug, special made. It makes you feel awesome for a while but it is addictive as fuck, pardon my French. "

Bard felt on edge, he started to see a pattern. "Who is her dealer?"

The butler went over to the desk and took out a laptop, he did start it. "It is all here, she does talk with them through encrypted mail but the old man is smart, he has a secret program installed on all the computers here which enable him to decrypt anything written on them. I have the key"

He did sit down and started typing something and the computer could be heard as it was working hard. Then he got up. "It is all yours gentlemen."

Thran sat down and stared at the long row of emails. He did sigh. "Bard, call Baker and tell him to send cars to the area where Thu's car was registered but for heavens sake, tell him to stand back and keep a distance. I fear that this may be the moment when the shit hits the fan"

He pointed at the screen. "She has a meeting today, in about an hour. She is to deliver the "goods" but it doesn't say what the "goods" are"

Bard did wet his lips "The meteorite?"

Thran nodded. "Most likely, I think that the dealer is someone way more sinister than just an average drug dealer, some of the drug cartels are in close league with terrorists"

Bard felt a bit dizzy. "They targeted her right? Found someone rich and influential they could get hooked and use as a mule and then blackmail into obeying and she must have revealed what that canyon does contain. And they saw the light and kept pushing her, asking her to buy it"

Thran grinned but it was a nasty smile. "Yes, she may have mentioned the meteorite to get a lever to use against them, something to tempt them with, to give her the upper hand. But it has failed for sure"

Bard grunted. "But then why kidnap Sophia?"

Thran closed the laptop. "It could have been anyone of the family who was alone and vulnerable, she wants to have something to present to the dealers, a person who is valuable to the family could be the one thing which let's her off the hook. A hostage would most likely be what they need to make Nadya change her mind and sell the mine and the area around it"

Bard saw that the butler did look completely aghast. "She didn't mean to kill Bertram then?"

Thran got up. "No, it was an accident. She wanted to keep him as a hostage but failed at determining the dose of tranquilizers. "

Bard realized that this Thu probably was rather insane by now, or rather, that her brains were cooked by drugs. Thran smiled at the butler. "Thank you sir, is it okay if I bring this computer with me? We can track and catch some nasty critters using it, the dealers have used names I am sure can be traced"

The butler did shrug. "Be my guest, the boss hates those sorts of people, says there is no honour among them. I am sure it will thrill him if you put them behind bars, or preferably ten feet under. "

They returned to the heli pad and the pilot had kept the rotor going, Thran made sure that Baker had received the message and then he asked the pilot to forget that the helicopter was an elderly model and pretend as if it was an apache. They needed speed now, lots and lots of it. They could only pray that Baker did understand the severity of the situation and didn't move inn too fast, if Sophia was to survive this they had to use stealth and the factor of surprise. The helicopter did take off and Bard closed his eyes, this was gonna be one hell of a ride for the pilot seemed to have taken Thran's order quite literally.

The area south of the city was a deserted one, it was riddled with narrow gorges and flat plateaus and it was probably going to be a part of the national park for it wasn't possible to use it for anything at all. There was one road leading into it and it wasn't used that much, even if the area was just a few miles out of the city. There was nothing there which would draw people to the place, the only ones who did visit were hikers fond of extreme terrain and a farmer every now and then, looking for lost livestock. Now there were several cars parked there, all rather large expensive vehicles and they were dark in colour and hard to see in the dark. They were obviously waiting for something and there were about seven men there, all armed and they did look as if they were very bored. The bitch ought to show up soon and she'd better bring the goods, their bosses were impatient and that thing she had promised them could bring inn some insane amounts of cash. They already had contacts which were interested and if it was used to produce a dirty bomb or just to poison an entire city who cared, money doesn't stink. She has said she would be there, and they knew that she needed a fix by now, no doubt she would show.

Orome was pissed off, Baker had retracted many of the officers and some of the soldiers too and sent them off somewhere else and many had also been pulled back to protect the city and its inhabitants. Some people were going insane and shooting at everything which did or didn't move and Orome had never seen mayhem like this ever. The bear was gone, as if the ground had swallowed it and they were tracking it, with difficulties. Orome was a very skilled tracker, he had put the rest of the group behind him now and was running, the tracks were very faint and that was due to the drought, it hadn't rained in this area for a while and the soil was hard due to this. He kept his eyes on the faint track, he was so attuned to the light of the moon and the stars he didn't need a headlight, he did loathe all such modern things. He had his trusted revolver and a rifle over his back and he was capable of running way faster than any soldier, no matter how well trained he was. He realized he was heading towards the uninhabited area south of the city and did draw a deep breath of relief, there were no people to harm there. If he got the bear in sight he could shoot without danger of harming somebody else. The idea that the bear had a tumour which caused it to grow wasn't too far fetched, he had seen such things before and if the animal was in pain it did explain the erratic behaviour. He kept running, the men who had been following him were far behind and he liked that, he did hunt way better on his own. He suddenly saw light up ahead and tensed up, it was probably car lights. He did start to run even faster, the bear was way ahead of him, and if it was angry still it would be drawn to the lights. He had to get there first.

The large black Pontiac did roar into the small parking lot, it did almost skid as the driver stepped on the breaks and the men did squint and stepped back a bit. The woman who did step out of the car was in her late fifties, rather elegant and wearing an expensive suit but she was dishevelled, there was blood on her cheek and her hair was undone. Her eyes were huge and her expression one of genuine madness, she did almost stumble and her expression more of a sneer than a grin. The leader of the men did step forth, he carried an assault rifle and his expression was one of slight disgust and contempt. "Do you have it?"

The woman was trembling, her posture almost threatening in spite of the fact that she was outnumbered. She was clearly used to being in charge and she was also clearly in distress. "No, goddamn old goat won't sell, couldn't make that whelp cooperate. But I have his bitch, they will sell when you have her"

She stumbled towards the rear of the car and tore the luggage hatch open, inside was a bound and gagged Sophia who was obviously terrified. The men didn't look impressed. "We told you to get the mine, we need it. "

Thu did sneer again. "Don't worry, they will sell, the pussies won't let another one of their own die. They are too sentimental"

She did pinch the bound woman and she did writhe, eyes huge with fear. The men stared at each other, the leader did step closer and grunted. "I hear you saying that but we cannot afford to wait for very long, we need that bloody meteorite. "

Thu shrugged. "You won't have to wait for very long, Bertram was onto me so he wasn't a huge loss really, but I know where it is, I have seen it. We just need permit to dig."

She shuddered and tried to stay straight, to keep her demanding posture. "So, where is it, I need it"

The leader sort of laughed and threw a small plastic bag at her, she tore it open and it contained some very small white pills, she pushed a couple into her mouth and her movements were desperate. The men all looked disgusted. They hated junkies but at the same time they were dependent upon them, without them they wouldn't earn any money.

The woman in the trunk was trembling, she had realized that she was in the hands of a deranged kidnapper and she wasn't stupid, if the men found out who her family was she would most certainly be used to press money from them too. And what if these men weren't pleased with Thu's explanation? The woman had acted like a rabid animal and been fearfully strong, Sophia knew it was due to drugs.

The leader smirked. "So, we have the fiancé of Bertram Tudolak, she is worth a lot more than a mine now isn't she, even with a meteorite in it. But you on the other hand…I am not so sure if we need your scrawny ass any more. You have used to much of it, cooked your brains. Sooner or later you will snap"

He was raising his gun and Thu got an expression of barely repressed rage on her face. "How dare you threaten me, I am the CEO of Angband industries, you wouldn't be able to imagine the power I possess."

He tilted his head. "Possessed princess, the word is possessed"

He was about to pull the trigger when they heard a crashing sound and the men all spun around, expecting a swat team or something like that. What they saw made them freeze for a moment. In the pale light from the moon it was hard to tell what it was that they actually saw but it was enormous and moving and it made some horrible growling sounds. It wasn't until the lights from the Pontiac hit it that they saw that it was a bear, but no bear like any they had ever seen. It was first of all gigantic in size and it was bloody and torn and the fur was falling off in huge clumps. But the expression within its red eyes was the worst, sheer madness and hatred.

The men did explode into action, grasping their rifles but the bear was already there, moving with insane speed. It crushed two men against the Pontiac, then it grasped another in its stinking maw and bit him in half. One of the men did fire his rifle but in the dark it was hard to tell where to aim and he was too shocked to keep the rifle steady, he did miss and the bear hit him and sent him flying. The leader was a cold man, used to much but this was beyond him Nobody had said anything about giant bears. He turned to run but Thu did grasp onto him. "You cannot…go. I need more…"

She was high and unable to see the severity of the situation, her face a mask of stubborn pride and she was clawing at his west, trying to get to his pockets. The man did slap her, she went flying backwards and the bear was suddenly there. Thu stared at it. "Oh wow, is that you scrappy? You have grown"

She giggled and tried to get up but the bear growled and bent down, tore her head off with a simple yank of a claw. The leader of the men tried to run but didn't get far, he fired the rifle and so did the remaining men but they didn't know where to aim and the pain of the shots didn't affect the bear at all. It was beyond that now.

Sophia lay in the trunk and heard it all, her heart beating like a drum and she just knew that the bear would come for her next, when the men were dead. The animal didn't try to eat any of them, all it wanted was to kill, to maim and destroy. The last gunshots could be heard, then there was just the heavy huffing of the bear who was fuelled by an unholy rage. It had been hibernating in caves close to the radioactive area for many years and the effect was horrible, it was no longer sane at all. Sophia heard the bear approaching, it had to smell her and the trunk was open, there was no way she could close it without that thing hearing the sound and she was tied up and helpless.

She was sure that this was it, that the bear would kill her when it reached the rear of the car but that was when she saw a shadow, flying in from the left side. It was a man, very tall and long haired and he did wield an axe, a strange weapon to use against an animal that size. Orome had seen it all, how the bear had killed those criminals and also how it had refused to stop even when fired upon. He had realized that a gun was unable to stop it, only something good and old fashioned would work here. He had an axe in his belt, used mostly for felling trees and he pulled it and prepared for the fight of his life. Old Grog was almost indestructible now, it was so filled with adrenaline it felt no pain and the rage which did surge through the brain was never ending, fuelled by its spreading disease.

The ranger was strong and fast and he used one of the cars as a spring board and he did jump, He had just one shot at this or he would fail, he had to land on the shoulders of the animal, where it couldn't reach him. He felt strangely calm, almost at ease. It had to be done and he had to do it. There were nobody else with his strength or skill. He did hit the mark, wrapped his long legs around the bear's neck and held on for dear life as he raised the axe. He did bring it down with all his might, aiming for that exact point that was the bear's weakness. Not the skull itself but the point where the neck vertebrae met the base of the skull. It was an awkward position and a dangerous one if he missed but he leaned as far back as he could and the blade did hit home. The blade was sharp, well maintained and not very large.

It did cut through the skin and muscle and sinews and Old Grog roared and tried to shake off the attacker but it was too late. Orome used all his strength and all his weight as he pushed forwards and forced the blade inn between the skull and the first vertebrae, it did sever the spinal cord quite nicely and the bear did tremble and fell. It was as if someone put a chainsaw to a tree, he fell like a log. Orome did cling onto the carcass long enough to be sure that it was dead, the heart had stopped, so had the breathing and the old bear was finally at rest. Free from the pain which had ridden it for the last years.

He got up and ran over to the trunk where he did free a terrified Sophia, then he sat down to wait for the cavalry. It was over, one way or the other.

When Thran and Bard did arrive the police was already there, and so were the national guard and pretty much the entire city or so it did seem. They jumped out of the helicopter the moment it hit the ground and saw that Sophia were taken care off by some paramedics. She appeared to be in shock and Orome stood there, seemingly very relaxed and watched as the officers and some reporters did take photos of the dead bear. Thran ran over and Orome did nod, he was calm as a cucumber. There were dead bodies there and guns and it was in truth a scene of carnage. The ranger did spit and patted his axe. "I got him, in the end. Those guys were just in his path"

Thran nodded slowly. "I…see. Where was he heading you think?"

Orome shrugged. "Back to the canyon? I am pretty sure that is where he had his hide out and den. I hope they burn the carcass now, it cannot be preserved in any manner, the body is simply too damaged. "

Thran stared over at where Sophia sat and Orome did pet his back. "She has told Baker everything, her family are on the way to pick her up. She isn't that hurt, just some scratches and bruises. That mad woman wanted to use her to press Nadya into selling the mine"

Bard caught up with Thran, he had never seen anything as terrifying as that dead bear, it was like evil incarnate. Thran did smile but his gaze was a bit distant. "I have to call Mr Angband and tell him that Thu is dead, but doubt that he will grieve. She has been dead to him for a while I think, she has betrayed his trust and men like him do never forgive that."

Bard swallowed hard. "I know"

Orome smiled. "You did well, the police got here seconds after I killed the bear, they heard the gunshots and decided to move inn. If any of the criminals had survived I would have been a sitting duck"

Bard scoffed. "Are you kidding me, you would just have thrown that axe at them the way Thor throws Mjolnir and knocked them out"

Orome just laughed.

An hour later they were back at the mansion, the situation was calmer now and Sophia was back where she did belong, Nadya was shaken but calm and Thran couldn't help but think about how powerful she would have been if she had cooperated with someone like Melkor, they would have been a force to recon with. Thran had told about the meteorite and what Bertram had done to make sure that the geologist was taken care off, he probably felt guilty and tried to hide the truth of the site from his family, to protect them. Nadya promised that they would make sure that the geologist continued to get the care she needed.

Nadya was sipping at her tea, her eyes distant. "I can recall that my father told me about that mine, it was a cursed place or so they believed. Accidents happened all the time and the miners got sick and died too, like flies. Of course, back then they had no rational explanation and I do believe that my grandfather was relieved when the ore did run out. He could close the whole goddamn thing"

Bard sat on the edge of the chair. "So, what happens now?"

Nadya did smile, she was her old self more or less, elegant and in control. "I have contacted the authorities. The meteorite or whatever it is will be removed, the soil around it too, and then the entire site will be filled with concrete. Nobody is gonna use it for evil again, I bet they have some storage somewhere, somewhere safe"

Bard mumbled. "Let's hope so"

Thran tilted his head. "Thu was clearly desperate, Melkor did check everything after we left and she has spent way too much money, some parts of the firm are actually bankrupt, but she hid everything rather well. I pity the old man"

Bard had to agree with that. Nadya did sip at her tea again, the very image of feminine grace. "Thuringwethil was a victim of her own ambitions. Did she really poison her own uncle?"

Thran nodded. "Yes, the doctors have confirmed it now, she had a small piece of the meteorite in her rooms, sprinkled some dust from it into Melkor's food each day. It made the cancer run amok and probably caused it to start with. "

Nadya scoffed. "Very barbaric, not at all lady like. But at least that bear is dead, things may return to normal. I have a funeral to arrange, you are of course welcome"

Thran bowed his head. "We are very grateful ma'am, but we have families waiting back home. We need to put this whole incident put behind us"

She smiled widely. "Naturally."

Orome was declared as the hero of the entire city and the dead bear was cremated without any more ceremony, it was radioactive and rather nasty. Sophia was staying there even if her fiancé was gone, apparently she had taken a liking to a certain ranger. When Bard and Thran did return home Thor did demand a thorough report but had a hard time believing it all and so did Jean and the kids. But Nadya did send them a small gift some weeks later, two very valuable sets of cufflinks made from obsidian and a card which gave them unlimited credit in all shops in the city. It was very appreciated.

Two months later Melkor did finally succumb to the cancer, by then the once mighty organization was reduced to a shadow of its former self. Thuringwethil had run the entire thing into the ground in so many ways by failing to do her duties and allowing others far from skilled and qualified persons take care of it. A few weeks after it was in effect dissolved and seized to exist as a firm and the name was forgotten. The authorities did close off the entire canyon and the meteorite was transported to a site where they stored radioactive waste, then the site was filled with concrete. It would never again cause anyone to die, or lose their minds. Thran said that Thu probably had spent too much time near the thing, and it had affected her brain. It had made her weaker to temptation and changed her personality. It was not what they had expected at all but also this case did come to an end.

Chapter 19 Down with the sickness

Bard didnt feel at home at all, he could only compare this with the party at Thingol's where he had been like a black sheep in a herd of perfectly groomed show animals. The driveway leading up to the mansion was wide enough to have room for a parade and it went through a park which did resemble that of the Versailles, or something of that sorts. He and Thran had been sent up north by Thor to help the police of a mountain city solve an odd case which was unlike any other they had encountered. The crime rate up north was low and the police was not accustomed to anything beyond the customary bar fight and quarrelling spouses. Thor owed the chief of that police station a favour and so he sent Thran off since he was a profiler and Bard did tag along simply because he was in need of some fresh air as Thor described it. The mountain city was of old a mining town, then the area north of it became a national park and now it was a tourist destination. The many hot springs were attracting everything from photographers to amateur geologists and the wildlife was also very much an everyday presence. Here you could risk meeting an elk grazing in your driveway or discover that your garbage dumpster had become home to a family of racoons. The locals were used to it but the tourists were not and Bard happened to know that the park rangers were close to tears from sheer frustration on a regular basis.

The case was high profile, in fact it was so famous already it had become a problem. Bard had never seen that many journalists gathered in one place since the case he was in when he met Thran and Thor had sent them off rather fast, to avoid too much attention being thrown at their own station. The city of Formenos had become the place to be seen for the jet set and many very famous people did own cabins and homes there. What they were approaching was not the home of some movie star, it was old money and by that they meant truly old money. The family who owned the grand estate was very private and said to be richer than even the founder of Microsoft but they never flaunted their money and they were the pillars of this society. In short, they owned everything there or at least most of it and as Thran said it, they were loved by everybody for they were anything but posh and uppity. Their vast fortune was spent on every charity imaginable and Bard could believe it when he saw the building they were driving up to. It was elegant, timeless and yet awe inspiring. Thran smiled. "The Tudolak family came from Russia in the 17 hundreds and made a fortune trading furs. Then they switched to gems and gold and they have kept making money ever since."

Bard stared at the façade of the impressive building, there were vines climbing it and bright splotches of intense colour told him that there were flowers in many places. It did look inviting, not at all sinister like so many other old buildings he had encountered. The car did stop in front of the main entrance and Thran did slide out of the car with his usual elegance. The door opened and an elderly man wearing a sort of uniform did appear, he did bow his head with a very polite smile. "Be welcome gentlemen, the lady of the house is expecting you"

Bard had a hard time controlling himself, he felt as if he had entered some Agatha Christie novel, where the butler most certainly was the main suspect. He was close to asking the man if he was the one behind it all but he managed to stay calm and sent the butler a rather sheepish grin. Thran did follow the man as if it was the most natural thing in the world but Bard felt like an odd animal right away. The hallway they entered was grand and beautiful and it did even smell good.

After a few staircases and corridors covered with old paintings and other antiques they entered a sort of study, a small group of people had gathered there and they were all visibly distraught. The youngest person there could be in her thirties but the person who did draw the attention towards her were the true lady of the house. Bard did bow rather deeply, out of sheer instinct. The woman was in her late eighties and rather frail looking, she sat on the couch wearing a very lovely silvery grey velvet gown and her hair and makeup was perfect but it couldn't hide the fact that she was old, and that she was in deep grief. Next to her another woman sat, also clearly in grief, she was perhaps in her sixties and rather pretty in a plump way. Thran did bow his head. "I am very glad you agreed to meet with us my lady, first of all, allow me to offer you our deepest condolences."

The old woman did close her eyes for a second. "Then there is no doubt? It was…him?"

Thran sat down in a chair the butler pushed forth and Bard got another one, it was so soft it felt as if it was about to swallow him whole. "I am sorry, but it was your grandson, there was no doubt. The coroner did recognize the tattoo on his arm and the other things you did mention"

The woman sighed. "Yes, his missing little toe, and the scar on his right knee. Oh gods, my dear Bertram, how could this happen?"

Bard had tried to forget what he had seen for some hours now, the body which laid on the table at the local coroners had stunned him. He had been sure that this was some very old murder victim but apparently it wasn't so. Thran smiled. "I can assure you that we will do whatever we can to solve the mystery"

The young woman who stood behind the couch did look as if she was about to faint. "Was… was he murdered?"

Thran did turn his gaze at her, she was very pretty and obviously not off this family for she had a narrow chin and an oval face and most of the family there had a very characteristic broad jaw and high cheekbones. "We cannot say anything for certain yet I am afraid, but we do suspect foul play yes"

The plump woman let out a wail. "It cannot be true, my son…everybody loved him!"

The older lady seemed to be made from steel for she did raise her head. "The sheriff haven't told us anything, except that Bertram was found dead. Under what circumstances was he found sir? You can tell us, we are…used to tough news"

Thran sighed and made a grimace and Bard realized that Thran wanted him to explain so Thran could watch the reactions and see if anybody did react in an odd manner. Bard did clear his voice. "He was found in a barrel at the bottom of the old quarry, his body…it was covered with sulphur dust, and dried out in some manner. It did look like a mummy. The coroner had to…re-moisten the tissues to be able to identify him"

The mother was pale like a ghost and the elderly lady laid a hand on her shoulder. "There there dear, be strong Louisa, remember who you are"

Thran waited until the woman managed to get a hold of herself, she did blow her nose and her eyes were red and puffy but she held her chin up. This family was tough as old nuts. "So, Bertram went missing a week ago today?"

Bard had a hard time believing that the body he had seen had been dead for only a few days, it was truly astonishing. The old lady nodded. "Yes, he went to the golf course to talk with the manager about a new club house but never made it that far. They found his car parked by the road and it was obvious that he had hit some animal but he was nowhere to be found."

Thran nodded. "Mrs Tudolak, do you know of anybody who would have wanted to hurt Bertram?"

The old woman sighed and smiled, she was a very lovely woman even if she was old and there was a certain type of gentleness in her gaze that told Bard she was a genuine person, not some false high class bitch. "Please dear, I am Nadya, we are after all going to work together aren't we? No, my son was beloved by everybody, there wasn't a mean bone in his body and he was dedicated to our family and little else. He had a few hobbies but that was all"

Louisa sniffed. "He loved painting, and arranging flowers, and he was a very good singer too"

Thran tilted his head and his eyes were calm, he did always calm down people when he was like that, it was probably a gift he had gotten. " From what I have learned about your family Bertram wasn't an heir?"

Nadya shook her head. "No, he is far down on the list of potential heirs. My oldest son Friedrich is the main heir and head of the family business, then it is my daughter Justine and her children. Louisa here and Bertram are number twenty and twenty one on the list respectively, they have cousins and other family members ahead of them"

Bard had to frown. "Why is that?"

Louisa did smile, a very faint smile. "Neither of us wants that sort of attention, nor the responsibility. Bertram…he went to university because he had to, to follow the tradition. But he didn't like it and he never had good grades, he is a practical man Sir, not an academic"

Nadya nodded. "And in our class that is frowned upon, so he kept a low profile"

The young woman who stood behind the couch did sob and hid her face. Bard took a deep breath. "You are his fiancé?"

The woman nodded slowly, her eyes were a bit red. "Yes, we have been engaged for five years now, I cannot believe that…"

She broke down and the butler did put his arms around her shoulders very gently, he did follow her out of the room and Bard stared at Thran, the tall blonde was obviously thinking. "I have understood that Miss Sophia is a foreigner?"

Nadya nodded. "Yes, originally from France, the daughter of a very wealthy businessman there. They met by coincidence and well…I know what the tabloid press has said but she isn't like that at all"

Bard looked from person to person. "Excuse me, but I am not keeping up with that sort of news, what are you referring to?"

Louisa closed her eyes as if in pain. "Many said that Sophia is a gold digger, that she only was after fortune and wealth but everybody knows that Bertram isn't rich. He is an average man, not some jet setter"

Thran nodded. "But there were some problems to begin with?"

Nadya made a vague gesture. "Oh I wouldn't call it problems. Sophia is a child of her…class. Formed by her upbringing you may say. She wasn't used to us being more down to earth if you catch my drift? But she has adapted very well and we had such great hope for them, they were a lovely couple and just right for each other"

Thran smiled. "I see. Well, back to the basic questions, Bertram didn't have any enemies at all?"

Louisa shook her head and the others there did the same, Bard had realized that the family was huge, the people present were just those who did live there at the moment. One of the other men there was standing by the fireplace, he had a small glass of brandy in his hand and his face did look as if melancholy was his most profound emotion. He did put the glass down and turned towards them. "Bertram couldn't harm a fly, he did spent a lot of his money on donations for the local animal shelters, if he had been born into another family I bet he would have chosen a career as a vicar or something. He was spiritual, a truly pure soul"

Bard couldn't help but thinking about what he had seen, the body which was stuffed into that barrel had looked like something out of a painting by that medieval painter who did make such grotesque depictions of hell, what was his name again, Bosch?

Thran sighed. "Alright, is it okay if some of our technicians go over his computer and phone?"

Nadya nodded. "Of course, be welcome to check his rooms and everything, we want to know what happened to him"

Thran got up. "The techs will be here soon, we better get going, we have to check out the site where his car was found"

One of the other women there did step forwards, she was petite and rather dark but had the typical facial features. Bard had learned by now that she was one of the cousins, daughter of Friedrich and a successful neurosurgeon of all things. "If Bertram truly did hit an animal he would have tried to find it and help it, maybe he came across someone who saw him as a threat?"

Thran smiled at her. "That is what I think too, the woods here are vast and nobody knows all the people who call it home. You do have our numbers, call if you remember anything which can be of significance and I mean anything!"

Everybody did mumble and Bard got up, he was shocked to find out that it was possible to get out of that chair without needing a lift. The car was waiting for them, and Thran entered with a friendly smile at the female driver. She was obviously employed by the family and looked fairly young. The car did start and they drove down the long road towards the main road, Thran was obviously thinking and Bard didn't want to interrupt. "I am sure she was right, Bertram tried to find whatever it was he hit and saw something he shouldn't have seen, could have happened to anybody"

Bard frowned. "Sure of that?"

Thran shrugged. "I cannot think of any other explanation? There would be nothing to gain from killing a man like him. He wasn't rich, he wouldn't inherit much from the family and he was basically a nobody. I would go as far as calling him his mother's errand boy"

The driver did slow down a bit and she made a gesture. "Sirs? If I may be so bold?"

Thran did lean forwards. "By all means Miss, is there anything you want to say?"

The driver nodded. "I have worked for the family for five years now and they are wonderful people, Bertram was a genuinely good person but I know he was troubled for the last few days before he did disappear. He wouldn't say what it was but it was serious whatever it was, I could tell. He was usually very chatty when I drove him around but he turned so very silent and he did look almost nervous at times"

Thran was suddenly tense. "You say you drove him? Where?"

The driver swallowed visibly. "Once to the city hall, he was not himself when he returned to the car, he was sweating and pale. And another time to a restaurant downtown. He was there for quite a while and he did look angry when he came back to the car"

Bard stared at Thran. "It could be something…Miss, did he always use this car or was it just a few times?"

The driver sent them a swift smile. "He usually drove his own car but it was in for repairs for a few days, something about the suspension. He hated being dependent upon others."

Thran smiled. "Thank you. Do you remember the name of the restaurant?"

She gave the answer immediately. "The feathered goose, it is a gourmet restaurant, rather famous"

Thran nodded, his gaze was a bit distant. "I know of that restaurant yes, it is very high class"

The driver did hit the main road now and had to concentrate on the driving but Thran turned to Bard. "This may lead somewhere, that restaurant is very exclusive but I am rather sure they do have security cameras, and they have a very specific group of patrons."

Bard nodded. "Yeah, it is a restaurant for those with more money than the bank right?"

Thran grinned. "Yes, and a very elegant palate, they serve very unusual delicacies. Mostly foreign and often very odd"

Bard made a grimace. "Right, are we going there now?"

Thran shook his head. "Nope, the head of the park rangers is to meet us at the police HQ, apparently he has come up with something"

Thran held his cell phone up and there was a text there, telling them to return asap.

The driver did take them back to the police station and they saw a huge rugged pick up truck standing outside. It was dirty and probably custom made and there was a gun rack at the back and also some huge crates. Bard didn't really want to know what they did contain.

The chief of the station was a guy in his late fifties, he was a very quiet person and did remind Bard of the sloth in the movie zootopia, he did look as if the world passed him by in slow motion and Thran had mentioned that this man was the sort who rarely got angry but when he did he probably exploded like a H-bomb. Now Mr Baker was sitting behind his desk with his gaze locked on the screen and deep wrinkles across his forehead. He hated the computer and had kept telling them that he was born into the wrong century. Next to the desk was some chairs and in one of them sat a guy who did look a lot like a bear, at least when it came to size. He was probably the tallest man they had ever seen and he was wide too but not fat in any way. This was a lean and elegant person with long auburn hair and an impressive beard. He did look like a Viking in some manners, and the worn clothes and the smell of tree sap and smoke told Bard that this was a man who knew the woods, probably better than anyone else. Mr Baker did smile at them as they did enter, he raised his hands. "Gentlemen, meet Mr Orome Wald, he is head of the park rangers"

The man got up and he almost hit his head on the ceiling beams, he had to be seven feet if not more. "Sirs"

The voice was deep but pleasant and Thran did shake his hand, it felt like trying to shake hand with a huge ham, the guys hand was massive. "You have got something for us?"

Orome did nod, he held up a small plastic bag with something in it. Thran took it and it was hair. "Found this on the car of the deceased, it is deer hair"

Bard looked at the tuft of hair. "Really? Then he did hit a deer?"

Orome did grin. "Yes, and no"

Thran frowned. "What do you mean?"

The huge guy grinned, his teeth were incredibly white. "The late Bertram did hit a deer alright, but it was already dead. These hairs come from a deer who has been in the tender care of a taxidermist."

Thran had to blink. "What?"

Orome smiled even wider. "Yeah, odd right? But he hit it right in the middle of a sharp turn, if he came around that stretch of road in a hurry he wouldn't have had time to see that it wasn't a living animal, he would just see that it was a deer and hit the brakes"

Bard nodded. "Makes sense, but the impact? Could it be hard enough to cause him any harm? I mean, he must have left the car right? And seen that it was a dead deer"

Orome grunted. "The impact did dent the front of the car pretty bad, my guess would be that it was a very cheap trophy, the taxidermists use different fillings and the cheap ones become very heavy, I think they use a sort of rubber based paste and mix it with fibre. The expensive ones are light, and more lifelike"

Thran looked at the park ranger with narrow eyes. "So, somebody does place a cheap taxidermy deer in the middle of the road and then Bertram hits it and leaves the car, then what?"

Orome shrugged. "Well, judging by the tracks it was very deliberate for I searched the area, the soil was soaked since it rained pretty heavily but there was most definitely two sets of tracks leading away from the crash site, and I don't think he came freely"

Bard was getting tense. "What makes you say that?"

Orome took a deep breath. "Listen, I make a living from this right? I track things, and I have followed more tracks than you can imagine. Even in the mud and with the tracks half erased by the rain the heavier of the persons did drag his feet, and he was unsteady too. "

Thran tilted his head. "Wait, you said heavier person? Was the other person smaller?"

Orome nodded. "Yes, much lighter, possibly a very young man, or maybe even a woman!"

Thran stared at the floor for a second, you could almost see him thinking. "Bertram was a rather big guy, he wouldn't have allowed a woman to overpower him, she must have had a gun or something then"

He turned to Mr Baker. "Call the coroner again, ask if there is any sort of substance in Bertram's blood, I have a strong suspicion"

Orome sort of looked at them. "Call me if there is anything, I need to go now. They have called me, another case"

Mr Baker grunted. "Bear attack?"

The ranger smiled but it wasn't a pretty smile. "Yes, unfortunately. The third this month, it is old Grog for sure"

Bard had to blink a few times. "Ah…excuse me, old Grog?!"

Orome nodded. "Yep, a grizzly, huge one. Probably one of the older males in the park and he is vicious. Should have been put down years ago but the bastard is smart, he does evade us each time we try to catch him"

Thran stared at the ranger with narrow eyes. "I thought the national park tried to avoid destroying wild animals?"

Orome nodded. "Normally yes, it is a tragedy each time we have to put down some of our wildlife, we try every other option first but old Grog is a special case. He has developed a taste for humans you see, we think he has been kept as a pet when he was a cub and he has no fear of humans because of this."

Bard sighed. "Goddamn it, a bear on a killing spree. Has he killed people before?"

Orome nodded. "Yes, two people, three years ago. A couple who went camping in a no go zone. He ate most of them so he isn't one to waste anything but we tried to catch him and it failed completely. We think he does leave the park and find shelter and a den somewhere else. But we have no clue as to where"

Thran frowned. "Are the citizens of this area in danger?"

Orome shrugged. "No idea, as long as he does find food out there it should be safe but I am not bloody sure anymore. The last attack was in a suburb, he may have started to feel his age and old toothless bears are the worst. They go for the soft tender meat, meaning humans!"

Thran did shudder visibly and Orome did wink at them and left the office, Bard was rather sure that a bear who was able to trick this man was not born yet. Mr Baker did cross his arms over his chest. "So, anything new?"

Thran shrugged. "Bertram did visit the city hall a few times and according to his driver he did seem upset. And he did also visit the Feathered goose and returned looking pissed off!"

Baker did frown. "That place is above my pay grade, they serve stuff I cannot believe that anybody would want to even taste, let alone dine upon."

Thran snickered. "Yeah, but it is all very expensive and when it is expensive it becomes good, even if it taste like an old unwashed jockstrap."

Mr Baker did cringe and Bard swallowed hard. "So, do we check the restaurant?"

Thran shook his head. "No, they don't open until nine, very exclusive remember? You have to order a table two months ahead at least. No, we go for the city hall. If Bertram was there several times it has to mean something"

Bard did look a bit shocked. "I thought we were going to look at the site where the car was found?"

Thran shook his head vigorously. "It has been checked by the excellent officers of this station already, I doubt we will find anything useful there at all. No, we head for the city hall, it is open still I guess"

Bard stared at Thran. "You have a hunch?"

Thran smiled, it was a very wide smile. "Yes, I do. Bertram wasn't important, he wasn't part of the family business but he was part of the family and I cannot help but feel that this has to do with the family name"

Mr Baker did promise to call the coroner and they left, the city hall was just a few minutes of walk from the police station and the fresh air felt wonderful. It was very different from the city they lived in, the air there never tasted this fresh and crisp and the view was stunning. The tall ragged mountains did look like a postcard and Bard had to stop and take a few photos with his cell phone. He would send them to the kids. The city hall was a very grand building but it wasn't very old, the first one which had been erected when the city was built had burned in the fifties and a new one had been built on the ruins of the old one. This one was impressive but not very pretty, it did lack a soul the way Bard saw it. It was a modernistic monster and Thran did look at the structure with an expression of slight disgust.

The doors did lead into a sort of reception area where a security guard sat half asleep in a chair and a woman in her late fifties sat behind a desk with a newspaper. She did look bored but perked up when she saw the two men heading her way. She put the paper away and tried to look welcoming and awake. Thran showed his police badge and she did tilt her head and tried to smile, too bad she had teeth which did remind Bard of a hamster Bain had owned once upon a time. "How may I be of assistance Sirs?"

Thran smiled his most relaxing and gentle smile. "We are investigating the death of Bertram Tudolak, we understand that he was here quite often?"

The woman nodded vigorously. "Oh yes, we have heard about it, terrible!"

She leaned forth over the desk and since she was a busty one the desk started to creak from the strain. "He was here a lot yes, over the last two months. He was visiting the archives you see, I think he was looking for something."

Bard had picked up a notebook. "Really? Do you know exactly what?"

The woman shook her head. "No, I am not familiar with the archives but do go up, it is the first door to the left. The one in charge of the archives can surely help you, he is here right now you see. "

Thran smiled again and the woman was melting like a glacier in the summer sun. "Thank you ma'am. "

They did walk up the stairs and found the door, it was rather anonymous and marked with city archive and under it some scribbles which could be interpreted as "archivist Neil Stormfront"

They did knock and heard a clear enter from inside, they opened the door and found a room which was filled with shelves. It did look like a labyrinth and there wasn't much room for anything else there except a small desk and some chairs. A young man sat behind the desk, he had huge glasses and was so skinny he did look as if even a gentle breeze could sweep him away like a piece of dust. He did look up and Thran showed his badge again, the man frowned "Police? I assume you are here because of Bertram?"

Thran nodded. "You are indeed right, you must be Mr Stormfront?"

Bard had a hard time not chuckling, the name was indeed odd. The archivist did send him a rather tired glance. "I know, my name sucks! I had hippie parents ok? They changed their last name to Stormfront, God alone knows why. But I am grateful still, they named me Neil, not Shiny flower or Snowflake or something like that"

Bard had to giggle, that would have been precious indeed. Thran managed to keep a straight face. "Yes, we are here because of Bertram, he was here rather often?"

Neil got up, he was not only skinny, he was small too. "Indeed he was, he was going through the old maps of the city and the surroundings, he was looking for the original papers regarding a certain mine"

Bard did wet his lips. "Really? Do you know why?"

Neil did look a bit nervous, but he straightened his back. "Bertram made me promise to never tell anybody, but now he is dead and well, I think you ought to know"

He did reach into the desk and pulled out a small file. It did contain some old maps and papers. "Here it is, I was told to keep the papers here, why I don't know but I know that Bertram didn't want the family to know of this"

Bard did touch the first map reverently, it was very old and yellow and cracked and it showed a city which was a little more than a gathering of shacks. "So, what is so special about that mine?"

Neil made a grimace. "Bertram didn't really tell me a lot, but he spent two months looking for that map and he did also make a lot of odd requests on the net, I didn't see just what he was searching for though. He did just mumble about spread rate and levels. But the mine has been closed for more than a hundred years and it did belong to his family until it was deemed to be worthless. Then it was closed off. I think he wanted to know whether or not it was possible for anyone to get their hands on it by pressuring the authorities, or through illegal means"

Thran frowned. "So, why did he want the maps then?"

Neil did lower his voice. "I think somebody did contact him several times, wanting to buy the mine. The old lady would never accept such an offer but I think whoever it was did push him and he tried to find a way out of the predicament"

Bard felt a thrilling sensation running down his spine. "Did he mention who?"

Neil shook his head. "No, not directly, but he did mumble about "she" from time to time, he didn't like whoever it was. It had to be important though"

Thran did pick up the file. "Is it okay that we keep this?"

Neil shrugged. "I guess so, just don't harm the papers. They are freaking old"

Bard smiled. "No chance"

Thran did stop Bard as they exited the archive, he did look intense. "Listen, the mine is at the bottom of this, I am rather sure of it."

Bard made a grimace. "But it was worthless?"

Thran nodded. "The key word is was Bard, even if they couldn't get anything out of it in the 18 hundreds don't mean that they cannot make a profit of it today, we have better equipment and other methods now remember"

Bard shrugged. "I guess so, does the map tell what sorts of mine it was?"

Thran looked at it. "No, it doesn't. It is just listed with a number and the name of the owner, too bad. "

Bard made a gesture. "Maybe the lady at the entrance does know of anybody who knows what type of mine it was? This city should have a historian, or geologist right?"

Thran just grunted. "We can ask, that won't do any harm for sure"

The woman was sitting behind the desk still, her face was a bit intense. "Gentlemen, I wonder if you have heard the rumours?"

Thran frowned. "What rumours ma'am?"

She rolled her eyes. "People here can be vicious or rather, the guests are. Some have said that it was Bertram's fiancé who killed him and others claim that he had gambling debt and that the mob is behind it"

Bard had to hide a wicked grin, Bertram as a gambling addict? That didn't add up at all. Thran smiled. "I can assure you that none of that is true, but we do have a question for you, is there a historian here, or a geologist?"

The woman did look a bit confused, then she nodded "We have a geologist, she lives down by the lake. She works for the department of agriculture and wilderness management"

Thran smiled even wider. "Good, do you know the address?"

The woman wrote something down on a note. "Here Sir's, but I am warning you, she is what we used to define as a spitfire"

Thran looked at the note, it said. "Adina Sharp, Lake avenue nr 19 B."

Bard turned to Thran. "Do we visit her?"

Thran looked at the watch. "Yes, but right now I bet she is at work, however, I think we should visit the Feathered Goose, the restaurant isn't open yet but the workers has to have arrived by now, preparing takes many hours"

Bard nodded. "Right, whoever he met there pissed him off"

Thran smiled and walked out the door with his chin up. "Exactly, it could be that it was that person who wanted to buy the mine, for whatever reason"

They walked over to the police station and got a cruiser there, the restaurant was on the other side of the city and quite a drive away since the roads were very winding and odd. The restaurant was dark but there was light on the back and they saw that some people did arrive there at the same time as they did. Thran took a deep breath and straightened his jacket, he knew that his looks often opened doors, he did look like somebody with both wealth and influence and he knew how to use it. There was a person standing at the back door, he was smoking a cigarette and he was obviously in a hurry, he did look at them with some confusion. "Ah, we aren't open until nine?"

Thran showed his police badge. "We are investigators, we would like to talk to the manager?"

The young man did look at the badge with huge eyes, then he put out the cigarette and rushed inside. Some minutes did go by, then a very well dressed elderly gentleman with a goatee and a very well-groomed appearance did show up, he did look a bit curious but not alarmed in any manner. "Yes, how may I be of assistance?"

Bard tried to look as if he did fit into this sort of environment. "One of your guests has been found dead, we know he was here some time ago and that he met somebody. Do you have surveillance in the restaurant?"

The man took a deep breath. "Officially? No, but yes, we do have some cameras. We had to start using surveillance some years ago, we had a surge of pick pockets and some were bold enough to enter the restaurant pretending to be guests. "

Thran nodded. "You do know the name Bertram Tudolak?"

The manager smiled. "Of course, he was among our patrons, he wasn't here very often but he did always leave quite a tip and he was pleasant and a very cultural and refined man, we did love him"

A peculiar scent did drift by through the open door and the manager did sneeze. Thran had to frown. "Burned wool?!"

The manager nodded. "Yes, we are trying a new delicacy these days, from Norway. Smoked sheep's head, cleft in half. They say the eyeball is the best thing. The whole thing is barbecued over an open flame but the chef has to burn off the wool first"

Bard had to swallow hard, he had problems imagining food that would look at you as you ate it. Thran just smiled politely. "I am sure it is delightful, so, the recordings?"

The manager did wave his hand. "Follow me, we keep the recordings for two weeks, but you are in luck this time for the machines we use broke down due to a lightning strike a week ago and the tape hasn't been reset. "

They went through a typical restaurant kitchen with chefs and workers scurrying about like caffeinated squirrels and then they passed by an office and a room which had to be a sort of storage. The room with the computers was small, almost a closet but it was packed with equipment and a guy sat behind the desk working on something. He did jump as they entered and looked a bit like a startled bunny. He had very long front teeth and Bard wondered of the word Dental Braces were taboo where he was from. He could have needed some, badly. The manager smiled. "Duncan, this is investigators from the police station, they want to take a look at the recordings from that evening when Bertram was here?"

The lad blinked. "Wednesday the fifth right? I remember that one"

Bard did cock his head. "Why?"

Duncan grinned and Thran shuddered, the lad did remind him of the Cheshire cat from the old book about Alice in Wonderland, grin and everything. "Because it was a scene, and we don't have them here all that often"

He did turn on a rather large screen and Bard saw that most of the equipment was the type you would expect to find in a casino security room. "What's with all the expensive stuff?"

The manager did smile, he did look a bit sheepish. "My fault really, we didn't need all this in truth but I made a blunder. I did contact a security firm which does make surveillance packets for casinos and other places like that, wanted to know if they could downsize it for us. But before I knew it I had purchased the whole cow, not just a gallon of milk if you catch my drift. And it was too late to go back on the deal whence the bill came"

Duncan did turn on some sort of device and the screen came to life, they saw a table which was right in front of them and a woman was already seated there. Thran did blink, he did lean closer to the screen and his eyes were suddenly those of a hawk who has spotted a fat pigeon. "Look at her Bard, tell me what you see"

Bard did wet his lips, the room was rather hot and dry and he felt as if he could need a beer, or preferably a dozen. "Ahm, a woman in her early twenties? Long blonde hair, heavy make up. Expensive handbag, nice clothes, classy?"

Thran shook his head. "Nope, I see trash."

He did point at the screen. "See her dress? It looks like Gucci but it is a fake, so is the handbag. The hair is a wig, her nails are fake too, cheap glue on nails. And her body language is odd"

Bard frowned. "What do you mean?"

Thran tapped on the screen and Duncan did look a bit pissed for a moment. "She tries to look as if she belongs there, as if she is relaxed and on top of the situation but take a look at her right foot"

Bard nodded, she was flipping it up and down all the time. "She is nervous"

Thran nodded. "Very nervous"

The woman had a small envelope in front of her on the table and she did touch it ever so often, as if to ease a nervous animal. Thran tilted his head. "It is her pay check, her hope and dreams. "

Bard did frown" Really?"

Thran nodded. "She isn't here about the mine, that is for sure. I think I already have this one figured out"

They saw that a man did approach the woman, his body language was stiff and awkward and the woman did stand up and smiled, Bard thought that she did smile like a fat snake who has seen a lame mouse right in front of it. He did recognize Bertram though, he was even more plain now than on the photo's the investigator had seen, he wore just casual ordinary clothes and nothing about his appearance told of any wealth. The woman tried to hug him and he sort of shrugged her off, sat down with a rather harsh expression on his face. Thran stared at Duncan. "Is there audio available for this?"

Duncan shook his head. "Unfortunately no, but I can read lips?"

Thran brightened. "You can? Excellent, what the heck is she saying to him?"

Duncan leaned forward, the buck teeth did protrude a bit and Bard did almost expect the man to start squealing like a spooked rabbit. "Ah, she is rather smug, telling him it is time to pay up"

Bard saw that the woman did slide the envelope over to Bertram, grinning while doing it. Thran did stand there with a face like a mask, Bard knew the expression, his partner had already figured this out. Bertram did open the envelope and pulled out some papers, he did take one look at them, then he threw them down onto the table. Duncan was focused, his eyebrows did almost touch the hairline. "You have the wrong person here honey…"

He tilted his head. "She says something I cannot interpret, then he answers" I had mumps when I was twelve, I am infertile. That little trick of yours don't work on me"

They saw that the woman's face fell and Bertram did lean forth, his expression one of barely concealed rage" Go ahead, rape some other poor idiot, I doubt you have a kid at all"

He leaned back and smiled, a very nasty smile. "If I was you I wouldn't ruin that expensive boob job with a suckling baby"

The woman screamed and threw her glass of water at him and he ducked and tore the papers in half. "I can give you one advice "sweetheart", get out of this city and don't ever return!"

Duncan turned to them. "Did I do well?"

Thran nodded. "Oh yes, she is a gold digger, of the most vicious type. "

Bard was blinking. "He did speak of rape?!"

Thran nodded. "Yes, I think I know this one's MO too. She drugs rich men, has her way with them and then, a year or so after she confronts them and tells them that they are a daddy and has to pay up"

Bard looked as if he had tasted something nasty. "But then she has to fake a lot of papers? What about DNA tests?"

Thran almost growled. "I will send out a wanted alert, she has to be stopped. Such tests can be faked, in special if she does collect some hair and stuff of the guy while he is unconscious."

Bard stared at the image on the screen, Duncan had frozen the frame and Thran did get a few very good images of the woman's face and sent it off to the head quarters. "She probably imagined that he would be her sugar daddy or something"

Thran was mumbling. "I have seen that sort of trick before, they get in bed with rich guys and make sure to get pregnant, or pretend to be up the yard. It happened to a friend of mine many years ago, he did pay child support for more than five years until he happened to meet the kid, and saw that the lad was half African. He was Swedish himself and the mom pale too so nope, it wasn't his kid after all"

Thran did send a text to the Headquarters. "I am gonna ask Bertram's fiancé about that rape thing, if he ever mentioned something like that to her"

Bard scoffed. "Probably not, no guy wants to admit to having been roofied. That is the sort of thing which only happens to girls who drink too much remember?"

Thran nodded. He petted Duncan on the shoulder. "Thank for your help, you have been of great help my friend."

Duncan was beaming with pride and Bard was rather sure they had made his day complete. The manager did look a bit shocked. "I had no idea that something like that has happened in my restaurant, it is…it is shocking!"

Thran sighed. "Believe me, it is nothing. Don't worry, I am rather sure that it won't happen again."

They did thank the manager for his cooperation and help, then they left and Bard was hit by a sudden wave of nausea again, the smell of burned wool was intense again. Thran did grin. "Be glad they aren't serving another of the Norse delicacies, Lutefisk"

Bard tried to wrap his tongue around the word but failed miserably. "What is that?"

Thran shrugged. "Dried cod which has been placed in a bath of lye for a week, then washed in water and boiled, the smell cannot be described with words"

Bard gasped. "I now understand why the Vikings were such hardy people, if that is what you eat on an everyday basis you have got to be tough or die"

Thran just laughed and they drove off again, this time towards the lake. It was time to visit the geologist and they found the house easily enough. It was in a row of smaller buildings which did look very cosy and inviting and 19 B had a huge rose hedge in front of it and there was a couple of Jack Russel terriers running around in the small front yard. The dogs were yapping rather viciously and Thran made a grimace. "I prefer large dogs, I really do. These tiny ones make me nervous"

Bard had to laugh, they had two Irish wolfhounds by now and Jean had also bought a massive dog which had to be at least half Russian Ovtcharka or something of the kind. It kept the coyotes off the property for sure, and anyone with harmful intent. The dog did look like a grizzly bear in the dark.

A woman with short steel grey hair and a heart shaped face with narrow eyes did appear in the door, she did look a bit apprehensive and Thran did show his badge so she wouldn't believe that they were Jehova's witnesses or something like that. "I am sorry to disturb, but we need some professional help regarding a case"

The woman suddenly looked interested. "Really? What do the police need me for? I am a geologist?"

Thran dared to step through the wrought iron gate. "We have some questions regarding an old mine"

Adina did blink, suddenly she did look very eager indeed. "Do come inn, that is quite a coincidence, I have just finished a report on the geology of this area, and its history"

Bard did shove one of the yapping terriers away from his feet and she laughed. "Garnet, Geode, get away from the nice policemen"

She made an apologetic grin. "I bring them along on my excursions, they are very good to have in area's with rattlers and rats"

Thran had to whistle. "Rattlers? They kill rattlesnakes?"

She nodded. "Yep. One do distract the snake and the other one do finish it off, they are small but vicious. Have saved me from nasty bites more than once. It is a danger which comes with the territory"

They entered a tiny living room which was cramped to say the least. There were equipment everywhere, tables with samples of different types or rocks, maps and hammers and chemicals. Thran had large eyes and she did make a sheepish grin. "I am sorry about the absolute mayhem but my lab…well, my colleague did blow it up a week ago, it was an accident, a Bunsen burner which was left on for a wee bit too long and well, I have to work from home until they fix the damage."

She managed to clear enough room within a couch for two people to sit down. "So, what is it you are after? What mine are we talking about?"

Thran found the map in the file he carried. "An old abandoned one, owned by the Tudolak family and then abandoned somewhere in the 18 nineties we think"

She gaped for a second, then she smiled, a very wide smile. "Oh that one, damnation, that is a very interesting subject. Why the interest?"

Bard sighed. "Somebody did approach Bertram Tudolak and asked to buy the mine"

Adina nodded. "Alright. That means that this person is out for something else than normal, for that mine is worthless. They were digging for gold there but the vein ended and they hit a layer of extremely dense granite. Couldn't get through"

Thran frowned. "Could that have changed now? I mean, with modern equipment?"

She shook her head. "Nope, we know more about geology now than before, there is nothing left there, not even pretty crystals. But there is something odd about that mine though"

Bard did lean forth, he felt eager. "Oh?"

She smiled. "Or not as much the mine itself but the area it is in, it is in a very narrow and deep canyon and the natives did shun the area, said there was something there which made people sick, said it was evil spirits there. I don't know but there is something odd there for sure, I have seen some pretty strange plants there."

Bard frowned. "You have been there?"

She nodded. "Yes, two years ago, to check for possible avalanches. The city wanted to build a road through the canyon but they had to forget the idea, the rock there is rotten in many places. To secure the entire canyon would be a waste of money"

Thran tilted his head. "So the mine is worthless, then why would anybody want it?"

She seemed to be thinking hard. "Ah, this may be nothing but…"

Bard smiled. "Don't hold back, anything may be of importance here"

She took a deep breath. "Listen, this is a rumour among geologists alright? Nothing confirmed, but they say that there was a geologist who got hired by someone to explore the mine, ten years ago. And some say that she found something in there, a sort of natural cave system, but she disappeared a while later, nobody has heard of her ever since and I think it is more of an urban legend. It isn't really the right type of rock for caves, they tend to collapse rather quickly. But if it is below the layer of granite…well, I wouldn't call it impossible"

Thran did look a bit intense. "Do you happen to know the name of that geologist?"

Adina shrugged. "All I know is that she wasn't from around here, I think she came from Mexico? Valdez? I think her last name was Valdez yes!"

Thran snapped his fingers. "People don't just disappear, we should be able to find her. And find whoever it was who hired her"

They got up and Adina smiled. "If I can be of any more help don't hesitate to call me"

She handed over a card and Thran put it into his wallet. "We will, thank you for your cooperation miss"

Thran was quiet until they got back into the car, then he made a grimace. "That mine has to contain something important, or something dangerous!"

Bard did squint. "Why do I get the feeling you don't like the idea very much?"

Thran shrugged. "Call it a spider sense, something about this is menacing."

He was buckling inn when the phone rang, it was one of the technicians who were working on the case and he was excited. "Sirs, I have something. Bertram did have a very controlled economy, but each month he did pay two and a half grand to some account out of state. He did take the money from different accounts, never the same amount from each but it always summed up to the same amount."

Thran tensed up. "Really? Did he hide it?"

The technician was almost panting. "Yes, the papers tell of everything from gas to table cloths but the money all went to that one account. He didn't want his family to know for sure"

Thran was intense, Bard could almost feel it. "Find that account, it has to mean something, and do it asap"

The technician was grunting. "On it, it may take some time, I don't know what bank it is in"

Thran put down the phone. "This is odd, now, let us go through what we do know. That woman who did try to trick him into paying child support can be removed from the picture, she is not involved in the murder. Then we have the person who wanted to buy the mine, who was that and why that mine? And now that monthly payment? It too has to be something special since he tried to hide it from everybody! "

Bard shrugged. "Maybe he did have a kid somewhere after all?"

Thran shook his head. "No, remember? He had the mumps, he was sterile. No, this is something else. And then that missing geologist. It is connected, I am telling you!"

They drove back towards the headquarters and Bard was trying to think. What could it be that Bertram was hiding? He hadn't told the family of the mine, it was obvious, and those money? It wasn't shockingly much but enough to be noticed, even in a huge economy like that of the Tudolak cooperation. Mr Baker was waiting for them, it was getting late so he had ordered some food and they ate in a hurry. Thran did lean back and sighed, he felt tired and frustrated, this case was confusing. Baker did hand over some papers. "Take a look at this"

Thran did stare at the pages, it was a report from the coroner. "Bertram had tranquilizers in his system? Animal tranquilizers?!"

Baker nodded. "In a very high concentration, enough to kill a person pretty fast. And the coroner did find a small puncture wound at the base of his neck"

Bard frowned. "A needle?"

Baker shook his head. "No, blow dart. The type vets use, whoever did place the fake deer there didn't want Bertram to survive, it was an assassination for sure. And the tracks through the woods were covered but ended at the quarry where he was found. The barrel must have contained something which did dry the body out, the coroner thinks it was natron. The stuff the Egyptians use to dry out mummies before they are wrapped up. There has been some cases of people dumping chemicals in that old quarry. There was some sulphur there too, the culprit must have rolled the body through the stuff, possibly to hide the smell from coyotes and bears. "

Thran grunted. "Right, then we know how poor Bertram did die, and that the killer actually intended to kill him there and then. Check if there are any vets in the area who are missing any tranquilizers, this stuff cannot be bought over the counter so it has to have been stolen."

Baker went to his computer. "I am on it"

They were half asleep from the intake of food when the phone rang, Mr Baker did jump out of his chair and answered and he did put it on speaker by accident. It was Orome and they did recognize the deep voice immediately. "Baker, send a swat team, no, send all of the teams you have, heck. Call in the national guard!"

Baker did frown. "What? What is wrong?"

The deep voice had a tone of disbelief. "It is old Grog, except, it isn't him, not really. He has freakin' grown, must have some sort of tumour or something for fuck me sideways, I have never seen a larger bear ever! He must weigh in at two tonnes by now!"

Baker was blinking. "Are you kidding me?"

Orome was obviously running, they could hear feet and somebody was panting. "No, he just shredded two officers here, and toppled a pick up. The bear is mad man, hyper aggressive."

Baker gaped, he did look like a fish abandoned on dry land. "Ah, are you sure it isn't the darkness which is fooling ya? He could be rabid…"

Orome did sound a bit tired. "Listen, I know bears right? That fucking bear has turned into a monster, he has grown a lot just over the last year! I am not lying, we emptied my .38 and two assault rifles plus my elephant rifle into him and he just shrugged it off like it was mosquito bites. Something is off!"

Thran was listening with eyes wide open and Bard was gaping too. "Ah, seriously? Two tonnes?!"

Orome was grunting. "About that yes, alert the city. If the monster heads that way we have a situation"

Baker tried to catch his breath. "Will do"

Orome grunted again, he was obviously running through the woods, in the distance they could hear someone screaming. "What is the heaviest weapons you have?"

Baker was running his hand through his hair, his eyes were bulging. "Ah, Ar-15's?"

Orome was cussing so bad it was a wonder the wall paper didn't catch fire. "Shit, fuck a duck, crap a doodle. We have already tried that, didn't do diddeli squat, could have tickled him with a stick, same result. "

Bard felt a bit faint. "Ah, the national guard?"

Orome was breathing fast. "Yeah, call them. They have armour piercing ammo for sure. Nothing less will do"

Baker was grasping for his cell phone. "Where are you?"

Orome could be heard jumping over something. "At Deer point, heading towards Keller's creek. He is on the chase but not very fast"

Baker was going through his phone list and Thran got up, walked over to the map on the wall. It showed the area and he did point his finger at Keller's creek and Deer point. He did look rather sinister. "I wonder…"

Bard followed him. "I don't like that expression?"

Thran nodded. "See what I see? It's not far from that canyon, with the mine"

Bard felt utterly confused, they heard that the call was ended, the phone seemed to hit something. Baker was calling the national guard, he was trembling and had a hard time explaining the situation.

Thran's phone went off, it was the technician again. "Guys, it is a hospital, in Mexico. They specialize in rare diseases, and injuries!"

Thran was a bit pale. "Send me the name, now!"

The technician was fast, the name ticked inn right away and Thran did google it, he did leave the bear situation to Baker, he had to be able to take care of it. Bard was listening as Thran tried to call the hospital, that was when his own phone went off too. It was a number he didn't know but it was probably local and when he answered they heard a hysterical woman's voice. "It is Louisa, oh god, somebody has taken Sophia, from her rooms!"

Bard blinked. Why did the apocalypse seem to be happening there and then? "Calm down, did somebody kidnap her?"

Louise could be heard keening. "Yes, oh please help. She went upstairs to get her jumper for it is chilly here and then we heard crashes and screams and then a car took off from behind the house and she is gone"

Bard felt cold, it was probably a very professional snatch and grab then. "Louisa, listen to me, this is important. Do not leave the house, call security, we will be there shortly"

They heard someone yelling in the background and the phone went dead. Thran was wild eyed and Baker was obviously trying to convince some lieutenant of the importance of sending a troop of well trained soldiers. It was obviously not easy. Finally Thran got through to the hospital and someone speaking Spanish did answer. He had to wait for a while for somebody who could speak English and Baker did manage to convince the officer that yes, they had a situation there.

Bard was jogging around, waiting for Thran to be finished so they could speak to the Tudolak family and see if they could find Bertram's fiancé. Thran did present himself and asked about the monthly sum of money and the lady at the other end didn't want to tell them anything until Thran did mention that Bertram was dead and that it was a murder investigation. Then she got someone else who knew more and they heard a sort of melancholic voice which had to belong to an elderly man. He did present himself as Doctor Jerome Jerez and he was obviously the doctor in care of the hopeless cases. Thran asked about the money and Dr Jerez did sigh. "Those money is for the care of a patient we have here, a very tragic story really"

Thran swallowed. "Let me guess, the patient is a woman? A former geologist?"

The man on the other end was quiet for a moment, when he came back the voice was intense. "Senor, how did you know? The patient is indeed a geologist, Anna Valdez, she has been here for over nine years."

Thran closed his eyes. "Tell me, is she suffering from some sort of poisoning?"

Dr Jerez could be heard swallowing. "Yes, Bertram Tudolak did hire her to investigate an old mine, somebody wanted to buy it and wouldn't quit asking him about it and he wanted to find out why it suddenly was so attractive. She didn't find any gold but said she had seen something impossible while being down there, something which had fallen. And when she came back home to Mexico she fell ill, we didn't realize what it was until it was too late."

Thran nodded. "Radiation sickness right?"

Dr Jerez was going through papers, his hands had to be shivering, they could hear it. "Yes, very severe. She is alive but…she is in a vegetative state, her brain is injured. Bertram felt guilty and has kept paying for her care"

Thran sighed deeply. "Dr Jerez, thank you. You have been of immense help. I will make sure that the money keeps coming"

He did end the conversation and stared at Bard with dark eyes. "That mine is death Bard, I think I know what that geologist found"

Bard saw that Baker was heading out to meet the national guard and he swallowed hard. Two crisis on one evening was one too many. "What?"

Thran threw his jacket on again and they were running towards the car. They heard sirens and some squad cars did race by, somebody had been thinking fast for the air raid sirens started sounding, giving the listen to radio signal. "There must have been a river running through that canyon once upon a time, and if there is a cave system down there something was washed down into it. A meteorite"

Bard cussed. "Are you fucking sure?"

Thran nodded. "Some of those can be extremely radioactive"

Bard started the car and it roared forth. "Why would anyone want a radioactive meteorite?"

Thran was almost panting. "I think you know…"

Bard felt dizzy. "Oh bloody…fuck. "

Thran was sweating. "This isn't about the mine or wealth, this is about terrorism Bard, on a grand scale. And they won't let anybody stand in their way"

Bard swallowed hard. "Then we have to find the one who wanted to buy the mine, and we need to do it now!"

Thran stared at his phone. "I feel like calling Orome and warning him, that bear has probably hibernated in one of the caves, and gotten some sort of pituitary gland problem, it is the victim of a mutated form of cancer"

Bard frowned. "You think so?"

Thran tried to smile as they got into the car. "Research have shown that creatures can grow bigger when exposed to radiation"

Bard tried not to think of the old Godzilla movie he had seen sometime in the 90's. That depiction of the monster had been absolutely terrifying. What if Old Grog did continue to grow?

Thran did drive, it was dark now and the road was filled with cars, the sirens and the light made the other drivers hit the curb to let them pass by. The mansion was filled with light, some of the security guards were running around as if their shoes were on fire and it was a scene of chaos. Thran moaned when he saw the action, if there had been tire treads there they were gone now.

The butler did greet them as last time, but he did look a bit like a ghost and his eyes were glassy. "Follow me, they are waiting"

Thran and Bard did storm into the living room, it was a smaller one and rather cosy, more like a normal living room in an ordinary home. Nadya was trying to calm down Louisa and Bard saw that the others there looked shaken and Thran did take a deep breath. "People, it is time to be completely honest with me now. Bertram probably got killed because of an old mine you own, do anyone here know something about that?!"

Nadya went even paler than before and she had to sit down, her eyes were huge. "Oh god, oh no!"

Thran was staring at her, his eyes were sharp" Speak!"

Louisa stared at her mother, eyes wide and chin trembling. "Mother?"

Nadya trembled. "Fifteen years ago I was contacted by somebody who wanted to buy the mine, I refused. That place is worthless and the rock is not solid, it is a death trap. So I turned the offer down in a rather brusque manner. But I know that the same people did contact Bertram some years later, and that he too did reject them very firmly. I didn't intervene for I knew my son, he would never do anything stupid. They must have believed that he was my heir or capable of making me change my mind"

Thran sighed. "They have probably tried again then, several times. Tell me, who were they?"

Nadya closed her eyes. "A firm from the north of here, they run mines and such. Angband industries"

Bard frowned. "Why does that name strike a bell in my head?"

Thran almost growled. "Because there was a scandal involving them some years ago, they had been taking over a strip mine and didn't replace the top soil they removed as they were supposed to. It was a shit storm"

Nadya sighed. "Their leader is rather famous, he is a tough one, a man of the old school. He is ruthless and driven but honest, I know that for a fact. He would never kidnap anyone, I am not so sure of his associates though"

Bard stared at Thran who looked as if he was thinking hard. "I have met him. Melkor Angband, he is an old fellow now but he did have a rather large group of associates. Some see him as a sort of mob godfather and I think they are right. But as Nadya says, he is honest. Mean if he needs to be but his methods are always clean."

Bard grunted. "But somebody did kidnap Sophia and it has to do with the mine, could it be somebody else?"

Thran shook his head. "Not very likely, you said the first contact was fifteen years ago?"

Nadya did nod. "Yes, it was a letter, from Angband industries. It offered a ridiculous amount of money for the mine but like I said, I wasn't tempted. "

Thran did look very intense. "Was that letter signed by the leader himself or someone else?"

Nadya did look a bit confused for a moment. "I…I cannot seem to remember?"

Bard took her hand. "Do you keep all business correspondence?"

She nodded. "Yes, but fifteen years? That's in the basement"

Thran snapped his fingers. "People, you know the basement, go down there and find those papers, they may tell us where Sophia is. Hurry"

Nadya did wave her hand. "The letters came in June I think, they have the Angband industry letterhead."

Two of the relatives did run off and Bard and Thran went up to Sophia's room, the place did look like a mess and the window was smashed. Bard did wet his lips. "Know what? This doesn't look very professional after all, look at the mayhem?!"

Thran touched the frame of the broken window, he did stare at it with narrow eyes. "You are right, this was premeditated but not done by a pro, that is for sure."

He did lean forth and stared at a piece of frame, then he waved his hand. "Bard, take a look at this, what do you think it is?"

Bard came over, in a crack in the wood they saw something, a small flake of something bright blue, with sparkles in it. Thran fished it out using a handkerchief and Bard blinked. "A piece of a finger nail?"

Thran nodded. "Yes, and I did notice that Sophia has French style manicure. The attacker was a woman"

Bard had to gape. "Are you kidding me?"

Thran shook his head. "I am starting to think that we have got this all wrong after all"

Bard shook his head. "Whoa there, what are you talking about?!"

Thran stopped and turned on his heel, stared straight at Bard. "Listen, Bertram was tricked into stopping his car, then probably hauled off into the woods and the body found in a barrel down at the bottom of an old quarry. That speaks of rage, and hatred even. This room speaks of the same, and at an escalating level"

Bard nodded. "So what have we failed to see?"

Thran sighed. "I think we are about to find out, pretty soon"

They went back downstairs, just as the butler came running out of the basement with some papers, he was waving them and looked excited. "Gentlemen, look what we found"

Bard took the papers, the letterhead was very visible since the firm used very bold letters in a gothic font and the colour was bright red. The letter was a standard business proposal but the name at the bottom was what caused Thran's eyebrows to touch his hairline. He handed it over to Bard. "Look, do you see what I see?"

Bard nodded. "Thuringwethil Angband? The boss daughter?"

Thran shook his head. "No, niece, apparently sharp as a razor and just as driven as her uncle."

The handwriting was very elegant, clearly a woman's and yet powerful. "She is a jet setter and rather famous but she is sprung from the same roots as her uncle for sure. Very hard when it comes to business and extremely smart"

Bard looked at the letter again. "It was fifteen years ago, why try again so many times, and keep trying?"

Thran made a nasty grimace and shrugged. "I have no idea, I guess we will have to go to the source. "

Bard frowned. "The source?"

Thran nodded. "If this was done by Thurinwethil it is not normal behaviour for a businesswoman, they do have a reputation for playing dirty at times and for using every possible method to get what they want but they have never hurt anyone, ever! They may blackmail, they may buy your debts and force you to sell but never murder, the old man is very adamant about that."

Bard felt a bit confused. "So what are you saying? What are we to do?"

Thran picked up his phone. "Baker?"

The sheriff answered. "Yes, this better be important, the whole city is going to hell or so it seems, that bear or whatever it has turned the area into a war zone"

Bard swallowed hard. "Ah, how?"

Baker did sound exasperated. "Someone did listen in on the police radio, now every gun nut and hunter with a larger than God complex is out there, to "save" us from the bear. It is mayhem, so far we have had two cows shot, a horse and someone did shoot their own truck"

Thran did scoff. "I can imagine, could you provide us with a helicopter?"

There was a second of silence "Are you nuts? We have two, and both are needed to find that goddamn overgrown Teddy"

Thran took a deep breath "Listen, we think that Melkor Angband's niece has Sophia, I must speak with the old man. It takes just half an hour to fly out of here and over to their headquarters but it will take two hours by road, or probably more"

Baker could be heard moaning "Alright fine! It is dark anyhow so the choppers don't see anything. Are you at the mansion? Expect one in five"

Thran smiled. "Good, thank you. We will be ready"

Bard took a few deep breaths, there were things he hated more than flying a chopper in the dark but they were few, and he couldn't remember them there and then. "Do you think we'll even get to speak with the boss himself?"

Thran did nod. "I have met him, once. At a party for a charity someone did organize. He may be a tough old bastard and rather ruthless but he is not going to accept that any of his employee's use filthy methods. "

They ran outside to the lawn and saw that a helicopter was approaching from the city, they heard sirens and the roads were packed with cars, trying to leave. The news had spread fast or so it seemed. The lawn was huge so the pilot had no problems landing and Thran jumped inn. "We have to get to Angband Enterprises, fast!"

The pilot nodded. "Alright but strap yourself inn tight, it is strong winds tonight and the weather is nasty over the mountains"

Bard rolled his eyes, this was getting better and better. Thran was on the phone with Baker again, ordering someone to see if they could find the type of car Sophia had been dragged off inn, or where it was heading. There were traffic cameras on the main roads but the chances were that the culprit didn't use those roads but the smaller local ones.

The flight was a bumpy ride to say the least. Bard felt as if his entire stomach was about to say goodbye when they finally did descend towards the huge factory area, and he was sure that he was just as green in the face as Kermit the frog. The helicopter did land on a pad outside of the fences and Thran did take a deep breath.

There were security guards there and they had both guns and dogs. Thran told the pilot to stay and then he walked up towards the gate, he had the natural grace of someone of importance and the head of the guard did meet him, obviously aware of the fact that this was somebody he ought to listen to. Thran was saying something, pointing at Bard, the helicopter and his face was very stern. He did look almost menacing and the guard did lift a radio and was talking fast. Then he nodded and Thran waved his hand, called Bard over. "Mr Angband has agreed to speak with us"

The guard did lead them through the gate and another man came to greet them, he was probably a sort of body guard but was dressed like a butler and he did look like a very controlled and pleasant person. Bard was glad they both were dressed well, and that Thran knew how to behave among the upper classes, he felt misplaced as usual.

They were taken to an office which had a whole wall made from glass, it did enable the people who visited the place to see the whole area. Bard knew that there was money in mining and oil but this office didn't really speak of any wealth. There was little luxury there, and it was very Spartan when it came to decorations and furniture. They did only have to wait for a couple of minutes, a door opened and a man entered the room. He was very old, that was apparent but there was still some traces of black in his long silky hair and the face was still handsome. He had to have been even taller than Thran but now he was bent and weak and used a cane to walk and Bard did notice that his hands were covered with velvet gloves.

Thran did bow his head. "Mr Angband."

The old man coughed and managed to make a sort of smile. "Mr Oropherson, I am pleased to see you again, that party was a very pleasant evening"

Thran smiled. "Yes, indeed it was"

Melkor did tilt his head. "You said that my niece has done something very stupid?"

Thran closed his eyes for a second. "Yes, yes she has. Did you know that she has tried to buy and old mine from the Tudolak family for the last fifteen years?"

The old man did raise his head, his eyes got hard. "Yes, she told me, fifteen years ago, said she had discovered that it was valuable after all. I told her to knock it off, that piece of land is just crap, rotten rock and no gold left, just granite. And not even the type you can use for building stuff"

He coughed again. "But she didn't back off?"

Thran made a grimace. "No, apparently she has tried to force Bertram Tudolak into selling the mine, or using him to make Nadya sell it rather."

Melkor was silent for a few seconds. "Bertram is dead isn't he? And you think that Thu did it?"

Bard had been silent but he felt that it was better that he delivered the bad news. "Yes, and now she has kidnapped Sophia, Bertram's fiancée. "

Melkor seemed to shrink, like a wheel with a hole in it. He coughed again, rather viciously. "Take a look at this then gentlemen!"

He walked over to his desk and took out some papers. It was letters like the one they had found in the Tudolak basement, with the Angband letterheads and all. Thran did take a look at them and he almost gasped. "Oh my…what is this?"

Melkor sat down. "Letters signed by my niece, I knew you would see it"

Thran handed the letters over to Bard. "Look at the signatures"

Bard did and frowned. "What the heck? This cannot be the same person?"

Thran sent him a sad grin. "It is, does she have a diagnosis?"

Melkor shrugged. "I don't really know, she has been acting more and more like a mad woman over the last year, I have been forced to take action and remove her from some of her chores here. She cannot be trusted anymore. I thought…"

He did cough and wiped his mouth. "I thought she was just depressed for a while, her husband did leave her two years ago, for some young bimbo and well, she is proud my niece, very proud"

Thran nodded. "Those who are proud crack pretty fast."

Melkor managed to smile. "I know, pride is never a good trait. It is a sin you know"

Thran looked down. "Is it true what they say about you?"

Melkor nodded . "About the fact that I am dying? Yes, I have weeks left, if I last that long. "

Bard felt shocked. "Cancer?"

The old man smiled, a very sad smile. "Yes, a very rare form of it, extremely aggressive, came out of thin air three years ago. "

Thran looked sad. "And it cannot be cured"

Melkor shook his head. "No, after I had an accident some decades ago I cannot be treated like ordinary cancer patients, my veins are too fragile. I have always had such a strong health but it has failed me, at last"

Thran looked at Bard and his eyes were hard, and dark. "When you die, who is your heir?"

Melkor shrugged. "I have only Thu left now, her brother died ten years ago in an accident in a mine we were opening and her father has been dead since she was five. "

Thran took a deep breath. "She is your sole heir or what?"

Melkor closed his eyes. "Yes, but of late…she has acted in a bizarre manner, and…I decided to remove her from my will, and make the entire firm into an ordinary stock based business. She will keep some of the stocks of course but I have already organized the sale of the rest. "

Bard felt a bit sick again. "When did you do this?"

Melkor sighed. "Some years ago, before I fell ill"

Thran sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sir, your cancer was no coincidence, neither was the death of Bertram and the death of her brother. She did indeed find something very valuable by that mine, and she has used it, to make you sick."

Melkor blinked, his face was ghostly grey. "I cannot believe that…"

Thran sat down and stared at the old man. "She found a radioactive meteorite, and she has probably used it to poison you, over time, to make sure the treatments you receive fail. She tried to cover up her tracks by killing Bertram who most likely had figured it out and she would probably have tried to make you change your will again, just how deteriorated is her state of mind?"

Melkor was quiet, his voice did shiver when he started to speak again. "Very, she is still clever and shrew like an old vixen but she has turned malevolent, mean. She no longer care about the rules"

Melkor stared out of the windows and for a moment you really saw his age clearly, he did look like a man who truly was well above a hundred. "I have worked so hard my entire life, I have sacrificed what other people see as a natural part of life, a family, close relations. I have stepped on many toes and caused much misery for sure but I have repaid for that by creating jobs and values which have benefitted this nation. And now…"

He sighed and the face was sad. "Those who soar high do fall in the end, this is my fall from grace I fear, and she is the one who started it. "

Thran was quiet, there was compassion within his eyes. Melkor had been tough as old nails and a real old bastard in many ways but he was a human being and now he was suffering. "Sir, we need to find her, do you have any idea of where she may have taken Sophia?"

Melkor sent them a very melancholic grin. "She has taken over much of the organization over the last year, unbeknownst to me. I just found out recently, she has sold off things and equipment we do need, but she has obviously a need for money which far exceeds her rather substantial paycheck. I have taken precautions of course"

He walked over to a desk by the corner and entered a code on a hidden console, a drawer did slide forth and he did pick out a tablet. He handed it over to Thran. "She does drive a Pontiac, a beast of a car. There isn't much on the road which can keep up with it, but I have placed a tracker in it. It cannot be traced from within the car or near it but I can keep an eye on where she is, approximately"

Thran opened the tablet. "You do really have a problem with trusting her"

Melkor made a scoffing sound. "Thranduil, I do not trust anyone. It is a life long lesson and one I have learned very well. Thu has made odd decisions which makes no sense, she has insulted people, threatened them too. She is a loose canon on the deck and if she was younger I would have placed her over my lap and given her a few really good whacks"

Bard stared at Thran. "Could she be an addict of some sorts?"

Thran nodded. "Most likely. Mr Angband, what sort of education does she have?"

Melkor made a sort of grin. "She wanted to become a vet as a kid, started the education too, but she then changed to banking and finances, why I don't know."

Thran took a deep breath. "Right, then we know how she knew how to tranquilize Bertram, she probably got the drugs and the blow gun from some veterinarians office. "

Melkor did tilt his head. "We own a small zoo? With a vet, Mr Berentz, he is in his sixties and not what I would call up to date but very skilled. She has always been the apple of his eye, or rather, she was when she was younger. She sort of fell out of favour when she started to release some of the animals"

Bard turned around on his heel. "Did she happen to release a bear?"

Melkor frowned " A bear? No? I don't think so…or wait a minute…"

He did sit down and started a small desktop, then he waited for a moment and started typing. After yet another minute he did nod. "She did in fact let out a young grizzly, it was taken inn for treatment, had been caught in a trap and Mr Berentz felt that it was too weak to survive but she was getting increasingly strong willed back then and let it back out into the forest. I doubt that it did survive"

Thran looked at Bard with a curious glance within his eyes. "What?"

Bard did wet his lips. "Ah, I just thought that…well, Orome said that Old Grog could have been kept as a pet? What if it was a bear who really has learned to hate humans?"

Thran frowned. "It cannot be that old? Bears don't live for that long?"

Bard shrugged. "Who knows really?"

Thran made a grimace. "But if she was interested in wildlife for a period of time she probably visited the canyon and noticed the odd plants and managed to put two and two together, she probably got inside of the cave system somehow. And knew what she found too, she is after all very smart. "

Thran stared at the tablet. "According to this the car is placed somewhere south of the city, in an area with no residents"

Melkor nodded. "An area we were supposed to buy but I pulled the plug on it even when she was protesting. The area is too ragged to be used for anything, the costs will far exceed the profit"

Bard tried to think rationally. "Mr Angband, did Thu live here? Does she have rooms here?"

Melkor nodded. "Yes, my butler can take you there. But please, be fast. If Thu really has kidnapped that young woman…I fear for her life then, Thu has been very irrational of late"

Bard tried to smile and Thran did grasp the old man's hand, shook it gently. "Thank you sir, this has been very helpful"

They followed the butler and Bard couldn't help but feeling sorry for the old man, he was watching how his life's work was being torn apart and much of it thanks to the one who should have ensured that it did continue.

The butler did take them into a small apartment at the back of the office complex, it wasn't very large but opulent and overly luxurious. It looked as if the owner had tried to squeeze as much as possible into the area just to show off her money and influence. But Thran did notice something, there were empty pale spots on the walls and some things were obviously missing. The butler did stare at the walls with a face devoid of expression but Thran saw through it. "What is it man? Spit it out"

The butler did take a very deep breath and he made a grimace. "Sirs, I have to tell you this. She has been selling a lot of her valuables of late, even her jewellery. I have seen it but I cannot say anything, she does pay me you see and I need the money. I have a criminal record so no others will hire me and…"

Thran nodded. "I see, why? You must have some idea of why she does this?"

The butler ran his hand through his hair, he did look nervous. "Listen, you didn't hear this from me, but she has a habit ya see."

Thran did look very intense. "Alright, a habit. What sorts of habit?"

The butler grunted. "The very expensive one, a new drug, special made. It makes you feel awesome for a while but it is addictive as fuck, pardon my French. "

Bard felt on edge, he started to see a pattern. "Who is her dealer?"

The butler went over to the desk and took out a laptop, he did start it. "It is all here, she does talk with them through encrypted mail but the old man is smart, he has a secret program installed on all the computers here which enable him to decrypt anything written on them. I have the key"

He did sit down and started typing something and the computer could be heard as it was working hard. Then he got up. "It is all yours gentlemen."

Thran sat down and stared at the long row of emails. He did sigh. "Bard, call Baker and tell him to send cars to the area where Thu's car was registered but for heavens sake, tell him to stand back and keep a distance. I fear that this may be the moment when the shit hits the fan"

He pointed at the screen. "She has a meeting today, in about an hour. She is to deliver the "goods" but it doesn't say what the "goods" are"

Bard did wet his lips "The meteorite?"

Thran nodded. "Most likely, I think that the dealer is someone way more sinister than just an average drug dealer, some of the drug cartels are in close league with terrorists"

Bard felt a bit dizzy. "They targeted her right? Found someone rich and influential they could get hooked and use as a mule and then blackmail into obeying and she must have revealed what that canyon does contain. And they saw the light and kept pushing her, asking her to buy it"

Thran grinned but it was a nasty smile. "Yes, she may have mentioned the meteorite to get a lever to use against them, something to tempt them with, to give her the upper hand. But it has failed for sure"

Bard grunted. "But then why kidnap Sophia?"

Thran closed the laptop. "It could have been anyone of the family who was alone and vulnerable, she wants to have something to present to the dealers, a person who is valuable to the family could be the one thing which let's her off the hook. A hostage would most likely be what they need to make Nadya change her mind and sell the mine and the area around it"

Bard saw that the butler did look completely aghast. "She didn't mean to kill Bertram then?"

Thran got up. "No, it was an accident. She wanted to keep him as a hostage but failed at determining the dose of tranquilizers. "

Bard realized that this Thu probably was rather insane by now, or rather, that her brains were cooked by drugs. Thran smiled at the butler. "Thank you sir, is it okay if I bring this computer with me? We can track and catch some nasty critters using it, the dealers have used names I am sure can be traced"

The butler did shrug. "Be my guest, the boss hates those sorts of people, says there is no honour among them. I am sure it will thrill him if you put them behind bars, or preferably ten feet under. "

They returned to the heli pad and the pilot had kept the rotor going, Thran made sure that Baker had received the message and then he asked the pilot to forget that the helicopter was an elderly model and pretend as if it was an apache. They needed speed now, lots and lots of it. They could only pray that Baker did understand the severity of the situation and didn't move inn too fast, if Sophia was to survive this they had to use stealth and the factor of surprise. The helicopter did take off and Bard closed his eyes, this was gonna be one hell of a ride for the pilot seemed to have taken Thran's order quite literally.

The area south of the city was a deserted one, it was riddled with narrow gorges and flat plateaus and it was probably going to be a part of the national park for it wasn't possible to use it for anything at all. There was one road leading into it and it wasn't used that much, even if the area was just a few miles out of the city. There was nothing there which would draw people to the place, the only ones who did visit were hikers fond of extreme terrain and a farmer every now and then, looking for lost livestock. Now there were several cars parked there, all rather large expensive vehicles and they were dark in colour and hard to see in the dark. They were obviously waiting for something and there were about seven men there, all armed and they did look as if they were very bored. The bitch ought to show up soon and she'd better bring the goods, their bosses were impatient and that thing she had promised them could bring inn some insane amounts of cash. They already had contacts which were interested and if it was used to produce a dirty bomb or just to poison an entire city who cared, money doesn't stink. She has said she would be there, and they knew that she needed a fix by now, no doubt she would show.

Orome was pissed off, Baker had retracted many of the officers and some of the soldiers too and sent them off somewhere else and many had also been pulled back to protect the city and its inhabitants. Some people were going insane and shooting at everything which did or didn't move and Orome had never seen mayhem like this ever. The bear was gone, as if the ground had swallowed it and they were tracking it, with difficulties. Orome was a very skilled tracker, he had put the rest of the group behind him now and was running, the tracks were very faint and that was due to the drought, it hadn't rained in this area for a while and the soil was hard due to this. He kept his eyes on the faint track, he was so attuned to the light of the moon and the stars he didn't need a headlight, he did loathe all such modern things. He had his trusted revolver and a rifle over his back and he was capable of running way faster than any soldier, no matter how well trained he was. He realized he was heading towards the uninhabited area south of the city and did draw a deep breath of relief, there were no people to harm there. If he got the bear in sight he could shoot without danger of harming somebody else. The idea that the bear had a tumour which caused it to grow wasn't too far fetched, he had seen such things before and if the animal was in pain it did explain the erratic behaviour. He kept running, the men who had been following him were far behind and he liked that, he did hunt way better on his own. He suddenly saw light up ahead and tensed up, it was probably car lights. He did start to run even faster, the bear was way ahead of him, and if it was angry still it would be drawn to the lights. He had to get there first.

The large black Pontiac did roar into the small parking lot, it did almost skid as the driver stepped on the breaks and the men did squint and stepped back a bit. The woman who did step out of the car was in her late fifties, rather elegant and wearing an expensive suit but she was dishevelled, there was blood on her cheek and her hair was undone. Her eyes were huge and her expression one of genuine madness, she did almost stumble and her expression more of a sneer than a grin. The leader of the men did step forth, he carried an assault rifle and his expression was one of slight disgust and contempt. "Do you have it?"

The woman was trembling, her posture almost threatening in spite of the fact that she was outnumbered. She was clearly used to being in charge and she was also clearly in distress. "No, goddamn old goat won't sell, couldn't make that whelp cooperate. But I have his bitch, they will sell when you have her"

She stumbled towards the rear of the car and tore the luggage hatch open, inside was a bound and gagged Sophia who was obviously terrified. The men didn't look impressed. "We told you to get the mine, we need it. "

Thu did sneer again. "Don't worry, they will sell, the pussies won't let another one of their own die. They are too sentimental"

She did pinch the bound woman and she did writhe, eyes huge with fear. The men stared at each other, the leader did step closer and grunted. "I hear you saying that but we cannot afford to wait for very long, we need that bloody meteorite. "

Thu shrugged. "You won't have to wait for very long, Bertram was onto me so he wasn't a huge loss really, but I know where it is, I have seen it. We just need permit to dig."

She shuddered and tried to stay straight, to keep her demanding posture. "So, where is it, I need it"

The leader sort of laughed and threw a small plastic bag at her, she tore it open and it contained some very small white pills, she pushed a couple into her mouth and her movements were desperate. The men all looked disgusted. They hated junkies but at the same time they were dependent upon them, without them they wouldn't earn any money.

The woman in the trunk was trembling, she had realized that she was in the hands of a deranged kidnapper and she wasn't stupid, if the men found out who her family was she would most certainly be used to press money from them too. And what if these men weren't pleased with Thu's explanation? The woman had acted like a rabid animal and been fearfully strong, Sophia knew it was due to drugs.

The leader smirked. "So, we have the fiancé of Bertram Tudolak, she is worth a lot more than a mine now isn't she, even with a meteorite in it. But you on the other hand…I am not so sure if we need your scrawny ass any more. You have used to much of it, cooked your brains. Sooner or later you will snap"

He was raising his gun and Thu got an expression of barely repressed rage on her face. "How dare you threaten me, I am the CEO of Angband industries, you wouldn't be able to imagine the power I possess."

He tilted his head. "Possessed princess, the word is possessed"

He was about to pull the trigger when they heard a crashing sound and the men all spun around, expecting a swat team or something like that. What they saw made them freeze for a moment. In the pale light from the moon it was hard to tell what it was that they actually saw but it was enormous and moving and it made some horrible growling sounds. It wasn't until the lights from the Pontiac hit it that they saw that it was a bear, but no bear like any they had ever seen. It was first of all gigantic in size and it was bloody and torn and the fur was falling off in huge clumps. But the expression within its red eyes was the worst, sheer madness and hatred.

The men did explode into action, grasping their rifles but the bear was already there, moving with insane speed. It crushed two men against the Pontiac, then it grasped another in its stinking maw and bit him in half. One of the men did fire his rifle but in the dark it was hard to tell where to aim and he was too shocked to keep the rifle steady, he did miss and the bear hit him and sent him flying. The leader was a cold man, used to much but this was beyond him Nobody had said anything about giant bears. He turned to run but Thu did grasp onto him. "You cannot…go. I need more…"

She was high and unable to see the severity of the situation, her face a mask of stubborn pride and she was clawing at his west, trying to get to his pockets. The man did slap her, she went flying backwards and the bear was suddenly there. Thu stared at it. "Oh wow, is that you scrappy? You have grown"

She giggled and tried to get up but the bear growled and bent down, tore her head off with a simple yank of a claw. The leader of the men tried to run but didn't get far, he fired the rifle and so did the remaining men but they didn't know where to aim and the pain of the shots didn't affect the bear at all. It was beyond that now.

Sophia lay in the trunk and heard it all, her heart beating like a drum and she just knew that the bear would come for her next, when the men were dead. The animal didn't try to eat any of them, all it wanted was to kill, to maim and destroy. The last gunshots could be heard, then there was just the heavy huffing of the bear who was fuelled by an unholy rage. It had been hibernating in caves close to the radioactive area for many years and the effect was horrible, it was no longer sane at all. Sophia heard the bear approaching, it had to smell her and the trunk was open, there was no way she could close it without that thing hearing the sound and she was tied up and helpless.

She was sure that this was it, that the bear would kill her when it reached the rear of the car but that was when she saw a shadow, flying in from the left side. It was a man, very tall and long haired and he did wield an axe, a strange weapon to use against an animal that size. Orome had seen it all, how the bear had killed those criminals and also how it had refused to stop even when fired upon. He had realized that a gun was unable to stop it, only something good and old fashioned would work here. He had an axe in his belt, used mostly for felling trees and he pulled it and prepared for the fight of his life. Old Grog was almost indestructible now, it was so filled with adrenaline it felt no pain and the rage which did surge through the brain was never ending, fuelled by its spreading disease.

The ranger was strong and fast and he used one of the cars as a spring board and he did jump, He had just one shot at this or he would fail, he had to land on the shoulders of the animal, where it couldn't reach him. He felt strangely calm, almost at ease. It had to be done and he had to do it. There were nobody else with his strength or skill. He did hit the mark, wrapped his long legs around the bear's neck and held on for dear life as he raised the axe. He did bring it down with all his might, aiming for that exact point that was the bear's weakness. Not the skull itself but the point where the neck vertebrae met the base of the skull. It was an awkward position and a dangerous one if he missed but he leaned as far back as he could and the blade did hit home. The blade was sharp, well maintained and not very large.

It did cut through the skin and muscle and sinews and Old Grog roared and tried to shake off the attacker but it was too late. Orome used all his strength and all his weight as he pushed forwards and forced the blade inn between the skull and the first vertebrae, it did sever the spinal cord quite nicely and the bear did tremble and fell. It was as if someone put a chainsaw to a tree, he fell like a log. Orome did cling onto the carcass long enough to be sure that it was dead, the heart had stopped, so had the breathing and the old bear was finally at rest. Free from the pain which had ridden it for the last years.

He got up and ran over to the trunk where he did free a terrified Sophia, then he sat down to wait for the cavalry. It was over, one way or the other.

When Thran and Bard did arrive the police was already there, and so were the national guard and pretty much the entire city or so it did seem. They jumped out of the helicopter the moment it hit the ground and saw that Sophia were taken care off by some paramedics. She appeared to be in shock and Orome stood there, seemingly very relaxed and watched as the officers and some reporters did take photos of the dead bear. Thran ran over and Orome did nod, he was calm as a cucumber. There were dead bodies there and guns and it was in truth a scene of carnage. The ranger did spit and patted his axe. "I got him, in the end. Those guys were just in his path"

Thran nodded slowly. "I…see. Where was he heading you think?"

Orome shrugged. "Back to the canyon? I am pretty sure that is where he had his hide out and den. I hope they burn the carcass now, it cannot be preserved in any manner, the body is simply too damaged. "

Thran stared over at where Sophia sat and Orome did pet his back. "She has told Baker everything, her family are on the way to pick her up. She isn't that hurt, just some scratches and bruises. That mad woman wanted to use her to press Nadya into selling the mine"

Bard caught up with Thran, he had never seen anything as terrifying as that dead bear, it was like evil incarnate. Thran did smile but his gaze was a bit distant. "I have to call Mr Angband and tell him that Thu is dead, but doubt that he will grieve. She has been dead to him for a while I think, she has betrayed his trust and men like him do never forgive that."

Bard swallowed hard. "I know"

Orome smiled. "You did well, the police got here seconds after I killed the bear, they heard the gunshots and decided to move inn. If any of the criminals had survived I would have been a sitting duck"

Bard scoffed. "Are you kidding me, you would just have thrown that axe at them the way Thor throws Mjolnir and knocked them out"

Orome just laughed.

An hour later they were back at the mansion, the situation was calmer now and Sophia was back where she did belong, Nadya was shaken but calm and Thran couldn't help but think about how powerful she would have been if she had cooperated with someone like Melkor, they would have been a force to recon with. Thran had told about the meteorite and what Bertram had done to make sure that the geologist was taken care off, he probably felt guilty and tried to hide the truth of the site from his family, to protect them. Nadya promised that they would make sure that the geologist continued to get the care she needed.

Nadya was sipping at her tea, her eyes distant. "I can recall that my father told me about that mine, it was a cursed place or so they believed. Accidents happened all the time and the miners got sick and died too, like flies. Of course, back then they had no rational explanation and I do believe that my grandfather was relieved when the ore did run out. He could close the whole goddamn thing"

Bard sat on the edge of the chair. "So, what happens now?"

Nadya did smile, she was her old self more or less, elegant and in control. "I have contacted the authorities. The meteorite or whatever it is will be removed, the soil around it too, and then the entire site will be filled with concrete. Nobody is gonna use it for evil again, I bet they have some storage somewhere, somewhere safe"

Bard mumbled. "Let's hope so"

Thran tilted his head. "Thu was clearly desperate, Melkor did check everything after we left and she has spent way too much money, some parts of the firm are actually bankrupt, but she hid everything rather well. I pity the old man"

Bard had to agree with that. Nadya did sip at her tea again, the very image of feminine grace. "Thuringwethil was a victim of her own ambitions. Did she really poison her own uncle?"

Thran nodded. "Yes, the doctors have confirmed it now, she had a small piece of the meteorite in her rooms, sprinkled some dust from it into Melkor's food each day. It made the cancer run amok and probably caused it to start with. "

Nadya scoffed. "Very barbaric, not at all lady like. But at least that bear is dead, things may return to normal. I have a funeral to arrange, you are of course welcome"

Thran bowed his head. "We are very grateful ma'am, but we have families waiting back home. We need to put this whole incident put behind us"

She smiled widely. "Naturally."

Orome was declared as the hero of the entire city and the dead bear was cremated without any more ceremony, it was radioactive and rather nasty. Sophia was staying there even if her fiancé was gone, apparently she had taken a liking to a certain ranger. When Bard and Thran did return home Thor did demand a thorough report but had a hard time believing it all and so did Jean and the kids. But Nadya did send them a small gift some weeks later, two very valuable sets of cufflinks made from obsidian and a card which gave them unlimited credit in all shops in the city. It was very appreciated.

Two months later Melkor did finally succumb to the cancer, by then the once mighty organization was reduced to a shadow of its former self. Thuringwethil had run the entire thing into the ground in so many ways by failing to do her duties and allowing others far from skilled and qualified persons take care of it. A few weeks after it was in effect dissolved and seized to exist as a firm and the name was forgotten. The authorities did close off the entire canyon and the meteorite was transported to a site where they stored radioactive waste, then the site was filled with concrete. It would never again cause anyone to die, or lose their minds. Thran said that Thu probably had spent too much time near the thing, and it had affected her brain. It had made her weaker to temptation and changed her personality. It was not what they had expected at all but also this case did come to an end.