Chapter 16 Chapter Fourteen

Dana and Matt Baker in a Washington Tribune TV conference room. "Ralph Benjamin was visiting his son in France," Dana explained. "One day his handbag disappeared from the hotel room where he was staying. It reappeared the next day, but his passport Gone. Matt, the man who stole the passport, assumed Benjamin's identity and told the police he was a witness to the accident was the man who murdered Paul Winthrop." Matt Baker was silent for a long time.When he spoke, he said, "It's time to call the police, Dana. If you're correct, we're looking for a killer who's brutally murdered six people. I don't want you to be the first Seven. Elliott is worried about you, he thinks you're in too deep."

"We haven't got the police involved yet," objected Dana. "Everything is circumstantial. We have no evidence. We don't know who the killer was, and we don't know the motive." "I feel bad about it. It's getting too dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you." "Neither do I," Dana said seriously. "What's your next move?" "Investigate what really happened to Julie Winthrop." "The operation was a success." Rachel slowly opened her eyes.She was lying on a sterile white hospital bed.Her eyes stared at Jeff vaguely: "It's gone?"

"Rachel—" "I'm afraid of the feeling," she tried to hold back tears, "that I'm not a woman anymore. No man will ever fall in love with me." He took her trembling hands. "You're wrong. I never loved you for your breasts, Rachel. I loved you for who you are, a warm, wonderful human being." Rachel forced a smile. "We did love each other, didn't we, Jeff?" "yes." "I hope..." She looked down at her breasts, her face tightening. "We'll talk about that later." She squeezed his hand tighter. "I don't want to be single, Jeff. Please don't leave me until this is all over."

"Rachel, I have to—" "No. I don't know what to do if you go away." A nurse walked into the ward: "Excuse me, Mr. Connors." Rachel didn't want to let go of Jeff's hand: "Don't go." "I will return." Dana's cell phone rang late that night.She rushed to the other side of the room and picked up her phone. "Dana." It was Jeff. She felt a shudder when she heard his voice: "Hello. How are you, dear?" "I'm very good." "How is Rachel?" "The operation went well, but Rachel wanted to kill herself."

"Jeff - a woman can't judge herself by breasts or -" "I know, but Rachel is not a normal woman. She's been judged since she was fifteen. She's one of the world's most expensive models. Now she thinks it's all over for her. She feels Like a monster. She's convinced that there's no point in her life anymore." "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to spend a few more days with her and help her settle in at home. I've spoken to the doctor. The doctor is still waiting for the results of the test to see if they've removed all the tumor. They think further chemotherapy is needed."

Dana was speechless. "I miss you," Jeff said. "I miss you, my dearest. I bought you some presents for Christmas." "Help me keep it safe." "I will." "Have you finished all your travels?" "not yet." "Be sure to keep your phone on," Jeff said, "I'm planning to make a few sex calls." Dana laughed: "Promise?" "Promise. Take care of yourself, honey." "You too." The call ended.Dana turned off her phone and sat there for a while, thinking about Jeff and Rachel, then got up and walked into the kitchen.

Mrs. Daly was saying to Kenmore: "A few more pancakes, dear?" "okay, thank you." Dana stood watching them both.In the first few days of Mrs. Daly's arrival, Kenmore changed a lot.He is calm, relaxed and happy.Dana felt a sudden pang of jealousy.Maybe I'm not the one he wants.With guilt, she recalls working all day and late nights in a TV studio.Maybe someone like Mrs. Daly should adopt him.She pushed the thought out of her mind.What's wrong with me!Kenmore loves me. Dana sat down at the table, "Do you still like the new school?" "It's cool."

Dana took one of his hands. "Kenmore, I'm afraid I have to go again." He said indifferently: "That's okay." That sudden burst of jealousy returned. "Where are you going, Miss Evans?" asked Mrs. Daly. "Alaska." Mrs. Daly thought for a moment. "Watch out for the grizzlies," she suggested. The nine-hour flight from Washington to Juneau, Alaska, stopped in Seattle.At the Juneau airport, Dana walks to the rental car counter. "My name is Dana Ias, and I—" "Yes, Miss Evans. We have a nice SUV for you. Berth ten. Just sign here."

The clerk handed her the keys, and Dana walked around to the parking lot behind the house.A total of twelve cars were parked in the numbered berths, and Dana walked towards the tenth berth.A man is kneeling in the back of a white utility vehicle and tinkering with the exhaust.He looked up as Dana approached. "Just reinforcing the exhaust, miss. It's ready for you." He stood up. "Thank you," Dana said. He watched her drive away. In the basement of a government facility, a man stares at a digital map on a computer.He watched the white utility vehicle make a right turn.

"Target is heading for Stanhill." Dana is surprised by Juno.At first glance, it appears to be a large city, but the narrow, winding streets give this Alaska capital, nestled in Ice Age desolation, a small-town air. Dana checked into the Public Inn on the waterfront, which used to be a brothel in the heart of the city. "It's a good time for you to ski." The staff at the inn told her: "It's a good time for snow. Have you brought your own skis?" "No, I—" "Oh, there's a snowboard shop right next door. I'm sure they have everything you could want."

"Thank you," Dana said.It's a great place to start.Dana packed her bags and went into the snowboard shop. The salesman in that store was a chatterbox.As soon as Dana stepped through the door he said, "Hi, my name is Chad Donoghue. Oh, you've come to the right place." He pointed to a batch of snowboards, "These freeriders we just came in. These guys can really handle bumps and jumps." He points to another set: "Oh - those are the Salomon X-Scream 9 series. They're in high demand, we sold out last year and can't get more Goods." He saw the impatient expression on Dana's face, and hurriedly moved to the next group: "If you like, we have Vickers Vertigo G30 or Atomic 10.20." He looked at Dana expectantly: " Which you-?" "I'm here to find out something." A look of disappointment flitted across his face. "Condition?" "Yes. Did Julie Winthrop buy her skis here?" He looked at Dana more closely. "Yes. In fact, she uses the best Fly Ti power skis and loves them. What happened to her in the eagle crown was terrible." "Is Miss Winthrop a good skier?" "Good? She's the best, and she's got a whole box full of prizes." "Did you know she's alone here?" "As far as I know, she is alone." He shook his head: "The most surprising thing is that she is as familiar with the eagle crown as she is with the back of her own hand. She used to come here to ski every year. You also think Such an accident can't happen to her, can it?" Dana said slowly, "Yes, I think so too." The Juneau Police Department is two blocks from the Inn on the Waterfront. Dana stepped into a small reception room decorated with Alaska flags, Juneau flags, and the Stars and Stripes, a blue rug, a blue sofa set, and a blue chair. A uniformed police officer asked, "What's wrong with you?" "I would like to know something about the circumstances of Julie Winthrop's death." He frowned. "The man you need to talk to is Bruce Bowler. He's the head of the SEAL team. He has an office upstairs, but he's out right now." "Do you know where I can find him?" The officer checked his watch. "You should be able to find him at Hanger on the pier by now. Two blocks down, Ship Road." "thank you very much." The Hanger on the Quay is a big restaurant, packed with lunchtime diners. The waitress said to Dana, "Sorry, we don't have a table right now. We'll have to wait twenty minutes if—" "I'm looking for Mr. Bruce Bowler. You know—" The waitress nodded: "Bruce? He's at the table over there." Dana looked over.A mild-looking man in his early forties, who seemed to be hardworking, sat alone. "Thank you." Dana walked to the table: "Mr. Bowler?" He looked up: "Not bad." "I'm Dana Evans. I need your help." He smiled. "You're in luck. We have an empty room. I'll call Judy." Dana stared at him, puzzled: "I'm sorry!" "Aren't you asking about Comfort Log, our family's bed and breakfast inn?" "No. I want to talk to you about Julie Winthrop." "Oh," he said in great embarrassment, "sorry, please sit down. Judy and I own a small inn out of town. I thought you were looking for a room. Have you had lunch yet?" "No, I—" "Come on together." His smile was very bright. "Thank you," Dana said. After Dana finished ordering, Bruce Bowler said, "What do you want to know about Julie Winthrop?" "About her death. Is it possible that it wasn't an accident?" Bruce Bowler frowned: "Are you asking if she committed suicide?" "No, I'm asking if... if someone murdered her." He blinked. "Murder Julie? Impossible. It was an accident." "Can you tell me what happened?" "Of course." Bruce Bowler thought for a while, thinking about where to start: "We have three different ski trails here, namely beginner ski trails, including peat bog, Dolly van den and prospector... and There are the tougher ones like the lockbox, the mother mine and the sun dance...then the really tough ones, the psychos, the nice slides, the jubilation...and finally the steeps, which are the toughest." "So Julie Winthrop is skating...?" "Steep slide." "Then she is an expert skier?" "She is," said Bruce Baller.He hesitated: "That's the most extraordinary thing." "What is it?" "Oh, we have night skiing every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 9pm. There are a lot of skiers out there that night. At nine o'clock they all come back, except for Julie, who we went out to find her. We found at the bottom of the steep run killed her body. She crashed into a tree. Must have been killed instantly." For a moment Dana closed her eyes, feeling the fear and pain of the moment. "So—was she alone when the accident happened?" "Yeah. Skiers usually hang out together, but sometimes the best of them like to show off their skills. We've set an area there, and anyone skiing outside of that area is at their own peril." Julie Winthrop Skiing on a closed piste outside the boundary line. It took us a long time to find her body." "Mr. Bowler, is there anything to do when a skier goes missing?" "As soon as someone is reported missing, we begin a simple search." "Easy search?" "We're calling friends to see if the skiers are with them. We're calling some pubs. It's a quick, thankless search to save our crew from having to go out and search some drunken place. Trouble with drunks sitting in bars." "And what if someone really disappeared?" “We find out who the missing skier was, what level of skiing he or she was and where they were last seen. We always ask if they had a camera with them.” "why?" "If they have, we have a clue to the scenic area they may have been to. We will check the skier's previous transportation plan back to the city. If our search does not turn up, then we deduce the missing skier Staying outside the ski area boundaries. We notified the Alaska State Police Search and Rescue, and they sent a helicopter into the air. Each search party had four members, and the Civilian Air Patrol joined in." "There is a lot of manpower." "A lot. But remember. We have 630 acres of ski area here, and we average forty searches a year. The vast majority of them are successful." Bruce Bowler looked out the window at the cold, dark Blue-gray sky, "I very much hope it is this time." He turned back to Dana: "Anyway, every night after the piste is closed, the ski patrol will conduct a search." "I was told that Julie Winthrop used to ski at the top of Eagle Crest," Dana said. He nodded. "That's right. But there's no guarantee there. Clouds will come in and you'll lose your way, or you're just unlucky. Poor Miss Winthrop is unlucky." "How did you find her body?" "Wu Yi found her." "May Day?" "He's our best dog. The ski patrol works with black Newfoundland retrievers and collies. These dogs are incredible. They go with the wind, find a human scent, run to the edge of the scent zone, and back and forth Go back and mark the area. We'll send a bomber to where it happened when—" "Bomber?" "On our snowmobile, we brought Julie Winthrop's body back on a Stokes stretcher. The three-member emergency team examined her with an EKG monitor, took pictures, and called Get an undertaker. They took her body to Barrett Regional Hospital." "So no one knows how the accident happened?" He shrugged. "All we know is that she ran into a giant unfriendly spruce. I've seen it. It's not a pretty scene." Dana looked at Bruce Bowler for a moment: "Is it possible for me to see the top of the eagle's crest?" "Why not? I'll take you up there myself after lunch." They drove the jeep to the two-story central building at the foot of the mountain.Bruce Bowler told Dana: "We'll assemble in this building and develop a search and rescue plan. We'll bring our rented ski equipment up here and provide ski instructors to those who need it. We'll take the chairlift to the top of the mountain." go." They climbed into the Thunderbird chair lift and set off for the top of the eagle's crest.Dana was shaking. "I should have warned you. You'll need acrylics in this weather, long underwear, and you'll need extra layers." Dana shuddered. "I'll remember—remember." "That's the chair lift that Julie Winthrop got on. She's got a backpack with her." "Backpack?" "Yes. It has an avalanche shovel, a beacon that can travel fifty yards, and a probe." He sighed. "Of course, if you hit a tree, these won't help." They are approaching the top.When they reached the platform and stepped off the chairlift carefully, they were greeted by a man at the top of the hill. "What brought you here, Bruce? Someone's missing?" "No. I'm just taking friends for sightseeing. This is Miss Evans." They say hello to each other.Dana looked around.A warm cabin is almost shrouded in thick clouds.Did Julie Winthrop go into that cabin before she went skiing?Is someone following her?Someone planning to kill her? Bruce Bowler turned to Dana. "Thunderbird is the summit. It's all downhill from here." Dana turned and looked at the unforgiving ground deep beneath her feet, shivering. "You look cold, Miss Evans. I'd better take you down." "Thank you." Dana had just returned to the inn on the waterfront when there was a knock at the door.Dana opened the door.A large, pale man stood there. "Miss Evans?" "yes." "Hi. My name is Nicolas Verdun. I'm from Juno Kingdom." "yes?" "I hear you're investigating the death of Julie Winthrop? We want to report it." An alarm bell sounded in Dana's mind: "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I didn't do any research." The man stared at her suspiciously: "I heard—" "We're doing a worldwide ski show. This is just one stop." He stood there for a while: "I see. Sorry to bother you." Dana watched him leave.How would he know what I'm doing here?Dana calls Juno Kingdom: "Hi. I want to speak to one of your reporters. Nicholas Verdun..." She listens for a moment: "You don't have anyone by that name! I see. Thanks you." Dana spent ten minutes packing. "I have to get out of here and find another place." She suddenly remembered a sentence: "Aren't you asking about Comfort Log, our family's bed and breakfast inn? You are lucky, we have an empty room." Na went to the lobby to check out, and the staff pointed out the way to the inn and drew a small map for her. In the basement of a government office building, a man looked at a digital map on his computer and said: "The target is moving westward away from the city center." The Cozy Log Inn Bed and Breakfast, a neat Alaskan log bungalow half an hour from downtown Juneau, is perfect.Dana rang the front doorbell, and an attractive young woman in her thirties opened the door. "Hi. How are you doing?" "Yes. I met your husband and he mentioned that you have a room available." "Indeed. I'm Judy Bowler." "Dana Evans." "Please come in." Dana walked into the house and looked around.There was a large and comfortable sitting-room with a stone fireplace, a dining-room where the boarders ate, and two bedrooms with bathrooms. "I do all the meals here," says Judy Bowler, "and it's delicious." Dana smiled enthusiastically, "I'm looking forward to them." Judy Bowler takes Dana to her room.It was very clean and looked like home.Dana unpacks. In addition, there is a couple living here, and everyone's conversation is very casual.None of them knew Dana. After lunch, Dana drove back to the city.She went into the Cliff House bar and ordered a drink.All employees appear to be tan and in good health.Of course. "What a beautiful day," Dana said to the young blond waiter. "Yeah. Great weather for skiing." "Do you ski often?" He laughed: "As long as I can steal the time." "It's too dangerous for me." Dana sighed. "A friend of mine fell to his death here a few months ago." He put down the glass he was wiping, "Did you fall to your death?" "Yes. Julie Winthrop." His face was clouded with sorrow. "She used to come here, lovely lady." Dana leaned forward: "I heard it wasn't an accident." His eyes widened: "What do you mean?" "I heard she was murdered." "Murder?" he said suspiciously. "Impossible. It was an accident." Twenty minutes later Dana was talking to the bartender at the Prospector Inn. "What a beautiful day." "Fine weather for skiing," said the bartender. Dana shook her head. "Too dangerous for me. A friend of mine fell and died skiing here. You may have seen her. Julie Winthrop." "Oh, sure. I like her a lot. I mean she doesn't put on airs like some people do. She's really down to earth." Dana leaned forward, "I heard her death was not an accident." The expression on the waiter's face changed, and he lowered his voice: "I do know that's not it." Dana's heartbeat suddenly accelerated: "Are you sure?" "Sure." He sneaked closer: "Those damned Martians..." She was skiing on top of Thunderbird Mountain, and she could feel the biting wind biting her.She was looking at the valley below, trying to decide whether to turn back, when suddenly she felt a push on her back, so she dashed downhill, faster and faster, crashing into a big tree, just as she hit The moment before she climbed the tree, she woke up with a start, screaming. Dana sat up on the bed, trembling.Is this what happened to Julie Winthrop?Who pushed her to death? Eliot Cromwell was getting impatient. "Matt, when the hell is Jeff Connors coming back? We need him." "Soon. He's been in touch." "What about Dana?" "She's in Alaska, Elliott. What's the matter?" "I'd like to see her back here, our ratings for our evening shows have dropped." Matt Baker watched him, wondering if that was the real cause of Elliot Cromwell's concern. In the morning, Dana got dressed and drove back to the city center. While waiting at the airport for her flight to be called, Dana noticed a man sitting in a corner watching her from time to time.He looked oddly familiar.He was wearing a dark gray suit that reminded her of someone.Then Dana remembered who it was.Another man at Aspen Airport.He was also wearing a dark gray suit.But it wasn't the clothes that struck Dana's memory, it was their demeanor.There was an unpleasant air of arrogance about both of them.He looked at her with an almost contemptuous look.She felt cold. After Dana boarded the plane, he said a few words into his cell phone and left the airport.