bright with intelligence under the vibrant cap, and his teeth gleamed whitely in the light stubble on his chin.
“I suppose you’d like to get right out there.”
Alex nodded. “Yes. How far do we need to hike?”
Ryan cocked a thumb toward the camp. “I’ve got a couple of four-wheelers we can use. Beats walking any day.”
Soon Alex and June were buckling on borrowed helmets and flipping a coin to see who got to drive the ATV. As June plopped triumphantly into the driver’s position, Alex strapped their packs to the carrying grid and mounted behind. Ryan negotiated circumspectly through the camp on his own machine, then picked up speed on a barely visible dirt track.
Despite the serious reason for their journey, June enjoyed the adventure. The ATV wasn’t a smooth ride, but it manoeuvred the ruts and rocks with ease. She gave the throttle a burst, and Alex’s hold on her waist tightened. A growl of protest rumbled in his chest, pressed against her back. She laughed wickedly and gunned it again.
On the mountainside to her left a logging road zigzagged up the steep incline. This area had been recently harvested for timber, and now the tree planting crew was restocking the forest with native conifers. June had spent a couple of summers as a planter, and had nothing but respect for the men and women who did the work, which required great physical stamina as well as attention to detail.
They came upon one of the planters’ temporary bases. A couple of sturdy four by four pickups and a large passenger van were parked at the bottom of a long slope. Dotted about the incline were perhaps twenty men and women. Each carried a shovel with a long, narrow blade, and slung over their shoulders were large canvas bags, rather like the kind old-time paperboys used to carry. The tips of tiny coniferous seedlings poked out of each sack. As the ATVs slowed to go past the vehicles, June had a chance to watch one woman move fluidly through the motions—place shovel, step on blade to sink it into the earth, bend to insert seedling, straighten, press with boot heel to ensure correct planting. The best planters did hundreds of trees in a day.
Once past the workers, they picked up speed, and it wasn’t long before Ryan came to a stop near a still, black form. They swung off the ATVs and stood over the desecrated body.
****
Alex sat back on his heels and wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his wrist.
“Well,” he said, “it’s like the other.”
“Can you tell if it’s the same poacher?” June hunkered down beside him. As disturbing as the sight and smell was, it was nowhere near as bad as the other carcass they’d found in the crevasse.
“There are definite similarities, but there’s no way to say for sure.” Alex gestured at the remains. “Head, paws, gallbladder. I tell you, from their point of view, these guys aren’t wasting a thing. They’re taking everything they’ll get paid for.”
“The same poacher?” Ryan Persson had been standing out of the way while Alex inspected the body. Now he moved closer. “You mean you’ve found other bears?”
Alex told him briefly about the previous discovery. “The thing is, for every body we find, there could be many others out there we know nothing about. I went through our files and found a couple more illegal kills in this area last fall. But just because we’ve learned of four in the last few months doesn’t mean it’s the same poacher. This area is full of blacks and grizzlies and will attract more hunters willing to break the rules. Odds are there’d be more to find.”
He returned to his work, snapping photos and jotting down notes. June let the mountain stillness wash over her. A raven’s call echoed faintly off the far wall of the valley.
He straightened up from the body, snapping off his latex gloves. “This one’s a female.” Bitterness tinged his voice. “I wonder what...”
“Quiet,” June commanded.
Both men looked at her in
“I suppose you’d like to get right out there.”
Alex nodded. “Yes. How far do we need to hike?”
Ryan cocked a thumb toward the camp. “I’ve got a couple of four-wheelers we can use. Beats walking any day.”
Soon Alex and June were buckling on borrowed helmets and flipping a coin to see who got to drive the ATV. As June plopped triumphantly into the driver’s position, Alex strapped their packs to the carrying grid and mounted behind. Ryan negotiated circumspectly through the camp on his own machine, then picked up speed on a barely visible dirt track.
Despite the serious reason for their journey, June enjoyed the adventure. The ATV wasn’t a smooth ride, but it manoeuvred the ruts and rocks with ease. She gave the throttle a burst, and Alex’s hold on her waist tightened. A growl of protest rumbled in his chest, pressed against her back. She laughed wickedly and gunned it again.
On the mountainside to her left a logging road zigzagged up the steep incline. This area had been recently harvested for timber, and now the tree planting crew was restocking the forest with native conifers. June had spent a couple of summers as a planter, and had nothing but respect for the men and women who did the work, which required great physical stamina as well as attention to detail.
They came upon one of the planters’ temporary bases. A couple of sturdy four by four pickups and a large passenger van were parked at the bottom of a long slope. Dotted about the incline were perhaps twenty men and women. Each carried a shovel with a long, narrow blade, and slung over their shoulders were large canvas bags, rather like the kind old-time paperboys used to carry. The tips of tiny coniferous seedlings poked out of each sack. As the ATVs slowed to go past the vehicles, June had a chance to watch one woman move fluidly through the motions—place shovel, step on blade to sink it into the earth, bend to insert seedling, straighten, press with boot heel to ensure correct planting. The best planters did hundreds of trees in a day.
Once past the workers, they picked up speed, and it wasn’t long before Ryan came to a stop near a still, black form. They swung off the ATVs and stood over the desecrated body.
****
Alex sat back on his heels and wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his wrist.
“Well,” he said, “it’s like the other.”
“Can you tell if it’s the same poacher?” June hunkered down beside him. As disturbing as the sight and smell was, it was nowhere near as bad as the other carcass they’d found in the crevasse.
“There are definite similarities, but there’s no way to say for sure.” Alex gestured at the remains. “Head, paws, gallbladder. I tell you, from their point of view, these guys aren’t wasting a thing. They’re taking everything they’ll get paid for.”
“The same poacher?” Ryan Persson had been standing out of the way while Alex inspected the body. Now he moved closer. “You mean you’ve found other bears?”
Alex told him briefly about the previous discovery. “The thing is, for every body we find, there could be many others out there we know nothing about. I went through our files and found a couple more illegal kills in this area last fall. But just because we’ve learned of four in the last few months doesn’t mean it’s the same poacher. This area is full of blacks and grizzlies and will attract more hunters willing to break the rules. Odds are there’d be more to find.”
He returned to his work, snapping photos and jotting down notes. June let the mountain stillness wash over her. A raven’s call echoed faintly off the far wall of the valley.
He straightened up from the body, snapping off his latex gloves. “This one’s a female.” Bitterness tinged his voice. “I wonder what...”
“Quiet,” June commanded.
Both men looked at her in
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