Page 50 of Waylaid in Whittier

Danielle’s eyes grew round as saucers. “You want to check out this creepy mine tonight?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Millie pointed out a small note at the bottom of the story, an update to the original. “I bet this place is abandoned.”

“And if not?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

Chapter 19

After everyone had assembled inside the galley, Millie brought them up to speed and laid out her plan. “We need to check out the Morley gold-mining site to search for clues.”

“And risk being shot at?” Cat pressed her hand to her chest. “The folks up here are serious about their gold and guns.”

“Morley died a year ago. From what Danielle and I could tell from looking at the satellite image, his mine is in a remote location, off the beaten path and shut down.”

“I’m in.” Sharky clapped his hands. “Creepy old mines at night in remote locations are what scary movies are made of. This is right up my alley.”

“Not mine,” Cat said. “It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Is Elvira planning to meet up with us?” Millie asked.

“I don’t know. She’s been running a bunch of errands. She’s packing up and plans to drop her gear off here. If she makes it in time, she’ll head our way.” Sharky told them Reef was expecting her and would escort her to his cabin to drop her stuff off.

“I’ll stay here and bail you out if needed,” Cat said.

“Before I forget.” Millie nudged her friend. “How is Kendra?”

“Much better. Ever since you talked to her, it’s been like night and day.”

“Kendra who works in the gift shop?” Danielle asked.

“Yeah. She’s been struggling lately.”

“What happened?”

“She’s homesick,” Millie and Cat said in unison.

“Ah. It happens to the best of us.”

“I let her use my home computer to FaceTime her family.” Millie tapped Danielle’s arm. “Back to the Morley mine trip. So far it’ll be Annette, me and Sharky, for sure. What about you?”

Brody spoke up. “I rented the truck until tomorrow. I plan on getting my money’s worth and am ready for some nighttime four-wheeling.”

“If Brody is going, count me in,” Danielle said.

“Cat will stay behind and be our backup. It’s ten-thirty now. I need to pack up a few supplies. I say we meet near the security checkpoint at eleven.”

“Sounds good.”

With a plan in place, the group split up.

Millie was one of the last to leave. Annette stopped her at the door. “Do you think it’s safe for us to go wandering around private property in Alaska’s wilderness at night?”

“I think we have a better chance of running into wildlife. The satellite photo we found is only a few months old. If someone hasn’t started the mining operations in the last couple of months, I think we’re safe.”

Annette’s cell phone rang. “I need to take this call.” She hurried over to her desk and began talking in a low voice, occasionally looking in Millie’s direction.

Finally, the conversation ended, and she returned. “Sorry. Where were we?”

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