Page 58 of Mountain Summons

Lena felt a cold chill crawl up her spine. “You think someone brought him there to kill him?”

“It’s too early to tell. But it’s possible that someone killed him and left him there, knowing no one would find the body for a long time.”

She swallowed, suddenly aware of how cold her hands had gotten. Tristan reached for one and wrapped it in his own without saying a word.

“Who was he?” she asked. “I mean, not just a name. Why would someone want him dead?”

Ry leaned forward, forearms resting on the back of the chair he’d straddled. “Maxim Jubert was a defense lawyer in Geneva. Big name back in the forties and early fifties. Known for getting high-profile criminals off the hook.”

“Organized crime?” Tristan asked.

“Exactly. Ties to several known figures, some of whom disappeared themselves over the years. One theory is he was silenced after threatening to expose someone. Another is he was involved in something bigger, maybe even blackmail.”

Lena exhaled slowly. “And he ended up hidden right under Mont Blanc.”

“His car was never found. No evidence he’d been anywhere near the mountains. It’s like he vanished into thin air, and no one ever looked in the right place.”

“Until you,” Alex said, his gaze steady on Lena. “You uncovered something someone wanted to keep buried.”

The room fell silent.

Lena tried to absorb it all, but the questions just kept multiplying.

Lena glanced at him. His jaw was tight, his eyes locked on some invisible point across the room.

“Does my father know?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Alex said. “We were waiting until we had confirmation of the identity. The colonel will be briefed first thing tomorrow morning.”

Lena nodded, her mind still reeling.

Maxim Jubert. A man dead for seventy-three years. A disappearance no one had solved—until her mistake unearthed the secret.

“There’s more,” Ry said, staring at Tristan. Lena felt him stiffen beneath her. “Budgets are being cut.”

“What?”

“Last year it was the firefighters, this year it’s us. It’s not finalized, but we have a rough idea of what they’re talking about, and it’s not good news. The helicopter we lost? We might not be able to replace it.”

Beneath her, Tristan tensed further. “Shit. We need that bird.”

“Isolde’s program offering therapy to friends and family members is also at risk.”

“We can’t lose that,” Tristan said, shaking his head. “No way.”

“The colonel, Beau, and Damien are meeting with the mayor tomorrow,” Alex said. “But I don’t know if there’s much they’ll be able to do. Yvette says this wasn’t the mayor’s call.”

Ry’s phone rang. He listened for an instant before ending the call. “That was Hugo. There’s a change of plans. We’re going to their place for dinner.”

“Is Jo okay?” Lorenz asked.

“She’s fine,” Ry said. “They just feel like company, I guess.”

“The last time Hugo called me over, I got to stand as a witness in his wedding,” Tristan said dryly.

“Right. Well, I don’t think he’s getting married again. Come on. Let’s go.”

“What do you think, Lena?” Tristan asked in a low voice.

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