

### Secrets

By

### William J. Martin

Published by William J. Martin at Smashwords

Copyright William J. Martin 2012

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9877437-3-2

### Secrets

By

William J. Martin

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and some places are products of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Other Smashwords Titles by William J. Martin

A Circumstantial Case

Lip and Annie

Lost Found Remembered

This ebook was written as a nanorimo.org 2012 project

Dedicated to Carolyn, Lois and Shelley

### The Secrets Recipe

One male main character, 28

One female main character, 29

Assorted male and female supporting characters of various ages

1 cup suspense

1 cup romance

1/2 cup mystery

1/2 cup good fishing

Five violent deaths

A variety of tattoos

A large sum of money

Blend suspense, romance, mystery, and good fishing together. Add two main characters. Fold in the supporting cast as necessary. Place in a deep p(l)ot and let everything simmer together slowly. Garnish with violent deaths, tattoos and money.

### Chapter 1

The ax blade flashed in the sun as it swung in a long arc. It was an arc that ended only after the blade had split the block of birch into two virtually identical halves, and the two semi-finished pieces of firewood had bounced away from the top of the chopping block where the ax was now embedded. Before levering the ax handle up and down to free the blade from the chopping block, the hands that had held the ax retrieved the two new semicircular pieces. One hand mounted one of the pieces on top of the chopping block, as the other hand withdrew the ax. In just a few seconds the ax flashed again, and two newly minted pieces of firewood, each one approximating a quarter of the original block, were retrieved and then tossed on the slowly growing pile of firewood. They would now stay there at rest for a while, drying and waiting for their turn to be taken on the short journey to the woodshed where they would be stacked neatly waiting for future use.

The cycle of mounting unsplit blocks, flashing ax, retrieval, and adding to the woodpile was repeated over and over. Roughly every 20 minutes the man wielding the ax, Matti McEwen, would take a break so that he could cool down from his labours, and take a few sips from his bottle of water. Matti is tall, weighs about 180 pounds, and is clean-shaven, with dark brown hair and grey eyes. Those who don't know him sometimes find him to be a bit quiet, but amongst friends he's known as an outgoing, and happy man. He's still single, but is quick to volunteer that he's looking for the right woman. It sometimes seems that he's not serious when he says that, as any matchmaking that his sister, or one of his friends, has tried has never produced any results.

Matti had been very active mentally while he split the firewood, his mind trying desperately to figure a way out of his nearly insurmountable financial problems. As he rested he sat on the chopping block and continued his financial deliberations. His thoughts didn't just cover his concerns about his failing business, a small diamond drilling company that he inherited from his father. If it failed, his personal finances would probably follow the same path within a rather short time. If they did, he would likely lose the summer cottage, or camp as such places were known in Northern Ontario. It had been left to Matti and his sister Anna, and he had borrowed to buy out her share. Payments on that loan, when combined with his modest rental apartment in Thunder Bay, took almost all of the cash he was able to take each month from the profits of the drilling company.

He knew that he was probably just one major breakdown away from big trouble. The three diamond drilling rigs were getting very old and were almost worn out, and it was only because he employed a foreman with a very good mechanical aptitude that they continued to operate at all. It was a foregone conclusion that Matti's luck, and Ernie Stewart's know-how, would eventually not be enough to keep things going.

Retiring one of the three rigs would cure his problems in one way, as he could lay off one crew, and use that rig and equipment to supply parts to keep the other two running. It was not a decision he felt he could make, though. The three crews that ran the equipment, and did the tough work, were all long-term employees, and he considered them all to be his friends. He just couldn't see how he could push good friends into unemployment. The even bigger problem was which crew to choose. Even worse, he had a signed contract with the junior mining company doing the exploration, and he couldn't fulfill the contract with only two crews. If McEwen Drilling failed to keep its end of the bargain, its reputation would be damaged, and the information would soon be out that their word couldn't be trusted. That would be the kiss of death for the business, as the mining and exploration community was known for both its secrecy and its penchant for the swift trading of industry gossip. It was likely that if McEwen Drilling announced that it couldn't live up to its contract almost the entire industry would know about it within just a few days.

There was one other option open to Matti. He could lay off one of the men, and fly north to take his place. The catch to that idea was that he would need to hire someone part time, to order and ship parts, food, and anything else that was needed, up to the work camp. Filling that job would not be easy, as it required some knowledge of the business. At the moment it was the job that Matti performed, and while it would save a few dollars, he just didn't think it was a feasible solution. It wasn't that he minded doing the work, as he had grown up working on the drilling machines for his father, and he was sure he could still do any of the jobs handily. It was probably the choice he would have to make, even though it would mean giving up living at the camp, as he now did for at least a few days every week. He just had to make the final decision on who to lay off.

Matti got up and walked down to his dock, trying to get his mind off the impossible problem he was dealing with. He stood and looked around the familiar surroundings. The camp was 1500 sq. ft. in size, with 3 bedrooms; it was much like a bungalow in the city, but built on posts hidden by skirting. It was built about 150 feet back from the lake, and was surrounded by a stand of old growth Jack Pine trees. In front of the camp was a teardrop shaped bay on Lake Watchanabi, a very irregularly shaped lake known for good fishing. The lake was almost 12 miles long from east to west, and the camp was at the extreme west end of the lake. The bay on which it was located was about a third of a mile long and accessed the main body of the lake through a narrow, 75 foot wide channel. Directly across from the channel was a large island, densely forested with tall pines, and to the right, or south, was another large bay. To the left there were several smaller islands, strung across the lake to the north. As he stood there, Matti could picture almost every inch of the western half of the lake. He had practically grown up here, and he couldn't remember a time when the camp didn't exist. The camp was 25 years old, and he had only been three the year his parents, with help from a few friends, had built it.

Some of the outbuildings, the woodshed, boathouse, and sauna, were newer, and Matti had been able to help in their construction. His parents and sister had been there with him during those days, and only the dock, which he had replaced two years earlier, dated from the time that Matti alone had owned the camp. If he ever lost it to the bank he knew he'd feel like he had really let his parents down. It had been their favourite place.

Matti had just returned back to the woodpile when he thought he heard something and looked around. There was a slight breeze from the east, and it was audible as it passed by, whispering through the pine needles, and causing small creaks and groans as the limbs rubbed together. The other sound reminded Matti of an outboard motor, and he hesitated as he looked down the bay, half expecting a boat to be coming his way. But there was nothing to see. He heard the sound again as he turned back to the job at hand, and he realized now that it was the sound of a small plane. When he looked back this time he caught a flash of white, as one of the wings lifted when the plane banked to the south. As he watched, it was obvious that the small float plane was descending, and was going to land in the next bay to the south.

The plane was too far away for Matti to tell for sure, but it looked like a Cessna, or maybe even a Piper. It definitely looked like a two-seater to Matti. He'd flown in the odd one over the years, usually to access a remote lake with one of his friends, Peter Arnold, who had his own small Cessna. For a second Matti had thought that perhaps it could be Peter, but he quickly remembered that Peter's plane had red wingtips, and this plane had appeared to be completely white. Just a few seconds after the plane descended below the tree line Matti turned back to his ax, and began working on the large pile of round blocks of firewood that were waiting for him. Maybe he'd be able to come up with an idea for a different solution to his weighty financial problems.

### * * * *

Matti had forgotten all about the little white plane, but as he sat down on the chopping block for another short break and a chance for a cool drink of water, he heard the sound of the plane again. He was already facing east towards the narrow channel at the end of the bay, so he had a ringside seat for the events that followed. He would sometimes wonder later if it might have been better if he hadn't been sitting there watching.

He could hear the plane for quite a while before he caught his first glimpse of it taking off. From the sound of it, the engine was at maximum power, and until he saw it Matti thought that it was taking off to the east, down the lake. When he did finally see it, rising above the trees, it was obvious that the pilot was taking off to the north, and Matti got the sense right away that the plane was unlikely to have enough altitude to clear the trees on the big island. Because of the distance, it was hard for him to tell whether the pilot was taking off over the channel between the island and Matti's bay, or whether he intended to clear the island. When Matti concluded the pilot was indeed trying to take off over the big island he stood up, and was watching intently when the plane clipped the trees. A dark shower, obviously branches and portions of the trees, followed the wake of the plane. At the same time the sound of the straining engine of the plane stopped, completely and abruptly, and the plane began to arc down towards the lake. As it disappeared from sight behind the trees, Matti bolted into action.

### Chapter 2

Matti took off running towards the camp, stopping momentarily on the steps to the front door so that he could grab his satellite phone. It was his link to the drilling crews, and he always kept it with him, or very close by. He delayed only long enough to clip it to his belt and engage the catch that would keep it there. From there he ran inside to grab his well-stocked first aid kit and his Carhartt jacket. It was only early June, and while he had been able to work up a sweat with his ax, he knew that the spray from the boat, combined with the cool air, would soon have him chilled.

It was fortunate that he had been out fishing at first light that fateful Saturday morning, or he would have had to lug a fuel tank, and a life jacket, down to the boat. As it was, all he had to do was start the outboard motor and head for the mouth of the bay. He was tempted to call the Ontario Provincial Police, as the OPP had jurisdiction outside of the Thunder Bay city limits. His camp was almost two hours drive from the city, about half of it on gravel roads. Until he knew what the situation was he felt there was not much point in contacting them. Instead, he would find out what had happened to the plane before he decided on what to do. Maybe the pilot had been able to pull it up before he hit the water.

As soon as he cleared the mouth of the bay and turned north Matti could see that there hadn't been a miracle. He could easily see the white tail of the plane sticking up from a small stand of spruce and birch trees on the first of the small islands in front of him. At least it hadn't caught fire when it crashed into the trees, and that meant there was some hope the pilot, and any possible passenger, could still be alive. Matti pushed his dark hair back out of his eyes and brought up a pair of binoculars to take a quick look at the island in hopes of seeing more, but he wasn't rewarded with any better view than he already had.

It was only a quarter of a mile to the island, and it seemed like it took him no time at all to get there. Matti was quite familiar with the little island, as when he had been young he would often canoe around the islands, and had explored all of them more than once. He knew there was glacier smoothed, gently sloping granite he could land his boat on, right in front of him. He killed the motor and let his momentum bring him close to the rock before he used one of his oars as a paddle to bring him to a bumpy stop against the shore. As he quickly tied his boat to a small tree he was calling loudly, hoping to get an answer back from the pilot. There was no answer, and a couple of small spruce trees prevented him from seeing the plane very clearly at all. It was with some trepidation that he scrambled towards the plane, his first aid kit in his hand.

When Matti came around the second of the small trees, he could see a man lying on the mossy ground about 6 feet from the plane. The man never moved when Matti called to him, and as he got closer he could see that the man's chest was covered with blood. A careful check of the man's carotid artery confirmed that he was dead. As Matti looked closer, he could see that there was a large wound in the center of the man's chest. The cause wasn't immediately obvious, so Matti got up to check out the plane, and to see if there was a passenger that needed his attention.

The door closest to the dead man on the ground was hanging open, held on by one hinge. The man was quite obviously the pilot, and almost for sure the only occupant, as the passenger seat was empty and the door on the opposite side of the plane seemed to be firmly latched. The windshield in front of both seats was smashed out, and a bloody, broken, trunk of a small tree was hanging over the instrument panel of the small plane. It was obvious now what had killed the pilot. Matti couldn't see into the storage area behind the two seats, but didn't think there would be any way a passenger could have ended up there. He decided to go around the plane to check the other side.

The float on the left side of the plane had been almost completely torn off and was lying on the ground, extending back past the tail of the plane. As he made his way around the tail of the plane, he could see that the right float was missing completely. Both wings were badly damaged, with the left one folded back over the fuselage, and the right one almost sheared off halfway along its span.

It took Matti a couple of minutes to force his way through the foliage to get to the right side of the plane. The ground here was a little bit more open, and Matti could see that the door into the storage compartment behind the seats was open, and that a medium-sized black sports bag and a large red plastic fuel can were lying on the ground. A quick look into the compartment showed him that it was almost full, with a number of additional red plastic containers, and another, larger, sports bag lying there in a jumble. A quick glance around showed him that there were no other victims. At that point he relaxed and made his way back to the dead man on the other side of the plane.

Now that the urgency was over, Matti took a closer look at the dead pilot, wondering if it might be someone that he knew. The man was dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, with an open black leather vest. He looked to be about 45 to 50 years old, with a short fringe of greying brown hair surrounding an otherwise bald head. The man's face was clean-shaven except for a Fu Manchu style of moustache that seemed to be a darker brown than the sparse hair on his head. Both of his arms were almost completely covered with a wide variety of tattoos, none of which looked to be of the modern artistic type. He could see a skull design on one bicep, a stiletto dripping blood on his right forearm, a few smaller designs over both arms, and what appeared to be a snarling wolf on his left forearm. It seemed to Matti that the tattoos were very old, as a lot of them seemed to be of poor quality, almost amateur work by modern standards, and he wondered if some could be considered prison tattoos.

Since there was really nothing else he could do in the way of assistance, Matti decided to call the OPP to report the crash, and the pilot's death. It wasn't the first time Matti had been forced to call the OPP, as he had come across traffic accidents on several occasions, and he was glad that their number was now one of the presets on his phone. It didn't take him long to get through to the Thunder Bay detachment of the OPP.

"Hi, my name is Matti McEwen, and I'm up on Lake Watchanabi. There's been a plane crash on an island at the west end of the lake. The pilot is dead."

"Thank you for calling, Mr. McEwen. Are you quite certain that the pilot is deceased? If there's any question, we can get a Medevac helicopter dispatched."

Matti had already ripped open the man's T-shirt to check his chest wound, and had rechecked for vital signs, and was quite certain the man never survived the crash.

"There's no need for a helicopter, or even an ambulance. The man's chest was severely injured in the crash. It looks like one of the trees he hit broke off and came in through the windshield. It appears to have hit him squarely in the center of his chest, about where his heart would be. I've checked carefully twice, and he doesn't have a pulse."

The officer identified himself as Sgt. Cross, and asked for directions from Matti on how to find the road to his camp.

"It's 22 1/2 miles up the road to the Everest Lake gold mine. The laneway in to my camp is about three quarters of a mile long, and a little rough in spots. There's a big, rocky hill between the mine road and my camp, and the lane in curls around it. I'll meet them at my camp, and then I can bring them out here on my boat. Do you have any idea how long it'll take them to get out here? The drive is about two hours from Thunder Bay."

There was a delay before the Sgt. got back to Matti, and when he did he said, "We have a car about an hour away. They're being sent out to you. Hopefully you'll be able to accommodate them with what they'll need to get to the crash site."

Matti had been walking back around the plane, having decided to bring the dead pilot's luggage out to the shoreline. Just as he got back to the passenger side of the plane he was able to answer, "I'll be happy to bring them to the crash site for you. I'm not busy out here, and I can give them whatever help they need, if it's within my capabilities."

With the call completed, Matti reached for the bag on the ground, and was surprised by the weight of it. Rather than haul a bag of tools or equipment through the brush, Matti decided to open the bag to see if it was worth the effort it would take. He had only opened it halfway when he could see that it wasn't clothing or anything else he recognized. The bag seemed to be full of plastic wrapped blocks, each apparently the same size. Without really thinking about it he reached in and lifted out one of the blocks, and judged that it was roughly 6 inches by almost 3 inches by perhaps 5 inches in size. As he turned it in his hands he was soon able to see that what he held in his hands was a bundle of currency. It seemed as though there were several layers of plastic covering it, but he could clearly see the face of a Canadian $100 bill through one side of the package.

The realization of what was in his hands staggered Matti, literally. He was forced to grab the side of the plane to maintain his balance, and it took a moment for him to regain control of his breathing and pulse rate. It was obvious that this wasn't a bag full of someone's bank deposit. It didn't take him long to add up the circumstances of the situation - the tattooed pilot, the private plane, the zippered nylon sports bag, the nonstandard packaging of the bills - and decide that what was in front of him was the product of something illegal. A quick look into the bag confirmed that there were at least a dozen identically sized bundles in the bag, and that this amounted to an awful lot of money.

Matti was well able to take care of himself in a physical confrontation: he was, after all, just over 6 feet in height, well muscled, and had even studied martial arts as a teenager. Regardless, he was nervous around this obviously large amount of money, and decided quickly to get it to the shore so that he could pass it along to the OPP as soon as he possibly could. Once the bag was safely beside his boat, Matti headed back to see whether the second bag in the storage compartment was another bag full of cash, or was perhaps nothing more than the expected bag of the dead pilot's clothing.

The second bag was obviously larger, and unexpectedly much heavier, than the one he had already taken to the shoreline, so Matti decided to open it to check on the contents before he dragged it through the brush to the shore. It didn't take him very long to realize what he was looking at. This bag was jammed full of plastic wrapped bundles as well, but it wasn't money. Through the plastic it looked like the bundles contained flour. Each was marked with a weight, in kilos, as well as notations such as '99.7%', and several had words and phrases in a foreign language, one that Matti guessed was Spanish. The packages almost certainly contained drugs, although of exactly which drug he had no idea.

The rest of the storage compartment was full of 5 gallon plastic containers, at least seven or eight, several of which had apparently begun leaking. It was obvious by the pungent odour that they were filled with gasoline, or more likely aviation fuel. Matti picked up the container that was lying beside the plane and confirmed his suspicions by opening the screw-on cap for an inspection. As he put the cap back on to the fuel container, the first thoughts of what all of this might mean to him crossed his mind.

Matti's parents had always taken great efforts to instill in both of their children the need to be honest and upstanding citizens. It was also a fact, though, that there was one truism with regard to what it would take for any person to be tempted to cross the line into dishonesty. It was the combination of opportunity and need. It didn't take long for Matti to think of the situation he was in, with his failing business and a bag full of money sitting literally at his feet. Perhaps if he had been permitted to have more time to think things through he would have made a different decision, but knowing that the police were on their way, he was pushed into a quick decision. Matti decided to grab the opportunity that was in front of him, and once that choice was made there would be no looking back.

Matti had no interest at all in the bag full of drugs, no matter what it was worth. His first, and quickest, decision was to slide the open bag to the center of the storage compartment and surround it with containers full of gasoline. Once that was done he reopened the container sitting on the ground outside of the plane, lifted it into the storage area, and then tipped it over so that the contents began running over the bag of drugs and then down the steeply sloping floor of the plane. In just seconds he was back at the shoreline where he lifted the bag full of money into his boat, and then dug around in his tackle box until he found his waterproof match container.

It didn't take Matti long to peel some birchbark off of a nearby tree and jam it onto the end of a dry, broken, stick he found lying on the shoreline. He was just about to strike up a match when he realized that the body of the poor, dead, pilot was too close to the plane to not be burned along with it. With strength born of necessity, Matti was able to drag the man's body to the edge of the lake before he lit the birchbark and then tossed the flaming stick into the open cabin door. Matti was fortunate that the gasoline pouring from the open container had pooled in the passenger cabin, as there was no need for a second effort. With a loud 'whoosh' the fuel ignited, and he had barely enough time to untie his boat and push off into the channel between the islands when the first of the other full containers ignited. From the engine compartment to the tail, the wreckage of the small plane was engulfed in flames.

### Chapter 3

It was an hour later when he first heard the sound of the approaching OPP vehicle. A splash and a clunk let Matti know that they were about 100 yards from the camp, and had just driven through the water filled pothole he had been intending to fill in before he headed back to Thunder Bay in a couple of days. A momentary regret flashed through his mind as he realized he should have told Sgt. Cross to warn the officers who were given the call to come out to Lake Watchanabi. He remembered passing along a warning that the roadway in was rough, so his regret didn't last long. Just as Matti stood up from his seat on the front steps of the camp an OPP squad car nosed its way past the corner of the building. It had barely stopped when the sound of car doors opening and closing broke the fresh silence and two officers, one male, and one female, walked around the corner.

Matti's first reaction had been to look at the female officer, a slender blonde whose hair was quickly almost covered as she put on the cap that she had been carrying as she came into view. He was therefore startled when the male officer spoke.

"Matti! How are you doing? I was a little surprised by the name when they sent me out here. I wondered if I was being sent to meet you." Matti's attention was immediately diverted to the man, and he smiled broadly with recognition.

"John! It's been a long time since I've seen you! How are you and Emily doing? Did she tell you I saw her a few months ago in a grocery store?" Matti had started forward to meet his friend as soon as he'd recognized him, and the two of them were shaking hands as Matti finished speaking.

"Yes, it's been a while, Matti. We sort of fell out of touch over the last couple of years. It's too bad it takes a plane crash and someone's death to bring us together again."

Matti was about to affirm his friend's comment when the female officer spoke. "I take it you know Sgt. Forbes. He never mentioned that he knew the person we were to be contacting."

John Forbes laughed and said, "I didn't realize it was Matti, or I would've said something. Sgt. Cross just said to meet Mr. McEwen. I knew my friend here had a camp somewhere, but I never got an invite to it. Matti and I have been friends since high school, but we sort of drifted apart when I got married. It's only been harder to reconnect since the baby was born."

"Yes, Emily told me about little Diane. She told me she's going to train her on how to keep you wrapped around her little finger, just like her mother does." Matti chuckled at the comment he had made at his friend's expense.

A great weight had been taken off of Matti's shoulders when he discovered that his friend was the officer responding to the downed aircraft. He had spent most of the last hour worrying that the officers responding to the emergency would spot his attempts at interfering with the crash site. He hated to think of it this way, but it would probably be easier for him to fool a friend. A wave of guilt washed across him as that thought came to him. He suddenly realized his thoughts about his relief at the situation he was now in had taken his attention away from his friend John, who was now speaking to him.

"... partner, Cpl. JoAnn Holland. She transferred up here from the Sarnia detachment, and I'm just showing her some of the patrol areas. We were actually headed to the Everest Mine when we got the call to come here."

Matti recovered quickly and said, "I'm pleased to meet you, Cpl. Holland. I'm sure you can't have a better guide than John. He's worked all over the north, I think. At least that's the way he tells it." Matti was smiling as he finished speaking.

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Mr. McEwen. It's nice to chat, but I guess we should see what we can do about this plane crash, and the dead body. I understand your last call was to report that the plane had caught fire, and I guess that's the smoke I can see over those trees to the east." Cpl. Holland had separated herself from the two men and was looking at the small plume of smoke that was still rising from the burning plane.

The two men had turned to look at the smoky streak rising into the sky while she spoke, and Matti was quick to say, "I think the fire has died down an awful lot. There was a thick column of black smoke for quite a while at first. That's nothing like what I could still see 20 minutes ago. Maybe I should take you both out there, and then you could decide what else you would need from me in the way of assistance. Just bring what you need down to the dock. I have an 18 foot Lund fishing boat, so there's lots of room."

The two officers were quick to agree to his suggestion, and within five minutes they all had put on their life jackets and were headed across the bay. In another ten minutes Matti was tying up the boat beside the body lying on the shore of the small island. The fire was largely out, but it was obvious that it had been intense. The central section of the plane was virtually burned away, with only small pieces of aluminum frame and the steel frames of the two seats still remaining. The tail assembly had survived, along with the engine compartment and the one pontoon. The two wings were mostly burned away, and Matti realized that they had contained fuel tanks that must have caught fire from the heat of the fire he had started. He didn't see how anyone would be able to reconstruct what had been there when he first arrived at the scene. The relief he felt was almost visible on his face, if anyone had been looking for it.

The professionalism of the two officers was very much in evidence now, and Matti just stood back and let them take over the scene. They were taking photos with their digital cameras, and writing notes into their note pads. Every few minutes they would confer before continuing. The flames finally went out, although smoke was still rising from some of the smouldering embers. A few of the trees had been set ablaze, and more were scorched, but even those flames had mostly gone out.

They seemed to be almost finished their inspection when John approached Matti and said, "Would you happen to have an old door, or a wide plank... something we could use to put the body on? They're sending out a van after supper to pick up the body, but we should probably bring it to your dock first."

Matti thought about it for a few seconds and said, "I've got a few old 2 x 8 planks I could probably put together to make something for you. Would you like me to go back and get them?"

Matti's offer was quickly taken up, and he headed back to the camp. He noticed as he pulled away that the two officers were beginning to examine the body, and it occurred to him that perhaps they just wanted to do that in private, away from a member of the public. That didn't bother Matti in the least, and it was actually with some relief that he sped back to get the requested planks.

### * * * *

It was 45 minutes later when Matti returned. He had nailed strips across three 2 x 8 planks, creating an 8 foot long stretcher on which to place the body of the dead pilot. When he got back the two officers appeared to have completed their work, as they were standing there waiting for his return.

"That looks like it should do the trick, Matti. If I could borrow your satellite phone, I'd like to check in at the detachment to see if there's anything new that has come up about this plane. Someone may have reported it missing."

Matti quickly handed Sgt. Forbes his satellite phone, and listened as his friend checked in with the detachment. It was apparent that no one had reported a missing plane, and it was at that point that he finally heard the name of the dead pilot.

"According to his driver's license, the pilot's name is Thomas Dugan," and he continued with the man's address in Peterborough, and his date of birth. Matti realized the victim was a little older than he thought, as according to the date of birth the pilot had been 52.

Sgt. Forbes then spent a lot of time listening to the officer he was speaking with, and Matti noticed that he moved away for privacy on the call. Finally he hung up and returned Matti's phone.

"Well, our dead pilot here is well-known to the department. He's a long-time member of the biker club underworld where he's known as 'Scooby', and held the position of treasurer for a chapter of the club they call the Wolverines. That's their symbol tattooed on his arm, and when we move him you'll see he's got their patch on the back of his vest."

Matti replied, "I've heard of them, but I don't think I ever saw one of them here in Northwestern Ontario. They're not one of the biggest biker gangs, from what I recall hearing. Is that right, John?"

Matti and Cpl. Holland were positioning the makeshift stretcher beside the body, and John was rolling it so that they could place it in position, so this question went unanswered momentarily.

Finally they had the body lying on the planks, centered so that it would stay in place. The two officers took the head end, and Matti handled the opposite end, as the contraption was lifted and placed across the gunwales of the boat. The Sgt. was finally able to answer as they carefully stepped into the boat.

"Well, Matti, they aren't the biggest club in the biker universe, and certainly not even if you consider just Canada, but they are a big player in Québec and southern Ontario. I know from the briefings I've heard that it's expected they will try to expand, because they've reached an agreement with one of the other major drug supplying clubs that they won't directly compete with each other. Word is they plan to divide the country between them, but we can't really figure out how the Wolverines can manage to do that. They just don't have the resources."

Matti thought about that as he backed the boat away from the rocky shore, and wondered if the bag of money he had hidden under the camp was even connected to the biker gang. He wondered if maybe the pilot was working for someone else. He soon had to concentrate on getting the boat turned and back to the dock without losing the body that the two officers were concentrating on, with one on each side of the planks bearing the body.

### * * * *

The trip back to the dock was uneventful, and the body, still on the makeshift stretcher, was now in the shade by the side of the camp. They had already made another call and determined that the van that had been sent out to retrieve the body was only minutes away. They also found out that the Ministry of Natural Resources was sending two men to ensure that no forest fire hazard existed. Matti and the two officers were sitting at his kitchen table, each sipping at a cup of coffee from the pot he had brewed as soon as they got back from the island.

Cpl. Holland took the opportunity to learn more about Matti. "So, Matti, what's your story? Are you retired early? One thing I've learned already from my partner is that it's early for most people to be at their cottages... oops, I mean their camps." She chuckled and continued, "I know, people up here don't call them cottages; I'm just used to hearing about 'cottage country' down east."

The questions startled Matti at first, as his guilt over having the money from the plane made him think that her questions were intended to entrap him about it. Once again he was able to get past his moment of panic, and he finally answered, "I wish I was retired. Actually I run a small diamond drilling company, McEwen Drilling, and with my satellite phone I can pretty much handle things from here. I do head up north on occasion to help out, or solve a problem. I have a place in town, but I prefer spending my time out here as much as I can."

While he was answering the Cpl. took out her notepad, and when he had finished speaking she asked, "I guess for my report I'm going to need the spelling of your first name. Is it M A T T I E or M A T T Y?" She had spelled out the two names, and was waiting expectantly for his answer.

Matti laughed and said, "Sorry to disappoint, but it's neither spelling. It's spelled M A T T I, and it's actually a Finnish name. My mother was Finnish, and she said that since I was born with dark hair like my father, and I already had his last name, she wanted to give me my first name. Matti was her father's name, my grandfather's name."

John had been listening to the conversation with some amusement and added, "I bet I've heard that story a dozen times over the years. I think every teacher we ever had in high school had the same question as you did, JoAnn."

After a few chuckles over the confusion about Matti's name, he refilled their coffee cups and directed a question to John. "Speaking of names, John, did they tell you anything about why the pilot was called 'Scooby'?"

John smiled and shook his head before saying, "They didn't mention a reason, but I think it must be a play on words, considering his last name was Dugan. You know, Scooby Du... gan. I'm sure I'm going to hear a lot more about the Wolverines before the last report is written on this plane crash. Dugan was a long way away from his territory. It's just unfortunate for us that he ended up in our detachment area when he crashed. The anti-gang task force will probably be snooping around this too. From the little they told me, Dugan was a top member of the club and handled the duties of treasurer for years." His answer seemed to satisfy Matti, who changed the subject, having already heard enough to cause him some mild concern.

The three of them carried on their conversation during the rest of their wait for the van from Thunder Bay. It didn't take long for both the OPP van, and the MNR half ton truck, to arrive. The two MNR fire technicians quickly unloaded their own boat and a portable water pump, along with some hose, and were soon headed across the bay to extinguish any remaining hotspots at the crash site. The OPP van had brought along a body bag, and the body of the deceased biker, Thomas Dugan, was soon placed in it, with the bag placed out of sight in the back of the van. Once that was done, Matti loaned his boat and equipment so that all four of the OPP officers could return to the scene of the crash. Once the fire was out, there were other things the officers would need to do. Primarily they had to take a few measurements, and this time they planned to inspect the burned wreckage more closely. Matti was glad to be alone once again, because he had been becoming more and more nervous with all of the four OPP officers standing around him. He knew it was foolish, and that there was no little bird that was going to tell any of them that he hadn't told the whole story about the crash.

He was back sitting at his kitchen table, watching through the window as the four officers proceeded across the bay in his boat. Once they disappeared from sight as they turned north from the entrance to the bay, he lifted his gaze to the furthest cupboard door in his kitchen, and wondered how long it would be before he could open the plastic wrapped bundle of cash that was hidden there on the top shelf, right behind a large, unopened box of cornflakes.

An hour later Matti was still sitting at his table, as his boat, with the four members of the OPP in it, docked and was tied up. He met the four of them as they approached his camp, and his offer of a cup of coffee was accepted by all of them. A few minutes later they were all standing around the police vehicles. Matti had noticed that one of the officers was carrying a large case labelled Forensics, something he hadn't seen when they left his dock. His friend, Sgt. Forbes, had returned with a large sealed plastic bag that contained a number of other, smaller, plastic bags. Matti was curious about the bag his friend was carrying.

"What have you got there, John? Did you find something at the crash site?"

"Oh, these are just a few samples we took. We noticed a couple of melted substances in the cargo area, and a few other little items that we were curious about. We were only interested because the pilot was a member of a biker club. I doubt if it'll amount to anything."

It didn't take them long to drink their coffee, and even as Matti was collecting their empty mugs they were getting into their vehicles to leave with the body and their evidence bags. Matti made a point of reminding John that he and his family were welcome at the camp anytime. His offer was conditionally accepted, pending his wife's agreement.

Before Matti could comment, Cpl. Holland quickly interjected, "I think my partner is henpecked. It sounds like his wife makes the majority of the decisions in that family!" She and Matti shared a good laugh at his friend's expense. They were both still laughing as the patrol car started to drive slowly down the laneway.

Just a few minutes later the two MNR fire technicians returned, and soon had loaded their boat and equipment. They explained to Matti that they had quickly put out the few hotspots that were left when they arrived, and had circled the island a couple of times to make sure that they had missed nothing. They did report finding the missing pontoon, half submerged on the shore on the opposite side of the island. It had been pulled onto the rocks to eliminate any future navigation hazard.

### Chapter 4

Later that night, secure in the master bedroom where he usually slept, Matti unwrapped the plastic wrapped bundle. He discovered there were three plies of plastic around the currency, and that it had been applied by some shrink-wrapping procedure. As he cut through the plastic with a sharp filleting knife, air was let in, and the bundled currency seemed to expand in his hands. When the last of the plastic had been removed he was left with 10 individual packets of bills, each held by a narrow paper band. Each packet was almost half of an inch thick, and when Matti examined each of them he discovered that all of the currency was Canadian $100 bills. His hands began to shake as he opened one of the packets to count how many were in each of them.

### * * * *

An hour later Matti was lying in bed, eyes open and totally awake as he went through the day's events in his mind. It all seemed surreal. The plane crash had been a big enough event for almost anyone's life, but now he had made an irreversible decision; not only had he stolen the bag full of money, but he had ignored the only realistic chance he had to walk back from that decision. Anything he did now to own up to his actions would likely involve charges of theft, arson, interfering with the crash site and the body, and who knew what else.

The one packet of bills that he had counted out on his bed had totaled $10,000. He didn't bother counting the rest of them, as in his heart he knew that he would get identical results. It was obvious to him that the plastic wrapped package had originally contained $100,000, and he knew that there were 14 more of them in the black nylon bag sitting in the dugout beneath the camp. He hadn't succumbed to the urge to open the hinged hatchway that was hidden under the bed in the bedroom next door to his. He badly wanted to bring up the bag so that he could count all of this newfound wealth, but fear of discovery was combined with the realization that knowing the exact total of his ill-gotten funds would change nothing. He would still be a thief, and now he knew he was forced to live with the act he had committed. He had no option but to lie, deny, and evade if the subject of this money were to ever come up.

It was hours before Matti finally was able to drift off to sleep. Even then, though, the events of the day didn't leave him. His dreams were of fires and sudden death, and the next day he remembered a scene from his dreams where he was running from a group of armed policemen.

### * * * *

Early the next morning, Sunday, Matti decided to take one of the $10,000 packets with him, and return to Thunder Bay. He did have a couple of jobs to do for his business, but he also wanted to have a change of scenery. Staying at his camp would mean that the whole day would be taken up with thoughts and memories of everything that had gone on \- everything from the moment he took his break from splitting firewood and watched the small, white plane taking off, until the last police officer had left.

He was in the city before noon, and had decided to force himself to make use of the cash that was going to save his business and the camp. His first stop was at a gas bar where he filled the two tanks on his Ford F250 pickup truck. This purchase used up most of the first $100 that he took from the packet in his glovebox. Usually he wouldn't lock his truck; he would just go in and pay for his gas. Now, with his new situation as a very well-to-do man, locking his truck was going to be one of the new routines he would have to become used to. To Matti's relief the sale was made quickly, and without any suspicion of the currency he had tendered. As he walked back to his truck Matti knew that the use of these bills would become easier with every purchase he made. He was even able to consider that perhaps this was fate's way of getting him out of the financial hole he had been living in for most of the last year. A new confidence took over his features, and he even managed to whistle to himself as he drove away from the gas bar.

### * * * *

On Sunday evening, when Matti had returned to his apartment, he found two messages waiting. One was from the local newspaper, and the other from a radio reporter. Both wanted to speak to him about the plane crash, and his first half-hour back in the apartment was spent on the phone with the two of them. By this time, with the weekend's events and an afternoon spent at several local stores, Matti was exhausted. This night's sleep was not interrupted by any of the dreams that bothered him when he awoke Sunday morning.

### * * * *

The next morning he was alert and refreshed, and was soon taking care of business. By early afternoon he was ready to call his foreman at the drilling site.

"Hello, Ernie. Just checking in. How is everything going? Are all three crews hard at work?"

"I'd be fine here, if that young boss of mine would quit bothering me." A hearty laugh followed Ernie's quick comment.

Matti chuckled and answered back, "I haven't bothered you for a couple of days now. You've got no excuse for not being ahead of schedule by this time." Matti hesitated, knowing that his drilling foreman would be right back on his case, but continued speaking before the older man could. "I know, I know. You guys are doing all you can. Where do we stand on the footage drilled? Are we anywhere close to the schedule?"

Ernie came back on the satellite phone connection in just a few seconds, but it was obvious from the tone of his voice that things were not all rosy at the drilling site 250 miles north of Thunder Bay. "I guess things are going as well as can be hoped. Number three is at least two days behind schedule, but it's not the crew's fault. The hydraulic pump keeps acting up, just like always."

Matti had heard about this problem a couple of times before, and he quickly replied, "Well, Ernie, I think I'm going to be able to make your day. First thing this morning I'm going to order the pump and have it shipped up, hopefully Tuesday, with one of the regular flights. I got hold of the Snap-on Tools dealer, and he has that torque wrench you wanted in stock, so it'll be coming up Tuesday as well as some new impact sockets. I know you've been making do, so I hope these new tools will help."

There was surprise in Ernie's voice as he replied, "Wow, that's good news. That will help boost the production a little bit."

"That's what we're going to need, Ernie. I got a call from the geologist up there, and he's concerned about the schedule. Is there anything else besides that pump that you would need right away to keep the production up?"

Ernie was apparently thinking about his reply, as it was several seconds before he answered, "A couple of new high throughput core bits, and 500 feet of 400 psi driller's hose would help a lot."

Matti quickly came back with, "I'll see what I can do, Ernie. Maybe I could get them on the plane on Friday."

Ernie Stewart whistled and said, "I guess we must be getting into trouble, if you're willing to put out the big bucks so easily. I'm sure we could be back on schedule within a couple of weeks with those upgrades. Are you sure the money is available? I know you don't get paid fully for this contract until the job is done."

Matti quietly replied, "It won't be a problem, Ernie. It won't be a problem at all."

### * * * *

On Monday morning Matti was kept busy ordering and arranging for delivery of equipment, tools, and the weekly grocery order. By noon he was back on the phone with Ernie.

"Hey, Ernie. I just ordered a couple more satellite phones, so that each of the crews will have one. It'll probably be a week before I get them. I also upgraded the plan to include more minutes, plus I added texting. Tell the guys they can make calls home, if they keep it under control. If it gets out of hand, and anyone abuses the privilege, I may have to take the excess costs off their wages. You can receive text messages for free, so let them know about that. Their families and girlfriends can send them messages and it won't cost anything. With having three phones up there you'll be able to keep in better touch with the other crews, and you won't have to keep traveling from crew to crew. Also, the other two crews will be able to call you, instead of coming down to get you when they have a problem."

Matti's information was well received, but once again Ernie was concerned with the costs. Matti quickly put him at ease.

### * * * *

By mid-afternoon Matti was well on his way back out to his camp. Along the way he thought about the money some more, and about the purchases he'd made with it. Over $1000 of it was already gone, and when the bills for the rest of the purchases came due he'd need to use more of it. He had five of the $100 bills in his wallet, and the rest were hidden in an envelope securely thumbtacked under the bottom drawer of his bathroom vanity. All in all he felt much better about his business, and much more comfortable with the cash that was saving it.

It was almost 4 o'clock when he pulled into the spot under the pine trees where he usually parked his truck. There was a black Chevy Suburban parked beside the camp, and a tall, powerful looking man wearing a black leather bomber style jacket, along with black casual pants, was leaning against it. As Matti approached him, the man turned and stood up tall, waiting for him. As he got closer to the man, Matti could see that he had dark eyes and was shaved bald, but had a jet black, closely trimmed, goatee and moustache. Under his leather jacket he had an open necked white shirt. Fancy snakeskin cowboy boots with Western-style sloped heels completed his attire.

Matti smiled and asked, "Can I help you?"

The stranger in front of him smiled back quickly and answered, "Hello. I'm looking for Matt McEwen. Would that be you?"

"Yes, that's me. Actually it's Matti, not Matt. What can I do for you?"

The man handed him a business card with simply a name and phone number on it. "My name is Bert Fontaine, and I represent the company that carries the insurance on that plane that crashed out here. I wanted to talk to you about that, and maybe you could take me out to see it."

Matti was not getting any bad vibes from the tall stranger in front of him, and immediately decided that it sounded like a routine sort of situation. He quickly replied, "That shouldn't be a problem. I've got no plans right now."

Bert Fontaine began walking across the grass towards the lake and asked, "Where were you when you saw this plane, and the crash. I've read the police report, but maybe you could run me through it."

Matti did just that, showing him the chopping block he had been sitting on, and pointing out the course the plane had taken when it landed, and then later when it took off. He explained about the treetops the plane had failed to clear, and about how abruptly the engine had stalled. When that was all done, the two of them walked down to the dock after Matti picked up a fuel tank from the storage shed. A few minutes later they were floating to a stop on the smooth rock of the island. Nothing appeared to be different from the last time Matti had seen the wreckage of the plane he had burned two days earlier.

Matti told him basically word for word the same story that he had given to his friend John Forbes, and to the other police who had been on the scene. Bert Fontaine seemed to be quite thoroughly looking at the wreckage, paying particular attention to the section of the floor of the storage area behind the skeletal remains of the pilot and passenger seats. When he returned to the shore Matti pointed out the area where the pilot's body had lain. There were still traces of blood on the smooth granite.

"I guess we can go back to your dock... Matti." The big man climbed into the boat, and sat there silently buffing the dusty pointed toes of his cowboy boots with his handkerchief. Matti shoved the boat off shore, and then restarted the motor to take them back to his camp. As they walked up the dock, with Matti in the lead, the distinctive metallic sound of a round being jacked into the chamber of an automatic handgun seemed to overwhelm all of the normal sounds of nature that Matti was used to. He stopped walking, and slowly turned around. Bert Fontaine had unzipped his jacket, so that Matti could now see that there was a shoulder holster visible under his left arm. Of course Matti hadn't noticed that until after he stared at the gun that was now aimed directly at him.

"Why don't you turn around and walk over to that pile of wood you were working on when Scooby's plane crashed. Sit down on that block you were sitting on when it happened." Matti wasn't about to argue with the man holding the gun, so he carefully did as he had been told.

"Just sit there, and don't try anything stupid. I know I'm a whole lot better with my gun than you think I am. I'm going to put it back in the holster while I take my jacket off. I'm a little warm, and if you think you can get the better of me, let me give you a little demonstration."

The big man returned the gun to its holster as he continued, "You see that little bird feeder hanging from the limb on that tree over there? Just watch!" The man quickly drew the gun out of the holster and steadied it for just a second before firing it once. The bird feeder, even though it was 40 feet away, swung wildly on its chain, and birdseed flew through the air.

Matti sat quietly, well aware that the man was not lying about his prowess with his gun. After grinning at Matti, Bert Fontaine returned the gun to its holster before removing his jacket and laying it neatly on the pile of split firewood. Matti now had the chance to look at his adversary more closely, and could see that both of his arms were covered with tattoos, from the wrist and up each arm, with some of them disappearing beneath the short sleeves of his white shirt. A duplicate of the wolverine tattoo that John Forbes had pointed out to him on the arm of the dead pilot was prominent on the man's left forearm.

The man smirked at Matti before he said, "My name really is Bert Fontaine, but I don't have anything to do with any insurance companies. First, I want you to give me back that business card I gave you. There's no sense in me advertising myself. Just stay over there and lean forward. I'll take it out of your hand." Once that was done he continued, "I guess you know why I'm here. I want to know what you did with the money that was on the plane."

Matti was sort of startled when the money was mentioned, and although he couldn't see it himself, Bert Fontaine noticed that he quickly became pale when the word money was uttered. "I read people's emotions and body language really well, Matti, and I know for certain that you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Matti had already been frantically thinking about what he could do, now that someone was here for the money he had appropriated. Almost automatically his first words were, "I don't know what you mean. What money?"

Bert Fontaine laughed mirthlessly. "Matti, Matti, Matti. I know the money was on that plane. I know it wasn't there when the plane burned. There was no sign of the zipper from the second bag that was on that plane. All the police report mentions is the remains of one bag, and some suspected heroin residue they scraped off what was left of that floor."

Matti was more than a little nervous now, as it didn't look like denial was going to cut it with the big man standing on the other side of the pile of firewood. He was trying to buy some time when he said, "Well, maybe the pilot dropped it off somewhere before he got here. Maybe he had a partner that he gave it to. Maybe they just didn't find the zipper of that particular bag."

The sneer on the big man's face showed what he thought of Matti's suggestions. "It's not just the zipper that would have been left from that bag if it had burned. The money was tightly bundled up and crammed in that bag; it would have left some traces. There would have been ashes, or partially burned bills, but the police didn't find anything, and I didn't see anything either. I was Scooby's partner. He landed here because I left him a cache of fuel on the shoreline of the next bay over. I already checked the beach over there, and I can see where he left tracks. I didn't know how much fuel he would need, so I left him 12 full containers. There were five empty ones where the full ones had been. So I know he must've taken the rest of them with him. That wasn't the plan. Maybe all that extra weight is what made him crash. If that's what happened, he paid for his mistake. Maybe something else happened. There is one thing I do know for sure though; Scooby wouldn't have tried to shaft me out of my share." Bert Fontaine paced back and forth for almost a minute before he stopped and said, "I think you're smart enough to know that you aren't going anywhere unless you come up with my money. You may as well tell me where it is."

Matti was smart, he felt. Maybe not smart enough to have resisted the temptation to take the bag full of cash, but he was smart enough to realize that he was in a completely no-win situation. If he gave him the money, there was no reason the man would let him live. Besides the small matter that it wasn't all there, Matti realized an outlaw biker wouldn't want his name, real or not, plus his description, given to the police. They would certainly want to arrest a man who claimed ownership of a fortune in heroin, plus another fortune in illegal cash. Matti knew he needed to buy as much time as he could. Maybe a way out of this mess would come to him.

While Matti was sitting there silently thinking, not answering to his latest opportunity to give up the money, Bert Fontaine was thinking as well. "I have one last deal I can offer you. While I let you think about what that might be, let me tell you a little story. Last Friday night Scooby, and me, and another friend of ours, Jiggs Carter, made the score of a lifetime. Our whole club, the Wolverines, had a deal with one of the cartels, the Diegos. The local chapter was looking after paying that $1.5 million you've got, for three bags full of heroin and cocaine. I wasn't there, myself. The Diegos didn't want me there, because I'm the Sgt. at Arms of the chapter, and they didn't want anyone except the Treasurer, that was Scooby, and the local chapter President, Jiggs, at the buy. Our chapter was looking after the deal for the whole club."

The biker was getting a little agitated, and paced quietly for a few moments before he began talking again. "Well, long story short, the three of us decided to rip the whole thing off, and spend the rest of our lives living the good life on some Caribbean island. We already had a buyer for the drugs, and with that money added to the cash, we would have been rolling in bread. It didn't go the way we planned. Scooby and Jiggs were supposed to kill off the two cartel boys and take all of the drugs and money. I guess they weren't as good with a gun as I am, because one of the Diegos was still alive and he shot Jiggs in the back when they were running to the plane. Scooby didn't hang around, because there was nothing he could do. The bastard shot Jiggs in the head, and he was coming after Scooby, limping along behind him."

Bert Fontaine rubbed his face with one hand and started pacing again before he continued, "At least that's what Scooby told me when he called that night. Maybe he's the one who screwed the rip off up too. He was more of a thinker than an action man." It was a few moments later when he spoke again. "Now all of them will be after me. The club and the cartel aren't stupid. They know that if Scooby and Jiggs were in on it, I was too. The three of us were best buds. Now I need that money so I can disappear." It was obvious to Matti the man was under a strain, so he kept quiet.

Fontaine stopped pacing suddenly and wheeled to face Matti. "And another thing ... In case you don't think I have good information from the cops, the club has a mole in the OPP, and he emailed me the whole, entire, report just before noon. I even got their pictures and preliminary lab tests."

Matti was becoming more and more concerned as the biker was speaking. All of this additional information would just make him more of a liability. He was convinced now that his chances of living through this, no matter what he did, weren't good at all. He was cursing himself for ever touching that bag of cash. It was beginning to look like it was absolutely the worst decision he had ever made.

The gunman seemed to have abruptly made up his mind, as he stopped short and said to Matti with a smile, "I have a deal you don't want to refuse. Tell me what I want to know right now, and I'll kill you quick. One bullet in the head. Bam, it's over. I'm going to start walking around this pile of wood, and if you haven't started talking by the time I get there, to where you're sitting, I'm going to shoot you in the left knee. It will hurt like hell, but it won't put you out, and it won't kill you. If that doesn't get you talking, I'm going to do the other knee, and so on. Your elbows ... your ankles ... you can save yourself one hell of a lot of pain." He began walking around the end of the wood pile. The gun was still in his shoulder holster, and as he rounded the pile he began to reach up for it with his right hand.

Matti knew his only chance would be to try something immediately, before the gun was out of the holster, so he reached down for a block of wood at the same time as he started to stand up. He threw the block of wood as hard as he could, intending to hit the man in his gun hand, but he missed. Instead the block hit him squarely on the elbow. The gun was already in his hand, but the thrown block of wood had bought Matti enough time to charge into the gunman, at the same time reaching out to grab the gun with both hands around the barrel. Matti was unable to yank the gun from his hands, but the combination of the impact of the block of wood, and Matti's charge into his body, had made him step back. When he did that one of his fancy boots landed on a loose piece of firewood, and he lost his balance. At that point the two of them fell back onto the wood pile with the gun between them. Matti's head was pressed tightly against Fontaine's right shoulder as the gun went off when they hit the wood pile, and to Matti it sounded as though a stick of dynamite had gone off inside his right ear.

Matti's ear was ringing, and the right side of his face was burning and stinging. Bert Fontaine wasn't moving, and Matti thought at first that he had been knocked out. As Matti pulled back from where he was lying on top of Fontaine, he could see that the man's eyes were open, but it was obvious that they weren't seeing anything. An arc of blood and tissue had sprayed across the firewood above the man's head, and dripping blood and spray stained the white shirt below his chin. Matti kept his left hand firmly around the gun barrel, holding it pressed flat against his chest and right towards his chin, although it was obviously not necessary. He brought his right hand up to the side of his face, feeling for the bullet wound that he knew was there someplace, but when he brought his hand back all he saw were small streaks of blood. The ringing in his ear was easing just a bit, as was the stinging sensation on his right cheek, and Matti slowly came to the realization that he probably hadn't been shot at all. Only Bert Fontaine had been shot, and he was as dead as his good friend Scooby.

### Chapter 5

Matti left Bert Fontaine lying on the pile of firewood with his gun cradled on his chest, still pointed at the small round hole in the base of his chin. He had already verified that the bullet had passed right through the dead man's head, exiting from a jagged half-inch hole in his smoothly shaved scalp. After five minutes spent recovering some of his composure, Matti once again placed a call to the OPP. After the basic facts were confirmed with him, they told him to leave the site alone, and that they would have homicide investigators and the coroner's office start out immediately for the camp on Lake Watchanabi.

Matti's first decision after he had ended his call to the OPP was that he wanted to see in a mirror that he wasn't wounded in some way by the bullet that killed the biker. He went directly to the small bathroom in his camp. A careful examination in the mirror revealed only a scattering of smeared blood droplets along his cheek, just below a slightly reddened streak extending from a point near his ear to his forehead above his right eye. He decided it was caused by the muzzle blast of the handgun. A damp cloth was quickly able to remove the blood spatter. He was a little concerned about that spatter, and wondered if he could have caught something, some deadly bug, from the dead man's blood. Matti soon decided that that was highly unlikely.

He already knew that it was going to take almost two hours for the OPP and the others to arrive, so he immediately decided that he wouldn't take the chance of having the black bag discovered on the dirt floor of the dugout under his camp. After a bit of thought, he grabbed a plastic cooler that was normally used to transport his food to the camp and some of the fish he caught back to the city. Taking along a shovel, he soon disappeared down the opening in the spare bedroom. Half an hour later the bag and the 14 bricks of cash were in the cooler, buried under the sandy floor of the dugout. A dusting of dry sand over the disturbed earth completed the job. He would add a chunk of plywood later, after the earth was dry.

"If that doesn't do the trick, well, it just wasn't meant to be." Matti was speaking to no one but himself as he climbed the short ladder up into the spare bedroom in his camp. Five minutes later everything was back as it had been.

### * * * *

It was almost ten o'clock at night when the last of the police and coroner's employees had left. Matti had realized right away that the only way to explain this whole thing was to describe what had happened exactly as it occurred. Unless he was telling the truth about everything that had happened, he was sure that they would have found some inconsistency, or problem with the logic of what he had told them. As it was, he had to tell the full story to two different investigators, on two separate occasions. Of course, he explained to them at every normal opportunity that the biker had been mistaken. Matti knew nothing about the money the man was searching for. As far as Matti was concerned, they completely believed him. Perhaps it was because he was finding it easier and easier to tell that particular lie. Practice apparently did make perfect.

The body wasn't removed until just shortly before they left. A lot of photographs were taken, samples were collected, and one of the forensic technicians took Matti's fingerprints. Pictures were taken of his facial injuries. Matti hadn't realized that the block of wood Bert Fontaine had slipped on had left a gouge in the earth at his feet, along with an impression of his boot heel in the bark of the block. This was photographed and the wood removed in an evidence bag. Strong, portable, generator operated lights had remained set up around the scene until everyone was satisfied that they had all of the pictures and information that was needed. The lights were the last thing removed before the caravan of vehicles headed back to Thunder Bay. Although it was likely premature for them to specifically say so, Matti felt that they accepted he was the aggrieved party. Indeed he truly was, but throughout the evening he had expected to be brought in for further questioning. All they asked was that he make himself available, if necessary, for further interviews. The fact that they hadn't used the loaded word 'questioning' made Matti feel much more at ease.

### * * * *

Tuesday morning brought a light rain, and it continued throughout the afternoon as well. Matti needed a break after everything that had been happening, so the excuse was welcome. He spent the morning lazing around, something that he rarely did, but which felt right this time. By early afternoon, though, he was beginning to feel like it was time to accomplish something, so he began making a list of possible improvements to his drilling business. He soon had a lengthy list of ideas and equipment that he felt he should price for replacement. Rough figures that he assigned to the major items would put a significant dent into the first bundle of cash that he had opened.

Matti had been putting off finding a better location for the $90,000 that was presently jammed into a coffee can and hidden under fire wood that was drying in his woodshed. He didn't want to disturb the cooler in the dugout, and decided that he wouldn't go near it again until he had spent the entire first bundle. He finally chose to place it in a tough plastic bag, which he then put at the bottom of an empty, round, plastic container that once held rolled oats breakfast cereal. Matti had emptied it first, and then refilled it with the rolled oats. Once it was placed on the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard, along with the regular boxes of cereal, he couldn't imagine anyone finding it there. As far as he knew, he was the only one that ever cooked a portion of that cereal. Even if someone else did take the container down, there were at least 6 inches of rolled oats to scoop out before anyone would reach the special contents. Matti was confident his hiding place was secure and conveniently located.

### * * * *

He had already decided that he would spend the next day, Wednesday, at his camp, and then return to Thunder Bay at the end of the day. He intended to get in a bit of early morning fishing, and to split some more of the firewood in the afternoon. As well, he intended to make an afternoon phone call to Ernie Stewart, to see if everything had arrived at the drilling site.

The early morning fishing part of his plans worked out well, and he returned with three nice pickerel, all together averaging about two pounds. Once they were on a stringer he played catch and release, before finally tying his boat up to the dock just before ten o'clock in the morning. In no more than 20 minutes the fish were fillets that had been rinsed and were now cooling in the refrigerator. He planned on having a couple for his supper, and the rest would return with him to Thunder Bay.

### * * * *

Just before noon Matti was sitting on a comfortable lawn chair in front of the camp. He was in the process of ending a satellite phone call from Ernie. His foreman had pre-empted him by calling to say that the food and equipment had arrived, and that the men were quite happy to hear that they would be able to make some use of the expensive satellite phones for personal calls. It seemed that they all had a renewed interest in their work, now that Matti had signaled his interest in spending more money on the company. Matti had just said goodbye, and pressed the End button on the phone, when he heard the crunch of gravel. It signaled the arrival of a vehicle, and considering the fact that his main visitors over the previous week had either been police or a biker club enforcer, Matti really assumed the sound could not mean anything good for him. His pulse immediately quickened with the anticipation of more trouble. Once again he thought about the money, and all the trouble it had already caused him.

Matti was shocked, but pleasantly surprised, when an immediately recognizable woman walked around the corner towards him. There was probably no male in the area that wouldn't have recognized her, as she was one of the most, if not the most, popular local television personalities. 'What had caused Dawn Winters to show up on his doorstep?' was his first, and immediate, thought. She looked exactly like she did on the evening news, right down to the station logo on her blue jacket's breast pocket. Matti also immediately saw that her eyes were grey; he'd always thought they were blue.

"He ... Hello, Ms. Winters. Where did you come from? Are you lost?" Matti had jumped to his feet quickly when she rounded the corner. All thoughts, as well as all of his concerns, about police and bikers had immediately disappeared.

"I don't know if I'm lost or not. I'm looking for Matti McEwen, and if you're not him, could you tell me where I might find him? I'm hoping to interview him." Dawn Winters was smiling as she finished speaking, and it wasn't clear if it was because of Matti's flustered appearance, or her normal reporter's attempt to charm her public.

Matti regained control of himself, and quickly replied, "I'm Matti. What can I do for you?" He almost asked her why she would be interested in interviewing him, but it quickly came to him that it would have to be concerning the crash, or the death of Bert Fontaine. Maybe it was both.

Before she could answer a bearded, stocky man of almost Matti's height followed Dawn Winters around the corner. He was probably at least 10 years older than Matti, and was wearing a checkered shirt and blue jeans. A compact video camera was hanging from one shoulder, and a bag of equipment from the other. A couple of small pieces of equipment were attached to his belt. Matti could see that he had sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes.

Dawn Winters noticed that Matti's attention had been diverted from her, so she turned slightly to her right until she caught sight of the man following her. She quickly said, "Matti, I'd like to introduce you to my camera and sound man, Art Lowery. I should call him my right-hand man, because he is invaluable to me. Without Art, my reporting wouldn't be much good at all."

Matti and Art exchanged hellos before Matti returned his attention to the reporter, and Art turned to the task of setting up his equipment.

Dawn smiled at Matti and said, "I'd like to interview you for our weekend newsmagazine show. We try to present in-depth stories about current news items, and we think that you would be a natural for this weekend's program. It's not often that one person is at the center of a story about a plane crash, and another about a sudden, violent death. Both of these stories have been covered on the news already, based on the reports released by the OPP, but I'd like to interview you for a more comprehensive report. Art will record our conversation, and will take some representative video as well."

Everything the reporter had said to him sounded reasonable, but Matti had a sudden concern, and blurted out, "Maybe I should clean up a bit, and maybe change my shirt, if you're going to be taking film of me."

Matti's concerns were quickly disregarded by the reporter as she said, "Oh, you look fine. You look every bit the outdoorsman our viewers will expect." Matti thought that perhaps that was easy for her to say, because she was neatly dressed in her trademark blue blazer over a white blouse and black slacks. About the only variety she ever exhibited on camera was in the choice of her necklace, and Matti already recognized the gold pendant she was wearing as one of her apparent favourites. It often graced her upper chest, hanging there as though its main task was to direct the viewer's attention to the hint of cleavage that was always almost hidden by the white blouses she wore.

Naturally, as he was getting nervous about the prospects of being on television, Matti began to get flustered once again. "Well ... What ... How would you like to do this?"

Dawn smiled at his obvious nervousness, taking her time before she answered, "If it's okay with you, I'd like you to start at the beginning, and have you just walk us through everything that happened. Why don't you give me a very quick once over, and I'll talk to Art about how we could best handle your interview."

Matti once again told the quick version of what had happened the day the plane crashed, and then followed it up with a very brief description of his encounter with Bert Fontaine. It really was only the high points, and when he was done Dawn and Art conferred for a couple of minutes before the reporter walked back to Matti where he was standing near the wood pile that was central to both stories.

"We think we should start with you telling the story starting with where you were located as it happened. If it's okay with you, we'd like to go out to the island where the plane crashed to get some video for the public to see. So far there haven't been any images of the crash site made available to them."

Matti proceeded to cover the whole story of the plane landing, and then taking off before hitting the trees on the island. He explained what he was doing at the time, and what he could see. At a couple of points his nervousness showed, and they had to redo short segments. Dawn and Art explained their methods for selecting and editing in the mistake free footage, and it wasn't long before they had Matti comfortable and relaxed. Once that happened things went smoothly and quickly. It wasn't that long before the three of them were getting into his boat to visit the crash site.

It was obvious to Matti that Art was much more aware of how to handle oneself in a boat. It was clear that Dawn had no experience with them, but Matti noted that she was quick to learn and understand what he told her. She was soon comfortably seated with a life jacket properly fitted over her blazer. He noticed that she seemed fascinated by the experience of crossing the bay and seeing the woodland and wildlife along the shore. Matti was seated at the stern of the boat, facing forward as he controlled the tiller of the powerful Yamaha outboard motor mounted on the transom. Dawn Winters was on a swivel seat to Matti's left, and Art Lowery was on a short bench seat at the front of the boat, and was facing the stern.

When it was obvious the reporter really wasn't knowledgeable about the rough and wild state of their present environment, Matti took care to point out anything he felt would be of interest to her. That included the names of the various trees visible, and the birds that took to the air as they passed. The reporter seemed very interested and appreciative of Matti's guided tour. Even Art, the cameraman, took notice of Matti's narration at times. As he was seated at the front of the boat, he managed to get video of Matti and Dawn as they talked.

They were very soon at the island, and Art was taking video as they approached. The cameraman quickly hopped out of the boat onto the smooth rock landing area, and held the boat as the reporter tried to follow his actions. She wasn't quite as fortunate as he was, and her left foot ended up ankle deep in the lake water. Matti expected her to be all concerned about her wet footwear, but her only reaction was to laugh at herself, and to tell Art not to get her feet into the video as she didn't want her viewers to know she had been so clumsy.

Matti described everything about the site, and what had happened there. Dawn asked questions where appropriate, and Art recorded all of the audio and video of their exchanges. When Art finally stowed his camera and microphone, Dawn had Matti describe what Bert Fontaine had been interested in when he was at the island, so Matti pointed out to her the areas in the bottom of the plane where the OPP had apparently discovered drug residue and the remains of the one black bag. He told her about how the biker had insisted there was no evidence the bag full of drug money had burned with the plane.

As they turned away from the plane Dawn asked, "Is it possible one of the OPP officers, or the MNR fire technician's, could have taken the bag?"

Matti turned and stared at her with a certain measure of undisguised shock as he replied, "Absolutely not! I was either with them, or watched them unload their boats every time I wasn't personally here with them. There's no way that they could've snuck a bag like the one Bert Fontaine described past me. No way at all!"

Matti thought that explanation had satisfied her, but as they got seated in the boat she said, "Do you think the pilot, Scooby, could've tossed out the bag before he crashed? Maybe it fell into the water."

Once again Matti disagreed emphatically. "I can't believe the pilot would've had time to even think about that. His plane was crashing, and I'm sure his last few moments, from when his plane clipped the trees on the big island, until it dove into the stand of spruce trees on this island, were much too busy to be worrying about anything else but trying to save himself."

Dawn seemed to mull this over for a few moments before answering, "I guess you're right. That would be normal, would it?"

As they started moving slowly after Matti restarted the engine he said, "I'll tell you what. I'll go around this island, and then I'll head over to the big island, just so you can look around. It should satisfy your reporter's curiosity." Matti chuckled after he said this, but Dawn didn't tell him not to bother.

As they went around the island Matti pointed out the pontoon that was still on the shore where the MNR men had left it. He turned on his fish finder, and showed Dawn on the screen that there was 25 to 30 feet of water beneath the boat as they crossed over to the big island. Matti then explained that the bottom was likely quite mucky, and anything that had fallen into it was likely never going to be found. It was only about a quarter of a mile at most, and they were soon bobbing in the water by the shoreline of the big island. Matti was able to point out some of the branches and treetops that had landed near the shore after being clipped off by the plane. As they slowly pulled away from the island and headed back towards his dock he pointed out the two trees that had been most severely damaged by the plane, the ones that had caused it to crash. This information seemed to satisfy the reporter.

The return trip to the dock was a bit slower than the outbound journey, as Matti took care to point out more features to Dawn. She seemed extremely interested in everything he told her.

They had just passed through the channel into the bay when Art asked, "Do you do a lot of fishing here, Matti? This looks like a good walleye lake."

"I sure do go fishing a lot, Art. I was out early this morning for a couple of hours, and I got some nice pickerel for my supper. The fishing is one of the things I like best about the camp. Further up the lake there are lake trout, and there are also a few good spots for bass. I take a run up there once in a while, but I'm usually pretty content with the pickerel I catch at this end. Of course there are also perch, and a lot of northern pike in the lake, as well."

Dawn was apparently fascinated by their conversation as she quickly asked, "You mean you can catch pickerel here? I didn't know that. I never ate pickerel until I moved up here, and I really like it." She thought for a few seconds and asked, "They really come from lakes like this?" She turned to Art and continued, "I heard you ask Matti about walleye, and he was talking about pickerel; are they the same thing?"

Art quickly answered, "Yes, Dawn. I call them walleye, but that's just my habit. A lot of people in Ontario call them pickerel, but they're the same fish." He laughed and added, "Years ago, I heard that they were sometimes called poisson d'oré, which is French for golden fish. They call them that because there is a golden color to the sides of the fish. But that's more than you wanted to know, I'm sure." Art grinned at Dawn, who was looking a little confused.

Matti almost thought Dawn had been pulling his leg, and after Art finished speaking Matti had a short laugh before he said, "They certainly are caught here, no matter what name you give them. I have a nice plateful in my refrigerator, and the two of you are welcome to stay for supper if you like. They were fresh caught this morning."

Dawn had a sincere look of regret on her face as she answered, "I wish we could, but Art has to get back to Thunder Bay by 4:30, as his son has a baseball game, and Art wants to watch it."

By this time they were almost at the dock, and the conversation ended. Matti went through the description of his confrontation with Bert Fontaine, pointing out where his body had ended up, and showing them the bird feeder he had put a bullet through in his demonstration of his shooting prowess. Dawn held the bird feeder carefully so that Art could get good close-up video of the bullet hole. Once the camera was off, and the audio recordings were finished, she told Matti that the close-ups of the bird feeder would really help to make the viewers aware of the fear that he had gone through. There was no body to show them, and the bloody blocks of wood had all been removed by the police, so everything else was almost completely auditory, dependent on Matti's words to create a picture. The bullet hole spoke for itself.

### Chapter 6

The interview was complete now, and Matti was escorting them back to their SUV. While Art was stowing their equipment, Dawn once again expressed her regret that they would not be able to take him up on his supper offer.

"Well, Dawn, if you don't have to get back right away, you could stay for supper if you like. I'll be heading back to Thunder Bay later this evening, and I could bring you home." Matti threw it in as just a polite bit of conversation, not expecting it to receive the response that it did.

Almost immediately Dawn answered, "I'd love to, if you're serious. I was just going to go straight home, because we'll be doing the editing at the station tomorrow, and I have no pressing need to hurry home."

Matti was shocked and it showed in his reply, "I ... Sure ... It's no problem at all. I was serious, but to tell you the truth, I wasn't really expecting you to say yes."

By the time Matti had finished his reply Dawn Winters was busy telling her cameraman that he could go ahead without her, and that Matti would be driving her home. As he was closing the rear hatch, having finished putting away their equipment, Dawn was busy collecting her purse and a small travel bag from the passenger side of the SUV. Just a minute later the two of them were waving goodbye to Art as he pulled away down the lane, headed out to the gravel road and the long drive back to Thunder Bay.

"Well, Dawn, it's much too early for supper, so is there anything you'd like to do this afternoon, before we eat? I can show you around my camp, but that won't take too long. I'd offer to take you for a hike through the bush, so that I could point out some of the highlights of the area, but I don't think you're quite dressed for that."

Dawn hefted the small bag in her hand and said, "I don't have much with me, but I do have a plastic dry cleaners' bag I can put my jacket in, and a pair of light shoes I usually wear at the studio. If you've got a place where I could put these shoes to dry, I could at least get a little more comfortable. Most of the rest of the stuff in this bag is cosmetics and hair products. You know, stuff I need to use to look good on TV."

After instructing her to follow him into the camp, Matti laughingly said, "I can't imagine it would take very much to make you look good. I suspect you'd look great without even using makeup."

"Why thank you, Matti. It's a very nice thing for you to say, even if I know I would argue with you about it. TV lights and high definition cameras virtually demand that a person use cosmetics. Even the men have to."

### * * * *

After they had gone inside the camp Matti had shown her the features of his favourite place. She was particularly enamoured of the large living room, with its wall of windows facing the lake. After she had made use of the small bathroom to freshen up, she did have one question for Matti.

"I really like your place, Matti. I'm surprised that you don't have a bathtub or shower in the bathroom, though. Do you just swim in the lake?"

Matti had been looking out the window at the lake while she was getting ready, and was surprised to see the changes that had taken place in her appearance. The jacket was gone, as was the necklace she had been wearing. Her hair was now tied back in a ponytail, held by a red, ruffled, elastic band. Matti was now able to see that her figure had been well hidden by the jacket she always wore like a uniform. It was now obvious that she was more curvaceous than he had ever realized. You could also see that she was wearing a camisole under her blouse, in addition to her bra. The total combination was both surprising and more attractive than he would have imagined.

Her appearance had distracted him long enough that he finally realized he would have to answer her question, or she would turn his way and catch him staring at her. He did have to have a chuckle at her question, though, and answered her with, "There's a shower in the sauna, for anyone that wants one. Usually we use the sauna, and then we dive into the lake to rinse off."

Dawn had her damp shoes in her hand, and appeared to be looking for a place to get them dried. There was a bit of a breeze outside, so Matti took the shoes from her hand and placed them in the sun on one of the chairs in front of the camp. He told her that with any luck they would dry in an hour or two.

After she thanked him Dawn asked, "I really wouldn't mind watching how you catch these pickerel, Matti. Do you think you'd be able to, if we went out on the lake? I mean, if it's not too hard to catch them?"

"That's no problem at all, Dawn. They're not that hard to catch, although it's not usually quite as easy at this time of the day. This is a good lake for pickerel, so we could probably catch a couple at least. You should have a jacket on, though, if we're out on the lake. You may also want to put some sunscreen on. You get a lot of sun with the reflection from the water. I've got some, if you'd like to use it."

Dawn smiled and said, "I guess I should take you up on that. It wouldn't do to go on camera with a sunburned nose. I don't really want to take my jacket, as it's custom tailored."

Matti told her he'd look for something for her to wear, and spent a couple of minutes in the spare bedroom closet before coming out with a worn denim jacket. "This is clean; it hasn't been worn since it was last washed. It was my mother's fishing jacket. I've got the sunscreen for you as well." In just a couple of minutes they were headed for the dock.

### * * * *

Matti had picked up his minnow bucket from the shed, along with his rod and tackle box, and they were now sitting, with the engine off, about 30 feet out on the lake from weeds that bordered the south side of the bay. Dawn was watching attentively as he selected his lure, and added a minnow to the hook. A flick of his wrist dropped the bait into the water just a couple of feet from the edge of the weeds. She had a few questions about his equipment and how he was using it, and continued to watch closely as he made a further six casts from the drifting boat. Finally, on his eighth attempt, a fish took the bait. Dawn was watching excitedly as he set the hook, and then fought it to the edge of the boat where he scooped it up with his landing net.

Dawn had been sitting at the front of the boat while Matti cast from one of the swivel fishing seats. As he landed the fish onto the bottom of the boat, he glanced up at her, and he could see the fascination in her face. His catch was a nice three pound pickerel, and he carefully put it on his stringer.

"That really looks like fun, Matti. That's the first fish I've ever seen caught. It's the first time I've ever been fishing."

Matti looked at her quizzically and asked, "You mean you've never, ever, been fishing? That really is surprising. Didn't your father ever take you out on a boat, or even to a river or lake?"

Dawn blushed slightly and answered, "I was asked to go fishing with my dad and my brother, but I never thought it was something for girls to do. I always told him no."

Matti smiled at her and said, "Well, there you go. The next time you get the chance you can go fishing with your dad, or your brother, and have some fun with them."

The smile left her face, and she seemed flustered as she answered, "I ... We ... We don't ... I mean, I'm sort of estranged from my family."

It was obvious that the subject was something she hadn't expected to have brought up, so Matti decided to drop it entirely. He simply said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

He rebaited the hook, and once again cast it towards the weeds. It was three casts later when he got another strike. Matti stood up and passed the rod to Dawn as he said, "Here you go, then. Reel it in. You've been watching what I've been doing, so give it a try."

Dawn was reluctant to take the rod out of his hands, trying to convince him that she would probably do something wrong, but he insisted, saying that it wouldn't matter if the fish got away. He just warned her to hang onto the rod so that she wouldn't drop it into the lake. He could tell she was excited, but flustered at the same time. Finally she began reeling the fish in, tentatively at first, but with a little more confidence when it became apparent that she was slowly bringing the fish over to the boat. As soon as it was close enough Matti scooped it out of the water with his landing net. It was a nice two pound pickerel.

Matti grinned at her and said, "There, that was easy, wasn't it? You did that like a pro! Now you've got to take it off the hook." He could see the thrill on her face as she brought in the fish, and the look of satisfaction as Matti brought it into the boat. He fully expected her to draw the line at removing the hook from the fish, but she eagerly moved forward, placing the rod safely on the floor of the boat before she asked him what she should do.

"Well, Dawn, it's fairly easy. You have to be sure you don't let the spines on the top fin poke you, as it could get infected. Here's a fishing glove you can put on your hand to hold the fish, and then it should be possible to wiggle the hook out of its mouth. If you have trouble, I have a pair of pliers you can use for removing the hook." There was no hesitation as she took the offered glove, put it on, and carefully picked up the fish. She coped well with the struggling pickerel, and after a couple of false tries she managed to twist the hook out of its lower jaw.

"You're quite the fisherwoman now. All you have to do now is learn how to clean them." Dawn was quite giddy with the excitement of catching her first fish, but finally remembered she had her cell phone in her pocket, and had Matti take a picture of her proudly holding her first fish in one hand, and the rod in the other. Her smile was so broad that Matti took a couple of extra pictures of her without the fish. He made her promise to give him copies of them.

Dawn was hooked thoroughly, and before he could take the rod to rebait the hook, she was insisting he let her try it. Once that part of the task was done, she wanted to try casting it herself. Matti gave her some basic instructions, and her first couple of tries were minimally successful, with the bait landing about ten feet away from the boat. Her next two tries were much better, and then on her third cast she caught her second fish. It was a bit smaller, and they agreed to put it back, since the hook had come out easily and there was no apparent damage to its mouth. After another four casts she caught another, and this one was a nice three pound pickerel. She immediately noticed that it was a bigger struggle to bring the fish to the boat.

Matti was pleased to see how much she was enjoying herself, but after adding the third one to their stringer he said, "I don't know how much more fishing we should do, as I think we have enough. Maybe we should go back and clean these. If we have time after we eat, we can do a little more fishing. Mind you, you don't have a fishing license, so we have to be careful that we don't exceed what I'm allowed. Considering this is your first time out fishing I doubt if we would be ticketed, but it is something to consider."

It didn't look like Dawn was anxious to stop fishing, but after a moments of thought she agreed with Matti. After stowing their equipment they headed back to his dock.

### Chapter 7

"Well, Matti, that was a delicious meal. Thank you for preparing it for me. It marks a first for me. It's the first time that I've ever eaten something that I caught myself." Dawn laughed and added, "I haven't even grown something simple, like herbs. It's a unique feeling, knowing that I had a hand in it. Hopefully I'll be able to do that more often in the future."

Matti and Dawn had just finished their supper. Matti had prepared a simple meal of fried potatoes, pan fried pickerel fillets and sliced tomatoes. While he was doing the cooking, Dawn had set the table and prepared a pot of tea for after the meal.

Before that, he had shown her how he filleted the pickerel that they caught. She was quite amazed at the quick transformation from whole fish to edible fillets. When he was finished he had taken a covered 5 gallon pail from beneath the plywood topped stand at which he had been doing the filleting. He quickly scraped what remained of the fish into it, on top of the remains of the fish he had caught that morning. As he rinsed off the plywood tabletop in the final step of the cleanup, Dawn asked what he was going to do with the contents of the pail, and Matti just smiled and said he would show her after supper.

As they enjoyed their after meal cup of tea, Matti gave Dawn a reminder of the method he had used to prepare the fish, so that she could prepare the fillets that he set aside from her catch for her to have at home the next day.

When the dishes had been washed and everything was put away, Dawn asked, "Are you still going to show me what you do with the ... stuff that's left over from the fish?"

"Sure, Dawn. We should have plenty of time. In the worst case, we'll get back to Thunder Bay just after dark. If that's not a problem for you."

Once Dawn agreed that getting back a little later wasn't a problem, Matti took her down to his boat. He had his binoculars around his neck, and didn't let her know what he needed them for when she asked about it.

"Usually I take this bucket with me in the canoe, but for today we'll use the same boat we've been using all day. I don't think we have time to teach you how to safely paddle a canoe across the lake." In just a couple of minutes they were on their way to a small point about halfway along the bay, opposite to where they had been fishing earlier in the afternoon.

"We've been dumping the non-edible parts of the fish over here for years and years." When he finished saying that he pulled the boat up alongside a stretch of rocks forming the side of the point. As his boat bobbed gently against the rocks Matti reached over the side and dumped the offal in his bucket onto the rocky shore. After a quick rinse in the lake the bucket was fully clean. When that was done, Matti started the motor and moved the boat about 50 yards offshore before shutting it down.

Dawn was obviously unsure about what was happening, and was looking curiously at Matti. Finally she said, "What are you doing now? Why are we just sitting here?"

Matti just smiled and said, "Be patient, Dawn. Just be patient, and you'll see. I doubt if we'll have to wait much more than ten minutes."

Although her curiosity hadn't been satisfied, Dawn went along with Matti. It was actually a bit more than ten minutes, but the two of them passed the time in quiet conversation. Mostly they talked about their jobs, with most of the time spent by Matti explaining what McEwan Drilling did. He explained that they contracted out to mining exploration companies that wanted to get samples from deep within the rock on their properties, samples that could show them what the potential of their property was, or quite often it was to define the size or shape of the ore zone they were interested in. He explained how the cores his men and machinery extracted from the target area of the hole were examined, or split lengthwise into two pieces that could be tested, or were sampled by grinding, so that the geologists could determine mineral content for each foot of the core. They were so engrossed in this conversation that Matti almost missed the opportunity to show Dawn the reason he had brought her to this spot in the lake.

After a quick glance at the shore Matti stopped short with what he was saying to exclaim, "Look over at the point, Dawn! We have to be quiet now." Two large black birds were about to land in a tree a few feet from where Matti had dumped his pail.

"What are those, crows?" Dawn had spoken quietly, taking heed of Matti's instruction.

Matti answered back in a similar low voice, "No, they're ravens. I don't know how they know I just dumped that bucket, but they are always here quickly when I do. Maybe they can recognize the scent of the fish, or maybe they are conditioned to the sound of me banging the bucket on the rocks." While he was speaking he was taking the binoculars from around his neck and offering them to Dawn. "Here, watch with these. If you're lucky we'll get a bit of a show."

Dawn took the binoculars she was offered, and began watching the two ravens as they started a routine that was very familiar to Matti. The two large black birds slowly but surely moved closer to the remains of the fish that Matti had dumped on the rocks. While they were doing that three more ravens began to circle over the point, finally coming to rest in the trees nearby. Matti tapped Dawn on the shoulder to point out the new arrivals to her. The first two had now made their way to the remains that were on the rocks, and had begun tearing at them. In just a few seconds the three new arrivals joined the first two at the banquet, and a number of squabbles between the birds took place. Dawn was completely taken up watching the birds, so she didn't notice another new arrival. Another light tap on her shoulder made Dawn put down the binoculars and look over at Matti. He didn't say anything; he just pointed up. Just above treetop height a large bald eagle was circling, losing altitude quickly. It was obviously also interested in the fishy feast the ravens were enjoying.

In seconds it landed on the point, just a couple of feet from the squabbling ravens. Its presence didn't go unnoticed, as the ravens quickly backed away from the much larger bald eagle. After just a few seconds of pulling at the remains, the eagle took off again with the majority of them secure in its talons. The moment it got airborne the ravens rushed back to resume their fight over what was left. Matti and Dawn watched intently for a couple more minutes before Dawn lowered the binoculars.

"Oh my God, Matti! That was amazing! I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me this is what we would see. "Does this happen every time?"

Matti smiled and answered, "I don't always hang around to watch, but I've never gone back to that point and found anything was left from the previous time I was there. What is garbage to us is a good meal for many of the birds, animals and insects."

There was a look of wonderment on Dawn's face. "I just want to thank you for bringing me here so I could see this. Words would never do justice to describing this scene. This entire day has been such an adventure for me. Thank you so much, Matti."

Matti took the boat back to the dock where he unloaded his fishing gear before moving the boat into his boat house, where it would be locked away out of the weather. In another few minutes they were back in the camp, seated on a couple of chairs that looked out at the bay through the living room windows. Once again Dawn began thanking Matti for the invitation to spend some time at his camp.

"I enjoyed every minute of having you here, Dawn. You've been no burden to me, whatsoever. I'm glad I was able to introduce you to the great outdoors. Now you've seen a few of the reasons I like to spend as much time as I can out here. Thankfully, my satellite phone lets me keep in touch with my business, and I can solve a lot of problems with it. It gives me a lot more time to do what I enjoy."

"I can see why you would say that, Matti. You've certainly had your share of excitement out here in the last week. Between the plane crash, and Dog coming out here to threaten you, it must have been much more than your average week."

Matti was looking a little confused as he asked, "What do you mean, Dog?"

Dawn was a bit flustered for a moment before saying, "That's the nickname for Bert Fontaine. I guess you didn't know that."

"No, Dawn, it never came up in the conversation I had with him. Mind you, maybe it did and I forgot. I was pretty much fully concentrated on trying to figure out a way to stay alive. How did you find out about it?"

Dawn seemed unsure of what to say before she finally answered, "I was talking to one of the OPP detectives, and he gave me some of the information they hadn't released. That must've been it." When Matti nodded his head in understanding, Dawn visibly relaxed.

Their conversation dwindled away until they had spent a couple of quiet minutes looking at the calm bay in front of them. Finally Dawn said, "I guess the only way today could have been even more remarkable would have been if we had found the money that Bert Fontaine was looking for. Or are you saving that surprise for later?" Dawn turned and was looking intently at Matti when she finished asking her question.

Matti was caught by surprise by her question, and hesitated long enough to regain his composure before forcing a short laugh and saying, "That would be a surprise, wouldn't it." He thought it was ironic that she was sitting probably no more than 20 feet from the black bag and its contents, hidden away beneath the earth under his camp. It was also ironic that when Dawn had placed the plates in the kitchen cupboard her hands were less than two feet away from the hidden $90,000 of cash from the first bundle that he hoped would save his business, and let him enjoy many more summers at his camp on Lake Watchanabi.

### * * * *

The sun had set far enough behind the hill to the west of the camp to put the entire bay into shadow, and they decided it was time to head back to Thunder Bay. Dawn's shoes were dry now, so she was able to wear them comfortably, and after she had collected the last of her belongings, Matti locked the camp and they began the drive home in his truck. They were about five miles along the mine access road, when Matti braked to a stop in the middle of the road.

Dawn looked at him in confusion and asked, "Is there a problem with your truck? Are we going to be stranded here?"

Matti didn't answer, he just pointed to the tree line along the right side of the road. In the gathering dusk Dawn was able to finally see a cow moose and her calf wandering rather aimlessly along the cleared ditch line bordering the road. While they watched, the cow seemed to make up her mind about what she wanted to do. In just a couple of long strides she mounted the gravel shoulder of the road, hesitating only long enough for her gangly young calf to catch up to her, before she led their way across the traveled portion of the road. With another couple of long strides she was across the ditch line and into the brush and trees that made up the wilderness that the road cut its way through. Her offspring followed awkwardly in her trail before pausing momentarily at the tree line to turn and watch as Matti put the truck back into gear and resumed their drive.

"Wow, Matti. I didn't even see them there. How were you able to pick them out with all that dark forest as a background? This is another first for me; I've never seen a live moose before." Dawn was almost in awe over Matti's ability to see the wildlife so easily.

"Well, I guess it's just a habit I got into over the years. Moose are a real hazard on the road, much more so than deer or bears will ever be. I'm sure you noticed how long the legs of the cow moose were. It's not quite so much of a danger with my truck, but if a car hits a moose, the body of the moose is up so high it comes over the hood and right into the windshield. It's not uncommon for the moose to be more in the vehicle than outside of it. A lot of people end up dead that way."

Dawn thought about what Matti had described, and after a few moments she replied, "I can see what you mean, Matti. A car could almost drive right under it, with those long legs."

As he drove Matti added, "When I see a moose in time I almost always stop, or at least slow up, to let them make up their minds about what they're going to do. As often as not they cross the road right in front of me."

They continued their drive home, and their conversation returned to their respective jobs, their choice of music, and even touched on their favourite movies. They discovered that they shared an interest in blues music and crime drama TV shows and movies. A lengthy discussion of the plot lines of a number of the shows they enjoyed in common kept them busy until they were almost to the city.

### * * * *

As Matti pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building that Dawn had directed him to, he was actually feeling quite disappointed that their time together was over. It had been ages since he had spent time with a woman with whom he felt so comfortable.

"Well, Dawn, I guess this is it. Maybe someday you can come back out to the camp, and we can continue your fishing education." Matti was completely sincere with his comment, but he knew that hoping for a chance to spend more time with someone so clearly out of his league was a futile hope.

Dawn didn't hesitate before saying, "I really, really enjoyed everything about today. I hope you're serious about offering me the chance to spend more time at your camp, as I would jump at the chance." Matti watched her speak, and he could tell that she seemed sincere.

He quickly decided, as in the old truism 'nothing ventured, nothing gained', to say, "Well, Dawn, I'm going to be heading out there Friday night. I plan to come back into town Sunday afternoon, so if you're not doing anything ...."

Matti's offer caught Dawn by surprise, and indecision combined with apprehension was clear on her face. "I ... I really do want to spend more time at your camp, but I don't know if I ... If I'm .... Please don't take this wrong, because you're a really nice guy, but I'm not really looking for a relationship."

Matti could sense the problem immediately, and quickly replied, "I'm sorry, Dawn. I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea here. I did enjoy your company, but you would have your own room if you came out again. I ... I wasn't trying to ... suggest ... I wasn't assuming anything else." By this time they were both embarrassed, and Matti was blushing a bit with the realization that Dawn believed he was under the assumption they would spend their nights together.

Dawn thought about what Matti had just clarified and answered, "I ... I'd love to take you up on your offer then. I wouldn't be able to leave before probably three o'clock, if that's okay. I have to prepare this weekend's show, but it should be no problem getting it on tape by then. The producer will have the audio and video of our interviews first thing in the morning, and he and his crew will probably be finished that segment tomorrow. They may even decide to extend it beyond the normal ten minutes we usually allot. Your story is very fascinating, and I'm sure it will be very popular. You may even get treasure hunters out there looking for that bag of cash."

"It's settled then! If you give me your phone number I can give you a call Thursday night, and we'll make some final arrangements." Matti had found her last comment amusing, and chuckled before he continued, "I hope you're wrong about the possibility of treasure hunters. That's just what I need - a bunch of amateurs tromping around my camp." The thought that amateurs might take up Bert Fontaine's search hadn't occurred to him. He had considered the possibility the Wolverines might send someone else to come looking for it, but nothing beyond that. Now he had even more to think about.

The two of them exchanged contact information before Dawn got out of the truck. Just as she was going to close the door he remembered the package with her pickerel fillets, and quickly took them out of the cooler. They were on a paper plate and wrapped with clear plastic. "I hope you enjoy these tomorrow. There's enough here for a pretty big meal."

Dawn replied, "I have a roommate, Yvonne. She's a Flight Attendant with one of the airlines, and I think she's on a couple of day's layover here in Thunder Bay. I'm planning to share them with her. I can't wait to tell her that I caught this myself." Dawn was grinning as she closed the door and turned to go in the entrance to her apartment building. Matti was watching her as she walked away, her hands filled with her purse, makeup bag, plastic covered blue jacket, and her plate of fish. He had started to get out of the truck to give her a hand, but she waved him off, and made it obvious that she could handle things on her own. It was obvious that she was a woman who could take care of herself. As much as he might like to think otherwise, he knew that hoping they could maybe someday be more than just platonic friends, or fishing buddies, was only wishful thinking on his part.

### Chapter 8

Matti spent the next two days taking care of his business. Using his list of priority needs, he placed orders for the necessary parts, pieces, and equipment. He was starting at the top of his list and working his way down. It was definitely possible to bite off more than he and Ernie could chew, so he limited himself intentionally. Some of the items were readily available, and would be on the Friday plane to the north, while the others would arrive over the course of the next several weeks. It was already apparent that he would have to make a trip north himself, probably with a specialized mechanic, as Ernie did not have unlimited talents. First, though, he would see what challenges would come up when Ernie received the first shipment. Almost certainly some additional piece or fitting would be needed, and there were always the problems caused by lack of proper tools to do the job. The next few weeks would be interesting times for Matti and his business. Whenever possible Matti paid cash for the items purchased, and the small stash hidden in his bathroom vanity dwindled quickly. He knew he would have to bring at least one more $10,000 bundle home with him on Sunday afternoon.

### * * * *

Precisely at the agreed-upon time, 3:30 in the afternoon, Matti parked in the visitors' section of Dawn's apartment building. He hurried in, knowing that she might need a hand with something. She had already told him that she was a little more prepared for the outdoors, and had spent several busy hours during the course of a couple of shopping trips. He was soon at her apartment door.

"Hello, Matti. Please come in. I'd like you to meet my roommate, Yvonne Rogers. I told you she was a flight attendant, didn't I?" Matti was presented with quite a stunning view. Dawn was dressed in blue jeans and an almost matching blouse of slightly lighter blue. Her hair was once again in a ponytail, and she was wearing very little in the way of makeup. As Matti took in her appearance from top to bottom he noticed that she was wearing a new pair of brown hiking boots. Her friend Yvonne was dressed more casually in a white blouse with khaki shorts, and was wearing a pair of simple black slippers.

Yvonne was as good looking as Dawn, but had short blond hair and green eyes. If Matti had been asked to guess, he would have judged that she was about the same age as he and Dawn. He had already discovered that Dawn was not quite a year older than he was. After he was introduced to Yvonne she extended her hand to shake his, a tradition that was much less common lately he had noticed.

"So you are Matti, the man who Dawn has told me so much about. I'm looking forward to seeing the story of your unusual week, the one that Dawn has been working on. I was away from town, on a flight to Florida as a matter of fact, when all of that happened. She told me all about it, and gave me a DVD of the show, because I'm going to be flying again this weekend, and I'm looking forward to watching it when I get the chance."

Matti realized he hadn't even considered the show that Dawn had been working on and said, "I've been really busy, and I completely forgot about that being on this weekend. Is there any chance you can get me a copy, Dawn?" Matti was anxious to see how it turned out. He just wished that he hadn't forgotten to set his PVR.

Dawn was grinning and said, "I have you covered, Matti. I have a DVD in my bag, and I'm bringing my laptop so that we can watch the show out at your camp. I really hope you like it."

Matti was relieved and answered, "I guess I'm going to have to get a satellite dish out there, one day. Usually I sort of enjoy the fact that there are no distractions like TV at the camp."

Yvonne giggled and said, "I think you chose the wrong place to make that comment, Matti. Dawn likes to think her work is better than just a 'distraction'."

Her comments got Dawn giggling as well, and after a few seconds Matti realized what he had said. He was a bit embarrassed as he corrected himself, "I ... didn't really mean that everything on TV is a distraction. I just mean I ... enjoy getting away from the city, and all of the ... sounds of the city." The two women were now showing their amusement at Matti's tortured attempt to dig himself out of the hole he had created for himself. He obviously hadn't been very successful, as he was only digging himself in deeper.

Dawn finally eased his discomfort as she said, "I know what you mean, Matti. It's so relaxing being out in nature, instead of listening to all the traffic and ... other 'distractions' here in Thunder Bay." She had managed to get one final dig in with her last statement.

Yvonne rescued everybody from the seemingly endless cycle of apologies, explanations, and verbal jousting that they had apparently embarked on. "I am really amazed that Dawn has connected with her previously unknown, inner, sports ... fisherperson. I guess that's the politically correct way to refer to it. I've known Dawn for years, and I would never have guessed she was capable of keeping that side of herself hidden from me. Not just from me, either. She's kept it hidden from even herself, I think. It's almost all she's talked about since you dropped her off here the other night. She was very insistent that I enjoy a meal that she not only prepared, but had caught as well."

Matti was grinning as he answered, "I'm just glad I was able to provide the opportunity for that to take place. I've fished all of my life, and enjoyed pretty well every minute of it. Dawn isn't the first person I've helped get started in the sport, but I have to say that she's the most enthusiastic I've seen. She's also very good at it. No offense, but I think she's one of the very few women I've met who are willing to bait their hook, or remove the fish from it when they catch one."

The three of them continued to chat for the next few minutes before Matti reminded them that they had a two hour drive ahead of them, and that they should get on the road. With that said, Matti and Dawn collected her various bags and equipment to take it all down to Matti's truck. Included were her new fishing rod, a cooler, a medium-sized piece of luggage, a box, and her laptop bag. As they stood waiting for the elevator to arrive, Matti jokingly asked, "Which of these has the kitchen sink in it?"

Dawn's answer was made in a voice full of faux indignation. "It's a small sink, and it's in my suitcase." They were both laughing as they stepped onto the elevator.

### * * * *

The drive to Lake Watchanabi seemed to be over quickly, as the two of them spent the entire trip in casual conversation. In particular, Dawn talked a lot about her interview with him, and how well she thought it looked in its final form for broadcast. Her enthusiasm spilled over to Matti, and he was genuinely looking forward to seeing the DVD version once they got to the camp. A good portion of the drive was spent by Matti's explanation of more of the details of his business to Dawn. She seemed quite interested in what he had to say, and he suggested she should ask the station if they would like to have her do one of her in-depth reports on the drilling industry. He had always believed that very few people understood the business, and its relationship to the development of new mines, as well as its importance in the exploration for new mineral deposits.

### * * * *

They hadn't made any sightings of wild game on the entire trip, and as they bounced along the rough lane from the mine road to the camp Dawn commented on that. "I'm all prepared for when we see some wildlife this time. I brought my digital camera with me, so we can get some quality pictures if we have the chance. Wouldn't you know it; we didn't see a single thing along the road on the way here."

Matti just smiled and said, "It's always when you least expect it. That's been my experience, anyway. I'm sure we'll find some subjects for you to capture for posterity."

### * * * *

Once Dawn was settled into her room, and knew where the extra blankets and pillows were stored, they settled in the living room to allow Matti to explain to Dawn how to set up her rod and reel for the first time. The box she had brought contained a small tackle box with a number of items that the sporting goods store had recommended. Once the reel was on the rod, Matti showed her how to install the line, a leader, and how to organize her tackle box. She was an avid student, and insisted on doing everything herself, once Matti explained the procedures. When everything was together, it took all of Matti's persuasive powers to convince her that they should have their supper first, and that after that they would go out on the dock and he would teach her various methods of casting her bait. He thought to himself that he had rarely seen anyone so anxious to learn everything they could about sport fishing.

Matti had brought a large pot of homemade stew that he had prepared at his apartment, and it was soon warming on the propane stove in the kitchen. Dawn had insisted on sharing the duties of bringing the necessary foodstuffs with them, and busied herself preparing a salad and bread for the meal. They shared the task of setting the table.

They were halfway through their meal when Matti said, "It's obvious that you have a real interest in fishing, but what do you think of hunting? Do you think you'd be interested in hunting deer or moose?"

Dawn stopped eating and thought about it for a few seconds before she answered, "I've never thought about that. I'm not sure if I would care for eating wild game, and I know absolutely nothing about hunting. I would like to learn more about it before I make up my mind."

They returned to their meal, both of them eating quietly, without much conversation, until Matti said, "As far as whether you'd care for eating wild game, how are you enjoying the stew?" He lifted his eyes to watch Dawn as she answered his question.

"I like the stew, Matti, but what does that ... Oh! What type of meat is this?" She had paused with her fork raised halfway to her mouth as she spoke.

"This is moose stew, Dawn. I hope you're not upset that I didn't tell you earlier. It just seems better to let people form their own opinion of the meat before they know what they're eating. It sort of avoids any problem with perceptions over reality. Please be honest with me, because I can get you something else. This stew isn't your only option."

Dawn had been considering what Matti was saying while he spoke, and just a few seconds after he finished she resumed eating the stew. After eating a couple more portions of the meat she stopped and said, "It still tastes the same, now that I know what it is. I still like it. I think you're right when you say that preconceptions could play a large part in whether someone enjoys eating wild game, or not." When she had finished her meal she added, "I can tell now that it's slightly different in taste from the beef that I thought it was. It's just a different flavour." With that information Matti was finally able to relax, as he had been concerned that his method may not have been appreciated.

### * * * *

After finishing the meal with tea and cookies, they quickly washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. It seemed to Matti that they worked well together, and his imagination was soon working overtime as he contemplated the directions their relationship could take. He was beginning to hope that perhaps their shared experiences at his camp might one day lead to them getting closer. One thing was certain, though - he fully intended to let Dawn control that decision for now. He didn't want her to think he had convinced her to come to the camp for the weekend under false pretences. He just knew that would be a wrong move on his part.

As soon as the kitchen chores were completed, Dawn practically dragged him down to the dock so that she could get started on further instructions on bait casting. They had just finished his explanations and demonstrations of the forehand, backhand, and overhead methods when Matti heard his satellite phone ringing. It was where he had left it, on the steps to the camp.

"You go ahead and practice, Dawn. I'm going to go and take this call. It could be important." As he sprinted to the phone Dawn began practicing with an unbaited spinner at the end of the line.

Matti was seated on the stairs leading into the camp, only half watching Dawn while he talked to Ernie Stewart. Ernie had called to report that the shipment of the two new satellite phones, various parts, and their food order had arrived in good condition.

"No, Ernie, I didn't rob a bank. I got a new source of funding; sort of a silent partner I guess you could say. Don't worry about it. I just need you to tell me if there are any problems installing any of the new equipment that comes up there, or if there is something else you need."

Matti was listening closely to what Ernie was saying, and didn't notice when Dawn's practice casts quickly became the real thing. His first real clue was when he noticed that Dawn had reached into his boat to pick up the landing net. She now had the main focus of his attention, while Ernie received only a small portion. He watched as she knelt on the dock and scooped the net through the water. A few seconds later the net emerged with what appeared to be a sizable fish. Dawn lifted it onto the dock and then held down the struggling fish, still in the net, with her foot while she rummaged in her new tackle box. A moment later she pulled out a new fishing glove and a small pair of needle nose pliers.

It was obvious the fish was fairly large, and as Dawn lifted it up a bit to try to remove the hook, Matti could see that it was a northern pike. He immediately put his hand over the phone and called out, "Watch your fingers, Dawn. That's a pike, and they have sharp teeth."

Dawn hollered back an acknowledgment, so Matti returned his attention to Ernie, and his explanation of the latest repair that had been necessary to the number three drill. "Okay, Ernie. I've got that. I'll try to get a replacement bearing on Monday, so that I can ship it to you on Tuesday's plane. Tell them to keep a close eye on it, and to make sure it stays cool. If it seizes, the shaft could get scored. That would be a lot bigger job to replace." A minute later the call ended, and Matti started walking towards the dock to see what Dawn was up to. He arrived just as she put the pike on the stringer.

Matti hefted the stringer and said, "Congratulations, Dawn! That should be about an 8 pound northern pike you just caught. It is edible, but there will be a lot of bones to watch out for. I actually like the taste of them, but I thought I should warn you."

Dawn was grinning and excited as she said, "I caught that without even any bait on the hook! It was my longest cast so far, and I knew right away that it was a big fish that took the lure. It was a lot harder to reel in than the ones I caught on Wednesday. It sure makes the cost of the equipment and fishing license seem worth it. I know I'm going to have so much fun fishing."

After sharing a few more words, Dawn went back to practicing her casting, and Matti returned to the camp to add a couple of additional items to his list of required purchases. When that was finished he took a quick glance out the kitchen window to confirm that Dawn was still fully engrossed in her practice session. Once he was satisfied that he had a few minutes to himself, he lifted down the plastic container that contained the hidden cash. In just a couple of minutes he had a $10,000 bundle tucked inside his shirt, and was carefully covering the bag with rolled oats. While he'd been doing this, he continued to glance out the window at the dock, confirming that Dawn was still fully involved in her practice. With everything in the kitchen back in place, and his bundle of cash safely sealed in an envelope at the bottom of his gym bag of clothing, he returned outside to go down to the dock.

### * * * *

Dawn practiced for another half hour before she decided to ask Matti, "I think that's enough practice, for now. What I'd really like to do is go out and do some casting for real; you know what I mean, some real fishing. It shouldn't get dark for at least another hour, should it?"

Matti grinned and replied, "I can see you're getting anxious. Sure, why not? Let's go out and see if you can catch something, now that you're legal and practiced up."

It didn't take long for them to load what was needed into the boat and get under way. This time Matti took them to the channel between the island where the plane had crashed, and the lakeshore. As he explained to Dawn, "There is usually good fishing along here. Just try casting towards the shore, because there are some deep holes where the pickerel sometimes congregate. If we don't catch anything, we can always go back to where we were fishing on Wednesday."

As it turned out, they spent almost an hour there, and both of them caught a couple of nice pickerel. Once again Dawn looked after her own fish, with the exception that Matti used the landing net to get them in the boat for her. She returned the favour, bringing both of his fish into the boat. As they fished they learned more about each other.

"So tell me something, Matti. Do you have a girlfriend, someone special in your life?"

Matti sighed, and ruefully said, "Not anymore. I used to go out with a University student, her name was Amber, a couple of years ago. Actually we had talked about moving in together, but it all faded away and she transferred to Queen's University to get a degree in Geology. Too much distance, and then she met somebody at the University. Since then I haven't dated anyone special." He looked up at Dawn who was busy replacing her minnow and asked, "How about you? Are you in a relationship with anyone in particular?"

Dawn's reaction was much like the one Matti had given. After she cast her bait she answered, "I don't date all that much, to be honest. I ... had some ... bad experiences when I was ... younger, and I still haven't fully gotten past that." She had reeled in her line while she spoke, and cast once again, landing the lure almost exactly where her last cast had dropped into the water. Matti had been watching, and thought to himself that Dawn was a natural at fishing, and had mastered everything she'd tried to far.

"So what was the problem, Dawn? Anything you'd like to talk about?"

Dawn coloured in apparent embarrassment, and quickly answered, "No ... no, I'd really not care to talk about it. It's a phase of my life that I'm really trying to forget."

She didn't volunteer any more information so Matti quickly backed off. "I'm sorry I asked, Dawn. I wasn't trying to pry." In an obvious attempt to change the subject he asked, "Would you like to try another spot? There is a weed bed up the shoreline about a third of a mile. We probably have enough time to give it a try before we head back to the camp." After Dawn's quick agreement, Matti started the outboard motor and they were soon fishing once again, a little further down the lake. They quickly caught another fish each.

### * * * *

There was just enough light for them to fillet the fish that they had caught. Matti filleted the pike Dawn had caught earlier, showing her the Y bones that would be left in the flesh of the fish. After he was finished demonstrating the method for filleting a pickerel, using his own three fish as the pattern, Dawn insisted on trying her hand at it. She managed to fillet the three fish she had caught, not as expertly or as quickly as Matti would have done it, but in an acceptable manner. She was very proud of her newfound talents.

After cleaning up, they had just sat down in the living room to watch the fading light on the bay while the sun set, when Matti's phone rang.

Once he found out it was his friend John Forbes calling, Matti said, "Hi, John. How are you doing? Does the OPP need more information about the plane crash, or Bert Fontaine's ... death?"

His friend chuckled and replied, "No, Matti. I wasn't calling for anything about my job. I was wondering if you were up to having company tomorrow. I have the day off, and Emily's parents would like to have Diane for the day. I thought my wife and I might come out to your camp, if you didn't have plans. Maybe do a little fishing, and a bit of catching up. I know it's very short notice, so don't be shy about saying no."

"I ... I don't see a problem, but I do have a guest here for the weekend. Just let me check with her."

Matti muted the phone and asked Dawn, "My friend John Forbes, and his wife, were thinking of coming out during the day tomorrow. Would that be okay? It would just be for the day, probably to do a bit of fishing. My boat has room for two more, so it wouldn't affect you and I very much, I don't think."

Dawn didn't hesitate before she answered, "Whatever you'd like is fine with me, Matti. I thought we might do a bit of hiking, but as you probably could see, I'm fine with fishing too." Her smile and quick response settled the question for Matti.

"That should be fine, John. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Any idea what time you'll get out here?"

The two old friends exchanged a few more pleasantries before ending the call. "John and Emily will be here around 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. I think you'll like his wife; she's about our age."

### * * * *

A little later, when only a little of the daylight was left in the sky, Matti asked, "I was thinking of having a beer, but I realize I never asked what you might like to drink. I'm afraid that's all there is here." He was suffering from the embarrassment of having to acknowledge that he hadn't thought about her interests on the subject.

Dawn laughed and answered, "That's okay, Matti. I drink wine once in a while, but beer is fine." She laughed again and added, "I guess there isn't any further proof needed that you didn't find a bag full of money out here. If you had you'd probably be asking me if I wanted a glass of champagne."

Matti was already headed to the refrigerator in the kitchen, so Dawn didn't see the startled look on his face. He quickly recovered and answered, "You're right about that. No money, no champagne. Beer's all I can afford on my budget."

Dawn refused his offer of a glass, and within a couple of minutes the two of them were seated side-by-side on the sofa watching the DVD version of her weekend show. To all intents and purposes he was watching the TV show that, in reality, would not be seen by the public until the next afternoon. He had never thought about it, and always assumed that shows like that were live. Dawn soon disabused him of that idea, explaining that flubbed lines, and missed cues, would make the show more of a comedy than a serious program.

Matti was impressed that their afternoon interview had been smoothly edited into two separate ten minute segments, the first dealing with the plane crash, and the second with the visit and eventual death of Bert Fontaine. Almost everything Matti had said about what the biker had told him was included in the finished report. As he watched himself describing the ordeal he had gone through, he couldn't help but wonder if another biker would show up at his door, eager to continue the conversation. He certainly hoped not.

### * * * *

A little later, as Matti lay in his bed thinking about the events of the day, he couldn't avoid spending a lot of his time thinking about Dawn again, and how much he enjoyed her company. He sort of figured that her slightly evasive description of her romantic history was meant to discourage him from getting his hopes up. He understood that, and was quite willing to just enjoy her company for as long as it was offered to him. He knew he rather enjoyed teaching her about fishing, and all of the related areas of expertise.

In the next bedroom Dawn was having similar thoughts, except they were from her perspective. She knew that Matti was not the kind of guy that she would ever deserve, but she certainly enjoyed herself when she was with him. Just as she had on many previous occasions, she kicked herself for not having a proper relationship with her parents and younger brother. They could've been the ones who had taught her to enjoy fishing and the outdoors, if only she had given them the chance. She decided that it was only logical that the decisions you make early in life would set the course for the rest of your life. She sincerely wished that it wasn't so.

### Chapter 9

The next morning it took Matti a few seconds to figure out what had woken him up. It was obviously early, and a quick check of his wristwatch showed him it was only 7:30. He soon decided that it was probably the smell of coffee brewing that had done it. For a further few seconds he couldn't understand how that could be, but that confusion soon cleared when he remembered that Dawn had spent the night with him at the camp. He was dressed in no more than a minute, and another few seconds allowed him to run a comb through his hair, brush his teeth, and check out his face in a mirror. He quickly decided he was sufficiently presentable.

Dawn was pouring herself a cup of coffee when he walked into the kitchen, and she immediately grabbed another mug when she saw him. "Good morning, Matti. I hope you don't mind that I made myself at home. I think the need for a cup of coffee first thing in the morning is hardwired into my DNA. Are you joining me?"

"Yes, please, Dawn. I never turn down a strong cup of coffee. Just black for me."

They sat at opposite ends of the table, and there was no further conversation until they each had taken a sip of the hot brew.

"I can't remember when I've slept as soundly as I did last night, Matti. It must've been all the fresh air that I got yesterday. If that's the reason, I should sleep even better tonight."

"Yes, that might be the case. I'm sure that John and Emily will want to make the most of their day out here. We could end up pretty busy. We'll have a couple of hours before they get here, though, and if you'd like, we could go for a little hike up to the top of the hill behind the camp."

Matti's suggestion was quickly accepted by Dawn, and by 8:30 they were approaching the top of the hill. A spectacular view of the lake as it extended off into the distance lay right in front of them.

"This is a wonderful view, Matti. I'm so glad I brought my camera with me." Dawn took a number of scenic photos before putting the camera in timer mode and placing it on a convenient boulder so that they could have a photo of the two of them with the camp and bay in the background. The picture showed them standing comfortably shoulder to shoulder.

### * * * *

They took a longer route back, and had just arrived when a late-model, dark blue, pickup truck stopped beside the camp. Introductions were made, and after Matti pointed out the sauna, boathouse, and storage shed, they all went into the camp where a quick tour of the layout took place. While the two women stayed in the camp to have a cup of coffee and freshen up, Matti and John went to set the boat up for their planned fishing excursion. Matti added a second motor to the transom, this one a much smaller one capable of moving the boat at the slow speeds necessary for trolling, and got a spare minnow bucket for John to use.

In just a few minutes they were on the water, and Matti was explaining the latest fishing lesson to Dawn. Trolling was much simpler, amounting to nothing more than letting 50 or more feet of line, with the bait attached, trail in the water as the boat moved slowly through promising areas. It was simpler and safer than having four people trying to cast from the same boat. Matti had his fish finder operating, and pointed out two schools of fish that they passed over. At the second school both Dawn and John got strikes, and two nice pickerel were soon on the stringers. Just a few minutes later first Emily, and then Dawn caught fish. By noon everyone had at least one on a stringer, and the women had out counted the men. It was on that note that they broke for lunch, with the two women hurrying to the camp to get it started, while the men took care of the fish.

### * * * *

After a simple lunch of soup, sandwiches and fresh fruit salad, the group headed back to the lake. Fishing formed only a part of the agenda, as Matti used the speed and power of his larger Yamaha outboard motor to tour the main body of the lake. The east end had a number of scattered camps, as well as a small Provincial Park with a public boat launch. There were so many meandering bays and good fishing spots that not many of the boats plying the waters of this end of the lake ever made it to the west end of the lake where Matti's camp was located. That end of the lake had been closed for further private development of camps a number of years earlier, but the camp that Matti's parents had built was grandfathered in.

Later, when they had returned to the west end of the lake, they cruised past the small island where the remains of the crashed plane were clearly visible. Emily Forbes had wanted to see it, after hearing about it from news reports and her husband's description. At Dawn's suggestion they also made a stop at the big island where the ill-fated plane clipped the trees that brought it down. She made the lighthearted suggestion that they might find the missing bag of cash that was claimed to have been on the plane.

Matti went along with Dawn's request so that none of the others would have any cause to question his reluctance. He did let everyone know that although it wasn't obvious from the shoreline, the island was heavily treed, with a lot of downed trees and brush to bar their way. Within fifteen minutes the others could relate positively to Matti's description, and they beat a hasty retreat from the mosquitoes and black flies they encountered in the shaded forest. The phantom black bag remained undiscovered, but their short hike did provide them with a very different impression of nature when compared to the area surrounding Matti's camp. Over the years all of the brush and debris in that area had been cleared away, and even the detritus of rotting trees and stumps had been raked away.

With their grand tour of the lake complete, and their short foray into the wilds of the big island having been quickly aborted, they returned to their primary interest - fishing. By five o'clock they had reached their limit, both in the sense that they had no interest in sitting in a boat for any longer, and that they had all reached their legal limit for the number of fish in their possession. It was a happy group that stowed away their fishing equipment for the remainder of the day.

### * * * *

This time the two women relaxed on lawn chairs while the two men quickly filleted and cleaned up the remains of the fish. Matti's white bucket was now two thirds full with the remains of the fish, and Dawn quickly suggested that Matti should empty it after supper, so that John and Emily could watch the show the scavengers might provide. She had told Emily about what happened the last time, and Emily wanted the chance to see nature in its raw form for herself. Matti quickly agreed.

There was now a large platter of fresh pickerel fillets ready for their supper, and Matti and John told the women to sit down and enjoy themselves for a change. The men were going to prepare supper.

### * * * *

"Well, guys, that was a really good supper." Emily was speaking for herself, but Dawn very quickly added her agreement. All four of them were sitting around the table, fully sated by the meal the men had prepared. A few french fries, one piece of fish, and a small serving of coleslaw were all that remained of the food they had sat down to.

After Matti had provided everyone with either a cup of tea, or coffee, depending on their personal tastes, he sat down and asked John, "I've been wondering if you've heard anything more about the shootout between those two bikers, and the cartel people. I didn't notice anything in the news before we came out here, and Dawn said she hadn't seen anything on any of the news feeds they get at their station."

John thought for a moment before answering, "I did read a draft of a press release that will be coming out early next week, so I guess I'm not giving too much away when I tell you this. So far, none of our detachments in Eastern Ontario has found any evidence of this shootout that Bert Fontaine described to you. No bodies, no drugs, and not even any evidence of where it may have happened. Since Fontaine didn't specify where it all took place, we'll have to wait until something gets reported, or until an informant fills us in. There is a report that the president of the Peterborough chapter, one Dave Carter, hasn't been seen in the last week. A number of members of the same chapter of the Wolverines Motorcycle Club have been holed up in their clubhouse, so our thinking is that something definitely has happened."

John paused, and before he continued he turned to face Dawn. "I know you're a reporter, but I would really appreciate it if you don't quote any of this information before it's released on Monday. I probably should've asked you that before I said anything. I don't think I'd get in much trouble, but I'm sure I would hear about it."

Dawn quickly agreed, and then smiled at John and added, "Mind you, I guess you'll owe me one. Maybe someday I'll ask for a bit of background color, or an explanation of some facet of a case. We're just out here having fun, and I left my reporter hat at home this weekend."

Matti laughed and said, "I think you mean your blue jacket, don't you? It seems to be a trademark of yours." Dawn laughed in agreement, after which Matti asked John, "Those three schemers sure paid a price for their decision to rip off the Diegos cartel, and their own club. All three of them are dead now. No more Scooby Dugan, Jiggs Carter, or Dog Fontaine. They all paid the ultimate price for their scheme and betrayal."

John looked curiously at Matti and said, "Where did you hear Fontaine's nickname, Matti. I hadn't got to that part of the story yet. Unless you heard it from him, and forgot to mention it."

"I guess I must've just read your mind, John." He paused long enough to give John the chance to think he wasn't pulling his leg before he continued. "No, actually Dawn mentioned that to me. I guess you're not the only source in the OPP."

Dawn looked a little shocked as she reacted to having all three of the others at the table looking her way. She quickly said, "Yes ... I do ... I have a ... contact in the OPP I sometimes get information from."

There wasn't much more for John to add, now that Matti and Dawn had made their little additions to the conversation. They almost immediately dropped the subject when Emily suggested that the women clear the table and wash the dishes. In the end the men assisted them so that they could get back outside. Emily and Dawn still wanted to see the show that the birds would give them when Matti delivered their smorgasbord.

### * * * *

An hour later Matti and Dawn were waving goodbye to the departing Forbes' pickup as it slowly drove away down the laneway from the camp. Their trip to feed the birds had succeeded even more than the first time Dawn had witnessed it. This time there were a total of eight Ravens and an Osprey, as well as the Bald Eagle that had also made its appearance. The birds were too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice the boat slowly drifting closer so that Dawn and Emily could get some good photographs of the scene.

As Dawn and Matti turned back towards the camp after the departure of their guests, Matti asked, "I'm planning on having a sauna before I go to bed. Do you think you'd like to join me, Dawn?"

Dawn looked a little flustered as she said, "You ... mean together? I ... I don't think so. I mean ..."

Matti rushed to correct her, not wanting her to think that he was trying to push her into something she might not want and said, "I do mean together, Dawn, but not the way you think. We'd both be covered with a towel. I'm not trying to ... assume something."

Dawn still looked uncomfortable, but she's answered, "I ... guess so. As long as you're serious about the towels." She finally relaxed when Matti had a good laugh at her expense and assured her he really was serious about the towels.

### * * * *

Matti had gone to light the fire in the sauna so that it would be ready for them. Once he returned he explained that after the sauna it was customary for his family to dive into the lake from the end of the dock to rinse off, and to cool off as well. He assured Dawn that she didn't have to do that if she didn't want to, as there was a small shower in the sauna building that was fed by an on-demand water heater. She could also use it if she wanted to wash her hair. This new information sort of shook Dawn up again, but once more she was reassured when Matti laughingly said that he would be following tradition, and if she wanted to skinny dip with him after they'd been in the sauna she could. He told her he wouldn't peek, but he expected the same consideration from her. Dawn finally convinced herself that since Matti had been as good as his word so far, she would take the chance.

It was just after dark when they left the camp to walk over to the sauna, each of them dressed in nothing more than a towel wrapped around them. Matti had given her a pair of rubber sandals to wear, and they both carried dry towels for after their sauna. Dawn was nervous, seriously wondering if she had carried her trust and faith in Matti a little too far, but she finally decided she was still willing to place her faith in her judgment of him. She knew there were times in the past when her common sense had been severely lacking, but she knew she would have to learn to once again place her faith in people at some point, and Matti had never given her cause to regret her decisions ... yet.

The heat hit them both like an avalanche when Matti tossed water onto the hot rocks around the sauna stove. Dawn knew that Matti was likely much more used to it, but she still didn't really understand how he could sit up on the top bench, when she was barely able to handle the heat where she was seated, on the bottom bench. They carried on a normal conversation while they sat there sweating in the pervasive heat. Just when Dawn had decided she couldn't stay there any longer Matti stepped down to the floor.

"I think that's enough for now, Dawn." He smiled at her and added, "I don't want you to melt, or decide you don't like having a sauna."

The two of them moved into the adjacent changing room and Matti said, "I'm going to go down to the dock, and dive in for a short swim. You can come with me, if you want, and I'm sure we can manage to get in and out of the water without any embarrassment. We've done that in the past here, when there've been couples out here who spent the night. It's easy. We take our dry towels with us. You turn around, and I'll take off my towel and dive in. I face away from the dock, and you do the same. When it's time to get out of the water we sort of reverse the procedure. I'll look away while you climb out, dry yourself, and wrap the towel around you. When you're ready, let me know, and I'll get out while you look away. Simple."

Dawn agreed that it should work fine, and decided that since it sounded like fun she'd give it a try. She hadn't been skinny-dipping since she was in her early teens. On top of that, what could happen in the water. She grabbed her dry towel and followed Matti as he headed for the dock.

### * * * *

Just as he had described it, everything had worked out perfectly. Dawn's only hesitation occurred when she asked him if he was sure that there wouldn't be anyone out on the lake that could see them. He laughingly reassured her that only the wildlife might have that chance. Ten minutes later they were walking back to the sauna, fully refreshed. Dawn did decide to properly wash her hair in the shower, and Matti waited outside while she did that.

It was while they were walking back to the camp that Matti managed to cause her some concern. It happened when he commented, "It looks like we may have a thunderstorm tonight. I can see some flashes to the south and west."

There was true concern in Dawn's voice when she replied, "Oh, God, I hope not. Thunderstorms really scare me."

### * * * *

Once they were both changed into something more appropriate than the towels wrapped around them, they met in the living room of the camp. Dawn had changed into a pale green tracksuit, and Matti was wearing a T-shirt and khaki shorts.

"God, Matti. I think I've had more firsts in my life here at your camp than everywhere else in the last five years. You're making me into a whole new person. Thank you for convincing me to have a sauna with you, as it was very enjoyable. Between the sauna, and the dip in the lake, I feel really refreshed. Thank you for being a gentleman, and not peeking when I dove into the lake. You didn't peek, did you?" Dawn gave an embarrassed laugh as she finished speaking.

Matti answered with, "I've enjoyed my time here with you, Dawn. It makes me happy to hear you enjoyed it too. As for not peeking, well, let's just say that I'm not going to say any more about that topic, one way or the other." When Dawn turned to him with a look of shock, he added, "I'm just joking with you, Dawn. I didn't peek ... as there wasn't enough light to see you anyway."

Dawn stared at him for a few seconds before asking rhetorically, "And just how do you know there wasn't enough light?" Matti just laughed.

"Would you care to join me in a beer?"

They each had a beer, and enjoyed it with some quiet conversation. Matti told Dawn about his parents, John and Liisa, and his sister Anna. He told her about their parents' deaths, and how his sister and he had come to an agreement for him to buy out the camp from her. He explained that Anna lived near Ely, Minnesota, in a home on a lake that she and her husband Bob King had bought. Anna had decided that a buyout would make more sense to her. She could already go fishing anytime she wanted, and they could always use the cash from the buyout to pay down their mortgage, or help with extras for their two children, twin five-year-old boys named Kevin and Keith.

"So that's how I came to own this camp, Dawn. My sister and her husband and kids usually come up at least once in the summer, and she can enjoy the advantages of the camp without having to worry about owning it." He laughed and shook his head before he continued, "In some ways she might have gotten the better part of the deal, because she can still enjoy it when she's here, without any of the responsibilities."

Dawn felt compelled to share some information about her family, and so she said, "My parents' names are Richard and Betty, and I have a younger brother, also Richard, but he's usually called Junior by everyone. We lived in Uxbridge, not far from Toronto. I ... I haven't seen any of them for quite a few years now. I think I told you we were ... estranged. They ... my parents, they basically told me they had disowned me before... and ... they didn't want to see me again. It's a long story that I really don't want to get into. It's ... pretty much my fault. I really miss my brother ... well, I guess I miss all of them, but it is what it is."

Matti was a little confused by what Dawn had just told him and said, "I guess I'm a little ... confused, Dawn. I can't imagine them saying that to their child. Haven't you tried to reconcile?"

Dawn looked away and answered, "I tried calling them a few times, in the beginning, but they would just hang up on me. Even my brother. I guess that's understandable, considering that he was in his early teens, and was living with them. Please, could we just not talk about that, Matti?"

Matti promptly agreed, and they changed the subject to their enjoyable day spent with John and Emily Forbes. When the conversation began to slow down Matti asked, "I couldn't help but notice, when we were in the sauna, that you have a bit of a scar on the back of your shoulder. Were you in an accident?"

Dawn instinctively moved her left hand to the top of her right shoulder, and then moved it back to her lap in obvious slight embarrassment. "It wasn't an accident, Matti. It's actually a burn." When she could see that Matti was expecting her to continue with her explanation she did, saying, "It ... I had a tattoo there ... and I ... I decided that I hated it, so I had it removed. It ... the clinic I went to made a mistake, and did too much at once. It burned the skin, and left it rough." She shook her head and added, ruefully, "It ... it was a big mistake getting it, and I wanted it gone. I don't like the mark that was left, but it's better than what was there before. Please, I really don't like to be reminded about it, although every time I have a shower I can feel the rough skin."

A few minutes later, with their bottles now empty, they each returned to their room for the night.

Matti spent a few restless minutes thinking about Dawn, and the fun they had had that day. At the end, just before he fell asleep, he wondered to himself just what could bring a family to disown their only daughter. He couldn't come up with anything that seemed like a reasonable excuse.

Down the hall, Dawn's conversation with Matti about her family had reopened that old wound one more time. She fell asleep reliving once again the events of the last day she had seen, or spoken to, her family.

### Chapter 10

Matti and Dawn had both been asleep for no longer than half an hour when the first crash of thunder seemed to shake the camp, while the flash of lightning lit up all of the rooms like a powerful strobe light. Less than a minute later these events were repeated. Rain was beginning to pour down, rattling off the windows and sluicing down the roof to form streams running from the eaves. It was loud enough to partially rouse Matti, who often slept through thunderstorms and heavy weather.

The third loud thunderclap was followed almost immediately by the sound of Dawn's feet hitting the floor and the rustle of her movements as she hurried to Matti's room.

It was either some noise Dawn had made, or maybe it was that sixth sense that people often have when they're being watched, that made Matti open his eyes. When he did he could see what looked like an apparition wearing a white robe. He was momentarily startled, and immediately sat up completely. "What ..."

He was interrupted by Dawn, and the anguish in her voice made sure he woke up completely. "I'm scared! Matti, I'm scared that lightning is going to hit us! What if it hits the camp?" Just as she finished speaking another flash of lightning, accompanied almost immediately by a loud crash of thunder illuminated the room. Matti could see that Dawn was standing there wrapped in a sheet, and she appeared to be terrified.

Matti was about to try to comfort her with words of assurance when that latest bolt of lightning spurred Dawn to further action. Still wrapped in her sheet, she literally jumped under the covers with Matti, and buried her face in his chest. It felt completely natural for him to put his arms around her and pull her shaking body even closer to him. "Don't be scared, Dawn. We'll be safe. The lightning will strike the hill we were hiking on, or one of the big trees, before it will ever hit the camp."

"I am sorry, Matti, but I just can't get used to thunderstorms. They've always terrified me. Can I just stay with you until it stops?"

"Of course you can, Dawn. These storms usually only last half an hour or so before they move on." Matti continued to hold her tightly for the next few minutes as the worst of the storm passed over them. When it seemed, minutes later, that the time between the flash of lightning and the roll of thunder was beginning to lengthen, he began rubbing her back, trying to soothe her. She was still getting tense with each loud crash, but slowly it seemed that she was relaxing a bit. Eventually he realized that Dawn had fallen asleep in his arms, and at first he intended to simply let her sleep until the low rumble of the thunder signaled that the storm was well to the east, and still moving. That may have been his intent, but before he could awaken her he drifted off to sleep himself, content with the scent of her shampoo and the grip of her arm around his back.

### * * * *

Matti awoke several times over the course of the night, and was surprised each time when he realized he wasn't alone in his bed. Each time it took a few seconds for him to remember that Dawn had joined him because of the thunderstorm. He would also remember that he had intended to wake her up so that she could return to her own room, but each time he decided he rather enjoyed having her with him, and he let her continue to sleep.

It was still well before dawn when he partially awoke and discovered that Dawn had turned to face away from him. His hand was lying against her bare stomach, and he carefully moved it up to her equally bare right shoulder before he once again fell asleep.

### * * * *

The morning sun had just begun to light up the sky went Matti awoke the next time. Once again he was disoriented at first, but he soon realized that his hand that shifted once again during his sleep, and this time his hand had found its way to Dawn's left breast. The realization woke him up completely, and he almost jerked his hand away. He was only able to stop himself from doing that by realizing a sudden movement might wake Dawn up, and the last thing he wanted to do was poison their relationship with accusations that he had taken advantage of her fear of thunderstorms. With that thought in mind he began to slowly move his hand away from its comfortable position, with the intention of moving it to a safe place between the two of them.

He only managed to move his hand an inch before Dawn said, "You don't have to move your hand, Matti. I think I rather enjoy it being where it is. Just don't think I planned this when the storm came up last night. I really do hate thunderstorms."

Matti wasn't sure what to say, but finally settled on, "As long as you're sure, Dawn." Her answer was to move her hand up over his, as a physical confirmation. They were both wide awake now, enjoying the moment. A few minutes later Dawn turned to face him, returning his hand to where it had been when she finished her move.

"I really hope this doesn't hurt our friendship, Matti, but it does seem right somehow." Matti murmured his wholehearted agreement, and they soon shared their first kiss.

One thing led to another, and another, and it was after 9:30 before they got up for breakfast. They had each made early morning trips to the bathroom to brush their teeth and otherwise freshen up, but these trips were followed by a long and mutually satisfying effort to get to know each other even better.

### * * * *

Matti and Dawn were quietly sitting at the kitchen table, each with a cup of coffee. Both of them were lost in thought for a couple of minutes, and the lengthy pause in conversation might have been awkward had they not both been taken up with their private moments.

The silence came to an end when Dawn was able to put into words the thoughts that had been bothering her. "I hope we didn't just screw up a good friendship, Matti."

The concern on her face fell away and became a smile when Matti replied, "I don't think we have to worry about that at all, Dawn. I mean, I can't see how that would happen, given that it was obviously something we both wanted. I can't picture not wanting you as a friend, no matter what happens. Neither one of us is in a relationship, nor have we made promises of undying love to each other. I think probably we're both a little lonely, and maybe we can be good company for each other, for however long it lasts."

"I think you're right, Matti. Neither one of us has any other prospects in sight, so for now we could be at least Friends With Benefits ... heavy on the friends part."

Matti gave her his best look of disappointment as he answered, "As much as I enjoy the friends part, I was hoping that the benefits part would get equal billing. I thought we were pretty good together with that part."

Dawn feigned mild anger and she said, "Men! Always worried about the benefits part!" Her face reverted to laughter as she continued, "Actually, I have to agree with you. We are pretty good together at both the friends part, and the benefits part."

### * * * *

After conducting a general cleanup of the camp, they decided to go fishing once again, hoping to fill their possession limits before they returned to Thunder Bay. This task was completed in just over an hour, without ever having to leave the bay in front of the camp. When all of the fishing equipment was locked away, and the last of the cleanup chores around the camp and the buildings were finished, they had a leisurely lunch, finishing up some of the leftovers from the refrigerator.

The last task Matti performed was to use his canoe to take the white plastic pail of inedible fish parts and food scraps across the bay to leave for the scavengers. Dawn was on the dock watching him with his binoculars, paying as much attention to Matti in the canoe as she was to watching the birds quarrel on the rocks. As he was gliding gently to a stop, with the nose of the canoe on the narrow, sandy, beach beside the dock, Dawn said, "You're going to have to teach me how to use the canoe, Matti. It looks like it could be fun."

Matti smiled and answered, "It can be a lot of fun, Dawn, but it takes more than a little bit of practice to be completely safe in a canoe. This cedar strip canoe is easy to tip, and if that happens while you're fishing, and you have anything of value in the canoe, you lose it pretty quickly. And even if you're a good swimmer, you need to be wearing a life jacket. Right now this lake water is pretty cold, as I'm sure you noticed last night."

Dawn laughed and replied, "I have to agree with you on that, Matti. I didn't want to say anything last night because you weren't complaining, but I was definitely ready to get out after about a minute or so. I did enjoy the experience, though."

### * * * *

They were soon on their way down the winding laneway to the road that would take them back to Thunder Bay. On the way out Dawn said, "I was hoping we'd find that bag full of missing money while we were out here."

Matti laughed and quickly said, "If it really ever existed then it's either burned, or it's somewhere at the bottom of Lake Watchanabi. Unless what's his name, Scooby, double-crossed his double-crossing partners. I doubt if any of them was very reputable, or had any sense of loyalty to the others, not even to their so-called best friends." As he spoke Matti wondered what Dawn would say if she knew that she had been sleeping above almost one and a half million dollars, or that there was $10,000 of the money in the bag on the seat just behind her.

Dawn turned to look out the side window of the truck as she replied, "I guess you're right, Matti. They weren't very nice guys. They lied, and they deceived, and they could have killed you too." A few seconds later she was asking Matti about his plans for the upcoming week.

### Chapter 11

Matti and Dawn quickly slid into the type of familiarity that had them calling each other nightly to exchange details of their day. Matti was busy arranging for parts, pieces, and equipment for his business, but when he wasn't doing that he was trying to come up with ways to 'launder' the cash she was trying to use to build up his business. In the past he hadn't wanted to commit himself to a loan for business purposes, but he quickly realized that having a line of credit with his bank would help him to mask the source of some of his money. The interest was tax-deductible, and he could regularly pay off the balance by purchasing money orders for odd amounts, making cash deposits by ATM, and generally by using his new wealth to live on. He knew that for the long-term he would have to come up with a better method, but at least for now he was able to rescue his business from the brink of bankruptcy.

Dawn was also busy early in the week, working on a project with one of their news anchors. It was somehow related to local politics, and was supposed to be presented as a surprise exposé. For that reason she didn't want to say too much to Matti, as it would possibly betray a confidential source before they were ready to make their name known. Matti wasn't very worried about local politics, so he let Dawn know that he was just as happy to be out of that particular loop.

### * * * *

By Wednesday they were both anxious to see each other, not primarily for the benefits part of their relationship, although it did play some part for both of them if truth were told. Dawn invited Matti over for supper, but let him know that her roommate, Yvonne, was away for a few days with her job. Matti, of course, quickly accepted Dawn's offer.

Dawn had made a delicious pasta with chicken recipe, and they shared a couple of glasses of wine with their meal. When the dishes were in the dishwasher they moved to the living room where they each enjoyed another glass of wine while they talked.

"I really enjoyed the meal, Dawn. You're definitely a woman of many talents. I especially enjoyed the trifle for dessert. My mother used to make that from time to time."

Dawn laughed wryly before she said, "I doubt that your mother would've made the trifle the way I did. Everything came in either a can, or a cardboard box. I just put them together, that's all."

"Don't sell yourself short, Dawn. The end result is the important part, and I enjoyed every spoonful. Even the best chefs on TV mainly excel at combination and presentation. You covered both of those features very well with the entire meal."

Later, after watching an old movie on DVD, a light comedy, they finished the last two small glasses of wine from the bottle they had started at dinner. During the movie Dawn had leaned back against Matti's chest, and he had enveloped her in his arms. They resumed this arrangement after they picked up their glasses.

When there was a lull in their conversation, and the glasses were empty on the coffee table, Dawn asked, "Can you stay the night, Matti? I think I'd really like that."

"Hmmm ... let me think about that. Okay. I'll stay." Matti was laughing at her as she turned to slap him lightly on the arm.

"You almost had me believing you weren't sure if you should stay. I should've known ..." She promptly got to her feet, grabbed Matti's hand, and said, "Come on, before you change your mind." They were both laughing as they went down the hallway towards Dawn's bedroom.

### * * * *

Early the next morning, Matti had just finished drying himself after he stepped out of the shower when the bathroom door opened.

"Whoops! Excuse me! I didn't realize anyone was in here. Oh, your Matti, aren't you?"

Matti was fortunate that the towel was in just the right position to protect his modesty, and to spoil Yvonne's view. As he repositioned the towel to obtain maximum benefit from its coverage, he answered, "Yes, that's me. You're Yvonne, right? You're Dawn's roommate. I'm sorry, of course you are. It's my fault. I should've locked the door."

Yvonne was dressed modestly in flannel pajamas, and was now a bit more comfortable as she said, "I just had to use the bathroom, and I wasn't expecting you. I heard the shower, and I thought it was Dawn. She's never had ... company overnight before. I wasn't expecting a man to be in here."

Matti tied the towel around his waist and smiled as he said, "No harm, no foul. I'll let you have the bathroom now. My clothes are in Dawn's room, so I'll just go get dressed." By this time both of them were beginning to see the amusement in the situation, and exchanged grins as Matti left the bathroom and closed the door.

As he closed Dawn's bedroom door Matti said, "I guess you may be surprised to learn that your roommate is back from her trip. We just surprised each other in the bathroom." The two of them had a good chuckle about the situation after Matti explained it to her.

### * * * *

Matti was on no particular schedule, but Dawn had to be at the station by 9 AM. They did have time for breakfast together, though, and chose The Scandinavian Home, a popular Thunder Bay restaurant better known locally as The Scand. It was obvious from their relaxed demeanour, and the casual comfort they had with each other, that the two of them were both happy with the state of their relationship. As they left the restaurant, each of them going their separate ways, their individual states of bliss were evident on their faces.

### * * * *

Matti spent the remainder of the week working on the improvements that he would be making with his company, invigorated by the almost euphoric happiness that he felt. He knew that it was his new relationship with Dawn that was fueling that feeling, but it was carrying over into everything that he got involved with. Even his sister Anna noticed that something was different when she called him Thursday evening.

"So, Matti, what's up? Last time I talked with you were down in the dumps about the business and your personal life. Tonight you're sounding more like the kid brother I grew up with. So something has changed. What is it?"

Matti had already been thinking about how he would explain his newfound financial windfall, so he replied, "Well, Anna, I was able to talk the bank into giving me a demand loan, and I think I've been using it wisely, so far. I was talking to Ernie, and I found out where the biggest needs were with the equipment, and I started addressing them. It's paying off already, because I checked in with Ernie just this morning, and they're already gaining on the work they were behind on. By the end of next week they should be right back on schedule, and if things keep up, we may even get into bonus territory by finishing early."

Anna sounded sincerely happy when she said, "I'm so happy to hear that, favourite brother of mine. I was afraid you were getting in over your head. Are you sure you're going to be able to handle the new loan? You know dad was always dead set against going into debt for the business. Anything can happen in that business."

Matti laughed and assured her, "I could almost hear him saying that when I signed the papers, but I'm very sure I can handle it." He had been wondering if he should mention Dawn to his sister, and decided that he would. "I ... met someone too, Anna. Her name is Dawn, and if things keep looking like they're working out maybe you'll have a chance to meet her when you and Bob are here next month."

"That's why you're so different! My brother's in love! That's great!"

"Geez, Anna, don't go overboard! We've basically just met, and even if everything seems to be working out well, it's too soon to jump to those kinds of conclusions. I probably should've just kept my mouth shut about Dawn."

The siblings carried on their conversation for another few minutes before ending their call. As Matti looked at the phone after the conversation was over, he said to himself it was sure nice to have family to talk to. It got him started at thinking about Dawn and her separation from her family. The more he thought, the more he felt it would be great if she could get back in touch with them, and he finally decided that he would see what he could do to make that happen.

Matti spent over half an hour on the Internet, searching through online directories for Dawn's parents or brother. He never found any listing for Winters in Uxbridge, although we did find two listings for the surname Winter. Neither of the Initials matched the names Richard or Betty, not even when he decided Dawn's mother was probably really named Elizabeth. He expanded his search to all of Ontario, and even called the three listings he found for Richard Winters, as well as the seven listings for R. Winters. None had any connection to Dawn or her family. Matti's best of intentions had come up totally unfulfilled.

### * * * *

Friday afternoon Matti picked up Dawn, and the two of them headed for Lake Watchanabi. They spent until the middle of Sunday afternoon together at the lake, enjoying the fishing, the sauna and each other. This time there was no need for either of them to avert their eyes when they went skinny-dipping after their sauna. Matti was able to teach Dawn how to canoe, and Sunday morning they used it to take a leisurely trip around the bay. By the time they packed up to leave the lake, they had agreed it was one of the most enjoyable weekends either of them had ever experienced.

There was more good news from Ernie the following week. The crews were happier with the improvements to the equipment, and were working longer hours, as much as the days permitted. The extra time spent at the job meant that they were back on schedule, and in fact had built up a bit of a cushion. At the rate things were going they would be well ahead of schedule by the end of the week. Given this news Matti told Ernie to let the men know that three of them could come out of the bush for a long weekend. One drill would be shut down completely, and Matti would go up to fill out the complement so that two drills could be kept running. He would do the same the following weekend, or find a replacement worker, so that the remaining three men could get a weekend. It meant that Matti wouldn't be able to spend the weekend at his camp with Dawn, but the morale of his workers was something that he wanted to keep up. They were doing a good job for him, and he felt he owed them something in return.

### * * * *

There was something else that Matti did that week. He had devised another plan for accounting for some of the cash he wanted to inject into his business. He began to visit the local casino once or twice a day when he was in the vicinity. He made a point of making one or two cash withdrawals from the ATMs in the casino, but the money ended up in his pocket. Oh, he would put a five dollar bill into a machine, play a penny a few times, but then he would move on. He would also partake of their free coffee, and occasionally he had a meal at the restaurant, but it was all about creating the impression he was a casino gambler.

On Thursday morning, before he drove to the airport to fly north, he stopped at his bank and deposited $4600 to his account, and made much of the fact that he had won it at the casino when he spoke with the teller. The lion's share of the money was in hundred dollar bills, but it was supplemented by the $20 bills he had taken from the casino ATM. Matti knew that he couldn't do this too often, but it seemed like it was a feasible way to account for some of the cash ending up in his account. He felt this method would work fine as long as he had the time to spare to let him sit around at the casino. There was also the danger that he might someday be tempted to gamble for real, but he didn't think that was in his nature.

### * * * *

The time Matti spent at the drilling site seemed to drag, once he had gotten past renewing his friendships with his employees. It was obvious that the three men who got to spend the weekend in Thunder Bay were quite happy with the arrangement. The first three to go out were the married men in the crews. There were a lot of jokes as they stood outside the plane, waiting for cargo to be unloaded. Most of the jokes were centered on the catching up that they planned to do once they got there.

Ernie had arranged it so that Matti would be working with him, and it worked out very well, as the two of them had a lot of time they could devote to discussing some of the company's equipment needs, and what the priorities should be. Talking together on the phone was one thing, but having Matti there to see the problems and suggestions in person made everything seem much clearer. Ernie still didn't understand how Matti could pay the bills for the changes they had been making, and those that were still in the planning stages. There was an awful lot of overhead to a business like this when you considered wages, travel costs and maintenance of the equipment. Once again Matti sloughed off the older man's concerns.

Tuesday finally arrived, and Matti was able to make the trip back to Thunder Bay. The aches and pains he was now noticing reminded him why he was happy to own the business, instead of just being an employee. He had forgotten how much he disliked slogging through wet, swampy, trails to and from the separate drill sites. The mosquitoes, black flies and sand flies were bad, and every once in a while a horsefly, or deer fly, would take a chunk out of an unprotected neck. By Tuesday he had been reduced to crossing his fingers in hope that all three of the men would make it back. Of course, missing a trip to his camp with Dawn added considerably to his misery. He did manage to talk to her briefly each day via satellite phone, but that could never take the place of being together with her in real life.

Less than 24 hours after his return to Thunder Bay he had found an unemployed friend of Ernie's to take his place as the swingman with his company. Since Mark Price had a good recommendation from Ernie, which was all that was needed for Matti to tell him he was hired. Mark agreed to sign on for the summer, and this would allow a reasonably steady cycling of his workers back to Thunder Bay. Having an extra body on site would also allow Ernie to do more repairs, maintenance, and installation of new equipment. It made Matti wish he had been able to afford to do this much sooner, as it had the potential to really help keep the job ahead of schedule.

### Chapter 12

On Wednesday afternoon Matti spoke briefly with Dawn, and invited her to go out with him for dinner. It had been the longest period of time they had spent apart since they met, and Matti was anxious to have this streak of days end. While they had spoken frequently by phone, Matti needed to be with her, and if her words were to be accepted at face value, Dawn felt very much the same way. As it was, Matti met her in the parking lot when she returned home from the station. It seemed they were both anxious for this first chance to get together, as they ended up in each other's arms at first opportunity. It was a good thing they were both hungry, and the reservation was waiting for them, or they might not have left Dawn's apartment at all.

When Dawn emerged from her bedroom and entered the living room showered, dressed, and made up for a night out, she had some news for Matti.

"Guess what, Matti! Yvonne has moved out. She got the transfer to Vancouver that she's been so anxious to get approved for. It's been her dream for a few years to work out of the Vancouver hub for the airline. She fully expects it means she'll get to do some international travel. They have a lot of flights around the Pacific, and she expects she'll be able to work on some of those routes. It all came together almost overnight, and she was all packed up and ready to go on Monday. She was so excited."

Matti laughed and said, "If we knew each other a little better, I'd put in my application for Yvonne's old position as your roommate." He thought about what he had said for a few seconds and added, "I guess I shouldn't really have said that, Dawn. I certainly didn't want to make you think I was getting ahead of things. Please ignore it. I was out of line."

If Dawn had been offended by his comments, she didn't show it. Instead she said, "I think for now I'm going to enjoy having the extra space, and the peace and quiet of being on my own. We can have this conversation another day." In just a minute they were going out the door for dinner at The Prospector.

### * * * *

Although it was common knowledge that nobody made money by going to a casino regularly, nobody at the bank thought to question the fact that Matti seemed to be coming in routinely with 'winnings' to deposit. He also began to build a similar paper trail using a casino in northern Minnesota that was only a short drive from Thunder Bay. He soon found he was able to make a weekly trip to that casino where he would exchange some Canadian $100 bills for US currency, make a withdrawal from the ATM, and exchange more currency at a local business, before returning to Thunder Bay. The US Currency ended up being deposited into a US dollar savings account at a different branch of his normal bank. He would end up carrying out these weekly gambling forays to the two casinos throughout the entire summer. His regular withdrawals from the cereal container at his camp became irregular deposits into his bank accounts after a variety of careful transactions on his part. It was all his secret, and he was fortunate to be instantly accessible by his satellite phone no matter where he was in Canada or the US. Only by analyzing his bank records would someone find out that he was apparently hooked on casinos.

### * * * *

In early July Matti's sister Anna and her family arrived for a week's vacation at the camp on Lake Watchanabi. With them staying at the camp there wasn't enough room for Matti and Dawn to stay inside as well, so they decided they would stay in a tent instead. At least, Matti suggested the tent, and Dawn finally agreed with much apprehension. She had never stayed outside in a tent, but she finally agreed to try it. Her last fears were swept aside when Matti reminded her that she had liked everything she had tried at the camp, even the naked swim after emerging from the sauna.

Matti and Dawn actually arrived before the King family. They had finished setting their tent up among the tall pine trees beside the camp just as their SUV stopped beside the camp.

"Welcome home, Anna and Bob. How are my two favourite nephews?" Matti's quick hug for his sister, and a similarly quick shake of his brother-in-law's hand barely left him time to prepare for the onslaught of his two nephews. As Matti knelt in front of them, the two young boys charged into his arms, almost knocking him down.

"Slow down, guys. If you knock me out I won't be able to tell you were all those good fishing spots are." Matti managed to give each of them a welcoming hug before he stood once again.

"Dawn, I'd like you to meet my sister Anna, my brother-in-law Bob, and the two roughnecks. The one on the left is Kevin, and the one on the right is his brother Keith. Anna, Bob, I'd like you to meet my ... girlfriend Dawn Winters."

Dawn laughed and said, "I'm very pleased to meet all of you. I guess you noticed that Matti stumbled before he introduced me as his girlfriend. Actually, we've never discussed our relationship that way, but I guess that if I'm his girlfriend, then he must be my boyfriend, and I'm good with that." She gave Matti a brief embrace when she finished speaking.

With the introductions made, and the relationships explained, the adults began moving in the suitcases and boxes of food and other supplies that Anna and Bob had brought. The two boys immediately ran for the dock, and then began exploring the lakeshore. After serious admonishments from their mother that they should stay out of the water, the adults continued unloading the SUV.

### * * * *

When everything was in its place the two men walked outside with a beer apiece while the two women began to prepare a simple supper. Since there were no fillets in the refrigerator, burgers, hotdogs and salad became the default meal.

As Matti and Bob stood on the dock watching the two boys as they explored the boathouse, Bob said, "I have to say that's quite a good-looking girlfriend you have there, Matti. Where did you meet her?"

Matti laughed and answered, "I guess I never explained that part to my sister. I know I told her all the details about the plane crash, and the guy who came to 'bump me off' a couple of days later. Well, Dawn is a feature reporter, and she came out here with her cameraman to get the story from me. Well, one thing led to another and here we are. She discovered that she really likes to fish, and we discovered we like each other. For now, we're just going to see where it goes."

Bob turned to the camp where the two women were now standing on the landing, calling for Kevin and Keith to come and eat. Dawn called out to the dock, "You two guys may as well start heading this way because we're going to sit down to eat as soon as we have the boys settled." To all appearances Dawn had fit in well with Anna, and the two of them were working together to handle the evening meal.

Bob laughed and said, "I guess we better get back inside. Dawn sounds as in charge as your sister usually does." The two men strode quickly back towards the camp.

### * * * *

As soon as they had finished their hotdogs, the boys started bugging their uncle to let them stay in the tent, instead of in the camp. Matti's answer was quick and emphatic. "If your mother says you can stay in the tent, I'll leave it set up for you when we go back on Sunday. For now Dawn and I are going to use the tent, because she hasn't ever spent the night in one."

Dawn wasn't so sure she agreed with Matti's answer, as she quickly volunteered, "Well, Matti, if the boys would prefer ..."

Matti didn't give her a chance to finish as he quickly cut her off by saying, "Sorry, Dawn, you're not getting off that easy. You've never stayed in a tent overnight, and I think you should get to have the experience. If Anna and Bob want to let the boys use the tent once we're gone, that should be okay."

As far as Matti was concerned, the conversation was closed. He had been looking forward to the privacy of the tent at night, because he knew that Dawn would have been uncomfortable with the idea of being intimate, knowing that Anna and Bob were in the next room. He didn't bother going to the extra effort of explaining that detail to the others, especially with the two young boys sitting there.

Later that evening, after the sun had gone down and the group had decided to call it a night, Matti and Dawn retired to the tent. Dawn was still a bit hesitant and asked, "You're sure there won't be any animals that we'll have to worry about out here?"

Matti laughed and answered, "Unless you think I qualify, the worst that might be out here is a chipmunk, or maybe a field mouse. I've got the two sleeping bags joined together to make one big one for the two of us, and there's an air mattress under that, so I think we'll be comfortable. Let's just get naked and try it out."

Dawn giggled and replied, "Maybe you _are_ the animal I should be worried about." The next minute was filled with feminine giggles, male chuckles, and the sound of clothing being removed, followed a bit later by Dawn saying, "I was right, you beast." Another giggle followed a few seconds later.

### * * * *

The rest of the weekend went very well. Dawn's mild concerns about spending the night in the tent were gone by Saturday morning. She had spent the night comfortably, and woke up refreshed. Her verdict was that she could see herself enjoying the idea of camping out in a tent. Saturday was spent fishing and exploring, with the first item of interest being the crash site on the nearby small island. Dawn volunteered the information that the Transportation Safety Board was going to be removing the wreckage for examination shortly. Her information, she explained, came from the Thunder Bay OPP public-relations officer. As an aside, she let Matti know that the final tests of the suspected drug residue had shown it to be almost pure heroin.

Just before they left the island Dawn said, "If any of you see the missing bag of money that's supposed to be out here, be sure to let me know. It would make a nice item on the evening news." Her remark may have been made in jest, but Matti's two young nephews certainly took it to heart. They managed to convince their parents to stay at the island a little longer while they scampered through the trees and brush trying to find the missing bag.

It was only after Matti said, "You can quit looking for that bag, kids. I found it a long time ago, and it's buried in my backyard." Neither Keith, nor Kevin, believed him, as they both insisted on taking one last look for it.

Even Dawn got in the act as she playfully punched him in the shoulder and said, "You never told me you found it!" Matti just laughed, while Dawn seemed to study him carefully.

### * * * *

Saturday night, after the two young boys were asleep, the adults enjoyed the sauna together. Dawn was now fully acclimatized to the heat, and joined Matti on the high bench, while Anne and Bob decided to start out more slowly on the lower bench. They didn't have a sauna available to them at home, so they felt it was probably appropriate to ease their way into the more sustained heat. Since they were going to be there long enough to enjoy several more visits to the sauna, they planned to work up to longer stays. Both couples planned to swim naked in the lake after their sauna, and it worked out very conveniently. While Matti and Dawn extended their stay in the sauna, Anna and Bob left together to complete the ritual. When they returned, refreshed and ready to quickly use the shower, Matti and Dawn took their turn in the lake.

On Sunday, after a late lunch of pan fried pickerel, Matti and Dawn left to return to Thunder Bay. It had been a very enjoyable weekend for them, one during which Matti reconnected with his sister, and Dawn got to know Matti's only close relatives. It was obvious that Dawn fit into the family group very well, as she and Anna developed a real friendship over the course of the two days.

### Chapter 13

The following Wednesday, while Matti was in the kitchen waiting for Dawn to have a shower before they left to go out for dinner, his satellite phone rang. It was Ernie Stewart, calling to let Matti know that he had an urgent need for a hydraulic fitting. When Matti reached to his pocket to get his pen and note pad, he realized he had left them in his apartment.

"Just hang on a minute, Ernie. I need to find a pen and paper." There was a drawer by Dawn's phone that Matti knew should contain what he needed, so he reached in and grabbed a pen and an old envelope to write on. Within a couple of minutes he had written down the pertinent information about the necessary fitting, and ended his call.

Moments later, Matti realized there was a piece of paper in the envelope, and he turned it over to look at the front of the envelope, wondering if he should have found something more appropriate to write on. The return address showed that it was sent from a clothing store that Matti was unfamiliar with, but the thing that really caught his eye was that it was addressed to 'Dawn Westenhover', although the address was the apartment he was presently sitting in. His immediate thought was that Dawn had been married at some point.

He was still trying to get his mind around this unexpected development when Dawn joined him in the kitchen. Matti immediately said, "I ... I was looking for some paper to write down a part number, and I grabbed this old envelope from your drawer. I didn't think there was anything in it, but I can tell now that there's at least one sheet of paper inside." Dawn didn't seem at all concerned, and was about to say something when Matti continued, "This envelope is addressed to Dawn Westenhover, but it's your address. Is that you? Were you married before?"

Dawn was obviously flustered, and was a bit red in the face as she answered, "No, Matti. No, I've never been married. I ... I changed my name. It was for ... my work ... to ... to give me a simpler sounding surname on the air." She began returning to her normal color, and her voice settled down as she continued, "The instructor in one of our classes at Ryerson, where I took Journalism, mentioned that having a simple, melodic, name could help when we applied for a job. That's why I did it."

Matti relaxed and said, "I wasn't meaning to pry, Dawn. I just needed something to write on in a hurry, and this was the first thing I saw. I'll find something else to write on and just put the envelope back."

Dawn told him not to worry, and to just tear off the section he needed. She checked the envelope, and it was simply a statement showing the account she had once held with the store was fully paid off. After Matti had used a pair of scissors to cut out the section of the envelope that he needed, Dawn tore up what was left and tossed it in the garbage. A minute later they were going out the door on their way to dinner.

### * * * *

It was the next day, after Matti had returned home from his night spent with Dawn, that a revelation came to him. When he had tried to search for Dawn's family, he had searched under her new surname. He quickly decided that he would make the search again, but this time he would search for the surname Westenhover.

Matti was confident that he was going to find Dawn's family in this search. He had quickly decided that his careless use of the envelope would pay a big dividend if he could somehow arrange for reconciliation between Dawn and her family. It was with a great degree of confidence that he sat down at his computer to make the search.

He was quickly deflated when he got no returns for the surname when he searched under the town of Uxbridge. It was when he did a province wide search that things finally looked up. There were less than a dozen listings for the surname Westenhover. He found one listing for Richard Westenhover with an address in Goodwood, Ontario. An online map quickly showed him that it was a small town only a short distance from Uxbridge. It was with very high hopes that he dialed the number. A minute later he hung up the phone in defeat, as there was no answer. When prompted to leave a message, Matti decided not to. He felt it was better to speak to the person at the other end in person. A voicemail message just didn't seem appropriate.

Likewise, Matti knew that he couldn't say anything yet to Dawn. Maybe things were as bad as Dawn had indicated, and he would be cursed at and hung up on when he got through. It was even possible that Dawn would be upset with him for getting involved. He had to think about this a little bit more

### * * * *

It was Monday of the following week when Matti finally did get through to a person at the number in Goodwood. It was with trepidation and a bit of excitement that he began the conversation to explain why he was calling.

"I'm calling to find out if I've reached the family of Dawn Westenhover."

After a couple of seconds delay the person on the other end answered tentatively, "I'm Richard Westenhover, and I have a sister named Dawn. Is ... Is Dawn dead? Is this the police?"

Matti was quite surprised by the questions he was asked, and quickly replied, "No, Dawn's fine. Just to confirm I have the right person, can you tell me your parents' names?"

There was some relief in the voice of Richard Westenhover when he quickly answered, "Thank God! Our parents are Richard and Betty Westenhover. Please tell me this is my sister were talking about."

"Yes, this definitely is your sister we're talking about. She told me she was estranged from her family, and I just wanted to confirm if that is true, or if she's possibly mistaken."

Dawn's brother's sigh was audible as he answered, "Yes, there were problems between Dawn and my parents, but that was long ago. Dawn stopped calling them at about the same time as they realized they had been too harsh with her. We ... We were beginning to believe she was dead. Every time there's been a report of a body, or the remains of a woman are found, we expected it to be her. Every time we hear of one of these cases, we give the police a call, and give them her description. They've always ruled her out immediately. There was always something that didn't match their case."

"Are your parents still alive, or have they moved away? Only one Richard Westenhover showed up in the online directory."

"Our parents are doing fine, but they were getting a lot of crank calls, so they changed their phone to an unlisted number. They still live in Uxbridge at the family home. I got married a year ago, and we bought this house when we found out we were going to have a family. Dawn has a sister-in-law Rachel, and a two-month-old nephew named Andrew. Can you give me her number, so that I can call her? Mom and dad will be absolutely thrilled to hear that she's alive and well. They've regretted the whole situation for years, especially how they reacted."

Matti thought about it for a second, and realized he hadn't considered the entire situation. He replied, "I probably should let her know that I've reached you, and that everything has been ... forgiven. I'm sure she'll be happy to get the news, but I realize now that maybe I've gone about this in the wrong way. You can tell your parents that she's fine, but maybe it would be better if I have you wait for her to call. I'll go over and talk to her this evening, and get her to call you. Is that okay?"

Her brother was obviously a little disappointed with Matti's suggestion, but he finally agreed it made some sense. As Matti hung up the phone he was nervous, wondering if he had perhaps opened a door that should have been left closed. After a few moments of thought he shook his head and decided that he had done the right thing.

### * * * *

It must have been fate that played a part in the next thing that happened. Matti was doing a search for a particular brand of drilling equipment that he was interested in learning more about. He soon noticed that one of the search results was for an upcoming equipment auction. It was to take place the following weekend at an industrial park near the town of Stouffville. Matti knew that Stouffville was somewhere in southern Ontario, but when he looked it up on a map he discovered it was not really very far from Goodwood or Uxbridge.

A quick study of the auction information showed that there were two diamond drilling rigs, described as complete, but in used, as is, condition. They were going to go on the block on Saturday afternoon. A thorough search of the list of equipment up for auction showed Matti that the rest of the items were much more related to the construction and warehousing industries. There were a lot of graders, compressors, gravel trucks and forklifts, but only those two drilling rigs that would be of much more interest to the mining industry. It made him wonder if there would be very many other bidders interested in them.

The germ of an idea had come to Matti. He spent the rest of the afternoon researching the particular brand and model number of the two rigs up for auction. He got some information from further online searches, but he also made phone calls to distributors and suppliers of mining equipment. He was trying to nail down a reasonable value for the equipment that was up for auction, as there was no reserve price on it to give him a starting point. Eventually he had an approximate range of values for what the used equipment should be worth.

The next step of his evolving plan would take place that evening when he dropped in to see Dawn. She wouldn't be expecting him, but there was a little bit of information he needed to get from her.

### * * * *

It was just after 7 PM when Dawn met Matti at the door to her apartment. "Matti! What brings you by this evening? I wasn't expecting you tonight." She smiled and added, "Mind you, you're welcome to drop in any time."

"I was just in the area, and I thought it might be nice to drop in for a cup of coffee with you."

Dawn quickly agreed that the idea of a cup of coffee sounded good, and they were soon seated at the kitchen table with hot mugs of coffee in front of them. After a bit of general conversation Matti decided to get to the point of his visit.

"It was sure nice to get to spend some time with my sister. I speak to her quite often on the phone, but it's always nice to see her in person."

Dawn smiled and said, "Yes, I'm sure you really enjoy her visits. They're such a nice family."

Matti hesitated before getting right to the point. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to get in touch with your family. You must find it pretty hard, not being able to get past your differences with them."

Dawn immediately became very serious in her appearance, and it seemed to Matti that her eyes were shinier as she blinked rapidly several times. "It is hard, Matti. I really wish things would've worked out differently, but my mom and dad made things pretty clear to me. Maybe ... my brother ... maybe I could try to reach out to him some day. He'd be old enough now that he might be able to make up his own mind about things, I suppose."

Matti smiled and said, "It sounds like you'd be willing to try, if they were."

Dawn sighed and shook her head before she answered, "It would be too much to wish for, I'm sure."

Matti changed the subject and let Dawn recover from her melancholy before he broached the next subject that was part of his overall plan. It was another five minutes before he turned the conversation to the area he wanted to get to.

"Is there any chance you'd be able to get away for this weekend? I don't mean going out to camp. I'm thinking a little further away. There is an auction near Toronto that I would like to go to on Saturday, and I'm wondering if you'd care to go with me, my treat. I was thinking that maybe we could leave Friday afternoon and come back on a Sunday flight. Maybe we could take in a show, or a Blue Jays game, or even just do some shopping at the Eaton Center, and we could have a nice dinner at a good restaurant."

Matti's suggestion obviously surprised Dawn. "I ... I don't know what to say, Matti. It would be sort of nice to take a trip like that together, but I can pay my own way." She laughed and added, "You're always looking after my weekend entertainment. It's your camp, and your boat, and we always go up to the lake with your truck. I don't want you to think I'm being all politically correct, but I think I should pay my own way this time."

They argued back and forth a bit before Matti finally conceded that she could pay her own airfare, but that he would take care of the rest of the costs, because it was almost all going to be deductible as legitimate business expenses. With that settled they moved to the living room sofa where they made out until Dawn finally convinced him to stay the night, not that it took a whole lot of convincing.

### * * * *

The remaining days before their trip to Toronto were busy ones for Matti. He arranged for their tickets and paid for them, in cash naturally. In turn, Dawn wrote him a check for her share of the price. Even with his line of credit and US dollar account, Matti felt that he might be short of the buying price for the equipment. To make sure he wasn't going to leave himself short, or not be able to pay his account with the auctioneer if his bid was successful, Matti made a quick round-trip to his camp. This time he brought the remaining bundles of cash from the cereal container. After stops at six different banks he had converted one of the bundles to a small stack of traveler's checks. The checks, combined with a $10,000 bundle of cash now allowed him to bid up to the maximum price he felt would be reasonable.

In addition to everything else he took care of, Matti was able to reserve them a room in one of the better hotels, as well as a rental car. He decided to leave any decision on seeing a show, or making dinner reservations, until after they were able to see how much available time they would have. He finally had everything arranged and taken care of by late on Thursday afternoon.

### * * * *

They were both excited as they got off the plane in Toronto, late on Friday afternoon. Their rental car was waiting for them, and it seemed like they were entering their suite at a major downtown hotel in no time at all. After freshening up they decided to eat at the hotel dining room, it being one of the better restaurants in the city.

Friday night in Toronto was a lot busier than a similar night in Thunder Bay. Both of them were familiar with Toronto, Dawn from her time at Ryerson University, and Matti from infrequent visits over the years. Most of his trips had been to the PDAC, or Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, conventions. He and his father had been to a number of them, as they were a good place to hear about upcoming exploration companies, and new mining developments.

Rather than have to worry about parking, they decided to take a taxi to the Eaton Center for a little window shopping, and then walked to the Ryerson campus area. They only stuck around for one beer at a bar that Dawn would sometimes visit, before they left. Neither of them felt that they fit in with the younger crowd.

"Was it just me, Matti, or did you feel that we were too old for that crowd?" Dawn laughed after she said it.

"Yes, Dawn, I know what you mean. I didn't think we were supposed to feel that way, at least not yet." Matti quickly joined Dawn in her laughter, before the two of them began a leisurely walk back to their hotel.

### * * * *

By 10 o'clock Saturday morning Matti and Dawn were driving in the general direction of Stouffville, as Matti needed to take a look at the drilling rigs he was interested in before the auction took place. Once your bid was accepted it's too late to check and see whether the item you bid on is worth the money. Their visit didn't take long, because the two drilling rigs were fully dismantled and packed on pallets. It was obvious to Matti that all of the expected parts and pieces were there, and he was very impressed by the state of the equipment. He had fully expected it would be well worn and needing rebuilding, but what he found on the series of pallets was obviously lightly used.

Matti noticed that he was the only prospective buyer checking out this particular equipment on offer in that auction. Everyone else was checking out the graders and forklifts, it seemed. Dawn was fairly interested in what she was seeing there, because it was all new to her. As they walked to the office so that Matti could register for the auction, Dawn said, "I'm surprised by the size of the drilling rig. I guess I was expecting something that looked like the ones they use for drilling oil wells."

Matti laughed and said, "No, they're not that big. Anything too big would be really hard to get into the places where we are required to go."

With the registration taken care of, they walked back to the car. As they did Matti said, "I have a guy I need to see about some business while I'm in this area. It won't take us long. The auction doesn't start until one o'clock, so there's plenty of time."

Dawn seemed a little confused and asked, "Why didn't you mention that before, Matti? I thought we might be going for lunch, since it sounds like we'll be at the auction for most of the afternoon."

"I didn't say anything because I didn't think we would have time for this side trip. Since my inspection didn't take very long at all, we'll have time for me to drop in for a short meeting before we go for lunch." He smiled to himself after he finished speaking, and a quick glance at Dawn let him know that she was satisfied with his answer.

### * * * *

It wasn't a very long drive to reach Goodwood, traveling on Bloomington Road. As they drove they were chatting quietly about the countryside, but Matti noticed that when they passed a road sign giving the mileage to Uxbridge Dawn had become restless in her seat. Fortunately it was only a couple of minutes later when they entered Goodwood, and Matti turned off the main road to follow the directions he had memorized from an online map. They soon pulled up in front of a neat bungalow with white siding and blue trim.

As he opened his door Matti said, "You may as well come with me, Dawn. This could take a couple of minutes." When she said that she'd stay in the car so that she wouldn't interfere with his business meeting, Matti insisted it would be no problem. Reluctantly, she got out of the car to accompany Matti to the door. While he was ringing the doorbell, she was glancing around the street at the other homes, obviously disinterested in what he was doing.

When the door began to open Dawn turned back to face Matti's business contact. The young man who stood in the doorway was smiling at them, and Dawn's first thought was that he really reminded her of someone. That thought didn't last for very long at all.

"Hello, Dawn. It's been a long time."

The look of shock on Dawn's face told the story completely. "Richard? Are you Richard?" When the smile and nod of his head answered Dawn's question in the affirmative, she stepped back and looked at Matti in confusion. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she finally was able to say, "Matti? Did you ... know?" The grin on his face answered her question.

Dawn was backing up now, almost as though she was ready to flee. Before she could have moved any further her brother was beside her, and his arms were around her. "God, Dawn. You can't imagine how happy I am to see you after all these years. I ... we thought you were ... we didn't know what had happened to you."

By this time Dawn was able to regain her voice and said, "I don't know what's happening. Why ... how did you know, Matti?" Dawn was now hugging her brother back, and there were tears in their eyes. While this reunion had been happening outside on the sidewalk in front of the front door, another woman had appeared in the doorway. She was an older version of Dawn, with perhaps just a few extra pounds filling out her body. Her hair was shorter, probably by a good 6 inches, and there was just a hint of gray scattered through it.

Matti had stepped back out of the way, not wanting to interfere with the family reunion. He had noticed Dawn's mother as soon as she entered the doorway, and could see the smile and the relief on her face. Tears had begun to slowly move down her cheeks. Her arms had come up, ready to hold the daughter she was afraid had been lost to her forever. It was at that point that Dawn looked up, and saw her mother.

Fear crossed Dawn's face for just a moment, as it was instantly replaced by joy when she heard her mother say, "Dawn, my baby! I'm so sorry for the things I said. Please forgive me!"

Dawn's brother Richard stepped aside with a grin on his face, anxious to let his mother and sister embrace. There were tears in everyone's eyes, even Matti's. Matti noticed another person had appeared in the doorway. This was an older man, his thick hair completely gray, but from his appearance he was obviously Dawn's father. He was almost the spitting image, albeit older, of Dawn's brother Richard. Not to be outdone by the rest of the family, there were tears in his eyes as well. He soon joined the others on the front walk, and in just a few seconds he was welcoming his daughter home with a gentle hug.

Matti was wishing he had a camera to record this event for posterity, but unfortunately it was something he hadn't thought of. While the four family members were busy talking and embracing, the doorway was once again filled. This time it was a young blonde woman holding a baby. She was patiently waiting, secure in the knowledge that her husband Richard would eventually introduce her to his sister Dawn.

It took a few minutes before all of the 'I love you', 'we missed you', and 'I'm sorry' words were said, and at that point Dawn turned to Matti and said, "I don't know how you arranged this, but thank you. I think this is the happiest day of my life." Introductions were made, and all of them made a point of thanking Matti for bringing the family back together. Even Richard's wife Rachel was thanking him. As they began to file into the house, Matti was invited to join them, but he demurred, saying, "I have an auction to attend, and you folks need to have some time together as a family. I'll be back later to pick up Dawn, after I take care of this business of mine."

As Matti walked back to the rental car, he couldn't help but grin to himself. Although there hadn't been any obvious reason for concern, he'd been afraid something unexpected would spoil the reunion. Instead, he felt it couldn't have gone any better.

### Chapter 14

The auctioneer was scanning the crowd closely, looking for the first bidder who could match his suggested opening bid on lot 171A. Matti was also watching closely, and what he was seeing was that there was no apparent interest amongst the other prospective bidders. It didn't appear that anyone else was interested in the two lots of diamond drilling equipment that had brought him to this auction so far from home.

The two lots, designated 171A and 171B were identical, each a series of pallets containing an entire diamond drilling rig, in pieces and strapped to the pallets. When Matti had returned from Dawn's brother's home to the auction site, he discovered the rigs he was interested in were halfway down the long list of equipment up for auction. It gave him more time to appraise the two lots, and from what he could see, they were worth at least as much as the highest value he had assigned to them, sight unseen. He had begun to wonder if they would go for a price outside of his financial capability. Even though he had $20,000 in traveler's checks and cash in his briefcase, there was a limit that he was not willing to go over.

After scanning the crowd the auctioneer said, "I'll tell you what, men. We'll amalgamate lots 171A and 171B into one lot, but we'll stick with my suggested opening bid. Who's going to make the first bid?"

Matti could see that the auctioneer's offer, essentially a 2 for 1 sale, didn't seem to be of interest to any of the other bidders, so after waiting for a few seconds Matti bid. His bid was made strongly, and was for barely a quarter of the suggested opening bid. He raised his bidder's card high above his head, trying to appear somewhat aggressive and very interested. He wanted the other bidders to know he would go higher to get the lot, if they tried to outbid him.

His bid didn't initiate another bid by anyone else, and after a few seconds of hopeful scanning of the crowd the auctioneer said, "Come on, men! This equipment had barely 6 months of use!" After a few more seconds of visually searching the crowd for any sign of interest, he went through the familiar sequence of, "Going once ... going twice ... sold!"

Matti could hardly believe his ears. He'd been able to buy both of the drilling rigs for a fraction of what he thought their minimum value would be. Within seconds the auctioneer was off to the next lot, a rather worn out forklift. Matti was headed in the opposite direction to the auctioneer's office, anxious to pay for his newly acquired equipment. Behind him he could hear a steadily rising series of bids. A lot of people must need forklifts, he thought to himself.

### * * * *

Matti had almost finished arranging for shipment of his equipment to Thunder Bay when his satellite phone rang. He was happy to hear it was Dawn, and by the obvious excitement in her voice he knew that her reunion with her family had been going well.

"My parents would like you to come to their house in Uxbridge for dinner. My brother and his family will be there too. We are all going to drive over there now, and we want you to meet us there."

"Of course I will, Dawn. Obviously you have had success with getting back to your family. I really am happy about that. I've got a little bit of work left here arranging for the shipping of the equipment I bought, but if you can give me their address in Uxbridge, I should be able to leave here in about half an hour or less."

Matti got back to the task of labeling and checking the pallets that would be on a truck headed for Thunder Bay sometime Monday morning. He was having it all shipped to the fenced storage yard of one of his main suppliers, an arrangement he had confirmed before their flight to Toronto. While he was looking after the task of verifying everything was labeled and secure for shipment, he had made a discovery that really made his day. One of the pallets in each lot contained a wooden box with multiple brand-new diamond core bits. The price he had paid for the entire lot would probably not have quite covered the price of buying those diamond core bits. A great day had turned out even better.

### * * * *

During his drive to Uxbridge, Matti had time to reflect on the events of the day. While he had started out with some fear about how things would work out when Dawn came face-to-face with her family, it seemed as though that meeting couldn't have gone any better. Likewise, he felt really confident that he had made a really good deal at the auction. It was always possible that the equipment was damaged in ways that couldn't be seen on the outside, but he decided that it was highly unlikely.

The clerk who had accepted his payment, made with all of his traveler's checks, $2000 in cash, and a check drawn against his business' line of credit, had mentioned to him that the drilling rigs were repossessed by a bank from a small startup firm that had gone into receivership. As he was listening to this explanation from the clerk, Matti was left wondering how close he had been to having his own equipment auctioned off. If he hadn't been fortunate to be in the right place, and at the right time, his own bank might have been the one doing the repossessing. While he still felt pangs of guilt over taking the money, and had some concern that another armed member of the Wolverines might show up one day, it was beginning to get easier to live with his actions.

It was almost 5 o'clock when he came to a stop in the driveway at Dawn's parents' home. When he knocked at their front door he was carrying his briefcase. He was concerned that the considerable amount of cash that was still in it, along with his paperwork from the auction, had to be kept safe with him. In just seconds he was welcomed into the home, and his briefcase was left to sit in the front hallway.

### * * * *

Dinner with the Westenhover family was a pleasant affair, as all of them, including Dawn, were still on a high from their reunification. Before they sat down to eat, it became obvious Matti's concerns over whether Dawn would be upset about him meddling in her affairs had turned out to be totally unfounded. Dawn was, as the British would say, over the moon. She seemed to be moving constantly, one second hanging onto Matti's arm, and the next second taking her young nephew from his mother's arms. From doing that she would move back to her father, taking time to sit on his knee with her arm possessively around his neck. It was almost as though she wanted to be doing everything all at once.

Later, after a wonderful but simple meal, everyone moved into the living room where Dawn talked about her job in Thunder Bay at the television station. She was regaling her family with stories about some of the people she had interviewed. As he listened, Matti felt compelled to join the conversation.

"I didn't think about it before we left, but I could've brought the DVD you gave me for that weekend show you did. It might have been nice to let your family see that one."

Dawn's face quickly changed from a happy smile to a look of concern, and she quickly said, "That's okay, Matti. Let's ... let's just forget about that one. I'll ... send my parents a copy ... as a surprise, after we get back to Thunder Bay."

Matti was going to say more about the subject, and suggest Dawn's family might like to hear more about it right then, but Dawn quickly changed the subject to fishing, and how much she enjoyed it. Matti was soon involved in that conversation as he described to the others how well Dawn had taken to the sport.

### * * * *

Later that evening, as they drove back to their hotel in Toronto, Dawn was holding tightly to Matti's hand as she said, "I don't know how to thank you for what you did for me. I guess I should include what you did for my family, as well. We had a really good long talk at my brother's house, and I think we took care of all of our lingering concerns. I just couldn't believe that my parents' attitude had changed so much." She stopped speaking, and when Matti looked over at her, he could see that she was close to tears. After a couple more moments she continued, "I guess it wasn't just my parents' attitude that was changed. My own feelings have changed an awful lot over the years, as well."

As they continued their drive into Toronto Matti described what had gone on at the auction, and about how good the deal he got seemed to be. "I know it can't compare to your reconciliation with your family, but this weekend trip may have been a gigantic step forward for my company. McEwen Drilling now owns five drilling rigs, and if these two that I just purchased don't present any unexpected surprises, we can now hire more people, and handle bigger jobs. If I can get these two new units up north to the jobsite quickly, and get them working, I know we can finish the job way ahead of time. That will mean a healthy bonus for my company, and I'll be able to share a part of it with my men."

Their casual conversation continued until they arrived back at their hotel. It had been a draining day for both of them, and after enjoying a pleasant shower together, they quickly went to bed. Later, in the darkened room, with Dawn snuggled up against him sound asleep, Matti continued to think about their eventful day. Just before he dropped off to sleep, it occurred to him that considering how much time he had spent with Dawn and her family, he never did hear what it was that had originally driven them apart.

### Chapter 15

They began Sunday with a very pleasant breakfast brunch at their hotel. They had been quite late getting up, as neither of them had set an alarm, and the blackout drapes had kept the sunlight out of their room. It had allowed them to get up in the morning fully refreshed.

After they finished brunch Dawn made phone calls to her parents and her brother, for no better reason than that she could. As she explained to Matti, over the years that she had been apart from them, she had often been tempted to just pick up the phone and call them. She had always managed to find an excuse not to take up the opportunity. Now, she told him, she had every intention of making up for lost time.

There was time for a couple of hours of shopping along Yonge and Bloor streets, before they drove back to the airport for their return flight to Thunder Bay. Matti guessed that it was the long walk they had taken while shopping, combined with leftover emotion from the previous day, that caused Dawn to sleep throughout most of their return home. It didn't bother Matti, as he had enough to keep him busy. His briefcase was on his knees, and he was spending a lot of productive time reviewing the information on his purchase, and making a list of priorities for the next day. It was one thing to procure the equipment; now he had to make good use of it.

### * * * *

Matti and Dawn spent Sunday night together in her apartment, but there was no sleeping in possible on Monday morning. Both of them had a busy week ahead of them, and so after having coffee together, they each went their separate ways.

Matti's first task was to call Ernie, to let him know about the new equipment that was on its way from the auction site. Once again he had to reassure his old friend that he wasn't overextending the company's resources.

"Seriously, Ernie, this isn't a problem. I got a really good deal on them. Wait until you hear what is on its way. As far as I could see, they have had very little use, and there's no sign of any breakage or excessive wear."

Matti continued with the description of the equipment, referring to the notes he had made as he prepared the pallets for shipment. When he was finished, Ernie grudgingly agreed that it sounded as though he had made a very good purchase. After being updated on the status of the drilling job, Matti ended the call.

The next couple of days, while Matti waited for his equipment to arrive, were spent settling down his company's finances. He spent a lot of time with his accountant, explaining that he had a silent partner, as well as fortunate winnings at the casino that had helped turn his business around. With advice from his accountant, and the reorganization of his bank accounts, he soon had things under control. His accountant had taken him at face value when he introduced the fact that he had taken in a silent partner, and the bank seemed quite happy that he was making his loan payments on time. Overall, his finances were complicated, but it seemed that Matti had a handle on them that would be sufficient to explain where the money was coming from.

### * * * *

By the end of the week things were pretty much back in control for both Matti and Dawn. They were able to get back to their almost normal schedule of spending weekends at his camp. It was a schedule that they both enjoyed, and that they were able to keep up for the next several weeks. While they had never seriously discussed their relationship, each of them privately enjoyed the company of the other more and more with every day they spent together. The ultra-serious L word had not yet been spoken, but both of them had it enter their minds regularly. It was almost as though neither of them wanted to cross that bridge. Matti knew that in his own case, his failed relationship with his old girlfriend, Amber, probably had a lot to do with his hesitation to broach the subject with Dawn. He sometimes wondered why she didn't bring up the subject on her own. He finally decided that she was waiting for him to break the ice.

It was almost the middle of September when Matti had to make a trip to the worksite to check on progress, and to meet with the on-site geologists and technicians who were overseeing the operation for the company that had hired McEwen Drilling. He had gone up on the Friday flight, and was coming back as he normally did on the Tuesday return flight. In this particular instance, the turnaround time was considerably less than usual, and Matti was back in Thunder Bay several hours before his normal arrival. He decided to surprise Dawn.

His decision to drive directly to her apartment from the airport would have major ramifications. As he came to a stop in the visitors' parking area, he noticed a large, black, Ford Expedition pass him and pull up beside a group of people at the front entrance to the apartment block. He was about 40 feet away from them when he took a closer look at the group, and realized that there were two couples waiting to be picked up. What immediately caught his attention was that the two men looked to be considerably older than the two very young women with them. A closer look allowed him to identify the two men as probably being bikers, as both were wearing black leather vests so commonly associated with the clubs.

The vests alone wouldn't have been of that much interest to him except that one of the men turned away from him, and Matti could see the back of the vest exhibited a large crest of the Wolverines motorcycle club. The man turned back and took a look at Matti when one of the two young women with them said something and pointed in Matti's direction. He could see now that one of the bikers had an eye patch over his left eye, and both of them had their arms covered in the usual way with a large number of tattoos. The man with the eye patch gave him a long stare, and then spoke sharply to the young women who immediately turned away from Matti and became quiet. By this time their ride had pulled up, and after one more stare in Matti's direction, all four of them quickly got into the Expedition and pulled away. Matti was glad to see them driving away, as they immediately made him remember his almost fatal visit from Dog Fontaine three months earlier. He wondered if their reaction was one based on recognition of him, or if the whole episode was simply his overactive imagination. It dropped without notice from his consciousness as he went inside the apartment block and took the elevator up to Dawn's floor.

A couple of minutes later, when Dawn opened her door to Matti's knock, the surprise on her face was clearly obvious. "Matti! I wasn't expecting to see you until quite a bit later. What ... why are you in so early?" She seemed to be getting flustered now.

Matti just smiled and said, "The plane left early today. There wasn't much freight, and they had a lot of people there to unload it, so the pilot decided to get us home early. I suspect he may have had a hot date." He laughed and continued, "I'm sure his date couldn't be any hotter than mine. How are you, Dawn?"

Dawn had headed for the living room as soon as she let Matti in the door, and started picking up some empty glasses and beer bottles that were scattered around on the coffee table and end tables. "I'm ... I'm fine, Matti. You just surprised me. I have to clean this mess up."

Matti looked at the three empty wine glasses and the almost dozen empty beer bottles and asked, "Did I miss a party?" By this time he had begun to really notice the cigarette smoke in the air and added, "I'm surprised that you allowed your company to smoke in here. I thought you were pretty serious about this being a non-smoking apartment."

Dawn was walking quickly into the kitchen with her hands full of the bottles and dirty glasses as she replied, "I ... I had some company from ... the station. It was some of the ... cameramen and such. They just dropped in for a ... little celebration. I invited them over."

After having his offer to help rejected by Dawn, Matti agreed to her suggestion that he go and have a shower and get changed. He had enough clothing in her closet to change out of the work clothing he came in with. Without any further discussion, Matti took her suggestion.

Less than 15 minutes later Matti returned from the shower, dressed in clean clothing and with his dirty clothing in a small equipment bag. "Boy, you sure got that living room cleaned up in a hurry, Dawn." She had also set a small fan in the window to exhaust the cigarette smoke from the apartment, and it was already having a noticeable effect.

Dawn was just putting the last of the saucers that had been used as ashtrays into the dishwasher. All of the bottles and glasses had disappeared as well. Matti could hardly believe that she had managed to completely remove all of the physical signs left by her visitors. Even the coffee and tables were wiped clean. When the last of the smoky odor was removed by the small fan, it would be mission accomplished.

As she closed the dishwasher Dawn said, "I had hoped to get the mess cleaned up before you got back in town, Matti. It was just a little ... get together. I'm sorry if the smoke bothers you. I'll put the bathroom fan on as well. Hopefully the last of it will be cleared out really soon. I ... hated to tell them not to smoke. They're ... friends from the station, but I don't know some of them very well, so I didn't want to tell them not to smoke."

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. I think all of the guys up north were smokers, so I'm really used to it. Now, if you haven't had dinner, maybe we could order a pizza, or how about some Chinese food."

### Chapter 16

Wednesday morning Matti got to sleep in, while Dawn wasn't so lucky. She had a full day of work, with interviews scheduled with several of the local politicians and their staff. Talk in the city had been heating up about the upcoming municipal elections, and who would be running for mayor. It was the kind of situation that would likely keep Dawn busy for the upcoming days as various people tested the waters before declaring themselves candidates. She had already warned Matti that she would be expected to work long hours.

As a result, Matti got up somewhat after nine o'clock in the morning. It wasn't usual for him to get up so late, but he had nothing pressing to do. It didn't hurt that Dawn's bed was a whole lot more comfortable than the bunk bed he had been sleeping in for the last few days. After a shower and shave, he went to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, and grabbed the newspaper. Matti went into the living room to enjoy the two together, his coffee and newspaper, while seated in a comfortable reclining chair. For the next fifteen minutes that's exactly what he did.

There wasn't a lot of especially interesting news in the paper, and eventually he set it aside. He was just getting up to get the remote from the coffee table, so that he could turn on the television, when he noticed that the drawer of the end table beside his chair was partly open. When he tried to push it shut, it stubbornly refused to move. Matti pulled the drawer open to see what might be jamming it, and he noticed a small booklet that seemed to be the culprit. It was standing on edge at the front of the drawer, with the spiral binding to the top. The binding and about a quarter of an inch of the booklet's pages were above the top of the drawer, and were clearly the reason the drawer wouldn't shut. Out of curiosity, he picked up the booklet to see what it was.

That simple act had enormous repercussions for Matti and Dawn, although they weren't instantaneous. Matti flipped open the cover and discovered it consisted of maybe two dozen clear plastic pages, each holding two 4 x 6 photos back-to-back. As he looked at the first photo, his first reaction was to raise his eyebrows in curiosity, but that was soon followed by a loss of color in his face, as he reacted with shock when he realized what he was looking at. The photo was taken at an outdoor barbecue, and two of the people featured in the first of the photos were Thomas Dugan, the dead pilot of the plane, and Bert Fontaine, the man who had intended to kill Matti.

They were both wearing their black leather Wolverines vests over sleeveless T-shirts. The vests were the real deal, complete with a variety of cloth patches sewn in what appeared to be prescribed places. On the right side of both vests, near the top, were their nicknames. Scooby was stitched on Dugan's vest, and Dog was on Fontaine's. Both of the men looked much younger than the faces that Matti remembered from early June, and when he examined the picture closely he discovered the month and year in small print at the top of the photo. It was just over 11 years old.

Matti began turning the pages slowly, not recognizing anyone in the second one, but on another he saw a good photo of a man with the name Jiggs stitched on the right side of his vest. He would have to be the third member of the small group who had decided to rip off the drug purchase, Matti thought. As he leafed through the pages of the mini photo album, Matti found some more pictures of the three of them, as well as at least a half-dozen more members of the Wolverines. One that held his gaze for much longer than some of the others had both Dog Fontaine and another vest wearing Wolverine that Matti recognized. He was a grinning, bearded man wearing an eye patch over his left eye, and he had the nickname Popeye on his vest. Standing between the two bikers was someone else that Matti recognized as well. It was a smiling, younger, version of Dawn, and she had an arm around both of the men.

There were several other young women in the photos, and all of them, Dawn included, were wearing similar clothing. It consisted of very short shorts, and barely there, loose tops. It was obvious that none of them were wearing bras that day, and it was equally obvious that none of them tried to hide the fact. If anything they were doing quite the opposite, judging from their poses and that in a couple of photos some of the girls were completely topless.

Matti flipped back to the first page, the one that had initially shocked him so much. In addition to the two bikers he had recognized, the photo included a side view of Dawn, showing clearly the tattoo she had removed from her right shoulder. It was a smaller replica of the snarling wolverine symbol of the motorcycle club. The narrow straps of her nearly see-through top couldn't hide the tattoo from Matti's view.

Matti spent a long time looking at the pictures, trying to come to terms with what he was seeing. It felt strange to him to see this side of Dawn, a side he would never have guessed she had. He also noticed the changes that the three men he recognized had undergone. All three were sporting long, unkempt hair, and unruly beards in the photos. He could tell now why Dog had shaved his head, as there were obvious signs that his hairline had begun receding 11 years earlier. Scooby had suffered a similar fate, although there was no obvious sign of it in that earlier photo. In it he had a full head of dark brown hair. The man he had recognized earlier as Popeye had much shorter hair currently than he did in the photo.

Even Dawn's hair had changed, but not as much as he noticed on the others. It had been longer back then, perhaps by 4 to 6 inches, and it appeared she had favoured blonde streaks. Matti looked carefully at the other people in the photos, both men and women, but he didn't recognize anyone else. As it was, he had recognized one person too many.

As he got up from the chair Matti wondered if he should take the booklet out and get copies made of the photos, but he quickly decided against it. He knew what he saw in each of them; there was no need for a hardcopy. In a state of shock and confusion, Matti picked up his gym bag of dirty laundry and left the apartment. As Matti was thinking about what he had just learned about Dawn, he didn't know where to start, or what it all meant to him. Obviously, at some point in her life, Dawn had been deeply involved with the members of the Wolverines motorcycle club. From what he could deduce from the pictures he had seen, she seemed to be most closely connected to Bert (Dog) Fontaine. Obviously she knew all of the others, including the biker with the nickname Popeye, the same man that Matti had seen leaving the apartment building the night before.

There were tears in his eyes as he came to realize that Dawn had been lying to him about who her visitors were. The empty beer bottles and wine glasses were left in the living room by Popeye, the other two bikers, and the two young women who were with them. Things that he had seen made a lot more sense to him now. The young girls who had pointed him out obviously must have seen a picture of him to have recognized him so quickly. He was willing to bet that they had seen him in the DVD Dawn had made of her interview with him the day that they had first met. He was almost certain they probably all watched it while drinking their beer and wine. As much as it was obvious that the girls had recognized him, it was also clear that Popeye knew who he was as well.

The more he thought about everything, the more upset and angry Matti became. Dawn had obviously known who the pilot was, and the man who had intended to kill him, before she ever came out to Lake Watchanabi. Her trip to the lake was not intended to get information for a news program; it was to check him and the crash site out. As he thought about it, he realized it was probably the only reason that Dawn had asked him repeatedly about the missing bag of money. She had come there to the lake on behalf of the Wolverines, first and foremost. He wondered if her station had agreed to the filming and interview at her urging, or if it was the station's idea. Matti was afraid he already knew the answer.

As he thought about things in more detail, he could add more lies Dawn had told him to an ever expanding list. She lied to him and John Forbes when she said that she had heard the nickname Dog from an OPP source. She had known that name for over a decade. The story about her scar, the one she was left with from the tattoo removal, was partially true, but in hindsight he could see she had been careful not to let him know what had been tattooed on her shoulder. Calling it a youthful indiscretion certainly was one way to keep him from knowing she'd been hanging around with, or more likely was heavily involved with, the Wolverines motorcycle club.

By this time he knew that he couldn't deal with seeing Dawn until he dealt with all of the unanswered questions and his own feelings about her. To give himself more time he sent her a text message, telling her that he had some very important business meetings, and he would be tied up for probably a couple of days. His subterfuge wouldn't help in dealing with whatever it was he decided to do, but at least he now had enough time to come to some decisions.

For the rest of Wednesday, even into the night, and even part of the next day, Matti rolled all of these things and more around in his mind. He now knew why Dawn had changed the subject at her parents home when he had brought up the subject of the DVD. She had carefully avoided bringing up the subject of the Wolverines, which probably would have easily led to one of her family mentioning her former ties to the club. It was almost a certainty that it was her involvement with the motorcycle club that had led to her estrangement from her family. It was just the kind of thing that could have prompted a parent to resort to trying a 'tough love' solution with a wayward daughter.

There was much more on Matti's mind, of course. He couldn't help but wonder if Dawn had led him on to try to get more information from him. If the Wolverines believed he had their money, they could have told Dawn to do whatever it took to gain his confidence. He was left with a lot of questions, most of which had no answer that he could see. There were simple questions, such as was she really scared of lightning? Did she like to fish? Was she finding her hidden nature loving side? There were other, larger, questions that Matti had as well. Did she care for him at all? Did she enjoy sharing her bed with him, or was it all just a means to get inside of his defences for the benefit of the Wolverines?

### * * * *

By Thursday Matti knew he had to decide how he was going to respond to all of this new, and disturbing, information about Dawn. He had tried to recall every conversation he ever had with Dawn, but of course that was impossible no matter how hard he tried. It was obvious to him, though, that in a lot of their conversations Dawn's words were likely intended for the benefit of the Wolverines. With the three conspirators all dead, it was obvious that Dawn was working with someone else in the club. It was equally obvious to Matti that the most likely candidate was the man he had seen outside Dawn's apartment building Tuesday night, the biker with the eye patch and the somewhat unusual nickname of Popeye.

Dawn had tried to call him on Wednesday night, and again on Thursday morning, but he had let her calls go to voicemail. It was too soon for him to talk to her, and he didn't even know what he could say to her if he did. It was obvious that he was going to have to come up with a decision on what to do, and soon. He just hoped he wouldn't rush himself into a bad decision. One thing he had come to realize was that his feelings for Dawn were a lot deeper than he had ever admitted to himself before. Having been forced to acknowledge this certainly didn't help him make his decision. Finally, by late Thursday afternoon, he had made his decision on what to do, and how he would do it.

### * * * *

At just after seven in the evening Matti drove over to Dawn's apartment building, and parked in the usual visitor's spot. In some ways he was feeling relief for having been able to make the decision on what he had to do, but that feeling was much more than offset by the sadness, bordering on grief, which was close to overwhelming him. As he made his way to her apartment, moving almost woodenly, the only thing that kept him going was the realization that it would all be over very soon.

Dawn appeared at the door just seconds after he knocked, and was smiling broadly as she said, "Matti! I was just going to call you. I was wondering if you were ... busy tonight." She grinned at him knowingly when she finished speaking.

"Uh, yes I am ... busy that is. I ... I need to talk to you, Dawn. Can I come in?"

Dawn lost her grin, and gave him a strange look before she replied, "Of coarse you can, Matti. You don't need to ask." She moved away from the door so that he could enter, but she was watching him closely, and had a questioning look on her face. "Is everything okay, Matti?"

Matti swallowed before he began speaking the words that he had been trying to rehearse for the last few hours. "I ... We ... There's something I have to say to you, Dawn. Some things have come up, and I ... I need to be honest with you." Even with the strain he was under, Matti thought it was ironic that he had to use the word 'honest' as part of what he had to say.

"I've been in meetings steadily for the last two days, and ... everything's changed. I've taken the contract for a rush, six months job up north, for a diamond mining company. That's really all I can say, as it's part of the contract that I can't say where, or what we'll be doing. Well, obviously, we'll be doing drilling for sample cores, but that's all I can tell you. Once we get up there, we can't leave for the full six months. This is for security reasons."

Matti had been hesitating long enough between words and sentences that Dawn broke in to ask, "What are you trying to tell me, Matti?" Dawn's face was clearly showing her concern.

Matti knew that he had to simply say what he had scripted himself to say. "I'm going to be gone for six months, Dawn. There's something else, too. I've been negotiating with their geologist, and ... the geologist is Amber Newsom. I ... I told you about her. She used to be my girlfriend, and we've ... we've sort of reconnected in the last couple of days. She ... she wants to get back together with me. She said she made a mistake before. I ... I told her I would like to give it a try, Dawn. I want you to know that, so that you will not be ... expecting me back here. It wouldn't be ... fair for me to have you waiting for me while I'm up north with her. I'm sorry, Dawn."

The longer Matti had been speaking, the more obvious was the effect his words were having on Dawn. Her face had gone through phases of incomprehension, fear, and finally, despair. Tears had begun to spill slowly from her eyes, but finally she found the words she needed to say. "Please, Matti, don't say that! I ... I love you, Matti. Please don't tell me it's over, and that you're not coming back to me. Please!"

There were tears now forming in Matti's eyes as he repeated, "I'm sorry, Dawn." He turned back to the door and said, "I ... I have to go, Dawn. I... I'm really sorry."

Dawn called out his name twice as he walked quickly to the elevator. The door opened immediately, which Matti was exceedingly thankful for. He didn't know if he would have been able to refuse if Dawn had called out to him one more time. While Matti leaned against the back wall of the elevator as it made its way down, Dawn was leaning against the door to her apartment. Both of them were in tears, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

### Chapter 17

Matti McEwen shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable in the cramped confines of his aisle seat in the large passenger plane he was in. He was flying to Vancouver from Mexico City, the city where his flight from Costa Rica had left him so that he could transfer to his flight back to Canada. He had just spent the month of December in Costa Rica, trying to enjoy the sun, sand and relaxation his deluxe resort had offered. Even the two weeks he had spent with his sister and her family when they joined him hadn't been enough to change his dark mood.

His hidden riches may have been able to pay all of the expenses for his vacation and theirs, but it couldn't buy him what he really needed. There was no way he could snap his fingers and ask for the check, and somehow have it bring Dawn back to him. Anna and Bob could hardly believe it when he told them that he and Dawn were no longer together. He must have had to listen to them almost a dozen times over the two weeks, as they made reference to Dawn in one way or another. These constant reminders had done nothing to improve his frame of mind.

As the plane droned its way north, Matti leaned back and closed his eyes as he thought once more about the last time he had seen Dawn. It had been that evening when he fled her apartment in tears, unable to speak any longer. He thought again about the lies he had told her. There had been no six-month job up north, the diamond company was a figment of his imagination, and he wouldn't have even considered taking up with Amber Newsom again, even if he knew where she happened to be. All that these lies had been intended to do was to present a semi-believable story to Dawn, a story to explain why he was breaking it off with her. He knew he couldn't tell her the truth, because to do that would be to invite further problems for both of them with the Wolverines MC. He wasn't just afraid they would send another member like Dog Fontaine to visit him, he was afraid that they might harm Dawn if they felt that she had let them down. With him in the north for six months, the Wolverines couldn't very well go after him, and since he had split from Dawn through no fault of her own, they would have no excuse to bother her about it. It seemed like a win-win solution at the time. He just didn't know why he found it impossible to feel like a winner.

Matti was almost asleep when someone shook him on the shoulder, and he quickly opened his eyes. A female flight attendant was leaning over him, and once his eyes were open she said, "Matti? Are you Dawn's friend, Matti? It's Yvonne Rogers. Remember, I met you in Dawn's bathroom." She smiled and looked around to see whether any of the other passengers were paying any attention to her words.

As Matti quickly became more wide-awake he answered, "Yes, I remember you, Yvonne. How could I forget?" Matti grinned and gave a short laugh as he finished speaking.

Yvonne knelt beside his seat and asked him curiously, "Is Dawn with you? I didn't see her anywhere here. Or are you on your own?"

"I ... we aren't together anymore, Yvonne. Not since September. It ... it just didn't work out." Matti didn't want to get into details, so he left it at that.

Yvonne looked very surprised and said, "That shocks me, Matti. I thought you guys were a perfect couple, from what Dawn told me when I spoke with her on the phone. We haven't talked recently, but now that you tell me this, it might explain why she didn't sound very happy when I last spoke to her. In fact, we didn't speak for very long, which also surprised me at the time. What happened between you two?"

Matti didn't know what he should tell her, so he quickly replied, "It just didn't work out. I ... maybe someday, if we meet again, I can tell you. I just can't right now." He knew he couldn't give her the same story he had told to Dawn, because his presence on a plane from Mexico pretty much put the lie to that story.

Yvonne gave him a curious look and said, "I see. Well, in that case, maybe you can tell me what you've been up to. How is it that you're on this plane today?"

"Well, I was down in Costa Rica for a month. It was sort of a ... break from everything." He thought about what he had said for a second, and then added, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention seeing me the next time you speak to Dawn."

Yvonne looked at him curiously and asked, "Why would you ask me that?"

Matti realized that he had dug himself a hole and answered, "I ... had to tell Dawn a bit of a story about why we could no longer be together, and I just wouldn't want you to tell her you saw me. It might hurt her feelings."

Another flight attendant came up and asked Yvonne for some assistance, so she quickly stood up and leaned over Matti to say, "I still want to know what's going on between you and Dawn. I'll come back later." She turned and left quickly with the other flight attendant.

### * * * *

Matti's eyes were closed again, and once more he was almost asleep when a tap on his shoulder got his attention. Yvonne was once again beside him, leaning over so that she could speak to him quietly.

"One of the flight attendants is feeling sick, so I can't talk to you for more than just a moment. Wait for me at your baggage carousel. I really need to talk to you."

Since Matti couldn't think of a reason why he shouldn't do as she asked, he replied, "Okay, Yvonne. How will you know where I am?"

Yvonne smiled sweetly at him and said, "Flight attendants are hired for their sixth sense about things. I'll find you." She quickly stood up and hurried back to the front of the plane. Once again he returned to his attempt to sleep while his plane flew north.

### * * * *

Matti had just picked his suitcase up from the carousel when he heard Yvonne speak from behind him.

"I told you I would find you, Matti. Just like magic, isn't it." She was grinning when he turned to face her.

Matti smiled and answered, "It must be magic, all right. I just got here myself."

Yvonne got more serious and said, "I really would like to talk to you about whatever it was that happened with Dawn. Are you leaving on another flight soon?"

"Actually, no, I'm not. I have a reservation at the Hilton downtown, and once I clear customs I was going to take a taxi over there. I have reservations for a week, because I thought it would be nice to see some sights at this end of the country. I've never been here before. I was thinking I might also contact a few of the mining exploration companies that are headquartered here in Vancouver, to see if I can get a leg up on my competition. Quite often companies headquartered in Vancouver have properties in Northern Ontario."

"I'll tell you what, Matti. How about I make you a deal. I have an empty guestroom in my apartment, and you're welcome to it while you're here in town. I have an off week beginning now, and I could even give you a guided tour of the area. At least as much of it as I'm familiar with. As you know, I've only been here about six months, so there are places I haven't been. In return, I'll let you buy me dinner a couple of times, plus you can explain to me what happened with Dawn. I'm still shocked that the two of you are no longer together."

Matti didn't see where he had a way out of giving Yvonne some sort of explanation. If he turned down her offer, there was a strong likelihood that she would tell Dawn about meeting him, and that would blow up the carefully crafted story he had told Dawn. He wasn't really sure that he wanted that to happen. With some hesitation he replied to Yvonne, "I ... I guess that would be okay, so long as it isn't putting you out. I'm sure I'd enjoy taking you out to dinner, so long as you promise to suggest some nice places." He appeared to have more to say, but left it at that.

While Matti had been speaking Yvonne seemed to become more serious, and she quickly said, "I think I might have run the risk of giving you the wrong impression, Matti. I'm serious about it being the guestroom. I ... I have no interest in any kind of a relationship, even short term, with you. I'm just not at that point in my life right now, and I could never go behind Dawn's back, regardless of whether or not you two have split up. Just so we're clear."

Matti held up his hands in the universal stop sign and quickly replied, "I agree with you 100% on that, Yvonne. I'm nowhere near ready to think about another relationship. Even in Costa Rica I just couldn't. What's the old expression - once bitten, twice shy? I don't think there's one for twice bitten."

Yvonne gave Matti a questioning look, but didn't ask for any explanation of his comment at first. After thinking about it for a short time she said, "What do you mean, twice bitten?"

Matti sighed, but decided he may as well explain himself. "I used to have a girlfriend, Amber Newsom, and she really hurt me when she dropped me for a guy at her university. I didn't see that coming at all. Then along came Dawn, and I decided that not every girl is going to be another Amber. I was right, because Dawn didn't drop me, she just ... well, she found another way to deceive me." Matti wasn't prepared to say any more right then, and after a few moments of deep thought, Yvonne seemed at least partially satisfied with his answer. He could understand if she had questions, but for the moment she didn't seem to be prepared to ask them.

### * * * *

Two hours later Matti had just gotten dressed after having a shower at Yvonne's apartment. He felt much more alive, now that he was showered and shaved. Moments later he joined Yvonne in the kitchen.

"I guess tonight would be a very good night for taking you out to dinner for your generous hospitality. That is, if you're interested?"

Yvonne smiled at him and answered, "That sounds like a great idea, Matti. Ordinarily, I'd have to fix myself supper, and because I've been away for a couple of days there isn't much in the way of fresh food in the refrigerator. There's a really nice restaurant a couple of blocks from here, and we could walk over there later. Right now I would like a shower myself, and to take the opportunity to get changed out of this uniform."

### Chapter 18

Matti and Yvonne finished their meal at about eight o'clock that evening. In lieu of having a dessert, they both ordered a liqueur. As they relaxed and enjoyed sipping their drinks they engaged in a pleasant conversation.

"So, Matti, are you going to explain what happened between you and Dawn?" Yvonne had that look of quiet determination that let Matti know she wasn't likely to drop the subject.

After a bit of reflection he answered, "I guess I could, but I'm going to need a promise from you first. I know you could go and tell Dawn about me being in Costa Rica, especially if I don't explain this to you. I would like your promise that you won't do that, and that you won't tell Dawn about anything else I tell you."

Yvonne had listened closely to Matti, but she couldn't understand why he would ask her that. Convinced that she would be able to persuade him to talk to Dawn about whatever their problem was, she reluctantly agreed. "If that's what it takes to get you to talk to me about this, I agree. I promise not to talk to Dawn about anything we discuss."

With Yvonne's promise, Matti relaxed and began to talk. "I found out something about Dawn, and it puts everything I thought we had together into doubt. Actually, it's worse than 'what I thought we had' just being in doubt. Dawn has been lying to me since the first day I met her."

Yvonne quickly cut in and said, "I can't believe that! Why would you say that?"

Matti glumly replied, "I'm saying that because I know that it's true." Matti stopped long enough to look Yvonne in the eyes and then continued, "You remember the plane crash, and how a guy tried to kill me?" When Yvonne nodded her head Matti continued again, "Well, they were both members of the Wolverines Motorcycle Club. I know that you saw Dawn's report on the DVD about it. Well, I found out that Dawn was once heavily involved with that club, and knew both of the men who died. Quite well I would add. Actually, I shouldn't make you think that that part really mattered. What matters is that she had plenty of opportunity to let me know she knew them, and she didn't. In fact, she asked me questions, and she made comments, that led me to believe she didn't have a clue about who those guys were."

Yvonne looked stricken and cut in again, saying, "I ... I'm sure you must be wrong, Matti. You must be under some sort of misconception about this."

Matti just shook his head sadly and continued, "I have seen absolute proof that she was involved with them. She was particularly involved with the man who intended to kill me, Dog Fontaine. Not once did she ever hint that she knew who he was. I am certain that she was just trying to get information from me about the money that Fontaine came looking for. When we started getting involved, she would often bring up the subject of the money when we were out at the lake, obviously trying to get me to admit to having it, or knowing where it was. She didn't ask about it very often towards the end, but then I happened to get to her apartment just as a group of Wolverines were leaving the building. I noticed that they took an interest in me, but I just sort of shook it off as paranoia on my part. When I got to her apartment, it was obvious Dawn had had company, but she sloughed it off as having just been people from the TV station."

It was obvious that Yvonne was closely following every word Matti uttered, and she quickly commented, "How can you be so sure it wasn't the people from the station, just like Dawn said it was? You seem to have read an awful lot into that coincidental meeting outside of her apartment building."

Matti smiled ruefully and answered, "I did think that at first. I had no reason to not believe her, so sure, I accepted that it was the people from the station who had been at the apartment. I found out the truth about everything the next morning."

Matti stopped speaking to take another sip of his liqueur, but he finally continued with, "I was sitting around the apartment after Dawn left for work, just killing time, when I noticed something absolutely inconsequential, and it changed everything. It proved everything I've told you, and more. The drawer in one of the end tables wouldn't close, and I found out the reason was a small photo album that was blocking it." Matti snapped his fingers and continued, "Just like that, I knew. The photos in that little album were of some sort of a barbecue party that the Wolverines were having. Front and center in a couple of the photos were Dog Fontaine, Scooby Dugan, and ... Dawn. The photos were 11 years old, but I could recognize every one of them clearly." Matti looked up quickly and saw that Yvonne looked absolutely shocked by what he had just said.

Matti shrugged his shoulders and added, "I knew then that what I thought we had was all based on a total lie. There's more on the list of lies and half-truths that she told me, but that's the biggie. I spent a couple days trying to come up with some alternative to explain everything, but there isn't one. Sometimes I think she really did have feelings for me, but then I have to ask myself if that was all an act too. Some days I wish I'd never found those photos, so that I could have gone along blissfully unaware of all of ... this. I was right on the verge of telling her ... I was in love with her, but how could I ever do that now?" Matti looked at Yvonne again, and saw that she was trying to hold back tears. The look on her face was one of complete despair.

"Anyway, that's it. That's why I broke up with Dawn. The way I did it was I told her a totally fabricated story about having to work up north for six months, and of getting together with my old girlfriend. The six months part was to give me some cover from the Wolverines MC, in case they still believed I had their money. They wouldn't be able to bother me up north, so hopefully they would eventually forget about their concerns about me. The part about the old girlfriend was to give Dawn a good story to tell them, about why she couldn't keep spying on me for them. I was sort of afraid they might give her a rough time over it, if they thought she screwed up somehow."

As far as Matti was concerned, the story was now told, and unless Yvonne asked him a specific question, he didn't have anything more to say. Yvonne was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, still obviously very upset by what Matti had said. Finally she seemed to get herself under control.

"I think you love her as much as she still loves you. Even after you found all that out, you are still trying to protect her."

Matti sadly had to agree, saying, "I guess deep down I'd have to say you're right, Yvonne. It's been over three months, and I don't feel any better about it at all."

### * * * *

They left shortly after Matti had finished talking. Yvonne had been very quiet, and seemed very sad. She spoke very little on their walk back to her apartment, and after their arrival she quickly excused herself for the rest of the night, saying that she felt very tired. Matti wasn't feeling very cheerful either, as talking to Yvonne about the whole Dawn affair had left him drained, and he soon followed Yvonne's lead and went to bed. It took him a long time to get to sleep, as he once again went over and over the steps that had led to that fateful last evening in the entryway to Dawn's apartment. Try as he might, he couldn't come up with any alternative solution to the one he had originally settled upon. Matti eventually fell asleep, but only after wishing for the thousandth time at least that there had been a better way to do it.

### Chapter 19

The next morning Yvonne seemed more herself, and they quickly decided that they would do some sightseeing around the city and area. Matti was going to rent a car, a legitimate business expense, since he needed a car when he met with the companies he intended to see while he was in Vancouver. Just after midmorning they set out on a slow drive around the city, with Yvonne pointing out landmarks and interesting features.

They found a Chinese restaurant that seemed popular, and they decided it was probably quite good, judging by the number of actual Chinese customers that were constantly coming and going. Their first surprise was that the menu was handwritten in a children's first grade notebook, but strictly in Chinese. Their waitress offered them another menu, this one in English, but instead of using it, they asked the waitress' opinion on their most popular meals. After a few explanations and descriptions by the waitress, they ended up with dishes that both of them enjoyed. While Yvonne had mastered the use of chopsticks at some time in her past, Matti went with a reliable fork instead.

An hour later they were back on the road, and Yvonne directed him to Stanley Park, so that Matti could see that grand Vancouver institution. After driving around as much as they could in the cold gentle rain, they finally got the chance to get out and walk along some of the pathways during a break in the weather. They didn't stray too far from their car, though, as the forecast for the day was for rain of one sort or another. Half an hour later they were back in the car.

"Matti, don't start the car. I need to talk to you, and this is as good of a place as any." Matti turned to look at Yvonne curiously, and was about to ask what she wanted to talk about when she continued speaking. "I have a few things I need to tell you, Matti. I don't know if I'm going to be doing the situation between you and Dawn any good or not, but I feel that it's important that I tell you."

Yvonne sat quietly for a few moments before she turned to him and began to speak again. "I'm going to tell you a few things about Dawn and me that I am sure you don't know anything about."

Matti glanced back at her, curious about what she could have to say to him. He turned back to the scenic view of Vancouver, visible across Burrard Inlet from where they were parked on Stanley Park Drive. Eventually Matti said, "I guess I certainly owe you that much, so I'll listen to what you have to say."

Yvonne seemed anxious to continue her story, as she quickly said, "We go way back, Dawn and me. We met in 10th grade, and I guess the best description of us would be that we were on the wild side. Nothing too serious, mind you. Mostly typical teenage girl stuff, you know, chasing the boys, and trying to stretch the rules. Anyway, making a long story short, we got involved with a couple of older guys, members of the Wolverines MC."

That statement really surprised Matti, and he quickly turned and said, "You were also involved with the Wolverines?" He hesitated for just a couple of seconds before he quickly continued, "You weren't in any of the pictures I was looking at."

Yvonne chuckled and answered, "I know the booklet of photos that you are talking about, Matti, and I removed the two photos I was in a long time ago. In a way it's funny, because I mentioned to Dawn at the time that she should toss it in the dumpster behind the building. I didn't want any reminders of that bad time in my life. Dawn sort of felt the opposite, and said that she was going to keep them so that she'd never forget the mistakes she made in her life."

Matti had turned in his seat to face Yvonne, totally ignoring the view through the windshield of their rental car. Yvonne had captured 100% of his attention with her confession, and it rang so true that Matti had immediately decided he probably should trust what she had to say. There was one way for Yvonne to prove herself, and Matti asked, "If ... what you say is true, you should have the same tattoo ..."

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Yvonne turned and Matti could hear her unzip the top of her tracksuit. A second later she bared her right shoulder to him and said, "When Dawn had a problem getting hers removed I went to the best tattoo artist I could find, and he modified the wolverine into a black orchid. It's not a perfect disguise, but it's close." Matti leaned forward to confirm what he could already see, and agreed she had told the truth.

Yvonne continued, "At first we would just spend some time with them on a Friday or Saturday night, but it didn't take long for them to convince us to stay with them almost full-time. Dawn was hanging out with Dog, just like you figured out. I ended up with Jiggs, and we both thought we were so grown up, hanging out with these older guys. I was living in a foster home, and I hated every minute of it. I was ... regularly abused, and I grabbed the chance to get out of there. Dawn was still living at home, and finally her parents gave her an ultimatum. She either had to quit hanging out with the Wolverines, or she was no longer welcome at home. Well, I have to say that I guess I'm at fault with what happened then. I wanted her to stay with me ... for company ... and security too, I guess. Anyway, we ended up living with Dog and Jiggs for a while."

Yvonne turned to Matti, and after he nodded his head she continued, "Anyway, we had lots of 'fun' for a while, lots of parties and booze, and an almost endless supply of marijuana. We thought we were living the good life until the bill came due. After a few months they told us we would have to start earning our keep ..."

Matti broke into Yvonne's story, "You mean they wanted you to be hook ..."

Yvonne had thrown up her hands to get Matti to stop speaking, and quickly continued, "Hang on, Matti. I'm going to tell you everything, so be patient. Yes, the club ran an escort agency, and a couple of the junior members were actually pimps, but there were other options. We could have sold drugs at the high schools, including the one we had been attending, or ... we could be dancers in the strip clubs they ... controlled. They were silent partners in probably a half-dozen clubs on the outskirts of Toronto. That's what we decided to do. Dawn had taken dance lessons when she was younger, and she figured it would be fun. Certainly it sounded better than the other options."

Matti was very uncomfortable with what he was hearing, and Yvonne took notice of his anxiety. "I know you're having trouble accepting this, but just let me tell you the whole story. Maybe you won't think it's so bad when I get finished. Anyway, we got some training from a couple of the other dancers, and we were soon performing six nights a week. They actually paid us enough that we were able to get ourselves a small apartment and buy food. Dog and Jiggs didn't really care that we moved out on them, because by then they were already scouting two more stupid high school students. Yes, we were both stupid, and we both knew it. They told us more than once that we owed them, and we had to keep dancing in their clubs until they told us our debt was paid. Unfortunately, we had been burning our bridges as we went, and we didn't have any other options."

Yvonne took a sip from a bottle of water and carried on. "We worked for them for something that didn't even approach minimum wage, and I'm sure that they made thousands and thousands of dollars off our ... work. They even took most of our tip money. Finally, after about a year of that, we told them we were done, and that we didn't owe them anything. They tried to intimidate us, to make us go back to their clubs, but we just said no. By then they were starting to make most of their money, by far, from drug sales. They finally just said to keep our mouths shut, or they'd come looking for us."

"Now that we were free of the Wolverines, we decided to get smart, and get some education. It turned out that that was going to cost us money that we didn't have, so we went back to dancing at some of the strip clubs around Toronto and Hamilton. It was amazing the money that we could make when we got to keep our full earnings and tips. After about a year we each had enough saved to cut back on the dancing, and to start getting caught up on the education we had missed. We managed to finish the high school credits we needed, and then we started working at being able to get a real job. I took courses in Travel and Tourism, and then I switched to a school for Flight Attendants. It wasn't long before I was able to give up the dancing and start flying. It took Dawn a little longer to get out of the clubs, because she was taking Journalism at Ryerson. It cost her more money than it did me. Even before she got her degree she was able to quit dancing."

Matti was getting a little angered by the last part of what Yvonne had been telling him, and he broke in with, "Okay, I get that the two of you put your skills as dancers to good use, and you got a good education. If that's all true, though, how is it that Dawn was actively deceiving me, and working for the Wolverines? I think you must've missed something there."

There were tears in Yvonne's eyes now, and she dug a tissue from her purse to blot them away before she continued speaking. "I did miss something. In fact we both missed something, both Dawn and me. We thought we had dropped from the Wolverines' radar, and that we were free and on our own. What a mistake that was! Dawn even changed her name, for her work, and she should have been free and clear of them. Except that they tracked me down, and when they found me, they found her as well. They showed up at our door just over a year ago. They knew somehow that I was a flight attendant, and they told me I had to do some work for them, because I still owed them. I ... had to courier drugs back and forth across the country for them. I hated it! When I moved out here, they changed their request. They wanted me to bring drugs back here from the Far East and Mexico. I flat out told him no. So far they've just pestered me by phone a couple of times, and I'm hoping they'll just leave me alone."

Yvonne leaned towards Matti, and in a pleading voice said, "I'm sure they did the same thing to Dawn. I would bet you that they forced her to contact you, and check you out, as they're still trying to figure out where the money went. That's one thing they told me just after I came out here. Jiggs, Scooby and Dog really screwed the rest of the club when they took that money and some of the drugs. The group they were buying from wants the rest of their drugs back, or their money. They also told me that the Wolverines have to pay some sort of penalty to the drug group, to make up for some of their men who were killed during the robbery. I think the Wolverines are in a lot of trouble."

Matti looked like he was deep in thought. Finally he said, "So, you think Dawn was forced into spying on me. If that was just a one time thing, why would she keep asking about the bag of money ... later, when we were ... a couple. Why wouldn't she tell me some of this stuff? She's had lots of opportunity. I arranged for her to reconcile with her family, and she obviously avoided the chance to tell me why she'd been estranged from them. I'd also like to think that we meant enough to each other that she could have told me this whole story herself."

Yvonne shook her head and sadly answered, "I don't know, Matti. I just don't know. Maybe she's just scared to tell you. I just know from talking to her on the phone that she was so happy to have met you. I had absolutely no sense that she was acting, or was hiding anything from me. I've known her well enough, and long enough, that I'm sure I would have picked up on that." She became silent, and it seemed that Yvonne had nothing further to add.

Matti started the rental car and resumed driving along Stanley Park Drive. They had already intended to cross over the Lions Gate Bridge, so he began following the signs that would get them there. It was quiet in the car as Matti had a lot to think about, and Yvonne was recovering from the stress of living through that part of her life again.

### Chapter 20

It was Wednesday morning, two days after Yvonne had rocked Matti with her confessions about how she and Dawn had become involved with the Wolverines, and how they had been employed as dancers in southern Ontario strip clubs. They had spoken briefly about her story when Matti felt it was necessary to clarify a point, or get more detail from her. She had willingly helped him out with the information he needed, but then left him alone to process everything he had learned about Dawn in the last few days.

Matti had just woken up, and was just about to enter the bathroom when he heard the doorbell, and the sounds of Yvonne going to answer it. He had just put toothpaste on his toothbrush when the shouting started. He could tell that there was a deeper male voice, along with Yvonne's higher pitched one.

He was starting to go see what was happening when he heard Yvonne say, "No! I said no!"

The male voice quickly replied, "You damn well will! This is your last chance!

Matti was in the hallway, trying to walk quickly as he was getting concerned by the angry shouting, and he heard Yvonne say, "No! And that's final!"

It was no longer than one or two seconds later that he heard a gunshot and a scream from Yvonne. He was just turning the corner towards the entryway when there was a second shot and he burst onto the scene. Yvonne was already on the floor, and he could see blood on her back, and a small pool of it under her head. Matti was shocked and horrified by the scene in front of him, and if he had been in total control of his wits he might have jumped back into the hallway, out of sight of the man standing there with the gun. That wasn't the case, though, and before Matti could think to do it, the man in front of him aimed the gun at Matti and pulled the trigger.

A blazing fire had been lit in Matti's side, and he found himself falling to the floor, with the gunman standing about 10 feet away from him. The man had on a hoodie that was framing his face, and a thin scarf, perhaps originally wrapped to conceal his lower face, was hanging loose below his chin. All that Matti could see as he heard the gun fire again was a familiar face with a black eye patch over its left eye. It was the last thing he saw, as everything immediately faded to black.

### * * * *

There was a rhythmic noise, and it seemed to come from nowhere in particular. Everything was black, and when he tried to force his eyes open, everything stayed black. His right hand was warm, the only part of him that felt warm, and as the rhythmic noise began to fade away something touched his cheek.

### * * * *

The rhythmic noise seemed to come from nowhere, very quietly at first, but getting louder. It was on his left ... maybe. A bright light, so bright that it seemed like a dozen suns, seared his left eye. A moment later the same bright light attacked his right eye. His eyes wouldn't reopen, no matter how he tried, and as he tried he could hear murmurs around him. His right hand was warm, and later something touched his cheek. There were more murmurs around him, and then the constant rhythmic noise began to fade away.

### * * * *

The rhythmic noise was back, and this time he could recognize the sound. It was an infusion pump, and he last heard one when his father made his last, one way, trip to the hospital. It was the regular cycling of the pump he was hearing, and he could tell the pump was on his left. He was confused still, wondering why he could hear it, but he could see nothing. Whenever Matti tried to open his eyes it was as though they had been glued shut. He tried once more, and a flash of light momentarily rewarded him. He tried again, but this time there was no reward. His eyes were glued shut again.

He tried to focus on other things he was feeling, especially the warmth in his right hand. As he concentrated on it, he could suddenly feel that there was movement there, and the sudden sensation of cool air of the back of his hand. Moments later he could tell there was a hand on his forehead. It was a nurse, checking on him! Everything fit now. The sounds, the sensations, and even the scent that was becoming noticeable to him now, told him where he was. Matti tried to raise his left hand, and although he got the sensation of movement, it was restricted, and his hand couldn't help him open his eyes. He tried his right hand, with the same result, but this time he heard a voice, perhaps excited, saying his name, although the words were very muffled.

After a couple more attempts, he got his eyes to open again, for fractionally longer this time. A success! To celebrate, Matti tried to say something to the nurse, but his mouth wasn't working properly. He must have made a sound, though, because he could hear his nurse call out his name excitedly. A moment later, the warm sensation around his right hand disappeared, and something brushed his right cheek. He could sense he was alone now. Since nothing else seemed to work, he tried opening his eyes again, and this time he was rewarded with the view of a tiled ceiling above him. He tried to move his head to let him see more, but it would only move fractionally to his right.

There was much more progress, though, in the next few minutes. A matronly blonde nurse had joined him quickly, just after he got his eyes working. She wet his lips with a sponge, and he was soon asking where he was, and why he was there. Confusion still ruled. Matti soon discovered his hands were tied down, explaining why he was unable to move them. His difficulty hearing was explained quickly when his left hand was freed and he moved it to his head, quickly discovering it was bandaged in a way that covered his ears. The nurse continued checking him over, taking blood pressure, oxygen levels, and listening to his heart with her stethoscope. It wasn't long at all before she said she was leaving to get the doctor, and Matti could see that another nurse met her at the door to his room, a nurse with dark brown hair.

Matti was not required to wait long for the doctor's visit. A cheerful man, slightly older than Matti himself, strode into the room quickly and confidently, performing simple tests with his very bright little flashlight, flashing it quickly into Matti's eyes. That test was followed with another when he asked Matti to follow his hand as he moved it from side to side across Matti's field of vision. A quick consultation was made with the blonde nurse, and Matti heard instructions regarding his medication, and that he was permitted to have something to eat and drink. Matti felt hungry, but he heard that he would be permitted nothing but water, juice, and Jell-O.

The doctor turned back to him and said, "It's nice to have you back with us, Mr. McEwan. I think you're going to be okay." Before Matti could even think of a question or comment, the doctor exited the room as quickly as he had arrived.

The nurse was still there though, and she quickly released Matti's right-hand from the restraint that held it, and said to him, "I'm going to leave you a glass of water. Try not to spill it. Take small sips for now, and I'll arrange for some Jell-O and juice for you."

She was about to leave when Matti managed to say, "Why am I here?" He reached up to touch the bandages on his head and asked, "What is this?"

The nurse stepped back beside him, and gently moved his hand away from his head. "You have a bullet wound on the left side of your head. It gave you a concussion, and we've been treating you for that. The other wound in your right side is healing nicely, and was never a real concern."

Matti was confused, but he managed to ask, "Bullet wound? Why? How? What happened to my right side?"

The nurse looked concerned and said quietly, "The doctor should be the one to tell you all this, but I know he's very busy this evening. You were shot in the right side, and another bullet glanced off the left side of your head. You are very lucky, Mr. McEwan. Now, I should go to see my other patients, but there's someone outside that is anxious to see you."

He was very confused, and only after much concentration was he able to remember vague elements of what had happened to him at Yvonne's apartment. He was still thinking about that when a tall, slender man of about 50 entered the room. He was wearing a dark suit, and carrying a portfolio in his hand.

"Hello, Mr. McEwan. I'm very glad you rejoined us. Every day I've been here they tell me to come back, that you weren't conscious yet. I'm Detective Sanders, with the Vancouver Police, and I need you to give me a bit of information. I won't keep you long, for now. If you don't feel up to speaking, just let me know."

"You've been here a number of ... days? How long have I been here? Matti was even more confused now.

Detective Sanders consulted his portfolio briefly and answered, "Counting the day you were shot, this is the 11th day."

"11 days! Are you sure?" Matti was more than confused now; there was a bit of panic thrown in as well.

Detective Sanders smiled reassuringly and answered Matti. "I'm afraid it really has been 11 days. They've had you in a medically induced coma because of your head wound." The detective looked at his wristwatch and added, "I only have another two minutes, so just a couple of quick questions, if you don't mind." When Matti nodded his head the detective took out a pen and prepared to write in his portfolio.

"Do you remember the day you got shot? Can you answer a few yes and no questions about it?"

Matti concentrated for a few moments and nodded his head. He still couldn't believe it had been 11 days.

"Do you remember getting shot?" Matti nodded and the detective continued.

"Do you think you could recognize the person?

Matti had been thinking while the detective spoke, and this time he answered, "It was Popeye. I've seen him before. It's Popeye, for sure." Matti thought for a couple of moments longer and added, "I don't know his real name. He is a member of the Wolverines Motorcycle Club. He has an eye patch on his left eye."

While the detective was jotting notes in his portfolio Matti suddenly asked, "Yvonne! How is Yvonne? She was shot ... blood, I saw blood."

The detective looked up, a concerned look on his face. "I'm afraid your friend didn't make it. She was dead when the paramedics arrived. I'm sorry for your loss."

More and more was coming back to Matti, and the information that Yvonne was dead was hard for him to take. She had been very helpful to him, offering him a place to stay, and giving him the information he needed about Dawn. She had so much to live for, and now she was dead.

The detective was headed towards the door now, and said, "I'll be back tomorrow, to see if you're up to more questions."

### * * * *

The next two days Matti spent most of his time in his bed. Detective Sanders came back a couple of times, wanting more information, although there was very little that he could add. Both nights Matti had the same dream, a dream that he got a night time visit from the nurse, and she would hold his hand and brush his cheek before she left. Once he woke up during the dream, and he was almost able to convince himself that he saw a dark-haired nurse rush from his room as he opened his eyes.

The third day after he had regained consciousness, Detective Sanders came and said he was allowed to spend more time with Matti.

"First, I should tell you that we caught up with Popeye and two other members of the Wolverines the day after you were shot. All three of them were shot during an attempt to evade a roadblock, and the two who were with Popeye, whose real name is Darren Lamont by the way, were killed. Lamont is upstairs in a guarded room, recovering from his wounds. You seem very emphatic that he was the one who shot you, and I'm afraid your testimony will be required when he comes to court. The gun that killed Yvonne Rogers, and wounded you, was recovered, but not in his possession."

Matti emphatically voiced his opinion, saying, "I will be happy to testify. It was definitely him. I saw him once before, and I've seen him in photos. It was Popeye. It was Darren Lamont."

After asking Matti a few more questions the detective place a card with an array of eight photos on it for him to examine. Matti immediately pointed to a picture and said, "This is the man who shot Yvonne and me."

The detective put the photos away, and then pulled out a stack of 4 x 6 prints from his ever present portfolio. "I have some photos here from Yvonne Rogers' funeral service and burial. The services were completed the day you reawakened. Fortunately she had left a will and final instructions with her lawyer. I have photographs taken at the two places, the funeral service, and the burial, and I'd like you to examine them. We need to know if any other members of the Wolverines may have attended. We feel Popeye may have had other club members helping him, both before and after the shooting."

The stack of photos was thicker than Matti had imagined, and while he didn't count them, there must've been close to forty of them. As he slowly looked at each one, he set two of them aside. Matti went through them a second time, but didn't add any to the original two that lay facedown on his blanket. Finally he handed the larger group back to the detective, and picked up the other two.

"This is the only person there who has any connection with the Wolverines. I know her well, and I'm sure she wasn't involved in the shooting, but you should talk to her anyway. She might know someone else from the Wolverines that was there, someone that I wouldn't recognize." Matti handed the two photos to the detective and said, "Her name is Dawn Winters, and she lives in Thunder Bay. She was a friend of Yvonne's, and I ... knew her well."

Detective Sanders took the two photos and showed great surprise when he looked at them. "Are you sure about her? I mean ..."

Matti interrupted him to say sadly, "I'm sure Detective Sanders. I'm sure."

### Chapter 21

Another night passed, and Matti was feeling much stronger. He was strong enough to make his own trips to the bathroom, pushing a wheeled stand with his infusion pump along with him. He had been told by both the doctors and nurses that his wounds were healing nicely, and that he would soon be discharged. He was thankful for that.

Matti was back on his bed, and he had just finished drinking a cup of the hospital's coffee. His blonde nurse, Marie, had brought him a cup when she returned from her afternoon coffee break in the cafeteria. It wasn't very good coffee, and Matti was looking forward to returning home, where he could make his own. The head end of his bed was raised, and Matti had leaned back and closed his eyes for just a few minutes. He was wide awake, so he had no trouble hearing the quiet voice that spoke to him.

"Matti, are you awake?"

Matti's eyes snapped open, anxious to see if the speaker was the same one as his mind had immediately assigned to the voice. A moment later he said, "Hello, Dawn. Where'd you come from?"

Dawn looked tired and a bit confused as she answered, "I ... I just got out of the police station. I was there all day." Dawn was looking at him quietly, for long enough that Matti almost broke the silence himself. Finally she continued, "I had to talk to Detective Sanders ... about the Wolverines. He ... He said that you told him I ... knew about them. I guess ... Yvonne told you ... things." She was watching him expectantly, and he knew that she expected an answer.

"Yes, Yvonne did talk about the Wolverines. Detective Sanders asked me, and I couldn't lie."

Just at that moment Marie, his nurse, hurried into Matti's room, pushing a blood oxygen monitor. She took one look at Dawn and burst into a smile. "You're back, Dawn. After all those nights you spent here, I wondered where you had got to. We've been taking good care of him for you, though."

Matti was not expecting to hear what the nurse just said, and looked back and forth from Dawn to Marie several times before he said, "You two know each other? What are you talking about?"

The nurse grinned and answered, "Dawn has been practically camped out here, at least when you were unconscious she was. I haven't seen her lately, so I must've been missing her."

Matti turned to Dawn and asked, "Is that right? You were here while I was unconscious?" When Dawn nodded hesitantly he continued, "Were you holding my hand? And did you touch my face?"

Marie looked up from her monitor and quickly answered for Dawn, "You bet she was holding your hand. Some nights she didn't even let go of it while we were changing your dressings ... and your clothing. I think she was afraid to let go, in case one of us made a move on you." She laughed and continued, "She wasn't just touching your cheek. She leaned over and gave it a kiss now and then. Maybe it worked, because you came through everything very well." The nurse had her tests finished now, and she quickly left, pushing her cart in front of her.

Matti turned to look at Dawn, who had been quiet throughout the exchange between Matti and Marie. Dawn looked uneasy, as though she was expecting Matti to be angry with her.

Finally she spoke, "I was so surprised when I saw the news feed from our Vancouver affiliate. I thought you were up north, and all of a sudden I found out that you were shot, and Yvonne was shot. I flew right out here." She was carefully studying Matti's face as she continued speaking, "Were you staying with Yvonne? Was she ... was she the reason you broke up with me?" Dawn looked to be on the verge of tears.

Matti couldn't mask his surprise as he answered, "Absolutely not, Dawn. I mean, we weren't ... involved! I was staying there, just for a few days. In her guest room ... I was staying in her guest room."

There was some relief on Dawn's face, but she was also confused and she quickly asked, "If you weren't with her, then why were you here?"

Matti was now between the proverbial rock and a hard place. If he told her the truth, it would be sure to make her wonder why he had lied to her about the six-month job, and his Amber Newsom story. His other alternative was to tell her ... what exactly. He really didn't have an option, so he decided that the truth would have to do. Perhaps she would offer him some confirmation of what Yvonne had suggested when she said that maybe Dawn was forced into spying on him by the Wolverines. Maybe she could help him get over his remaining fears and concerns that her interest in him was solely on behalf of the Wolverines. Maybe ...

"I was just returning from a month in Costa Rica. Yvonne was one of the flight attendants, and she offered me use of her guestroom while I was in Vancouver. I ... I just happened to be there when ... Popeye came to the door and shot her. I ran in and he shot me too. That's the whole story about why I'm here."

Matti's answer didn't solve his problem, as Dawn quickly asked, "I don't understand why you were on a plane ... or why you were in Costa Rica. What about you and Amber Newsom? What about the diamond exploration you were doing?"

Matti was now resigned to the fact that he would have to tell her the truth. "There wasn't any six-month contract, and I have no interest in Amber Newsom, even if I knew where she was. It ... It was a stupid way to break up with you, Dawn. I'm really sorry."

Dawn was shocked, and on the verge of tears, but she did manage to ask, "Why? Why did you want to break up with me so badly? I thought we were really doing well together."

Matti was showing his sadness as well, and his eyes were also tearing up. "I know why you were going out with me, Dawn. I know you were working for the Wolverines when you came up to my camp that day. I ... I found the photo album ... with pictures of you and Dog and ... the others. I know about the tattoo, and Yvonne told me ... the rest."

Matti had hoped that maybe Dawn could convince him he was wrong about her motives, but that wasn't what happened. Dawn burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. "Oh God, you know everything about me! Oh, no! You must hate me!"

Instead of staying there to talk to him, Dawn turned and fled from the room. Matti was totally shocked, and he didn't react for several seconds, but eventually he moved as quickly as he could. As soon as he stood up he realized the intravenous line had him tethered to the infusion pump on the opposite side of his bed, and he didn't have time to get it and drag it along behind him. Instead he disconnected the line from the IV shunt in his hand. As quickly as he could, he followed Dawn into the hallway. He didn't bother sealing off the line in his hand, and blood was beginning to drip from it onto the floor. While he had been up and walking, he wasn't prepared for the exertion necessary to catch up to Dawn. He could see her turning the corner at the end of the hallway, her hands still held to her face, when he lost his balance and fell to his knees in the hallway. He was struggling to get to his feet when the nurses reached him. A puddle of blood was at his feet.

### * * * *

Two and a half years had passed since the day that Matti collapsed in the hallway at the hospital in Vancouver. A lot had happened since then, and as he leaned back in his lawn chair at the camp on Lake Watchanabi he once again ran it through his mind.

He remembered trying desperately to get the nurses to have Dawn stopped before she left the hospital. They had been unsuccessful, and it wasn't until a week later that Matti had seen Dawn again. They had a long talk, and settled an awful lot of things. Almost every subject had been discussed at length, and in the end they were both satisfied with the results. Dawn admitted her initial visit to the camp had been ordered by the Wolverines, but that everything that happened after the first week was of her own volition. She also explained that last visit by Popeye and the others was just for confirmation from her that Matti was just an innocent party. The little photo album had been brought out to show two new probationary members pictures of the three Wolverines who had betrayed the club.

For his part, Matti assured Dawn her past was just that, her past. He had no intention of ever holding it against her.

Matti had to go back to Vancouver for the trial of Darren (Popeye) Lamont, and it kept him there for a couple of weeks. Detective Sanders and the lab technicians had found even more evidence than what Matti supplied, and the Wolverines member was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder. It was only a guarantee of 25 years, but Matti and Dawn agreed to attend any parole hearing he might have in the future, to speak against his parole.

Matti was just about to go in to get himself a beer when one was thrust in front of him.

"Here you are. How's that for service?"

Matti smiled and answered, "Thank you, dear. You must have read my mind."

Dawn sat in the chair beside Matti before she reached over and took his hand. "Sometimes I think we can read each other's minds quite well, Matti. Do you have any idea what I'm thinking right now?"

Matti grinned and turned to her, saying, "You surprise me, my dear. I thought you would want to wait till later, after our sauna and swim."

Dawn feigned anger and swatted Matti lightly on the arm before she said, "Not that! Haven't you been busy enough? Little Yvonne is at our apartment entertaining my parents, and we have twins due in four months." She moved her hand to her growing belly and rubbed it for emphasis. "Actually, there's no way you could have guessed what I'm thinking. I have put a lot of thought into it, and I think I should plan on going back to work after the twins are old enough. We earn a good living from your business, but I think maybe I should go back to work so we can put money away for the kids, for their education. What do you think?"

Matti sat there and thought for a while, finally realizing that the time had come. He got up, took Dawn by the hand and said, "I need you to come with me, to give me a hand with something."

Dawn got up and quickly answered, "No problem, Matti. Don't worry about what I was just talking about. We have lots of time to figure that out."

Matti led her into the house, and after he set his mostly full bottle of beer and his satellite phone on the kitchen counter, he took her to the spare bedroom.

"Here, Dawn. Give me a hand to slide this bed over." Seconds later they had the bed moved to the opposite side of the room.

Matti opened the hatch in the floor that was the access to the dugout beneath the camp. He reached down to turn on the single bulb that would light up the area, and started to climb down the ladder. "I'll need you to give me a hand down here, Dawn. Just be careful on the ladder."

Dawn quickly followed Matti into the dugout area below the camp and said, "Is there a problem with the water or sewer lines, Matti? Usually you only have to come down here when we open up the camp in the spring, or when we close it for the fall. Maybe my Dad and Richard would be a better help to you. Richard and his family get in early tomorrow, so they should all be here by noon."

Matti grabbed a small shovel from where it was leaning behind the ladder, and before he answered her he stood up a large piece of scrap plywood that was lying on the dirt floor of the dugout. "The water and sewer are fine, Dawn. Could you hold this up for me, please?"

Dawn quickly stepped forward to hold up the piece of old sheathing while Matti knelt down and started scraping dirt away from the area that had been previously covered by the wood. It only took him a few sweeps of the shovel to uncover the lid to a large plastic cooler that was sunk into the ground. Dawn was watching curiously as he quickly removed the cover to expose a neat stack of plastic covered blocks. Matti reached in and took one out before he replaced the lid and quickly spread the earth back over it.

"Okay, Dawn, you can put the plywood back down."

Dawn did as she was asked, but she was obviously very curious as she quickly asked, "What is this all about, Matti?" Matti still had the block in his hand as he turned from putting the shovel back where it belonged, and he simply handed it to Dawn.

"Take a good close look at that, Dawn. Our children's education fund is already fully taken care of."

Dawn was turning the block carefully in her hands, pausing each time she came to the image of a Canadian $100 bill looking back at her through the plastic it was wrapped in. Finally she looked up at him in shock and said, "This ... This is the money that was on the plane! This is the drug money Dog was looking for!"

Matti stared at Dawn as he answered, "Yes, it is that money. That bundle has $100,000 in it, and there are thirteen more of them in there. It's time you knew."

There was shock and then concern on Dawn's face as she spoke. "You never told me, Matti. Didn't ... Didn't ... you trust me?" The plastic wrapped bundle slipped from her fingers and landed on the dirt at their feet

Matti was showing alarm on his face as he answered, "Oh, no, Dawn! That wasn't it! That wasn't it at all. I haven't been in that cooler since just before we first met. When we went through our ... our problems, I blamed finding this for losing you, although I know I would never have met you except for this money. For the longest time I've tried not to even think about it. When you said you thought you might have to go back to work to help provide for our children's education, I knew I had to tell you about it. Later, if you really want to go back to work, that would be fine with me. Just don't ever feel that you have to." He took Dawn in his arms and smiled as he added, "I think every guy in Thunder Bay is angry with me since you stopped appearing on camera. I know you were always my favourite reporter. I'll enjoy having you all to myself if you decide not to go back there."

The two of them stood there, silently wrapped in each other's arms, for almost five minutes. Finally they separated and started walking to the ladder. While Dawn climbed the ladder Matti picked up the bundle of cash from the ground.

"Hey, don't forget this. I'm sure we can think of some sort of luxuries to buy with some of it."

Dawn laughed and replied, "Sure, bring it up here. I'm going to need some new maternity wear. Besides, I've never seen that much money in my life."

Matti had it in his hand as he turned off the light and then climbed the ladder.

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Readers may contact the author at bill0423@hotmail.com

