Holly brought in a tray of coffee, and there was a pause while the men fussed over who took cream and who didn’t. Craig bit his lower lip against an urge to scream. He looked through the open door, caught a glimpse of that milling herd that made up the investigating team, and felt a stab of frustration, made more acute by the insignificance of his present audience.

Save your breath, gentlemen, thought Craig as he watched them drink their coffee. Save it and just tell the Japs that Silver is free-ski-city for the young kids who drive in from Calgary with an empty covered pick-up, and drive back again with enough skis to start a hire shop. Easy. End of problem. Now get back to your nothing jobs, patrolling miles of air-less carpeted corridor talking shit into walkie-talkies, and leave me alone.

Craig suddenly realized that the contempt he had for these men was most likely echoed by the Edmonton crew, with him as the target. Get back to your nothing job of catching ski-thieves, you small-town cop.

He swallowed back his contempt and tried to regain a semblance of professional demeanour. He noticed Daniel still wasn’t at his desk as Holly went back to the open door with her empty tray. What had Becker got him doing, he wondered? Craig really wanted to talk to Daniel, and he made a mental note to do it as soon as he shovelled these gorillas out of the office and back into their hotels.

As Holly closed the door, McIntyre spoke first. ‘And does the responsibility also rest with us to ensure the guests come back to the hotel on the ski bus instead of in a body bag?’

Cranky addict, thought Craig. Deny a smoker their nicotine and what do you expect? ‘No, Mr McIntyre, it doesn’t. You stop them shoplifting the fluffy moose from your arcades. We’ll stop them getting murdered.’

Blessed took offence. About time. ‘Not doing such a hot job so far, are you?’

‘Seems not.’

McIntyre sat up, as if height were superiority. ‘Well if someone here doesn’t start doing their job, we may not have many guests left to frisk for fluffy toys, Staff Sergeant. Have you any idea what this is going to do to our business if you guys don’t get off your butts and catch the loony?’

‘Sure.’

‘And?’

‘We’ll catch him. You think about ski-lockers.’

McIntyre stared him out and lost. It was time to stop this crap. Craig wanted Daniel Hawk in here. His mind was constantly straying back to Hunt’s involvement in all this.

An apple.