Snow Bond

by Ross Richdale

  After relaxing by having a smoke and another can of beer, weak New Zealand crap but better than nothing and so cheap to buy it was hardly worth the effort to nick the stuff, he used his telescopic lens to study the shed door that was closed. Good, the men were doing something inside and would be there awhile for smoke rose from a chimney at one end.

  Oh hell, here she was!

  The woman who walked out of the house wore a pink jersey just like the one in the photograph he had on his smart phone. He checked her through the telescopic lens but her face was in a shadow with a cape covering her hair. She was a blonde though and matched the photo pretty well. It was damn cold out here so he decided not to worry about getting a closer look. He'd take the bitch out, take a photo as evidence and head east. Once in Christchurch, he'd collect the ten grand and be on his way on an internal air flight out at 1600 hours to Queenstown under an assumed name. Once at the tourist resort he'd use his fake passport and air ticket to take an international flight to Sydney Australia at noon the following day. He even had the night booked in a classy hotel in the town and heard that the local whores were cheap and accommodating.

  He laughed aloud, flung his cigarette away and brought the rifle up, just as the bitch reached the half-way point to the shed. Damn, the sun that had just appeared from out of a cloud affected his view a little As the woman reached up to shade her eyes, he fired, saw her being flung back and grinned. He fired twice more just to be certain he had hit her but had every confidence in his ability.

  Afterwards, he slipped back from under the hedge, slung his a rifle across his back and headed out in the snowmobile. That was the easiest twenty thousand bucks he'd made in years.

  WITH SOFIA BEING WELL cared for by Renee and Aza, Tyler and Ian took a cautious route out around the back of the sheds and onto the road to the other side of the hedge. It continued to snow but traces of a track were still visible along the road.

  "Looks like a snowmobile," he said. "He came in from up the road and left in the same direction."

  Ian frowned. "By why that way? There's nothing in that direction for fifty kilometres."

  "The East Ridge Station isn't far away and there's another station five kilometres further on," Tyler said. "They could be his destination."

  "Well one thing," Ian said. "A snowmobile is pretty fast in these conditions so there's no way we can catch up to him with the tractor." He glanced at the sky. "With this snowfall, the tracks will soon be obliterated. If he left the road we could drive right past without knowing. Let's go and inspect the hedge. He may have left something there."

  They walked along and soon found where the man had been. A cigarette butt and empty beer can were almost covered in snow. Ian used his mobile to photograph them and added a couple photos of the footprints in the snow. Though they looked around, no spent cartridges were discovered.

  "We should be able to get fingerprints off the can and with a bit of luck, even DNA from the cigarette butt," Ian said. "I guess there's not a lot else to be done. At least it appears that the guy's gone."

  "There is one thing we can do," Tyler said. "Behind the main shed is a track that goes up to an old water tank. In the M.O.W days they used it to provide water by gravity to the camp. It was replaced by pumps years ago but is still there."

  "And how will that help us?"

  "We could be in mobile phone range up there. Last summer, I remember Renee saying that there was a new cellphone tower being built at the ski resort." Tyler grimaced. "It's only a walking track with steps. There are snowshoes in the shed we can use."

  After telling Renee and the others where they were going, Tyler and Ian spent almost an hour before they reached the water tank but had no mobile contact on the way up. The snow was even thicker here and they were glad to reach the remains of an old pump house beside the water tank. There was no door but at least they could get out of the snow. Even though both their phones were on different networks there was still no signal.

  "How about the other side of the tank?" Ian suggested.

  "I guess," Tyler replied. "At least we would be facing the ski field from that direction."

  When they walked around the tank Tyler grinned for his mobile indicated that a signal was coming through.

  "I guess we should ring the police first," he said.

  Ian nodded. "I'll get back to my boss in Auckland, too. If Renee's ex is involved, it could help our case against him."

  After contacting the police, Tyler sent the video he'd taken of Sofia's wounds to the emergency department of Christchurch hospital. A helpful surgeon spoke to him and said that with evidence of an exit wound she was not in immediate danger and the first aid applied had done everything possible to help her. He did give a couple of suggestions and assured Tyler that a helicopter would be flown in as soon as the weather cleared.

  Another call to the local power company to ask when electricity would be restored was a failure as he was placed on a hold and switched off in disgust, as his phone's battery was almost flat.

  "Any luck with your calls?" he asked Ian.

  "Nothing new," Ian replied. "My boss agreed that the gunman had probably mistaken Sofia for Renee, said he'd follow it up at his end and keep in contact with the police."

  RENEE COOKED UP A BATCH of muffins and now sat at the kitchen table with the other two women as they sipped coffee and discussed the event. She noticed that Sofia was remarkably resilient and insisted on being up and about after lying on the couch for only a short while.

  "As far as I know, I have no enemies," Sofia said as she used her good hand to grip the coffee mug.

  Aza turned to face Renee. "So you think Sofia was mistaken for you and your ex shot her?"

  "Not personally but he is capable of hiring someone to do it. I guess it wasn't too difficult for him to trace me here." She attempted to sound light-hearted but thoughts about the situation had her worried.

  "But there could be other reasons," Aza replied. "I agree that Sofia was probably mistaken for somebody else but was it necessarily you?"

  "Who else?" Renee replied. "Nobody knows you two are here and I doubt if someone wearing pink would be perceived as one of the guys. Tyler said he'd tell the police what we suspected and leave it to them to follow up. Ian's firm could help, too." She stood up and gathered up the empty coffee mugs. "Meanwhile, I think we should remain indoors just in case the person decided to circle around and return. I've locked the doors and the Tyler has installed quite a sophisticated alarm system that still works from batteries when the power's off. Want to see it?"

  The pair nodded and followed her up the hallway to a closet near the front door.

  "The closet was probably originally use for visitor's coats," Renee said as she opened the door to show a row of batteries and a wall mounted gauges. A house plan showed external doors and windows with a small indictor light inside each symbol. She frowned for while most of the lights were green, three along the front veranda pulsed yellow.

  "What is it?" Sofia asked.

  "Somebody has been there," Renee replied. "This part of the house has old pull up windows. If anyone attempts to pull them up from the outside it would activate the yellow lights. If they actually managed to open one or smashed the glass, an alarm would ring." She pointed to the door symbol that also had a yellow pulsing light. "Someone turned the door knob but found it locked."

  "How long ago?" Aza asked.

  Renee pressed some buttons and three digital clocks lit up. "About the time Tyler and Ian left for the shed," she replied. "Someone must have waited for them to go before attempting to get inside."

  "Then retreated back to the road, walked along to the hedge and waited for you to come out?"

  Renee frowned. "It appears so."

  This was even more worrying for it seemed to confirm that she was the target. If the assassin realised he had not killed her, what was to stop him coming back for a second attempt?"

  CHAPTER 6

  Life at East Ridge had turned into a
sort of limbo with no let up in the snow over the following two nights. Tyler had repaired the generator but the shortage of diesel meant that he only had it running for an hour in the morning and two at night. This meant, though that the mobiles were all recharged and television watched with the outside weather news interesting. Snow was down to sea level over much of the southern parts of the South Island but it appeared that they had had more snow than anywhere except for the mountain resorts. Most of these were closed due to high winds and freezing temperatures but commentators predicted a longer than usual ski season.

  Renee was worried about Sofia's wound that continued to look swollen and her whole arm had now stiffened. Perhaps there was shrapnel still in there! Tyler and Ian had made another hike up to the water tank the day before and were assured that a helicopter would be flown in as soon as there was a break in the weather. She glanced up from the pot-bellied stove where she was cleaning out the ashes and saw an apprehensive Aza approach.

  "It's Sofia," Aza said. "She's had a relapse."

  'What sort?"

  "She's running a high temperature of almost forty degrees and has slipped into a sort of trance and was muttering incoherently when I dressed her wound."

  Renee followed her companion into the bedroom and found Sofia exactly how Aza had described. Also the sheets were damp so it appeared that she had had this high temperature for quite some time.

  "She needs help," Renee said. "We can't wait for the helicopter."

  Over the following few minutes hasty decisions were made with Tyler's idea of using the tractor to take Sonja out and Ian going up to the tank to establish mobile contact, decided upon. The tractor was brought over to the front veranda and Sofia carried into the cab. It was a tight squeeze but she was placed on a small mattress on the back seat and covered in a blanket. As Renee could also drive the tractor she squeezed in beside Tyler and they headed out.

  AZA WATCHED UNTIL THE tractor was out of sight before she turned to Ian.

  "I'm coming with you up to the top tank," she said. "Nobody should be alone in this weather."

  It had stopped snowing but a wind came up and the thermometer hovered at -10C. Their plan was to contact authorities to explain that the tractor was heading east on the highway and ask for a helicopter or ground party to look out for them.

  Ian nodded so they headed out through deep snow carrying as much survival gear that they could manage, including food in case they became stranded at any time. It was no Sunday tramp but Aza noticed that Ian appeared to be sensible and confident as they moved up the almost invisible track. Luckily there were marking posts every hundred metres and her thermal jacket; waterproof ski trousers, beanie, gloves and glasses isolated her from most of the freezing conditions. It took almost two hours but they finally reached the tank and shelter. When she walked around to the other side of the tank her mobile rang.

  "Hello, Aza speaking."

  "Hi Aza," came back Renee's voice. "We've in range from a top corner. Are you at the tank?"

  "Just got here but haven't managed to get anyone yet."

  "I've made most of the calls needed. We found this spot where our calls go out. The army is bringing a doctor out to meet us in one of their six wheeled vehicles and if the weather clears, a helicopter will also come."

  Aza gazed out but could see nothing as they were surrounded by thick cloud. "What's it like down there?"

  "Snowing but the wind's dropped. We need to keep going so will probably go out of range again. Perhaps you can contact the authorities. The search and rescue have given me a number you can use for a direct contact."

  She took the number and called in to introduce herself.

  "Okay, Aza," said the guy at the other end. "If we lose contact with Tyler we'll come back to you. The helicopter pilot said there could be a break in the weather later in the day and the army guys should reach Tyler's tractor in an hour or so. If anyone can get through, the army will."

  Aza felt a little relieved as she walked back to find that Ian had already lit the portable heater in the shelter and though still cold, it was a welcome refuge from the weather outside.

  "Here," Ian said and handed her a steaming coffee from the thermos. "Get this into you."

  "Thanks," Aza replied as she sat down and told him the latest news.

  "So we hardly needed to come up here, after all?" he said with a grin.

  Aza nodded. "Renee told me there was usually no mobile coverage at all in the district. I guess that new tower at the ski field helped."

  She took off her wet outer gloves and held her hands around the portable heater. Their shelter rattled in the wind but even without a door, they were away from its icy blast and in a comparatively comfortable position.

  "Now we're here, I think we should stay put until the weather improves," Ian said and reached for his rucksack. "Want one of those delicious ham sandwiches Renee made up?"

  RENEE GRIMACED AS TYLER stopped, reversed the tractor several metres and moved forward again through deep snow. Now they were on the plains, the snow was actually deeper than in the hills. As far as she could see the land was a sea of white with only power poles that followed the road on the right showing where to go. The occasional farmhouse looked lonely and dark with only one showing a light.

  By staying several metres left of the power poles, Tyler had kept on the road surface but now even their large tractor couldn't cope. The only consolation was that it had stopped snowing but dark clouds around showed that this condition would not last for long.

  "Use the bucket like a plough," Renee suggested.

  The bucket was the scoop attached to the front of the tractor that was used to carry metal or dirt. Tyler also used it to carry the round hay bales when feeding out. At the moment it was raised high above the windscreen and out of sight.

  "It won't work," Tyler grumbled as he slowed to a crawl and the automatic gear selected a lower gear. They were now moving at barely a walking place. "The spikes at the front of the bucket will just dig into the surface and we'll stall."

  "Let me try," Renee said. "Sofia is no better and I think her sleep has lapsed into unconsciousness."

  Tyler stared at her, shrugged and stopped the tractor after setting the manual throttle to a fast idle. Renee slide across beneath him when he straddled the seat. Once in the driver's seat she reached for the bucket controls. There were several that set the height and angle as well as a lock to secure the settings. She had often driven the tractor and was confident about what to do. She lowered the bucket to twenty centimetres above ground level, turned the outer side about thirty degrees and tilted the whole blade so the front was lower than the rear.

  "Isn't that wrong?" Tyler muttered. "If you want to scoop up snow, surely it should be tipped back?"

  Renee grinned for the first time. "I don't want to scoop it up. Watch!"

  She moved the tractor slowly forward and watched as the bucket scooped snow off the surface. Renee held her breath in anticipation to see if her theory worked. The snow built up in the bucket while the font wheels shuddered but gripped the surface and moved forward enough for the rear wheels to also grip. Meanwhile the snow caught in the bucket began to slide to the left before falling off beside the tractor.

  She accelerated ever so slightly and the shuddering stopped as all four wheels gripped and the momentum meant the snow was scooped continuously off the road, up into the bucket and slid off to the left to form a long pile beside the road.

  It would not have worked for even a 4X4 vehicle with chains but the tractor could cope with the remaining snow beneath them. Renee gritted her teeth and increased speed. The bucket worked even better so soon they were moving along the highway at a steady twenty kilometres an hour compared with about five a few moments earlier.

  Tyler grinned and squeezed her arm. "It was lucky I have you here rather than Aza."

  "Yeah," Renee muttered but never took her eyes off the snow ahead. "We make a good pair."

  "LOOK!" TYLER SAID TWENTY
minutes later as he squinted through the windscreen. "Aren't those flashing lights ahead?"

  Renee, who was still driving, leaned forward and peered through the glass. Way ahead on the long straight road, were flashing red and blue lights. She flashed their own overhead yellow lights as well as the headlights and sighed in relief when the lights in the distance flashed back. "I think the army has arrived," she said.

  Five minutes later, not one but three six wheeled armour carriers and a large truck followed a gigantic military snowplough up the road. The convoy pulled in before their tractor and several army personnel approached.

  One, a captain by the three pips on his jacket, stepped forward. He shook both Tyler's and her hands. "I'm Doctor Jeb Rostrom from Burnham Camp in Christchurch. I believe you have a patient for me to see."

  While Doctor Rostrom examined Sofia, every new arrival appeared to know what to do. Soldiers with snowshoes searched the area around and found a flat space beside the road. The snowplough moved into position so within moments a rectangle the size of a small house was cleared of snow. Other crew moved in and a large khaki tent was erected and roped down. Renee noticed a red cross on the roof. Gear was shifted in including a large LPG heater.

  A sergeant came up to Renee and Tyler. "You are welcome to step inside Ma'am, Sir but please stay at this end of the tent and away from the operating theatre behind the zipped off plastic curtains. Coffee or hot soup will be available shortly."

  "Operating theatre?" Renee asked.

  The sergeant turned to her. "This is a military field hospital, Ma'am," he said. "Doctor Rostrom is a fully qualified surgeon who has decided that your friend's wounds need to be operated on immediately rather than risk a two hour journey back to Christchurch hospital."