The Glacier Gallows Read Online Free PDF Page A

break,” there was nothing at home to look forward to. He would likely spend his weekend working.
    Brian walked down Sparks Street toward Elgin. D’Arcy McGee’s was where political Ottawa went to unwind. It was named after Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a father of Confederation, and the only victim of a political assassination at the federal level in Canada. Brian hadn’t stepped five feet inside the door when he heard his name being called from a belly-up table near the bar. Half a dozen gray-, blue-, and black-suited men pressed around it, pint glasses near at hand. Rick Turcotte was among them.
    â€œHow goes the wind-farming business?” one of the men wanted to know. It was Gerry Derganc, who had taken over for him when Brian left the Canadian Petroleum Association.
    â€œIt would be better if the government offered a few incentives—say, one percent of what they are giving you to do R&D in the tar sands.” Brian said it with a smile.
    â€œYou really have gone over to the dark side, haven’t you?” Gerry said.
    â€œI thought you were the dark side,” Brian quipped, looking for a server to bring him a pint. The men at the table laughed.
    â€œGive Brian a break,” said Rick Turcotte. “He’s still one of us, even if he hangs out with hairy-armpit hippies at folk music festivals now.”
    Brian’s beer came and the group of men talked politics. “Any of you know the company High Country Energy?” Brian asked.
    â€œI’ve heard of them. Out of Casper or Cheyenne; someplace in Wyoming,” said Gerry.
    â€œThat’s right. I’m doing a little dance with them on one of my projects down in Montana.”
    â€œThis your ‘wind for the Indians’ play?” asked Gerry.
    Brian winced. “The Blackfeet Nation, yes.”
    Another man dug out his Blackberry. “I just read something about them today.” He thumbed the keyboard and then held it for Brian to see. “Here.”
    Brian took a drink of his beer and looked at the tiny screen. It was one of the many oil-patch trade publications, and the section was called “In Motion.” Each month one of the sector’s movers and shakers was profiled, tracking his or her movements around the oil patch. Brian read:
    This month In Motion: former US senator Lester Thompson, now chairman of High Country Energy of Cheyenne, Wyoming ( DOW : HCE ). The former senator is racking up almost as many frequent-flyer miles as when he was chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, making stops in China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Ottawa, and exotic Fort McMurray, Canada, all in one month.
    Brian handed the man’s Blackberry back to him. “The guy gets around. Who did he meet with when he was here?” His question was greeted with shrugs.
    â€œI never heard of these guys. Maybe he met with the minister. He doesn’t tell me about every meeting,” said Rick.
    Brian was curious. “Do you think you could get me a meeting with your boss? I think it’s time this government took alternative energy more seriously, don’t you?” What he really wanted to ask was what former senator Lester Thompson was doing in China, Ottawa, and Fort McMurray all in the same month.

SIX
    GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA. JULY 10.
    â€œYOU HAVE GOT TO BE kidding me,” said Cole Blackwater. A second helicopter touched down on the plateau where the team was camped and the front passenger door of the A-Star opened. A woman in jeans and an RCMP jacket ducked out. Cole stood up. The rest of the hiking party stayed seated on the flat stones of the kitchen area. They’d been drinking coffee and watching the uproar that had engulfed their camp since the discovery of Brian Marriott’s body almost three hours earlier. All turned to follow Cole’s eyes.
    â€œSomeone you know?” asked Derek. He had just returned to the camp. After the rangers from