The Thunder Keeper(72)

“Kurt may get a little overzealous at times,” Roz Baider said. “Unfortunately there’s been some necessary violence . . .” Another shrug. “There’s no need for more, I’m sure you agree. I see no reason that we can’t come to an amicable understanding.”

Vicky took in several breaths. Her mind was focused into a pinprick of clarity. Be thoughtful. Survival depended upon it.

“Tell me something,” she said. She was thinking, Keep them talking. Death could come in the silences. “What makes you think you can mine diamonds at Bear Lake? It’s a sacred place. Surely you know that. It’s been sacred to my people for centuries, longer than anyone can remember. You’ll never get permission to mine there.”

“You think I want to operate mines the rest of my life?” A note of incredulity sounded in Baider’s tone. “My dear woman, I have no such intention.”

She stared at him. How could she have gotten it wrong? She’d seen the satellite image, she had the evidence.

“I know where the kimberlite pipe is located,” she said. Her head and shoulders throbbed.

“Of course you do. You’ve been a busy little bee, running up to Laramie this morning to talk to Charlie Ferguson, going to Global Vision this afternoon.”

The image of the black sedan flashed again in her mind. Following her to Laramie, shooting past on I-25 this evening, Kurt’s face averted. She understood. He’d taken the Speer exit before she’d reached it and he’d come here. The sedan was probably in the alley. At what point had he called Roz? “I’ve got her. She’s on the way home. We’ll have a little surprise party waiting.”

“The diamond world’s a very small place,” Roz Baider was saying. “Soon as you left Ferguson’s office, he called my father—they’re colleagues, you see. He wanted to know if we’d stumbled on a pipe at Bear Lake. Very unfortunate.” He shook his head. “Alarmed the old man for no reason. Caused somewhat of a problem at the office, I’m afraid. I have no time for problems.”

“Your father doesn’t know about the deposit, does he?” Vicky said, her mind still grappling with this new image of what was going on.

Baider leaned toward her, the narrowed eyes as opaque as stone. “My father prefers to concentrate his energies on golf. In any case, he no longer understands the diamond world. With rebels taking over the mines in Africa, the rush is on to develop new mines. Naturally the major diamond companies are eager to find deposits in the United States. The Loesseur Group, for example. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? No? Major competitor for DeBeers. Loesseur has agreed to buy Baider Industries, after a great deal of effort on my part, let me add.”

He paused and ran his tongue over his thin lips. “Let’s just say that Loesseur lost interest for a while, after one of our mines played out, but as soon as they heard about the rich deposit we’d located at Bear Lake, they changed their minds. They’re eager to extend their operations into this region.”

“You can’t sell what you don’t own, Baider.” Vicky made her voice strong. “You don’t have a mineral lease on the area. You don’t have any authorization to explore.”

“True, true.” Roz Baider nodded for a long moment. “We’re selling information, my dear. Information about a rich deposit. Loesseur will take care of the legal technicalities and begin operations.”

Vicky felt a chill run through her. A company that competed with DeBeers, with deep pockets to pay for the environmental study required for a mining permit and fleets of top-notch lawyers, would be able to withstand any challenges the tribes might offer. She said, “A mine will destroy the Bear Lake Valley.”

Roz Baider was grinning at some image in his head. “I can assure you that Loesseur will not operate a mine long.”

“You talk too much, Roz.” Kurt stepped forward, the massive body throwing a shadow over the other man.

“What are you saying?” Vicky kept her eyes on the man perched in front of her. “Loesseur wouldn’t buy your company if they didn’t intend to operate a mine.”

“Oh, they have every intention of operating a mine. Our tests prove conclusively that the diamonds at Bear Lake are gem quality. Yes, yes, the very best, worth millions.” He slapped one hand against his thigh. “By the time Loesseur gets results from their own tests, I’ll be in Brazil. Kurt here—” He glanced up at the man glaring at him. “Where will you be, Kurt? Switzerland?”

“Shut up, Roz.”

Vicky glanced from Baider to Kurt. An old story, a legend she’d heard as a kid, flitted at the edge of her mind. The con artists in the Wyoming wilderness a century ago, duping the big-money boys in New York City by making them believe there were gem-quality diamonds in a deposit, when the only gems found were the ones they had sprinkled around.