Where Echoes Live Read Online Free

had been sent to Vernon along with Ned Sanderman, one of the Coalition’s crack troubleshooters.
    â€œI take it the problem concerns the foreign gold-mining company that’s got hold of the mineral rights in Stone Valley,” I said.
    She raised her eyebrows. “That’s very good, for someone who’s been in town only a few hours.”
    I smiled modestly, unwilling to admit that I’d found out about the mining by pure accident.
    â€œWell,” she went on, “that is the problem. The mesa above Promiseville hasn’t been mined since the twenties, but modern methods of extracting gold have made mining profitable again. And it’s not only the mineral rights that Transpacific Corporation controls; they own the land itself.”
    â€œI thought most of the land around here was federal,” I said, recalling signs I’d spotted for the Toiyabe National Forest.
    â€œMost is. But Transpacific—they’re a U.S. corporation, but backed by big-money interests in Hong Kong—bought up some three thousand privately held acres from a descendant of the family who owned the original Promiseville mine. The other seven hundred acres were also under private ownership, but they were bought from the federal government only a year ago.”
    â€œHow can someone buy federal land?”
    â€œIt’s a complicated process, having to do with patenting mining claims with the Bureau of Land Management. I won’t bore you with the details now; there’s a file on the technicalities back at the cabin. Suffice it to say it’s completely legal.”
    â€œThen what can you do to stop them?”
    â€œMy job is to go over the land deal with a fine-tooth comb to see if there’s any legal loophole. Or any unethical transaction that might cast a long enough shadow to make Mono County refuse to issue the final mine permits.”
    â€œFrom the way Mrs. Wittington at the lodge spoke, I guess people in the area are pretty much opposed to the mining operation.”
    â€œOh, there’re plenty who see it as a boost to the economy, but they’re being shortsighted. It would only be a temporary boost and cause more problems than it would solve. Most of the intelligent people here simply don’t want large-scale open-pit mining in Stone Valley.” Anne-Marie set down her fork, her face flushed, eyes bright; she was on a crusade, all right.
    â€œNot only is open-pit mining noisy and disfiguring to the landscape,” she went on, “but the cyanide leaching process they use poisons the air and ground water. In addition, there’re a number of historic buildings where Promiseville once was that the Friends of Tufa Lake are trying to get approved for landmark status. The blasting from the mine would weaken and eventually destroy them.”
    I nodded, pushing a sprig of parsley around on my plate. “Okay,” I said, “but you didn’t get me up here to help you research legal issues. What else is going on?”
    Anne-Marie glanced around as if she were afraid we would be overheard, then leaned forward, lowering her voice. “In the week I’ve been here, I’ve found out some things that just don’t compute. Other things have happened that seem downright suspicious. I need someone with a good investigative head to make sense of them.”
    â€œAll right, fill me in.”
    She proceeded to tick items off on her fingers.
    Item one: When queried by the Coalition, the Bureau of Land Management in Sacramento reported that the 700-acre tract had been purchased from them by a man named Franklin Tarbeaux. Tarbeaux had staked a claim to the mineral rights, then filed the appropriate mineral-survey documents and completed the patenting requirements—paying a mere $10 an acre.
    Item two: Mono County records showed that Tarbeaux almost immediately sold the land to Transpacific Corporation for $700,000—or $1,000 an acre. Although his