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extremely warm tonight.”
     

CHAPTER THREE

    The snow began at two-eighteen in the morning, silently. It announced its arrival with a an almost magical cascade of gigantic blue-white flakes that drifted into Anne’s improvised lean-to, and settled so softly on her sleeping form that she didn’t feel their touch. Moments later, though, a powerful gust of cold air dismembered the lean–to, and sent it cart wheeling into the lake. Within moments, the initial gust had turned into a howling wind, accompanied by an almost Biblical deluge of freezing rain and blowing sleet. By the time she struggled to her feet and made it to the plane, she was shivering with cold, even under her heavy, hooded parka.
    “What the hell was that ?” she screamed over the wind when Cameron opened the door.
    “Winter,” he replied.
    “Just like that? What happened to fall?”
    “Welcome to the Yukon. As I said, we have two seasons this far north: winter, and the first week in July. The First Nations people up here believe that this is where the North Windsleeps, and now it’s waking up again. You’re damp,” he said reproachfully.
    Anne shot him a disgusted look. “No kidding?”
    “And you expect to be welcomed into my warm, dry bed in that condition?” He reached to the front and tossed her a flannel shirt. “One of mine. A bit large, but the best I can do. I thought you might be joining me, and I’ve seen what you regard as sleeping garments. You must have an interesting social life, Miss Wilson. Silk Cinderella pajamas?”
    “They were a gift. And what, exactly, gave you the right to go through my damned luggage ?”
    “The usual customs check for smuggled items— distilled spirits, etc.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, you didn’t have any. All I found of a suspicious nature were some hand towels and a Gideon Bible, apparently stolen from a Red Roof Inn in Seattle. The towels I can understand, but the Bible?”
    “We big-time criminals enjoy reading,” she said sweetly.
    “I have it on very good authority that Al Capone began by stealing towels and Gideon Bibles,” he said. “Fortunately, you’ve been caught early in your crime career. Swift apprehension and certain punishment are the best ways to prevent first-time offenders from entering the criminal class on a permanent basis, you know.”
    “ Fascinating ! Did you learn that at the police academy?”
    “No, I learned that on reruns of Law and Order. Law enforcement is different up here, though. More personal, and direct. I can’t recall even one episode in which Sam Waterston was called upon to spank a prisoner. He merely sends the villain off to jail—to repent of his or her sins, presumably. Of course, Sam Waterston gets paid more than I do, too, and he probably has a nicer flat—overlooking Central Park.”
    He turned his back while she shed her wet clothes and slipped the flannel shirt over her head.
    “You can open your eyes, again,” she growled, tugging at the hem of the shirt. It was long enough to cover her knees safely, but bending over would still be perilous. “I’m decent—sort of. Let’s just hope the fashion police aren’t prowling around anywhere.”
    She looked down at herself, taking in the borrowed sealskin mukluks and the two pairs of thick gray wool socks he’d lent her—with their red stripes. “Maybe I’ll be the start of a new trend in lingerie,” she remarked sullenly. “The lumberjack look.”
    “These will add to the effect,” he said, handing her a pair of knitted sweat pants and yet another pair of woolen socks. “Take the boots off, and let them dry, and add these.”
    “Another pair of socks ?”
    “By morning, you’ll wish you were wearing a dozen. In a day or so, we’ll be sleeping in the parkas, as well, so try to keep yours dry.”
    “I’ve seen movies where the Eskimos sleep naked, inside those ice houses they build,” Anne complained. “Not that I’m suggesting that, of course,” she added