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be getting attention again now that the journal has been found. The federal government doesn’t like to concede that a person can vanish without a trace on public lands. They’d still like to know what happened to Jonathan Vail, and nothing would give me greater satisfaction than to end my career by finding out. May I?” He gestured toward the visitor’s chair in front of Claire’s desk.
    â€œPlease.”
    As he bent forward to ease himself into the chair, Claire noticed that the hair on top of his head was thin and his scalp was freckled and pink. She sat down herself.
    â€œI assume you’ve read the journal?” Curt asked.
    â€œI have,” Claire replied.
    â€œWill I find anything there that will solve the mystery?” He smiled.
    â€œI’d rather you read it before we talk about it. I think it’s best to read it with as blank a slate as possible.”
    â€œAll right,” Curt agreed. “Well, let’s get on with it. Is the document in the Anderson Reading Room?”
    â€œI’ll bring it to you there.”
    ******
    Claire went down the hall to Harrison’s office. His interest in the journal had already turned proprietary. Suspicion came easily to him. “Who wants to see it?” he demanded.
    â€œCurt Devereux, the ranger who conducted the initial investigation. He’s been put back on the case.”
    Harrison reluctantly handed over the briefcase, and Claire took it to the reading room. Curt knew the drill and had already surrendered his ID to Gail Benton, the librarian who manned the reference desk. He had put on his white gloves and was sitting, rather demurely, Claire thought, at a table.
    â€œAh,” he said when she handed it to him, “canyon dust.”
    â€œAda Vail wants to restrict access to law enforcement and staff. She feels that the notebook should not leave the center.”
    â€œI don’t have any problem with that. I would like a copy to take with me, however.”
    â€œI’ll make one for you,” Claire said.
    Curt fingered the thick hide. “What kind of leather is this? Do you know?”
    â€œNo,” Claire replied.
    She made another Xerox copy for Devereux, then went back to her office to wait for his reaction. By now she had read the journal several times, but her first impression hadn’t changed. Ruth O’Connor, a coworker who had noticed Curt in her office, stopped by to ask who he was. Claire had kept her word to Harrison not to talk about the journal, but his resolve appeared to have lasted about five minutes. It was the day after the discovery, and word was all over the center. Anyone seen visiting Claire now was presumed to be connected to the journal.
    Ruth reminded Claire of an alert little bird. She was the oldest member of the department, but retirement was not in her vocabulary. She enjoyed what she was doing far too much. Her eyes were sharp behind her trifocal lenses. She had a way of tipping her head when she talked, as if she were trying to find the right viewpoint in the glasses. “Who was that guy?” she asked Claire, poking her head through the door.
    â€œWhat guy?” Claire responded, even though she knew full well who Ruth was talking about.
    â€œThe big one—Smokey the Bear.”
    â€œCurt Devereux, the ranger who investigated the disappearance of Jonathan Vail way back when. He’s still with the Park Service and is reopening the case. He’s in the Anderson Reading Room examining the notebook.”
    â€œIsn’t that just like the federal government?” asked Ruth. “A man messes up an investigation once, and thirty years later they give him the opportunity to mess it up all over again.”
    â€œHow do you know that Curt messed up the first time?”
    â€œHe didn’t find Jonathan Vail, did he?”
    â€œNo.” Claire resisted the assumption, common around universities, that academics were smarter than