Wednesday, 6 December 2000 (continued)
There is a discrepancy regarding the information given by Kyle
Brooks and Barry Kelly. They both said that the Copperhead Mine
was closed during the depression. Kelly said it re-opened after
World War II and shut in the 1980s. Brooks said that it didn't open
again until 1982 - the same year Ward Industries bought the mine.
The agents contact Brooks and put off going down the mine until
tomorrow morning - it is important they get to talk to Joel Grey.
Oaxaca looks in Grey's accounts. He uses a solicitor called Charles
Jenkins. Apart from owing about $300 in tax there is nothing financially
amiss with Grey - certainly no bribes.
Black and Rocaan travel to interview Grey. He is just leaving on
a vacation to visit his in-laws in Kansas. He is not looking forward
to it. Grey is in his late forties, his domineering wife is Elaine
Grey. Grey says that he got no written complaint from Bryce. He
suggests the agents talk to Troy James and Randall Watson (Bryce's
cronies in the mine). Grey accepts the written report may have been
lost in the system at the Mary Estate. Grey blames the accident
on a seam of uranium/copper composite that caused a slippage in
one of the shafts. He doubts there is enough uranium in the mine
to interest the Department of Defence.
Joel started working with the mining authority in 1980. He says
that the local chamber of commerce ran the mine between the 1950s
and 1982 (he agrees with Kelly's version of events). Ward Industries
reapplied for mine status mid 1982 when they took over. Grey looked
at the mine in 1982 - he was there with his mentor Alex Long. Long
has since retired and moved to San Francisco. Grey has no address
for him. The agents leave Grey to his holiday, but reserve the right
to call him in the future.
Rocaan and Black now go to Janice Henderson's home. She is not
in on the two occasions they call. A neighbour says that Janice
spends the nights with her husband Jay who works as an engineer
on a cargo plane, the agents will have to interview her tomorrow.
Also in the evening Rocaan tries to contact Alexander Sanders but
to no avail. Black contacts Peterson, but he has no way of getting
in contact with Alex Long. Benedict contacts Bradshaw and Dover
structural engineers and sends them information on the accident
so they can begin an independent examination.
In the evening the agents have a getting-to-know-you session with
Bruce. Every gets drunk except Dominic. They discover nothing edifying
from Bruce during this time.
Thursday, 7 December 2000
First thing in the morning Brooks leads agents Black, Rocaan, Oaxaca
and Campbell-Robson into the mine. Brooks started working at the
mine in 1983, proper mining began the following year. He does not
believe it was used in the intervening time. There had certainly
been no maintenance between 1950 and 1980. Shaft 1 had a bit of
new wiring in it when Ward Industries took over in 1982, but that
shaft is now used as storage. Brooks tells the agents that Ward
Industries has diversified outside the USA and ha mines in South
Africa, South America and Russia.
The agents ride the lift down to shaft 35, cross shaft 35 by train
and then ride another lift down. They have to climb down a ladder
to reach shaft 43. The rubble of the collapse has been cleared.
The collapse trapped the miners at the end of the tunnel. It took
twelve hours to dig them out and they only had nine hours of air.
The cut point for the shaft (that Patterson disagreed with) was
suggested by surveyors appointed by Ward Industries. Shaft 43 had
been open for two years before the collapse.
The agents examine the area and find nothing. Dominic was convinced
he would find some clue pointing toward the supernatural. Artemis,
Dominic and Bruce go to interview Janice Henderson. Benedict and
Brooks take a look in shaft 1. They discover that a number of expensive
drill bits are missing!
Black and Rocaan speak to the accountant Mike Barnes, Louis Rolf
(a senior shift miner who is still working) and Janice Henderson.
Rolf doesn't belong to a union and he doesn't want the mine to close.
Henderson is very timid. She finds the last written complaint made
by Bryce was about water filters. She also gives the agents information
about a cruise taken by Elaine and Oscar Ross. This Pacific cruise
would cost $40,000. How could the Rosses possibly afford it?
Benedict arrives with news of the thefts. The last person to inventory
shaft 1 was Bryce himself, several weeks ago. The shaft is normally
inventoried by the senior shift miners. Besides Bryce these are:
Chuck Wall, Richard Adams, Louis Rolf, Tom Blanton and Eric Von
Stein. The next inventory of the staff was due on 1 December, but
never happened because of the strike.
Bernie Price of the Casper Clarion phones Oaxaca. He tips him off
to a road accident at Chugwater on the I-25 (southbound). Calvin
Powell, driving a Ward Industries heavy goods truck went across
the central reservation, over the bridge and into the river. He
is in a critical condition and is not expected to live. He hit a
car carrying and mother and children. They are not expected to live
either. The truck was carrying copper ore. This may be nothing,
but Benedict confirms the details with Sheriff Max Lincoln of Chugwater
county.
Dominic and Black return to the mine with Brooks while Benedict
starts looking through the accounts of the company. It seems the
accountant Mike Barnes (who is almost as smarmy as Artemis Black)
is a genius with numbers. He has invented a barely legal way of
moving Ward Industries money from account to account, saving the
company $350,000,000 per year in tax.
It seems that diamond bits for drills, synthetic lubricant, medical
supplies are mineralogical core sample canisters are missing from
Shaft 1. Can this mean that there is illicit drilling going on somewhere
in the mine? And if so, what is the drilling for? Dominic suggests
checking to see if all the drills are where they should be. If any
are missing it may point to unlawful mining.
Two drills are supposed to be in for repair. These are quickly
accounted for. One of the drills was checked in by Bryce on 22 September.
At some point it drilled through uranium powder.
Mid-West Campaign Index
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