The cabin would be their base, the place to which they would return with Frederick. They reached the highway at mid-morning, and two rides hitched from passing motorists deposited them at a car rental agency on Grand Junction’s outskirts. Alex used his credit card to rent a mid-sized SUV. Faust would be able to trace the charge, but they would have made their move by then. After a late lunch at a Black Angus restaurant, Alex rented a snowmobile so Pia could learn to operate it. “Since you can’t stand up on skis,” he said as he explained the controls, “we need a backup getaway plan in case they block the road down the mountain. Tourists rent these things on Silver Hill’s main street. We’ll rent or steal a couple if we have to escape cross-country.” An hour of practice made Pia comfortable operating the machine. They returned it to the rental store and hit the road for Silver Hill. Darkness had settled over the ski resort when they turned onto its miniscule main drag.
