Target

In thePointe Judah Newsseventeen years later: MASS GRAVE UNCOVERED IN CALIFORNIASkeletons of thirty-three recovered: Workers stumble on abandoned gold mine. In one of the most horrific mass-death discoveries in California history, a sudden ground collapse during installation of a new cell tower has revealed multiple human remains. Tangled skeletons suggest a desperate struggle to escape asphyxia in an abandoned gold mine. Workers drilling at the site report that they became aware that they had broken into an existing cavity when surrounding earth began to cave in.The drill had pierced what is believed to have been a large vent intended to bring air into the mine. Most of the victims were heaped at the bottom of this hundred-foot-deep vent and are presumed to have been trying to claw their way up. Officials have already tied the deceased to members of a northern California commune known as "The Refuge." Seventeen years ago, people in the nearby town of Grove noticed the sudden absence of commune members. Until then, people from The Refuge had frequented shops and other businesses in Grove.At that time, police visited the settlement and found trailers still filled with possessions,but the owners had left. It appeared that these people had supported themselves with extensive marijuana cultivation. All efforts to track down members of the commune failed until the recent discovery. Officials have announced that pieces of identification for thirty-three people were found with the remains.Longtime residents in Grove recall some of the people whose photographs are on these documents as commune members. The public is asked to contact their local police departments with any tips,and to be advised that intensive efforts are under way to complete positive identifications. If you think one of your friends or relatives may have been among the dead, the police would like to hear from you as soon as possible. Pointe Judah, Louisiana This was it. Decisions had to be made. Nick Board didn't want to admit, even to himself, that he was afraid, but he'd be a fool if he wasn't. He had to protect the lives of the people he loved, and his own. He turned his Audi from Main Street into the forecourt of Ona's Out Front, the bar and diner side of Ona's business. In the same building, Ona's Out Back, an unlikely tea shop, lay directly behind the diner. He parked next to a familiar, bright yellow Miata that reflected dazzling sun-bursts off its spotless paint. Inside, her elbows propped on the stainless-steel counter that spanned the windows, sat Sarah Board, one of his supposed sisters and the owner of the Miata. From the direction of her glance, she couldn't see him for the glare. Nick got out of the car and faced Main Street, just to give himself a little time to settle down. Vehicles and people passed through the white-hot haze of midafternoon. He poked at the nosepiece of his sunglasses. Two weeks ago the headline and lead article in thePointe Judah Newshad stunned Nick, stunned Aurelie and Sarah and thrust them back where they'd learned not to go: to the day when Mary Chance had sent them to Georgia. He could not get past the conviction that she had suspected they were all in deadly danger. She had stayed to make sure he and the two girls got away. Nick had no proof, would never have proof, but he knew what he knew. While they escaped, she covered for their absence. Today, after a relentless national media feast since the grave was discovered, a new story twist had come out. He had read about it on the Internet a couple of hours earlier. He thought back to when he, Muriel and Ena set off for Savannah. By the time they arrived, the sisters had chosen new names, Sarah and Aurelie. In their fabricated lives, all but four people thought they were his sisters. The fourth was Delia Board, Mary's old friend, the CEO and primaryCameron, Stella is the author of 'Target ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780778324256 and ISBN 0778324257.