Do you know what happened to him? asked Adam, after giving Jims hand a brief shake. His eyes were wolf-bright, ominous yellow in the illumination of their flashlights.
No idea at all, Jim said.
Fred Owens stepped up. His head was lowered, too, but he was looking up into Adams face.
Ive seen all kinds of kills. A bear might bite off half a mans foot the way Bennys was. A bear or some other big carnivore.
It was a challenge, of a sort, and I held my breath.
The tension dropped from Adams shoulders, and he suddenly grinned. You think I bit off his foot? Hell, Marine, I just got married. I have more important things to do.
Barracuda, said Hank into the sudden silence. It looks like a barracuda … or maybe a tiger shark. They have these odd teeth that they saw back and forth.
The Columbia, said Jim slowly, is freshwater.
Tiger sharks have been found up fresh waterways, Hank persisted.
Not up past dams, said Fred. How did you know I was a marine?
Adams eyes were now honey brown, not quite his usual bitter chocolate, but safer than before. Easier than spotting a cop, said Adam. Might as well have it tattooed across your forehead. He paused for effect, then said, It helps that youre still wearing your dog tags.
Youre not a marine.
Adam shook his head.Army ranger. I never could swimand since I became a werewolf, Im all but useless in the water.
Could his foot have gotten caught by one of those old jaw traps? asked Calvin, speaking up for the first time. It looked sort of like that to me.
I havent seen one of those things being used since I was a kid, Jim said. And it was illegal then. But hes right. It could do that sort of damage.
A bear trap wouldnt catch two people, Hank said. Adam might have won over Fred with his military fellowship, but the other Owens brother was still suspicious. Where is Faith?
He was afraid of something. I frowned at the unconscious man. Really afraid. But it wasnt Adam.
Fred nodded abruptly at his brother.No ranger would be dumb enough to leave a witness alive.
Apparently, he felt that left Adam in the clear.
Hank looked less certain and rubbed a hand along his ribs as if they hurt. Maybe he had strained something carrying Benny up the hill, or maybe it was a reflex thing.
About that time, the ambulance, followed by a sheriffs car, pulled up. With practiced speed, the EMT people slipped Benny onto a gurney, and the ambulance roared off to the nearest hospital. The officer took down names and statements. He seemed to know the other men, and, from their body language, they all got along pretty well. When Fred told himAdam was a werewolf, the officer tensed up and ran his flashlight over us.
His gaze brushed by me, then stopped.Youre bleeding, he told me. He aimed his flashlight at my legand damned if he wasnt right.
I pulled up my pant leg. It had been so cold, and my feet had taken such a battering, I hadnt really been paying attention. It hurt, but I hadnt connected that to actual damage. And there was quite a lot, really. Something had ripped the skin off my calf and taken some meat with it. It looked like a really nasty rope burn.
I got caught up in some weeds wading out to Bennys boat, I said. Benny hit the motor while I was holding on to the boat and pulled me loose.
That doesnt look like something a weed would do, Fred told me, shining his flashlight on it. Some of those underwater plants can be sharp and slice you up some, but that looks more like you pulled free of a hemp rope.
All sorts of garbage in that river, said the deputy. Lucky you didnt get caught up in deeper water. Ambulance is in use, but I could run you to the hospital.
No, I said. Its nasty, but Im up-to-date on my shots. Mostly it just needs cleaning and bandaging, and we have the stuff to do that.
Adam had knelt to get a good look. I heard him take a deep breath, then move closer. After a minute, he shook his head and stood up.Thought I smelled something odd, but theres no telling what a rope might gather sitting in the river.
The deputy swallowed, having been reminded what Adam was.You four can take your boat back? Okay. Leave Bennys boat there, and well get people to check it out and see what that tells us. Mostly well just have to wait until Benny can tell us what happened to Faith and his foot. At this point, I expect its some sort of accident.
I saw a man attacked by a barracuda once, said Adam. He looked at Hank. I agree it looked a lot like your Bennys foot. He glanced at Calvin. Not a metal trap. Those old jaw traps are built to dig in and hold the animal, not go all the way through the bone. A bear trap might crush a foot off, and there was some crushing on Bennys footbut mostly it was sliced. Something with sharp teeth went after him.
No barracuda in the Columbia, said Fred. But he didnt sound like he was arguing. No sharks, either, for that matter. It looks to me like something a piece of farm machinery might do. But Ive never run into a baler or harvester in the river.
My leg, once Id noticed it, began to itch. It looked as though it ought to hurt more than it did, but right now, it itched. Maybe Id gotten into some nettles or something while I was running around bare-legged.
Adam glanced at me.I need to get Mercy to camp.
The deputy said,You guys go get your boat and go home. Mr. Hauptman, I can take you and your wife back to your camp so you can take care of her.
He was scared of Adam. When we got in the car, the scent of his fear filled the air. I dont think a human would have noticed, though, and a little bit of fear wouldnt set Adam off.
Adam had a lot of experience dealing with scared people. By the time we reached the campground, the deputy was deep in a discussion about what the impact of a second campground in the Maryhill area would be.
What we really need here is a good restaurant or two. The deputys voice carried his conviction. The museum has a nice deli, and there are a couple of places in Biggs, but they are always overflowing with highway traffic. You have to drive all the way to Goldendale, The Dalles, or Hood River for really good food. Those are too hard to find for the tourist business pulled in by the museum or Stonehenge. I figure we lose a lot of business because we dont have enough places to eat.
He pulled up to the gates and let us out.Id appreciate it if you folks stayed around here for a few days in case we need to ask you anything else.
We were planning to, said Adam. But if you need us, you have my cell.
He drove off, and I told Adam,Youd better not let Bran see how diplomatic and reassuring you can be when you want. Hell make you go around the country and make speeches about how werewolves are gentle and not scary at all, too.
Adam smiled and picked me up.Shh, he said.
I didnt argue. The itching hadnt gone away, but the pain had increased just on the short ride to the camp. Besides, carrying me wasnt much of an effort for a werewolf.
Hey, I said. Youve been playing the hero pack mule all day. First Robert, then Benny, and now me.
He set me down in front of the trailer and opened the door for me. When I sat down on the leather sofa, he turned on the interior lights and rolled my pant leg up to my knee. In the bright light of the trailer, it looked a lot worse than it had. Yellow stuff and blood crusted the cut, which was about an inch wide and deeper than Id thought. The first hint of bruising was beginning to show up above and below the cut, and the edges had puffed up.
Adam put his nose down to my leg and sniffed again. He took a fluffy towel out of a cupboard and put that over his leg. Then he propped my calf on his thigh and poured liquid fire over the cut. I know some people claim that hydrogen peroxide doesnt hurt. Goody for them. I hate the stuff.