I thought this wasnt the rude version, I said.
Calvin grinned but kept going.Beaver was the last to leave. He just barely escaped out the beasts sphincterand that is why the beavers tail is flat and has no hair.
I groaned.
At last it was only Coyote and the monster in the river, and Coyote had the upper hand.
I will let you live, said Coyote, only if you promise never to eat anyone ever again. The monster promised, and Coyote let it live. The beaten river monster sank to the bottom of the Columbia and never was heard from again. The grateful people threw a feast for Coyote, and he ate twice as much as anyone else.
Tell us, the people said. How did you come up with such a clever plan?
And Coyote forgot the promises he made because he is vain and forgetful. He claimed all the credit for rescuing the people.
Finished with his story, Calvin turned to look at the river devil hovering on the rock.Theres no saying that the river devil and the monster in the Coyote story are the same beast, but I was told to tell you the story after you saw the rock.
And about Benny, Adam reminded him.
Hes going to be okay, Calvin said. Physically. The police are giving him a little bit of a bad time because he told them he doesnt remember what happened or where his sister is, and the doctors are having trouble with figuring out what happened to his foot. But Bennys not talking to them because it is none of their business, and they wouldnt understand anyway.
Calvin leaned against the fence that protected the petroglyphs. He looked at us.I dont see what this has to do with you. Why my uncle and my grandfather think it has anything to do with you. I mean, I understand why he thinks you wont run away from the crazies when we start talking river monsters that eat people. But why is it your business?
Good question, I agreed. Id be happy if someone had some answers.
Tell us about Benny, said Adam, who was used to taking responsibility for the world on his broad shoulders. If there was a problem, and he thought he could help, he would.
Calvin looked at him as if he were seeing him for the first time. Maybe he heard Adams willingness to put his life on the line for a bunch of people he didnt know, too. After an awkwardly long moment, he said, Benny told my uncle that he and Faith were out fishing, like they do a couple of times a month in the summer. Theyd caught a couple of fish yesterday and were about ready to pack it in when something hit Faiths line hard enough that she thought theyd snagged some garbage. She could have just cut the line, but she and Benny, theyre good folk. They dont like leaving hooks and line in the river if they dont have to.
A truck was pulling into the parking lot next to Adams. It was battered and sported three colors in addition to the bright orange primer, and its motor purred like a happy lion.
My uncle, said Calvin unnecessarily, since we could all see him getting out of the truck. So maybe all of us will get some answers.
Adam glanced over his shoulder, then looked at Calvin.So what did Faith do?
Calvin, like most people, obeyed Adams tone of voice without even thinking about it and continued the story as his uncle approached. She reeled it in, and the line kept coming. She leaned over the boat. Benny, he was leaning the other way to keep the boat from tipping, so he couldnt see what she did. But she said
Theres something funny on the line, Benny. It looks like tentacles. What do you suppose … Jim let his voice trail off, and then he said matter-of-factly, And the next thing Benny knows, Faith is in the water. He jumps in after her, and something bumps his leghe figures thatwas when his foot went. The water started frothing, and he got the impression that there was something really big in the water. Faith came up to the surface, and he grabbed her in one arm and grabbed a gunnel of the boat in the other. She opened her eyes, and says to him, Its so peaceful here, then her eyes go fixed. Benny, hes seen people die before, so he knows shes gone. About that time, he realizes that there isnt any of her below her rib cage. So he makes the smart decision and drops her body so he can vault into the boat. He lies down on the bottom and feels something that bumps and bobs his boat all over the place. Hes gone shark fishing in the ocean, and he said it felt like when theres a fish out there a lot bigger than your boat. At some point he passed out and woke up here and there until you found him.
Jim paused and looked at Adam and me.After I heard his story, I called in Gordon Seeker because he knows more about this kind of stuff than anyone I know. He listened to Bennys story and decided nothing would do but that he go down to that new campground and check out the werewolf. Whatever he found in your trailer made him believe that you are right in the middle of it. Part of it seems to be that youhe centered his gaze on meare river marked now. Whatever that means.
He didnt sound nearly as friendly as he had last night. But that seemed only natural. For all that he was human, and his cheerful manner was out there for all to see, Jim Alvin had all the hallmarks of an alpha, and we were intruders in his territory.
So, he said heavily, now you know what we know. What do you know?
We told Calvin a few things, said Adam. Why dont you give Mercy and me a little time to sort out what we know, and well do the same. We have food enough for an army. Get Gordon and whoever else you think might need to know and come down to our campsite in two hours. Well feed you and talk. *
WHEN WE WERE DRIVING BACK TO CAMP, ADAM SAID,Did I read you wrong, or do you know more than I do about this?
I think knowing more might be a misnomer, I said. Maybe I have a better handle on the scope of the questions?
He made a noise halfway between a grunt and a growl.
For thirty-odd years, Id been alone. For a season, I belonged to Adam and he to me. Sometimes the relief of it was almost more than I could bear.
The woman I saw at the museum and at Horsethief Lake, I suspect is Faith, Bennys sister. She could, I suppose, be a random ghost, but she seems too interested in us not to be connected to us in some fashion. Bennys sister is the best candidate. Ill ask for a description of her before I tell themif you think I ought. The only thing knowing who she is might do for them is confirm that she is dead, but I think Bennys story is clear enough.
I agree, Adam said. Probably, if she doesnt reappear, theres no reason to bring her up.
Besides, I said, looking out of the truck at the small orchard we were passing because I didnt want Adam to see my face, if they have a walker, hell be able to see her just fine, and she can talk to him.
But Adam knew me, and he put a hand on my knee.Gordon is probably a walker.
Right, I agreed.
And he knew about you before he came into our camp. He just didnt know that you were going to be with me until he saw you.
Yep, I agreed. The river had a scattering of fishing boats that were dwarfed by a pair of barges traveling upstream.
They left you to be raised by a wolf pack, he said. Their loss. Would you rather have had them, or Bran and his pack?
He wore the pair of dark sunglasses that he sometimes did while driving. He used to wear them more often when the wolves were still trying to hide what they were. And his face was as bland as his voice.
You have an irritating way of pointing out the obvious, I told him, touching his arm to let him know I was teasing. One of my favorite things about being mated and now married was that I got to touch him whenever I wanted toand the more I touched, the more I wanted to.