Fatalis

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Except for the thick roar of the waves behind Grand, the living room was silent. Ha

"You know, we could be wrong about this," she said. "There may be another interpretation of that painting."

"I don't think so," Grand said.

"Why not?"

He picked up his coffee and walked toward her. "Since this started I've been bothered by the amount of carnage we've seen, especially at the campsite. Two cats could have been responsible for killing all of those people and carrying them away, but this-"

"Makes a lot more sense."

Grand stopped beside the sofa and nodded. "The cats we saw are probably point cats watching the pride's flank."

"Like an army."

"Yes. There are probably one or two more serving as scouts. They're going to be tough to bring down alive or dead," Grand went on. "The question is, where are they going? What were they doing eleven thousand years ago when they were incapacitated? Seasonal homes, hunting grounds-we have no idea what their migratory habits were back then, assuming they had any."

"I just had a thought," Ha

"What?"

"We better let Gearhart know about the other cats," she said. "Even if we convince him to use tranquilizers, he'll still need enough darts and guns to deal with a dozen or more animals."

"Good point," Grand said. "I'll make the call."

"You know, this is incredible, Jim. Just incredible."

"I know."

"Thanks for sharing it with me."

He smiled and took a swallow of coffee as he walked toward the bedroom phone. That was a sweet, heartfelt thing to say. It made him feel good. A flower in the midst of carnage and chaos.

Grand left a message with Deputy Young in the sheriff's office communications center. The scientist explained that he had no evidence of a larger pride, only suspicions, but that care should be taken before pursuing the saber-tooths into any caves, tu

Grand hung up and returned to the living room. Ha

"What did they say?" she asked sleepily. Exhaustion had caught up to her. He knew the feeling.

Grand walked over to the desk. "The sheriff is up in the mountains and they'll forward the information. I told them to call if they needed anything." He took a sip of coffee.

"You better keep the phone with you," she said. "I'm bad at middle-of-the-night calls. I sound like I have socks in my mouth."

Grand still had the coffee in his mouth. He held it there, then swallowed slowly. "I told them to call me at home."

"That was dumb," the young woman mumbled. "Call back and tell them you're here. You can have the bed. I'm comfortable where I am." Ha

"Don't," Grand said.

"Okay. Good night, Jim."

"Good night, Ha

"Thanks again for everything."

"You're welcome," he said.

Ha

Grand continued to look at her. He felt awkward standing there, but he didn't turn away.

It was strange. Grand had held both of Ha

He liked it.

Grand didn't bother to call the sheriff's office again. He called his home phone and programmed it to forward calls to this number. Then he phoned Walker and left a message asking him to give Fluffy a very early once-around-the-block in the morning. Walker was up at dawn, and Fluffy would be pretty unhappy by then. Finally, Grand lay down on the bed. He shut off the light.

The oversized pillow was rich with Ha

But this was nice. Grand realized, suddenly, that he was smiling. For the first time in months he felt a sense of contentment.

Sleep came easily, which he happily embraced even as thoughts of ice and fangs played on the fringes of his mind.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Ha

"Good morning," Ha

"Good morning," he said groggily.

Grand walked toward Ha

"There's coffee in the kitchen. I brewed it this time."

"Smells good," Grand said. He went in and poured himself some. "Do you want anything?"

"No, thanks. Listen-there's been news."

Grand woke up fast.

"My managing editor called a few minutes ago. It may not have anything to do with the tigers, but the helicopter with Officer Lyon went down."

"The Special Ops officer?"

Ha

"Is he all right?"

Ha

"In the crash?" Grand asked.

"I don't know," Ha

"So there were bodies this time," Grant said.

"Yes," Ha

"We've always suspected that saber-tooths may have been climbers," Grand said. "Are climbers," he corrected himself. That would take some getting used to. "They have the claws and strength for it. They could have jumped off a treetop, off a cliffside. Or maybe the helicopter landed and tried to take off again."

"But why would they attack?"

"To protect their territory. I told Gearhart to have Lyon follow a route southeast, remember? He may have found what he was looking for and tried to take them out. Is there any other information?"

"Not about that," Ha

Grand turned back toward the sliders. Since the night before, when Gearhart had threatened to kill the creatures, Grand had been wondering how they would fare against automatic weapons. These very saber-tooths had probably faced prehistoric hunters with spears or arrows. They might understand the concept of projectiles. If so, they might also have come up with a strategy for dealing with humans and their weapons.

He needed to collect his thoughts, make a plan. He slipped his hands into the pockets of the robe and breathed deeply. The sea air smelled good. He looked along the beach toward the south. There was a wharf with a pair of workers hanging over the side painting the pilings. There was a faint smell in the air, one he couldn't quite place that was coming from the wharf. His mind was sidetracked as he thought back to when he lived on the beach with Rebecca. There was something different and he realized at once what it was. There were joggers but no dogs. Usually the beach was full of them at this time of day. He wondered if the animals sensed the presence of the saber-tooths and were refusing to come out. Maybe that was the reason that Fluffy had been so quiet the day before.