Blood lure

Shock had momentarily rendered their faces free of artifice, and the look they exchanged had been naked emotion. What emotion, was the question that troubled A

Les had not turned to his son with love or with concern. Near as she could tell, he had not been seeking to give or receive comfort. The closest she could get to deciphering the sudden dark flash of energy she'd witnessed was a flare of horror turning to shame. The vision was fleeting, quickly reverting to the blank of denial. Then Les appeared, if possible, even more downtrodden and ineffectual than he had before.

Rory's glance had been even more puzzling. Maybe anger. Maybe respect. A

Given that the first suspect in a murder case is invariably the spouse of the victim, A

In the midst of these ephemeral and possibly imaginary weirdnesses-A

If she was right about the horror and shame on Lester's face, could it be horror at what he'd done? Or horror at what he thought Rory might have done?

Rory. A

Half-dressed; something about that bothered A

The mysteriously missing shirt he avoided discussing was odd but not earth-shaking. That was not the pea under A

Drinking water; he'd been drinking out of his fancy filter-it-anywhere, special-order, latest-gimmick-on-the-market water bottle.

Why would someone with diarrhea, rushing into the wood to relieve himself, bring along his water bottle? According to Rory, after the bear had come on the scene, such had been his haste to "go for help" that he'd pulled up his trousers and dashed off without slowing down enough even to take his flashlight.

The water bottle could indicate nothing. Rory might have been dehydrated and thought he'd be in the woods with his loose bowels long enough he'd need a drink. Reflex might have dictated he snatch up the bottle when he fled the bear. Or it could indicate that before he left his tent, he knew he had someplace to go a long enough hike away that he'd need to bring along water. With the grim bulk of suspicion squeezing out generous thought, it came to A

"Yuck," A

Despite the very real possibility that the dead woman was his stepmother, Rory had refused to ride down in the helicopter with his dad and Harry Ruick. There'd been no small effort to convince him. A

Given her recent unsavory thoughts about the lad, A

Having spoiled her solitude by inviting thoughts of others there, she decided to rejoin the human race even if she did so as a half-alien interloper. Her timing was good. As she was lacing up her boots she heard Joan's voice calling her name.

"Over here," A

A scrambling sound, then Joan appeared around the side of a boulder. Since Rory'd been found, Joan's looks had improved. The sight of the boy unharmed had eased two days' weariness from her face and eyes.

"Hey. There you are." She sounded positively chipper. Uncharitably, A

"Here I am," she confirmed.

Joan plopped comfortably clown on the rock beside her. "You look a wee bit on the grouchy side," she said cheerfully.

"Grouchy doesn't even begin to touch it. I've been thinking," A

"Oooh. Not good."

"Why did Rory have his water bottle with him?"

"What-" Joan looked baffled, then as her quick mind rapidly put together the pieces, crestfallen. Chipper good cheer burst like a birthday balloon. "Oh, A

"You've got to admit it's a little out of whack considering the story he gave us."

"It makes no sense," Joan said. "Surely he'd've put on his boots if he knew he was going… somewhere."

"Not if he didn't want to leave tracks. It wasn't that far." A

"I don't believe it," Joan said firmly.

"Neither do I, but you've got to admit it warrants looking at."

Joan sighed. "This is why I went into zoology," she said. "Animals have no hidden agendas." After that they were quiet for a while. So long that A

"You know," Joan said finally. "You are in danger of going over to the dark side, A

"God, that's not long enough," A

Joan laughed, a noise so filled with that rare essence, gay abandon, that A

"Change in venue," Joan said when they'd subsided. "Turns out Rory is to go down. We're all to go down for a day. Harry needs us for reports, interviews and whatnot over both the search and the other. It's too late for us to head out today and ain't nobody sending an expensive helicopter for such as we. So we hike back to camp and pack out tomorrow. Harry also said, and I quote: 'Tell A