Last Night In Twisted River

If Ketchum could be believed-that is, if he’d been speaking literally about the way wolves killed their prey-weren’t these three shots from the 20-gauge Ranger exactly as kisses of wolves should be? Weren’t they, indeed, not so pretty?

Still naked, Da

Ketchum had been right about the red wine, the writer was thinking, as he sat on the bed beside his father. If he’d been drinking only beer, Da

“Don’t you beat up on yourself about it, Ketchum,” Da

When the police came, the lights in the neighboring houses were all ablaze, and lots of dogs were barking; normally, at that hour of the night, Rosedale is very quiet. Most of the residents who lived near the double shooting had never heard gunfire as loud and terrifying as that-some dogs would bark until dawn. But when the police came, they found Da

“She bu de,” Da

Now, at last-now that the police were there-Da

“Mr. Angel?” the young homicide detective asked. “If you’re ready, sir, I wonder if you could tell me how this happened.”

What made Da

The young detective misunderstood. “Yes, I know, you were standing there in the doorway when you shot,” the homicide policeman said. “At least, for the first shot. Then you came closer into the room, didn’t you?”

Da

“Yes!” Da

“Bring that skillet over here,” the homicide detective said.

While he didn’t relinquish his hold on his father-Da

Raising the skillet in his right hand, Da

V. COOS COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 2001

CHAPTER 14. KETCHUM’S LEFT HAND

KETCHUM HAD BEEN HUNTING BEAR. HE’D DRIVEN HIS truck to Wilsons Mills, Maine, and he and Hero had taken the Suzuki ATV back into New Hampshire -crossing the border about parallel to Half Mile Falls on the Dead Diamond River, where Ketchum bagged a big male black bear. His weapon of choice for bear was the short-barreled, lightweight rifle Da

Ketchum had some difficulty bringing the bear back across the border, the all-terrain vehicle notwithstanding. “Let’s just say Hero had to walk a fair distance,” Ketchum would tell Da

“It might be dark on Monday before Hero and I get home,” Ketchum had warned Da

Besides, Da

When they drove by the reservoir, Da