The plastic surface of the car seat chills me through the denim.My breath mists the windscreen.Winter is right around the corner.
With Ben’s map on my lap, I back out of the drive carefully and go looking for the entrance to his property.The main road in Landslide goes in a circle around the island.Each property owner’s home has access to it.But finding the entrances is not so simple, because so many people ride horses or ATVs straight through the woods when they want to get around.
Fuck it!Swearing under my breath, I drive up the first dirt track I see.The hatchback wheels grind and slip in the mud.The tracks wind around the trees.I see lots of jagged trunks felled from many axe cuts.Probably for winter firewood.
My mind darts from seeing things to thinking about things; I refuse to imagine what I might learn today in case it muddies my understanding.
Muohta barks.He sees the log cabin up ahead before I do.
Always the wiseass, I smirk at my dog.“Maybe the Unabomber lives here, Mu.Real ‘cabin in the woods’ style, don’t you agree?”Muohta pants to let me know he gets the joke.
A man comes out onto the porch before I even have time to pull up the handbrake.He’s wearing greasy overalls and work boots.He waits for me to get out before speaking.
“Please leave that dog inside the car, M’am.I wouldn’t want the damn beast to get any ideas about revisiting, if it’s all the same to you.I’m no bear-head—just being cautious.”
Fumbling with the map in my hand, I slap a friendly smile on my face as I close Muohta inside the car.
“Er… good morning.I’m Luna Blackwood.Inherited the Aherne place from my aunt.I came by to introduce myself.”
Hopping off the low porch, the man walks over to me with his hand held out.He’s elderly but also weathered by the seasons.This is understandable, because the only moisturizing lotion sold at the general store is Vaseline petroleum jelly, and that stuff slides right off the skin at the first opportunity it gets.
Shaking my hand, the man gives me a grim smile.“Jerry Steele.Sorry to hear about Tempest.My land backs onto hers.”
“Seriously?”Ben was right—Landslide is deceptively larger than I thought.“So, if I continued walking straight ahead, I would reach my backyard?”
Jerry Steele’s smile fades a bit.“Well, I’d rather you don’t go traipsing over my land until I know you better.A man’s business is his own, after all.”
If Celia hadn’t explained to me how things were on Landslide, I might have been put out by his comment.Needless to say, I’m not expecting an invitation inside for coffee and Bundt cake.
But I can be stubborn when I need to be, and I can’t let Jerry's suspicion of strangers put me off.
“I was wondering if you knew my aunt?You see, I didn’t even know she existed until the lawyer called me.”
Digging his hands into his pockets, Jerry whistles softly through his teeth.
“Tempest?She was all right.My wife used to babysit her to help Sam out.A clever child.What we would call a ‘bright spark’ back in the day.”
“Can I speak to Mrs.Steele, please?”
Backing away from me, a grimace of pain on his face, Jerry shakes his head.“Diane’s been gone these last three years, Miz Luna.Ain’t no good asking there.”
Holding out my hand, I try to keep the conversation going.“Wait!Can you tell me about the Midnight Riders motorcycle club?Their clubhouse is on my land…”
“Yourland?”Jerry scoffs.“Everyone’s property on Landslide belongs to the Riders ultimately, Miz Luna.Best you go back to wherever you came from.”
And just like that, my neighborly chat is over as Jerry shuts the door.
Determined to find someone willing to talk to me, I do a tight U-turn in the front yard and head back out to the road.For one moment, I let the engine idle.I can’t remember if I turned in from the left or right.The field and fences all look the same.
Fuck it!I’m not in a bad mood, but I hate getting lost when there is a perfectly good map sitting on my phone as an app.
Choosing right, I drive a while before that sign with the burned lettering pops into view once more:
Denn die Todten reiten Schnell.
A memory stirs in the back of my mind.What was the translation again?The dead ride fast.
Damn it.I’m right back where I started.
