“I thought that was standard procedure.Start with the attack, that kind of thing.”
“I already did.For some reason, Ed—or maybe it’s the rancher who’s behind this whole thing—thinks that I’m going to conduct a complete necropsy and somehow find evidence of a wolf attack that was otherwise conspicuously absent.”
Hannah hesitated at the door.“Maybe it’s not hope, Tean.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not saying youshould—” Hannah stopped.“Look, I’m just saying, maybe you need to understand what Ed’s asking you to do—he’s not hoping you’ll find evidence.He’ssuggesting.”
9
When Tean got home, the front door was unlocked.Beyond it, the living room was thick with shadows, lit only by the low-slanting beams of late afternoon sun.A steady thump-thump began to beat, and then a furry head poked up over the back of the sofa.Followed, a moment later, by a slightlylessfurry head.
“Hey,” Jem said before sinking back down again.
Scipio, on the other hand, gave a wiggle, and his tail began to thump the sofa cushions more rapidly.
“Hey,” Tean said as he stepped inside.“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
Scipio’s tail picked up more speed.
“Why are you lying here in the dark?”Tean asked.
“We’re—” As Tean approached the sofa, Scipio half-crawled, half- dragged himself toward the back of the sofa, in the process clambering across Jem.“Ugh, Scipio, don’t—ow!”In an aggrieved tone, Jem said, “Wewerenapping.”
Tean stroked Scipio’s ears, then let the dog sniff his hands and lick the inside of his wrist.Jem lay flat on the sofa, staring up at Tean.His usually neat part looked rough, as though Jem might have run his hands through his hair—which, on the whole, was more Tean’s thing than Jem’s.He’d changed into a black tee printed with weird purple creatures and the word GRIMACE, and a pair of purple running shorts that practically qualified as underwear.The remains of chips and queso lay on top of a flattened Taco Bell bag.
Tean smoothed a hand over Jem’s forehead.“Everything okay?”
“Everything’s great.”
Tean let his hand still, but he didn’t lift it.He let this thumb follow one of Jem’s eyebrows.“Because you don’t seem like you’re okay.”
“I’m good.”This must not have seemed like enough, though, because Jem said, “Tired.”
“Hmm.”
“And Scipio was hogging the couch.”
“That sounds about right.”
“And he wouldn’t share any of his chips and queso.”
Tean hesitated.After all this time together, heknewJem was joking.Probably joking.Most likely joking.“You didn’t give him all of it, did you?”
A smile cracked Jem’s face.
“Well, I don’t know,” Tean said.“It’s not exactly out of the realm of possibility.”And before he could chicken out, he said, “Did something happen at work?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know.You seem…down.”
“Work was fine.”
“Slow day?”
