“Well, not people,” Deena said. “Although one of his hunting buddies was his pet lawyer, Ephraim Crocker. So hypothetically, if he were to shoot a man one day and claim it was a stag, there weren’t too many folks around with the power to confront him back then.”
A shadow fell over them. Gregg, dropping off their plates. He looked at her and then at Deena, hovering just long enough to be awkward before he turned and shuffled away.
“But that’s just old gossip,” Deena said, watching Nadine cut into her steak. “You’re a jumpy little thing, aren’t you? That house must be wearing on your last nerve.”
“It doesn’t help, no,” Nadine said, closing her eyes as the hot grease filled her mouth.
“It kills me to see you eating that steak with nothing on it,” Deena said dryly. “You allergic to seasonings?”
“Pretty much,” Nadine said. “I’m allergic to corn.”
“Huh. Well, I will say this. If I had to look at a man in a bedsheet, devil-worshipping or no, Cal Cullraven would be at the top of that list. Although you should know, lots of girls around here have gone to bed crying over him. He’s a bit of a heartbreaker.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Hey, I don’t judge. We’re friends now, aren’t we?” She took a drink of coffee. “To be honest, I feel kind of sorry for the boy. His father must have him in some kind of chokehold, dragging him back to this place. He’s a lawyer, you know—a good one, supposedly. Not that I could afford him.”
“Ha, yeah. You mentioned, uh, records?”
“Oh, right. The records. I suppose I’ve tapped you enough for now.” She sighed. “I know this town’s history inside and out at this point. What do you want to know?”
“Do you happen to know if people . . . tend to go missing during the festivals?”
Deena’s smile faded. “Why would you want to know something like that? Because of your sister?”
“Yes. I’m worried about her.” She lowered her voice. “And I’ve heard things.”
“Well, like I said. Hunting is always dangerous. It drives some people to act crazy, especially when they’re with their friends and their hearts are pumping and they feel like they’ve got to act tough. People go missing in these mountains all the time. Sometimes—usually—they turn up again. But I will say, off the record, that I wouldn’t want to disappear on or around May 16th, because there’s usually no coming back from that.”
The date on the note.“Is that the date of the hunting festival?”
“It sure is. Why? You planning on going?”
“Not if I can help it.” Nadine ate some of her eggs, breaking apart the yolks to dip what was left of the steak in them. “Why continue the festival at all then? If people here don’t like the history or the hunting, it seems silly to keep doing both.”
“Running of the Deer brings a lot of money into this town,” said Deena. “And the people who go missing tend to be foolish or young, anyway. Or old and forgetful. Possibly drunk. Nothing overtly suspicious in the eyes of the law. Nothing that would be easy to prove. They started handing out waivers a couple decades ago just in case people became litigious, but that’s it.”
That’s it.
Nadine glanced at her phone. It was a quarter to nine.
“Got somewhere to be?” Deena was watching her.
“I’m supposed to meet someone.”
“Well, I won’t keep you then. But don’t be a stranger at city hall. I enjoyed our talk.”
“Yeah. Same.”
She had, too, much to her surprise. She didn’t make friends easily but the few that she did have were always the pushy types. People who pushed her past her comfort zone and took her to places she wasn’t even sure she wanted to go until she was already there, having a good time.
I should have given her my number, she thought, as she walked down the dirt path Jessica had told her about. She was constantly forgetting things like that. Impromptu friendliness was beyond the scope when everything she did needed to be carefully prepared for and planned.
More of those little red sparrows chittered at her from the trees, punctuated by the occasional caw of a raven. The harsh call would cause a brief silence before the sound of birdsong would start hesitantly up again, and Nadine found herself wondering(we eat them you know)if ravens ate sparrows.
No, wait, they did. There had been a raven chasing a sparrow at the wedding. The two birds had flown right between her and Cal as they danced, breaking them up.
And then he had said—
