Free Winter Study by Nevada Barr Page B

roadkill on a hot afternoon.
Until
the blood matted and the fur at the throat could be separated, the
killing wound — or wounds — was impossible to see. Anna guessed the
other wolf got in a lucky hit and punctured the carotid artery early in
the fight. That would account for the fact that there were no lesser or
defensive wounds — at least none she could see.
The
door to the front room banged and Anna rose. “Robin and Adam,” she
said. Without being aware she was doing it, Anna had been listening for
their return. Unconsciously she’d been gauging the level of light, the
cold, the freshening wind and listening for the radio. Suddenly angry,
she demanded of Katherine, “Did you hear Robin radio in?”
“I don’t think Robin carries a radio,” Katherine said distractedly.
The woman’s interest was gone to scat. Anna left her.

 
SCAT
WAS THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION at the dinner table. Robin and Adam had
not seen Middle pack as it fled Washington Harbor, but they’d come
across their tracks. Over dinner — a casserole Ridley had concocted
with pasta, frozen peas and chicken — Robin outlined her path.
“We
hiked toward Malone Bay. We got as far as the last ridge before you go
down to Siskiwit,” Robin said in her soft cheery voice.
Eight or nine miles,
if Anna remembered correctly.
“Then
we split up, and I came back cross-country. Lots of swamps. Downed
stuff. I saw moose tracks, then I came across the wolves’ trail and
followed them back. What scared them off the harbor?”
“We ran out of water,” Ridley said in the shorthand of the island.
Anna was still doing the math.
Came back cross-country. Add a couple of miles to the return trip. Nine miles out, eleven or twelve back.
“We got tons of samples. They’re in the kitchen with the wolf.”
Twenty miles of rough country, freezing temperatures, carrying a backpack full of shit.
Comforting
herself with the knowledge that Robin was nearly a quarter century
younger than she and an Olympic contender, Anna submerged her
consciousness in the food. She was just short of shoveling it in,
minding her table manners only by an act of will. Calories being units
of heat, a concept she’d learned in high school chemistry class, was
finally making sense.
“I
wish I’d had a camera,” Robin said around a mouthful of toast with
peanut butter and jam — a side dish served with every meal.
“One
of the wolves had huge feet. Like twice as big as the others. Then,
about halfway between Siskiwit and Windigo, they aren’t there anymore.
It must have joined the pack on a rocky place. I looked for its tracks
all the way back but couldn’t find where it had caught up with the
others.”
“
Twice
as big?” Bob said with a lifted eyebrow and an avuncular smile.
Katherine
ducked her head, letting her hair fall over her face in a screen. Robin
stared straight into Menechinn’s eyes. “Twice as big,” she said without
a hint of defensiveness. Anna smiled. Olympic training had toughened
more than the girl’s body.
“That’s your work tomorrow,” Ridley said. “I’ll give you the camera.”
“How
about you, Adam? Did you see tracks twice as big as a normal wolf’s?”
Bob asked. He winked at Robin to show there were no hard feelings.
“We’d split up, remember?” Adam said neutrally.
“Why
don’t you go out with Robin tomorrow,” Ridley suggested to Bob. “See
for yourself. I’m sure Robin could use somebody to carry the camera.”
Robin
took a huge bite of toast to cover her smile. Given the chance, Anna
guessed she could — and would — hike Menechinn into an early grave.
“No.”
Katherine
was the one who spoke. Bob, neatly lifted off the hook, gave her a slow
smile. She didn’t smile back. With everyone looking at her, Katherine
lost her confidence. “I need some help,” she stammered. “I need Dr.
Menechinn to help me with the PCR.”
The last words were almost a whisper. “Excuse me,” she said and left the table abruptly.
Adam
broke the