Free ICE BURIAL: The Oldest Human Murder Mystery (The Mother People Series Book 3) by Joan Dahr Lambert Page B

wreathed in smiles as she held out the baby .
    “ I come from Mara, ” she added, even more softly.
    “ Oh, such a beautiful baby! ” Zena replied obediently, though it was indeed true. “ You must be proud of her. ”
    The woman nodded. “S he is a beautiful baby. Mara will meet you tonight after dark. When you hear the owl hoot three times you must go to the bushes. She will find you. Be ready. No one must see you. Be very sure of that. I will be watching too. ”
    “ I will be ready. ” Zena smiled and focused on the baby as she spoke, to make sure her face gave nothing away.
    Mara watched the two women separate, calling cheerfully to each other; then she returned to her own hut. “ I hope she will not lead them to me, ” she whispered to her mother with a worried frown. “ If they knew... ”
    “ They cannot know, ” Runor replied with a calm certainty Mara had not heard for a long time. “ And I am certain the woman Zena will give nothing away. ”
    Mara studied her mother, amazed at the change in he r manner. Since Zena had come , strength seemed to have flowed into Runor, and she sounded like a wise one again. Mara hoped she would be careful. Korg would surely notice and guess the reason.
    Rofina came in and greeted them. Mara sensed immediately that something was different about her. Her normally placid brow was creased into a frown, as if she were puzzled , and there was tension in her body.
    “ You are well, Rofina? ” Mara asked curiously.
    “ I am well, ” Rofina replied. Her frown deepened. “ I feel strange, though, as if I have been asleep and am now awake again. ” She pressed a hand against her eyes in confusion.
    “ Has something happened? ”
    “ I am not sure, ” Rofina answered slowly. “ Perhaps I should go back to the Leader now , ” she added, but for the first time Mara could remember, doubt crept in to her voice.
    Runor approached Rofina and studied her face. “S oon, you can go, ” she sooth ed . “ Perhaps first you would like to help me grind the grain I have gathered? ”
    Rofina nodded and began obediently to press the big pestle against the grains. Calmness soon returned to her face, and her taut body relaxed. “ It is good to do this, ” she remarked after a time. “ I had forgotten. ”
    “ When your arms tire, I will take a turn, and then you can do it again, ” Mara suggested, hoping that Rofina would tell her more if they worked together as they used to. “ The strangers who came have some fine grain for trading, ” she added . “ It is less coarse than this. ”
    “ One of the men spoke to me, ” Rofina answered, and the look of puzzlement returned. “ He had a very kind face. ”
    That must be it, Mara thought, astonished. Someone, finally, had penetrated Rofina ’s aloofness. Joy filled her as she imagined for a moment that it might actually be possible for Rofina to be as she had been before. Fear followed. The Leader might not wish Rofina to be different - especially if a man from another tribe changed her. Korg would not like it either. He would be watching.
    Rofina turned back to the pestle; again, the rhythmic action calmed her. Mara watched her sister, and her fear grew. Rofina was so innocent! Even before the loss of her baby, and her mind, Rofina had never understood that not all people were kind, nor had she ever understood the rules the Leader had laid down. Rules had no meaning for her. Nothing had meaning for Rofina except what was in her heart. It had always been so, though before she had not been so child-like. While she remained devoted to the Leader, her simplicity protected her, but now... Now it could bring still more suffering...
    Seeking distraction, she began to sing, as she and Rofina had in the past as they went about their chores. Rofina ’s high, clear voice joined hers. Too late, she remembered that Korg and the Leader did not approve of singing, lest it attract the men ’s attention. She kept on singing anyway.
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