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“Poker nights?” Davey said with a raised eyebrow.

“You needn’t worry!” Roger sighed. “We don’t go walking off in the dark. We are usually far too deep into a bottle of scotch for night walking. Turns into a bit of a sleepover.”

“Don’t – and please forgive me if I am being too bold with this question – don’t you have family members that worry about you?” Steph asked. “Wives or children or…”

“I don’t have a wife anymore,” Roger sniffed.

Steph shut her eyes. Careless. Then she heard a chuckle.

“Oh, she’s not dead!” Roger chuckled. “More is the pity. No, she decided to sleep with one of her students in her classical literature classes. He must have had a thing for older women. I don’t know. Whatever the case, we are divorced. Probably for the best seeing as I am currently in the most lucrative employment I have ever been in my life. She might have taken half! Wouldhave been unfair seeing as it’s not her who risks being mauled by bears and extinct lions when she fancies a relaxed Sunday stroll.”

They continued to talk into the evening. The wolves eventually quietened down but there was enough snuffling outside for Davey to suggest caution. Roger seemed all too pleased to have the stay of his company extended and set about making up a couple of camp beds. Steph noted him hurriedly binning a glass bottle from one of the sleeping bags he unwrapped, as well as pocketing some scraps of note paper that lay by the radio in the corner of the cabin.

SEVENTEEN

Roger woke the pair with a cooked breakfast. Steph didn’t realise how hungry she was until she started eating. Bacon, eggs, sausages, hashbrowns, mushrooms; it all went. This was washed down with some orange juice and a black coffee. A proper ‘wake up!’ coffee. The two said their goodbyes to Roger and set off down the track. Steph noted the numerous paw marks in the dirt.

“How long will it take to get back?” Steph asked. “Because I was thinking, I might as well just begin my day from here rather than return to the house.”

Davey looked her way and then forward again.

“Not long. But I can stay with you a little longer if you have anything in mind you want to observe. I have already radioed Michael to let him know why we didn’t come back last night, so I’m sure he’ll pick up my slack for the day. I only really needed to check a few of the cameras anyway.”

Steph was in two minds about insisting there was no need to chaperone her. On the one hand, she could focus more without him there. On the other, she did feel more reassured by his presence. The previous night had shaken her somewhat. Although nothing had happened exactly, she was wary of the danger around her. Things felt broken and that wasn’t good for the wildlife. Some of the behaviour felt more extreme. An extra pair of eyes would be useful.

“We have one stop to make first though,” Davey added. “Well, second. The beavers are on the way.”

“I have a lot I need to see to even begin formulating a theory for how things might be going and what I expect to see over the next few weeks. Will these stops take long?”

Davey gave Steph a sideways glance.

“No,” he said slowly. “It won’t take long. I just need to pop into one of the other cabins.”

Steph knew her impatience irritated him but that couldn’t be helped. She genuinelydidhave a lot to see. She had yet to see all the predators or the major prey animals. Forget the fact that there was the added element of human existence within the environment. That would add another hard-to-measure dynamic.

Steph was not sure what she expected to see when she arrived at a part of the river that had been blocked and had subsequently flooded the surrounding area. Broken stumps announced the presence of beavers as much as the small lake drowning the surrounding undergrowth.

Busy heads carved their way across the water until they reached the bank to reveal stocky bodies that would productively collect sticks to take back to the lodge. All in all, their behaviour seemed normal enough for beavers. A bear wandered by at one point and the beavers made themselves scarce, retreating to their home comforts in the lodge. The behaviour was perfectly normal. They seemed wholly unaffected by the odd mishmash of animals around them. If anything, they seemed to be thriving in their new home.

Davey seemed particularly pleased with Steph’s assessment of things.

“They were my idea,” he said.

“What?”

“The beavers. I suggested them to Kelvin and found a suitable place to release them.”

“Oh,” said Steph. “Why beavers?”

“I just think they’re funny little things,” he replied. “Besides, I heard they have a huge impact on their surroundings and wanted to see for myself.”

“You persuaded Kelvin to get beavers so you could see how many trees they gnawed down?”

“Essentially.”

Steph rolled her eyes.

“Are you not concerned that they might escape downriver?”