Page 127 of Silent Bones

The institutional corruption had prevailed, just as it always did when the powerful were threatened. The system protected its own, and Luther Ashford was very much its own.

34

Fire crackled and hissed as another log settled into the flames, sending sparks spiraling up into the night. The lake stretched out beyond their campsite like black glass, reflecting the stars and the orange glow of their firepit.

Noah sat in a folding chair beside Callie, watching his teenagers interact with Ed, who was demonstrating various Sasquatch calls with the enthusiasm of a man who'd spent decades perfecting his craft.

"Now, the key is the resonance," Ed was saying, cupping his hands around his mouth. "You want it to carry through the trees, echo off the water. Like this?—"

He let out a long, haunting call that seemed to roll across the lake and disappear into the forest. Mia and Ethan burst into laughter, trying to imitate the sound with varying degrees of success.

"That's horrible," Mia giggled, attempting her own call. "I sound like a dying moose."

"Hey, dying moose might attract something," Ethan said, producing an even worse approximation that sent them all into fresh laughter.

Noah felt some of the tension from the past few weeks begin to ease from his shoulders. This was what he'd needed… his kids’ laughter, the simple pleasures of a campfire, the vast wilderness around them indifferent to human corruption.

"I appreciate you inviting me," Callie said quietly, her voice barely audible over the teenagers' continued attempts at wildlife calls.

"Glad you could make it." Noah took a sip of his beer, enjoying the way the firelight played across her face. "You looked like you needed to get away from everything as much as I did."

"More than you know." She was quiet for a moment, watching the flames dance. "So… what's the deal between you and Natalie Ashford?"

Noah glanced at her, surprised by the directness of the question. "Nothing. Ancient history."

"Ancient history that involves her father suggesting you might become his son-in-law?"

"You were eavesdropping?"

"I stepped back in to use the washroom. Hard not to overhear when he was practically marking his territory in that coffee shop." Callie's smile took any accusation out of the words.

"Why are you interested?” he asked.

“Enquiring minds want to know."

Noah studied her face, seeing genuine curiosity rather than jealousy. "We had a thing a few months back. During the Catcher case. It ended when I realized she came with too much baggage, specifically, her father."

"Smart choice."

"Was it? Sometimes I wonder if I'm too careful, too suspicious of everyone's motives."

Callie was quiet for a long moment, her eyes on the fire. "After everything that has happened with Luther walking awayclean... do you ever think about throwing in the towel? Just saying to hell with all of it?"

Noah considered the question seriously. The weight of incomplete justice, of corruption that went unpunished, of a system that protected the powerful while discarding the honest, it was enough to break anyone who thought about it too long.

"Every day," he said finally. "But then I think about Avery. About that family that died at Wallface getting some measure of recognition, even if it's too late. About Dale's victims getting justice, even if it came at a terrible cost."

"Partial victories."

"Better than no victories at all."

From across the firepit, Ed's voice carried over the crackling flames. "All right, you two, let me show you the real deal. This is the call that won me first place at the Whitehall Sasquatch Calling Contest."

He cupped hands around his mouth, and produced a call that was deeper, more resonant than anything he'd demonstrated before. It echoed across the water, and seemed to hang in the air for long seconds before fading into the forest.

In the sudden silence that followed, they all listened to the night sounds, the gentle lap of water against the shore, the soft rustle of wind through the trees, the distant cry of a loon somewhere across the lake.

Then, from deep in the forest beyond their campsite, something answered.