Endangered Species by Nevada Barr Read Free Book Online Page A

the
    western edge of the island, six miles from the burn .
    Though he was careful not to say, Anna guessed he was at Lynette's .
    The interpreter had a cozy little cabin in the woods near the salt
    marshes that she shared with the fattest dog Anna had ever seen .
    Lynette insisted the beast was a weimaraner, but Anna had never seen one
    wider than it was long.  Personally, she suspected the dog's mother of
    mating with one of the island's feral pigs.
    Oak leaves closed overhead, forming a tunnel of plant material .
    What light penetrated had a green and dusty hue as if viewed through old
    bottle glass.  Unlike in the northern forests Anna had known on Isle
    Royale, the colored light didn't lend a watery feel.  On Cumberland,
    shade provided no respite from heat, crushing humidity no relief from
    drought.
    Fifty yards ahead the white tongue of sandy soil marking the lane forked
    ." Stay left," Anna ordered.  Rick wrestled the truck over the berm
    between the tracks without slowing.  If there was any oncoming traffic
    Anna hoped it weighed significantly less than they did.
    Dividing her attention between the odoineter and the ceiling of trees,
    she counted off the seconds.  Forest canopy refused even a glimpse of
    the sky.  Only hope and habit kept her looking.  When she estimated they
    had traveled about two and a half miles, she told Rick to stop.  With no
    asphalt to screech his tires on, he made do with skidding on the
    washboarded road till the truck shuddered to a halt in a cloud of dust.
    Anna started to say something rude but she could tell he was expecting
    it, so she forbore comment ." This is my best guess," she said as
    residual quivers from the wild ride left her entrails ." To the east of
    this road and a half-mile in either direction."
    " Not much to go on," Rick said.
    She couldn't argue with him.  There was an illusion that fire was easy
    to find.  Smoke, flames, crackling, popping, Bambi and Thumper fleeing
    in its path.  This wasn't true with smaller fires burning in deep or
    heavy fuels.  At Mesa Verde more than one fire crew had wandered around
    lost within fifty yards of a fire until the helicopter came and planted
    itself over the burn, hovering till they got there.
    "I don't suppose that drug plane could help us out?" Anna wondered
    aloud.
    " No ground-to-air," Rick said, tapping the radio.
    She knew that.  She was just wishing.  She radioed Guy to say they'd
    arrived somewhere in the vicinity of the fire; then, with less than
    their former enthusiasm, they climbed from the truck.
    Anna rummaged behind the seat until she laid hands on a can of insect
    repellent.  The stuff was almost pure DEET, guaranteed to rot the
    central nervous system if one was exposed to it over long periods of
    time.  A primitive loathing of all bloodsucking creatures squelched
    environmental and health concerns, and she doused her boots and trouser
    cuffs.  Rick took the can and repeated the exercise .
    When they were both thoroughly toxic they stood absolutely still, heads
    tilted back, nostrils flaring like stallions scenting for danger.
    Dust, DEET, and sweat were the only odors Anna could discern .
    Rustling stirred the duff somewhere beneath the tangle of brush but
    there was no way of knowing whether it was fire, rattlesnake, or
    raccoon.
    Both sides of the lane were shoulder-deep in undergrowth .
    Without air to tickle their fancies, the bladelike palmetto leaves hung
    limp.  Above them, pine and oak mixed to form a gray-green dome.  The
    graceful twisting branches of the live oaks were furred with what looked
    to be dead brown plants.  Resurrection fern, Anna had been told.  With
    the first rains these apparently dead ferns would unfurl and turn green
    overnight.
    " Walk the road a ways?" Rick suggested.
    "May as well.  Maybe we'll get lucky." Anna took a shovel and a
    Pulaski-the Janus-faced firefighting tool, axe on one side and hoe on
    the other-from the back of the truck.  By virtue of his