Far From The Sea We Know by Frank Sheldon Read Free Book Online Page B

and
bitter, like my life. Hah!”
    Penny scrutinized the pilot intently for a
moment. Then, with the hint of a look toward Matthew, she retrieved
the paper bag and placed a doughnut, or Spudnut as the label
indicated, on a paper napkin within Skimmer’s reach. She tilted the
open bag toward Matthew.
    “No thanks.”
    “They don’t look too greasy,” she said,
peering into the bag in the bright morning light. She took one and
held out her other hand to Matthew. “Yeah, pour me a black one,
too.”
    He filled her mug, managing to not spill a
drop in the swaying plane, and then another for himself, ignoring
the cream and sugar.
    “Coffee, black, all around,” Skimmer said as
he lifted his mug in their direction. “Here’s to ya. Even warmer
than I reckoned it’d be up here, so I’m going to open the window a
tad. Holler, if it gets too much.” He turned back to the
controls.
    After she finished her coffee, Penny started
leafing through some papers in a soft leather case.
    “I found this last night and downloaded it,”
she said, handing a small sheaf of papers to Matthew. “It’s from a
research site I have access to, paid memberships only, highly
reputable. This woman has been doing a study on reports of animals
showing up in odd places. Places where they don’t belong. She must
have great credentials or they would never have listed something
like this. I suppose you could consider it a branch of
cryptozoology. From what I can see, she did a quality
investigation, well documented.”
    “I believe I heard about this somewhere,”
Matthew said.
    “I doubt it.”
    “I did.”
    “Okay, you did. In any case, she was able to
eliminate most reports right away: zoo escapes, hoaxes, and so on.
The instances she was left with all involved highly credible
people, some truly fascinating cases that no one has ever been able
to explain. Would you believe kangaroos in Nova Scotia, for
instance?”
    “Not unless they escaped from a zoo or
something,” he said. He felt a slight sneer take over his face and
wished it had not. “It’s just that I’m not really interested in the
paranormal.”
    “Well, who but an idiot could be? The
important point here is that others have described incidents
similar to what you reported.”
    “If you can believe them.”
    “As I said, if you were listening, she only
included reports from highly reliable people. Forest rangers, state
troopers. In other words, people with training in observation. That
makes this at least worth considering. We’re taking your report
seriously, after all…”
    “Okay. Yes, you’re right. I didn’t get much
sleep last night, sorry if I’m a little dull,” he said. “Maybe this
coffee will help.” He poured the rest down his throat, grateful for
once that it was not hot.
    Penny poured a little more in her mug and
took her first bite of the doughnut.
    “Mmm, not bad at all,” she said. “Sure you
don’t want to try some? Here.” She thrust her doughnut under his
nose.
    “No, that’s okay.”
    “Suit yourself.”
    She took another big bite and devoured the
whole thing in two more mouthfuls.
    Matthew stared into his coffee for a moment,
then looked up at her. She was watching his other hand, which had
unconsciously rolled his napkin into a small tight ball.
    “Was there anything else of interest in this
study?” he asked.
    “There were no cases of a witness to an
animal’s appearance or disappearance, no case where someone saw
that happen.”
    “Not surprising.”
    “What this researcher is documenting is only
when an animal turns up someplace it shouldn’t. Not how it got
there.”
    “Fine, but you don’t really believe they
really teleport, do you?”
    “Of course not.”
    “So, nothing new.”
    “No, but I’ve been thinking about how whales
have the largest brains on the planet. And dolphins even larger
compared to their body weight.”
    “It’s more complicated than brain to body
weight.”
    “The old formulas for