The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian Read Free Book Online

sugar doughnuts, some bread. Deli meat. Beer. A newspaper. Two packs of cigarettes. The customer was a man with hair the gray and black of the ash in a woodstove, and it was piled thick on his head. He was still in his camouflage jacket and pants, and, as the man was leaving the store, Terry wondered if he'd gotten his buck for the year.
    Unsure what he was going to say or why he was doing it, Terry asked the woman who'd weighed his brother's deer what her name was. He'd noticed there weren't any rings on her finger.
    Phoebe, she said.
    I'm Terry.
    She raised one eyebrow, a small movement that always impressed him because he couldn't do it. Only Terrys I've ever known have been girls, she said.
    It's short for Terrance.
    I see.
    You live around here? he asked.
    No, I live an hour and a half away, but I commute here for the benefits. Of course I live around here! She shook her head and grinned, and folded her arms across her chest. Briefly he imagined her breasts under her turtleneck shirt and denim jacket, and then he thought of Laura.
    It's a beautiful part of the state, he said. My family has a camp just off the Lunenburg road.
    I saw you and your friend--
    Brother.
    I saw you and your brother over the weekend. As a matter of fact, there were four of you, right?
    Still are. Two of my cousins are in the woods right now.
    You got your deer yet?
    Nope. He didn't tell her that he hadn't even fired his rifle, despite ample opportunities. He understood that once he'd brought down his animal, he'd have to go home and face the anniversary of his little girls' deaths.
    It is beautiful here, she said. I lived in Montpelier for seven years, and I was surprised by how much I missed it.
    What brought you back?
    She looked to Terry's right, and he saw that two teenage boys wanted to buy a six-pack of Pepsi and a handful of Slim Jims. He took a step back so she could ring them up. The other woman, he noticed, was slicing sandwich meats in the back of the store.
    When the boys had moved on, Phoebe answered, My mom got sick.
    I'm sorry. I presume you mean seriously sick.
    Lung cancer.
    My father died of lung cancer, he said. How is she doing now?
    She died.
    He nodded. Recently?
    August.
    You've had a tough fall. Is your father alive?
    Yup. Healthy as a bear.
    How's he doing otherwise?
    He's okay. He doesn't talk about it much.
    Are you going to go back to Montpelier?
    Probably after the holidays. I had a good job in Waterbury with the state. I can get it back whenever I want it.
    What part?
    Developmental and Mental Health Services.
    He thought instantly of Alfred because Mental Health Services and SRS were both part of the same massive state agency, and how quickly the foster family program had found him and Laura a child. He couldn't believe that Phoebe could possibly have crossed paths with any of the caseworkers they'd met in Social Services: It was a small world, all right, but it wasn't that small. Still, he figured he'd better find out.
    What did you do there?
    My business card said financial specialist. Translation? I'm a bean counter.
    I'm sure counting beans can be very satisfying work, he said, surprised by how much her short, crisp answer had relieved him. The woman spent her time with numbers, not people.
    She leaned against the shelves behind the cash register and then rested her hands on the wood. You do ask a lot of questions, Terry...
    Sheldon. Terry Sheldon.
    Any special reason you're so inquisitive?
    He shrugged. I'm a state trooper. I guess I'm just likely to ask questions. Force of habit.
    She glanced at his hand, and reflexively he followed her eyes. He realized he was still wearing his gloves. You married, Terry Sheldon? she asked.
    I am.
    Then I'm just going to assume you're inquisitive by nature, and there's nothing more to it. Okay?
    There probably isn't more to it than that.
    Uh-huh, she said.
    Then she did something, and he realized that she was doing it to punish him for flirting with her despite the fact that