The Orange Cat and Other Cainsville Tales (Cainsville 3.5)

"Do you think that's what happened here?"

"I hope not. For everyone's sake."

#

We couldn't follow up on Maggie's disappearance until morning, so we pursued the only lead we could--the cries Ricky had heard at the swimming hole. I texted Gabriel before we left, asking if he'd found any evidence of actual fae baby snatching. He didn't respond right away, so we climbed on the bike and headed up the highway.

When we reached the trailhead, I had a text from Gabriel, who said Patrick swore fae didn't kidnap babies. Well, not beyond the changeling switcheroo that we already knew about. I texted back asking if it was possible they'd take a child with fae blood if they thought the parents weren't suitable and there was no way to switch in such a small community.

He didn't respond. That was just Gabriel being efficient--silence meaning "I'm on it." We were nearing the swimming hole when he texted saying he was talking to Patrick, and it would be easier to speak directly--he had a few things to discuss.

I tried to call, but I was out of the service area. Ricky and I walked back about a quarter mile, and I could see the signal blinking in and out, but my calls weren't going through. A follow-up text stayed in my thread, unsent.

"Maybe I should tell him to just talk to Rose," I said to Ricky as we walked.

"Rose's area of expertise is folklore. You need Patrick for the real stuff. Which you know. The problem is that you don't like Gabriel dealing with Patrick when you're not there to protect him."

"It's not--"

"You aren't trying to protect Gabriel from the possibility Patrick would harm him--he never would. You're not even trying to protect him from finding out Patrick is his father. I honestly think Gabriel won't give a shit, but that's not the point. You don't like Patrick forging a relationship with Gabriel. You don't think he has the right."

"Which is none of my business."

"I never said that. Patrick fucked up. Big time. He's like the deadbeat dad who swans back in after his son's grown and can't expect anything. It's a shitty thing to do. That's what you're protecting Gabriel from."

"I would tell him who Patrick really is. But after the Gwynn thing . . ."

"I don't blame you. Like I said, I don't think Gabriel will care, so for now, let it ride. Patrick might want a relationship; Gabriel wants a resource. He'll take what he needs and nothing more."

"You're right."

"Love hearing those words." He looked around the forest. "And I'd better get them from you now because I have a feeling this excursion will end with the opposite conclusion, at least when it comes to babies in the forest. The more I think about it--"

"Don't second-guess. I know you aren't sure what you heard. You may have heard a baby, in a spot where we definitely encountered fae, and the baby was snatched in classic fairy-napping style. We can't ignore that."

I listened to the forest. A few minutes ago, there'd been critters scurrying across the ground and the hesitant hoot of an owl, still considering whether it was too early to come out. Now I heard only the creak of boughs and the rustle of leaves. Beyond the forest, twilight had barely begun to fall. In here, it was dark with shadow, the sun's last rays barely penetrating the thick canopy. We'd left the trail, following our own tracks from earlier.

When we reached the swimming hole, we headed up the incline to where I'd stripped on the rock.

He planted himself in his former spot and pointed left. "It came from over there."

"I remember you looking that way," I said. "I thought I really needed to step up my game if your attention wandered while I was stripping."

"Nah, my attention wandered because you were stripping. A baby suggested we weren't alone."

"But that's all you heard."

"It only lasted a couple of seconds. One of those sounds where at first you're sure what you heard, but when you don't hear it again, you start coming up with alternative explanations. I figured it must have been a bird or an animal."

"Stay there and close your eyes."

"You aren't going to strip and jump off the rocks again, are you?"

"Later. For now, we're working on auditory-recollection cues."

He shut his eyes. I scampered behind a bush ten feet to his left and said, "Wa-wa-wa."

"Is that supposed to be a baby? Or Charlie Brown adults?"