The Wild Dead (The Bannerless Saga 2)

“Good,” Enid said, and he beamed.

The boy added, “Never hurts to earn some favors. Especially from investigators?”

“Sharp kid,” Enid said, smiling. “Give us a couple of minutes to get our notes together.” Enid and Teeg wrote out a couple of messages, telling about the body, its description in case anyone could identify it, and what they planned on doing. Enid tried to sound positive. They’d follow this investigation as far as they could. Even if it turned out to be not very.

Once Tom had the pages, he put on a hat and grabbed a skin of water and set off at a trot. Kid like that could probably keep up that pace for hours.

And that was another thing on the list done.

“I’m not hopeful,” Teeg told Enid, out of earshot of the household.

“Teeg, you’re a brand-new investigator. You don’t even know what’s possible yet. Give it a couple of days. We’ll turn something up.”

Teeg scowled, and she was determined to smile at him. Wasn’t she supposed to be the cynical one?

Chapter Five • the estuary

///////////////////////////////////////

Judgment

They’d shifted from investigating one structure at one household to investigating the whole community. This was like expecting a drizzle and getting a typhoon. Enid wasn’t ready for it, but if she didn’t keep herself steady and moving forward, no one else would. If she let Teeg decide what to do, they’d already be footing it home.

Eight more households stood spaced along the ridge above the river. Bonavista was the only one on this side. After it lay the bridge over the shallow, sluggish San Joe River. Ahead, the next household came into view before they’d entirely left Bonavista behind. The whole settlement was probably arranged that way on purpose—close enough for each household to see the next, far enough apart so they couldn’t actually hear their neighbors shout. Close enough to be of help in an emergency, far enough away to avoid idle visiting. It wasn’t that they didn’t like one another here. They just didn’t necessarily want to live in one another’s laps.

Enid came from a large household in a bustling town—Haven, the oldest along the Coast Road, the core of what came after. If she tried, she could understand the isolation here. The quiet, the feeling that all you saw was yours. But she didn’t like it herself, and she didn’t want to be here.

Next up the road was Pine Grove, which had no evidence of pine trees anywhere near it. Unlike Semperfi’s precarious house, these cottages were all well back from the riverbank, away from potential mudslides. Farther up the hill, their pylons were only a foot or so tall. Avery and Lynn were the heads of Pine Grove, which was a couple of generations along, with members who’d joined up, along with the handful of banners of those born here. Had a couple of kids, healthy and cared for. The usual collection of chickens, goats, and pigs, and a big barn cat that bared its teeth at the investigators as if it didn’t trust them.

Avery and Lynn had been watching for Enid and Teeg, probably since the body had been carried out of the marsh, and came out to the road to intercept them.

“What’s happening? What else have you found? Do you know who she is?” Avery asked, before a greeting even. The whole community had been tipped off balance. Even the air felt heavier, weighed down by the gravity of that body lying shrouded.

Teeg looked to Enid for some hint of how to proceed. One step at a time . . .

“We’re just getting started,” Enid said. “Can you answer some questions for us?”

Avery pursed his lips, while Lynn, who was thin and dark-skinned, with black hair cropped short, plucked at the fabric of her trousers. Enid took that as a yes.

“You got a look at the body when we brought it up. Did you recognize her? Any idea who she is?”

“No,” Avery said quickly. “No idea at all.”

Lynn shook her head. “I didn’t see her. But if Avery didn’t know her, it’s not likely I would.”

“Any idea where she’s from?” Avery said.

Enid said, “We think she’s from outside. Not Coast Road.”

Avery took a step back at this. Lynn’s look hardened.

“They come down this way sometimes,” she admitted. “We see them on the shoreline, picking up trash.”

Harvesting shellfish more likely, Enid guessed.

“Never so close as to talk to us,” Avery added. “And now they’re here, killing each other?”

“We don’t know who killed her,” Enid said evenly. “Not yet.”