A Darkness Absolute (Casey Duncan #2)(79)

“And what would you have done if you’d found them, Sheriff?” Val asks.

“That’s up to the council. Same as with any major crime.”

“Before Val went on that patrol,” I say, “you strongly advised against it.”

“Hell—” He stops again. Restarts with a quiet “Yes.”

“You have forbidden others to do the same. Including Will when he first arrived.”

“Yes. I can bring in a half dozen guys who wanted to go out on patrol too soon. They’ll confirm I told them the same thing.”

“Exactly what did you warn them about?”

“What didn’t I warn them about?” He looks at Val. “It was the same lecture you got. Everything from the threat of wildlife to the hazards to getting lost.”

“Hostiles?” I ask.

“I warn about people in general. I don’t talk about the hostiles specifically—I don’t want to scare anyone like that. But I’m very clear that there are people out there and that encounters with them can be fatal.”

I turn to Val. “Is that what he told you?”

She nods.

“With no particular emphasis on the people over other dangers?” I ask.

She nods.

“If Eric was using the hostiles to frighten people, don’t you think he’d hammer on that point?”

“What?” Dalton says. “Using the hostiles?”

“The council believes you facilitate—possibly even orchestrate—hostile activity as a form of control over residents. Frightening locals so they don’t wander or run off.”

“What?”

“They believe you use your contacts to help you. That you…” I look at Val. “I’m not clear what exactly. Lure the hostiles close enough to town for sporadic attacks? Or have our excursions pass hostile areas in hopes of attack?”

“Both,” she says.

Dalton stares like he’s landed in an alternate reality. Or like we’ve all been smoking things we found in the forest.

“The patrol logbook, Eric,” I say. “That’s where patrols log signs of human activity so you can go out and evaluate, correct?”

“Yes, but if the council says that proves I’m tracking hostiles—”

“Can you open the logbook and tell me the entries for the last week of October? Particularly the one about a campsite the patrol found.”

He does. It’s nothing unusual—the patrol found the remains of a campsite a few kilometers in, and Dalton investigated.

I take the logbook and read. “Appears to be settler, approx three days old, canceling lake trip.”

I look at Val. “The lake had frozen, so we were taking a group for a twilight bonfire. A winter celebration party for those who win a spot by lottery. Eric had the militia scout the main path to the lake for the three days leading up to the party, to be sure it was clear. They found this on their first pass. Eric canceled the event.” I look at him. “You concluded it was settlers, so why cancel?”

“I can’t take the chance. Not with something like that—a nighttime event for citizens who don’t spend a lot of time in the forest. What looks like settlers could be high-functioning hostiles, and just because the campsite was three days old didn’t mean they weren’t still in the region.”

“Did you tell people that?”

“No. I said the ice wasn’t thick enough, so I was postponing it for a week.”

“Complete with a rant about how if you caught anyone sneaking down that way, they’d be on chopping duty all winter.”

“A month. Never say all winter because I won’t follow through.” He pauses. “It wasn’t really a rant either.”

“Totally was.” I sneak him a smile. Then I turn to Val and lift the logbook. “This is full of that. Patrols or other excursions see signs of human activity, and Eric goes out to evaluate, and if he concludes anyone was in that area, that region is on lockdown. He is meticulous. Even a little paranoid.”

“I wouldn’t say—” Dalton begins.

“Totally are. And I don’t argue because as upset as people get over having an excursion canceled, it means attacks—like the one on Val—are extremely rare. Hostiles are like cougars—most residents pass their entire time here and never even catch a glimpse of one.” I turn to Val. “But you had a full-blown encounter. After Eric tried to keep you out of the forest and the council encouraged you to go.”

She says nothing.

“I don’t understand,” Dalton says. “I tried to stop you. They encouraged you. But I’m the one using hostiles?”

“It was a test,” I say. “If you tried to keep the new council rep out of the forest, it proved you were responsible for hostile encounters.”

His face screws up. “How?”

“Because you wouldn’t want the new rep to be attacked. Except you keep all new residents out … and can prove that. And there are extremely few hostile encounters … and we can prove that. Oh, plus the small fact that Val actually was attacked.”

“Did they try to claim I set that up?” Dalton mutters.

When Val doesn’t reply, he looks at her. “They did?”