On the plus side, the road trip pul ed Weezy out of her funk. She was her old self again, chattering away about her secret-history stuff as she led them
down the fire trail.
The cursing grew louder, and as they reached the spong area they saw a skinny man wearing an Agway gimme cap, bib-front overal s, duck boots, and
probably nothing else. He looked like he was dancing around the open area, but he was kicking at the traps, many with sticks jutting from them, and
cursing a blue streak.
The three of them stopped to stare. This had to be the trapper, and it looked like Mrs. Clevenger had been doing her thing again.
He stopped when he saw them.
“Whatchoo lookin’ at?”
When they didn’t reply, he started toward them. He needed a shave and most likely a bath, and his eyes looked wild with rage.
“You been doin’ this? You the ones been messin’ up muh traps?”
“We just got here, mister,” Jack said, thinking this couldn’t be Old Man Foster because he wasn’t old. Forty, tops. “Are you Mister Foster?”
“Zeb Foster? No, I ain’t him.”
“Then what are you doing trapping on his land?” Weezy said.
He stepped closer. “Look, I don’t need no little girl asking me no fresh-mouthed questions. Get outa here!”
Weezy stood her ground. “Wel , if you’re not Mister Foster, who are you?”
“I’m his son, dammit! Now git!” He pointed a dirty finger at them. “And you better not be the ones springin’ muh traps, ‘cause if you are, I’l skin you like a
coon—only you’l stil be alive when I do it. Now git!”
“Okay, okay,” Eddie said, moving faster than usual.
“One creepitacious guy,” he said when they’d moved out of earshot.
Weezy made a face. “Like I believe he’s Old Man Foster’s son.”
“Maybe he isn’t,” Jack said. “But I do believe he meant what he said about skinning us alive.”
“This is criminal!” Weezy cried as she walked among the ruins of the mound. “An absolute sin!”
Jack agreed. The mound or mounds—he couldn’t be sure exactly what had been here before—had snaked among the burned trunks. Now trenches ran
in al directions amid knocked-down and half-downed trees.
She kicked at the sand. “They’ve destroyed everything!”
“See any fossils?” Eddie said.
“Why am I not surprised to find you here?” a familiar voice cal ed.
Jack turned and saw Tim standing by his patrol car at the edge of the burned area.
Jack, Weezy, and Eddie looked at one another, then ambled over to where he waited.
Tim shook his head as he looked at Jack. “Didn’t I tel you to stay away from here?”
Jack could have said he’d come along only to keep Weezy company, but that wasn’t exactly true and he wasn’t about to lay it on her. No one had forced
him to come along.
So he simply shrugged.
But Weezy said, “It was my idea, Officer.”
Tim smiled. “Deputy.”
Weezy did her
“Desecrating?” Tim frowned. “It’s not like it was a church or anything.”
“Could have been at one time. It might have contained secrets hidden for … forever.”
“Secrets?”
Oh, no, Jack thought. Don’t get her started on secrets. He searched for a way to change the subject.
“Did your friend ever get that photo from his helicopter?”
Tim nodded. “As a matter of fact, he did.” He reached through the open window of his patrol car and pul ed
