Why Not Murder

37. Accident

37. Accident

About ten days later, Dog seemed back to his normal self. He still had to remain in hiding though. Maya had a dilemma she was brewing over, which boiled down to: to tell or not to tell Tara. On the one hand Maya thought that it was best if no one knew that Dog had survived, on the other she thought it would be considerate to Tara if she sent her a cryptic email from the Laymuirs' system that Tara would understand to mean the Dog was alive. Maya fully trusted that Tara would tell no one and she pondered back and forth on this. Such a contrast to the usual knowing what to do impulse from her deeper mind. Here, she clearly had a decision to make, her intuitive self was not guiding her on this. 'No matter whether there is free will or not, there are decisions I must make.' This was the reason she went to the Laymuir residence that morning - to send the email but by the time she got there, she had decided not to. The clincher was perhaps Tara's daughter Cathy may open the email and understand. So it finally seemed better that Tara, and possibly Cathy, experience the suffering of not knowing, rather than the suffering from the need to secrecy.

Cook was very glad to see Maya and asked Maya to go with her to stock up on supplies. The town was now very low in groceries and other essentials that normally arrived by train to restock the stores because the repair was not yet complete. They would have to drive north and then west for many hours to the next closest city, Brockton. Winnie did not want Conrad or Jim to go with Cook because she was freaking out over the state of the garden. Also, Conrad and Jim had moved into the Laymuir residence because Winnie wanted the added security. Winnie was convinced there were prowlers at night even though none of the others had seen any. The contents from Hudson's study were moved into his bedroom and the study was converted for the use of Conrad and Jim. Harriet now slept in Winnie's room. Her bed from the room she had shared with Hilda was moved to Winnie's quarters and the crib was moved to where Harriet's bed had been and Hilda stayed with Gwen all the time.

Cook and Maya took the road that passed by the spot where Hudson's sports car had plummeted over the cliff. The road became a dirt road and they travelled this for several hours. Eventually it joined a paved road and they continued in the direction of Brockton. It was a beautifully sunny day and a lovely drive. They didn't see another car until they were 30 miles away from the Brockton limits.

The drive would have them pass the spot where Team A had killed executives of XX Fuel. They stopped the car at the side of the road at the place they recognized from the news and they both searched the ground for any clues remaining of the event. The pines at the edge of the forest bordering the road were exceptionally tall and motionless in the still air. A group of crows sat together in one tree cawing to each other or to anyone who would listen. Maya found three bullets in the thick moss on a rock partially blasted away during the construction of the road. This confirmed for Maya that this was the place she recognized from the news reports. Apparently at least one of the Team A members was not as good a shot as the others. Maya kept the bullets. Cook found the remains of ducktape which was used to shut the mouths of the executives and the police escorts. Directly across the road was a narrow creek. Maya found a key chain with a single copper-coloured key on it and a round label coated in plastic with the words 'Crawford Mills' on one side and on the other, a ghost with a noose around its neck. Maya put all these things into her shoulder bag and they continued their drive.

There was no ban on groups in the Brockton. It was smaller Marhaven, and they soon found the main mall and packed every available space in the car with the supplies they needed. On the way home, just as they were back on the dirt road, the car got a flat tire. They almost swerved into the ditch but Maya grabbed the wheel as well and the two of them managed to keep the vehicle on the road. The car belonged to Conrad and had the tools needed and a good spare tire so they were able to remedy the situation and get back driving. At dusk they spotted animals on the road. Cook would honk the horn and the animals would scatter - wolves, deer and several bear. It was nearly midnight when they got back to the Laymuir residence. In the dark, they drove very slowly to stay on the road. There was no moon and the Milky Way was brilliant. The road was dark in the shadow of the forest. "The beautiful thing about living in the country," Cook said, "is you can see the stars at night."