The Howling

Chapter Six

That night Roy did not even try to make love to Karyn. He stayed up long after she went to bed, working, he said. When he finally came silently into the bedroom he was careful not to wake her and immediately went to sleep.

The night after that Karyn wore her nightgown to bed. It broke a years-long habit of sleeping in the nude. Roy came to bed late again and did not even notice.

The next morning Roy acted especially cheerful, but obviously something was on his mind. After more than a year of marriage Karyn knew the man well enough to wait until he was ready to tell her about it. During his second cup of coffee he did.

"Uh, look, honey, something's come up with the manuscripts I brought home."

"Oh?"

"I've run into some problems that just can't be solved without getting together with the writer. So it looks like I'm going to have to take a run into Los Angeles."

"Today?"

"Well, yes, the sooner the better. You'll be all right?"

"Of course."

"Is there anything I can do for you before I go?"

"I'm not an invalid, Roy."

"I hate to go, but it's one of those things."

Roy dabbed at his mouth and stood up, anxious to be on his way, but trying not to show it. He gathered up the manuscripts he said were giving him trouble and took them out to the car. Karyn walked out with him. She kissed him goodbye, then turned away and walked back to the house as he drove away. When she was back inside Karyn sat down and cried for twenty minutes.

Then, as abruptly as she had started, she stopped crying. She went into the bathroom and washed her face. A bleary, red-eyed image looked back at her from the mirror.

"You look like hell," Karyn said. She soaked a cloth with cool water and patted her face with it.

"How do you expect me to look?" her image seemed to answer. "Sitting around in a house in the middle of the woods with a husband who has turned into a stranger and trying to pretend there's nothing the matter. How would anybody look?"

She took up a brush and began energetically stroking her hair. When her hair had achieved a shimmery golden glow Karyn went back into the living room and sat down in the chair by the window. She picked up a paperback novel.

After a little while Karyn tossed the book aside. She recognized a new emotion building in her. Anger. She had seethed inside since the other day when Roy and that so-called sheriff Anton Gadak had been patronizing to her with their smug explanation of the howling. Coyote like hell! Owl my foot! Something else howled in the woods around Drago. Karyn decided suddenly that she was going to find out what.

She went into the bedroom and changed into jeans and a suede jacket. She put on a comfortable pair of mocassins and set off wlaking toward the village. When she reached Drago's main street she was surprised to see that there were several people out walking. No one she recognized, but at least it was evidence that there were other people living here.

She looked over at the little shop run by Marcia Lura. Door closed and dark, curtain across the window as usual. She wondered how the woman could attract enough customers to keep the place open. Or maybe her real business was in the back room. Karyn grinned wickedly.

For that matter, nothing in Drago seemed to do much business. Karyn walked by the open door of a tavern. Inside a solitary customer sat at the bar with a glass of beer in front of him. He looked out at Karyn, his face expressionless.

She continued past the boarded-up theater with its empty marquee. A faded poster tacked behind a glassless frame advertised a motorcycle movie that must have been ten years old.

She crossed the street to Jolivet's General Merchandise. At least there she could count on finding some life and a friendly face.

Oriole Jolivet bustled around the counter to greet her. The little woman wore a wide smile and her eyes twinkled behind the lenses of her glasses.

"Karyn, for gosh sakes, I about decided you'd up and left us."

"Nothing like that," Karyn said. "We've just been staying close to home."

"You ever find your little dog?"

"No."

"Aw, that's too bad. Something like that can really get a person down. How's Roy? Did he come in with you?"

"He had to go into Los Angeles today."

"Oh. You come in for shoppin' or for a visit?"

"For a visit, really, if I'm not taking you away from business."

"That'll be the day. You and me will have us a nice hen party. You're not in any hurry, are you?"

"No, not really."

"Good. I'll put on a fresh pot of coffee. Do you play cards?"

"Roy and I play cribbage sometimes."

"I don't know that one," Oriole said. "How about gin rummy?"

"I used to know how to play that," Karyn said doubtfully, "but it's been a long time."

"Don't worry, it'll come back to you. Just like riding a bicycle." Oriole started back around the counter and beckoned for Karyn to follow. "Come on out to the back. We'll play for half a cent a point, okay? Cards are no fun unless you play for money."

"Half a cent a point is fine," Karyn said, laughing. "You'd better go easy on me, though. I only have about three dollars with me."

"Shoot, I'll trust you for anything over that." Oriole laughed.

As she followed Oriole to the back room of the store, Karyn saw for the first time that Etienne Jolivet was standing silently off at one side of the counter. He gave her a faint smile and nodded. Karyn nodded back and wondered why the man made her uncomfortable.

In the cozy back room Oriole put a big pot of coffee on the stove and cleared off an old kitchen table for their game. She produced a worn deck of cards, a pad of paper, and a yellow stub of pencil.

"The first hand'll be just for practice," Oriole said, "so you can get the hang of it before we start playing for real."

An hour later Karyn was down $2.80, and Oriole was enjoying herself immensely. Oriole was an aggressive player, if not overly shrewd. Karyn's mind was not on the game.

"You've lived here a long time, haven't you, Oriole?" she asked as the other woman carefully added up the score of the last hand.

"All my life."

"I was wondering…" Karyn hesitated, unsure how to proceed.

Oriole looked up and her bright little eyes met Karyn's. "Anything at all you want to know about what goes on in Drago, I'm the one can tell you. Not that all that much goes on here."

Karyn smiled in agreement. "It's not really town gossip I was after. I was just wondering… well, for one thing, why aren't there any pets in Drago? The sheriff said the people here didn't keep many animals, but I haven't seen a single dog or cat on the street."

Oriole scratched thoughtfully at her nose. "Guess I never thought much about it. Let me see, there's some people named Hemphill on the other side of town from you folks. They keep chickens. Used to, anyway."

"That's not quite what I meant," Karyn said.

"Never cared much for dogs and cats myself," Oriole said.

"Maybe when you're out here closer to nature you don't feel the need to have an animal in the house."

"Maybe that's it." Oriole scooped up the cards and began to shuffle.

"Is there much wildlife in the woods around here?" Karyn asked, keeping it casual.

"We see deer sometimes. Raccoons. Chipmunks, squirrels. That's about it."

"Nothing… dangerous?"

"Lordy, no. If you start climbin' the mountains you might run into rattlesnakes, but you won't find them in the woods. It's too cool and damp for rattlesnakes."

"What about coyotes?"

"Well, now, I suppose there could be a coyote wander in through the pass once in a while. You get into the high desert just the other side of the mountains, and they got coyotes over there. Why?"

"I've heard something in the woods at night. Howling. You know Lady, our dog, has disappeared. I wondered if something out there could have got her. Maybe even a wolf?"

"Well, I don't know nothing about wolves." Oriole began dealing the cards, snapping each one firmly down on the table.

"I'd like to find out more," Karyn persisted. "Is there a library? Somewhere I could get books?"

"Not in Drago. Nearest library's over in Pinyon. If you want to call them, they'll send your books over with the mail. Tell 'em you know me and it'll be all right."

"Thanks, Oriole. If I can use your phone, I think I'll do that right now."

"In the middle of our game?"

"I'll be right back. This business has been on my mind, and I'll feel a lot better about it when I've at least done something."

"Okay, help yourself. The phone's out on the counter next to the register. I'll heat up the coffee."

Through the operator, Karyn got the number of the library in Pinyon. The librarian there, a Mr. Upshaw, apparently had little to do to keep him busy, and was eager to help Karyn find the kind of books she was looking for, and he said he'd be glad to send them over. They settled on The Wolf by L. David Mech, Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, and World of the Wolf by Russell J. Rutter. All were of recent publication, and all dealt with the wolf in its natural state. For good measure, Karyn asked for the National Geographic book on North American mammals.

Karyn and Oriole played gin for another hour, during which Karyn lost another two dollars. Oriole cheerfully accepted an I.O.U. and said she hoped they could make their card game a regular thing. Karyn said she hoped so too — if she could afford it — but really was relieved to get away. Oriole Jolivet was cheerful company but she had hardly anything besides gin rummy to talk about.

Karyn took her time walking back to the house. Rationally she had given up hope of ever seeing Lady again. Still, sometimes she would start at a sudden sound from the woods, thinking it was the bark of a small dog. But it was always something else. Or nothing at all.