Aspen Allegations - A Sutton Massachusetts Mystery

Chapter 11

Jason's brow creased. "Are you all right?"

"I was here last July fourth," I murmured. "I was just past this point when a man, standing on those very rocks, fell eighty feet to his death." I pursed my lips. "It was barely four months ago. Have they forgotten already? Are they so sure they're invincible?"

He rested a hand on my shoulder. Warmth eased through me, unwrapping the knot which had settled into my back. After a moment I nodded and we set into motion again.

Purgatory had a different kind of beauty as winter set in. Gone were the delightful scatterings of mushrooms in gold, crimson, and darkest violet. Gone were the flittering butterflies, the scarlet tanagers dipping low across the path as they chased in search of a dragonfly. Instead, with the rich canopy of maple and aspen gone, one could now see through the layers of trees to the rocks and clefts beyond. New landscapes were revealed in their stark, quiet glory.

I stopped by one rock, almost a curved sandwich shape with two distinct layers, a beautiful camouflage pattern of lichen speckled along its face. "I wonder if there are a variety of lichens to be found here, just as there are many types of wildflowers or mushrooms."

"We can certainly find out when we get you home," he agreed. "It would be a fun project for the winter."

We were arriving at the back end of Purgatory now, and we came across a dozen family members standing at the cross-roads, pondering which way to go. There were at least four children under the age of six. I gave a silent prayer that they would take one of the outer trails and not decide to go up through the chasm proper. At last they turned right, onto an easier path, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I moved straight ahead. "Let's take the path that leads us toward Sutton Forest," I suggested. "It's the least traveled one here; we can see how the frog pond is doing."

He smiled at that. "I'm afraid all the frogs are long since tucked into the mud," he suggested, but he came to my side willingly, slowing as we approached the wooden bridge that crossed over a pool of water.

I breathed in deeply as we looked down into the reflections. Yes, there was the log to the left, often holding three or four frogs in a sunny streak of light. To the right were rocks they enjoyed warming themselves on. But Jason was right. There had been both last week's nor'easter and the cooler temperatures to contend with. Those poor frogs would have been sad indeed if they had not long since snuggled into a deep bed of mud. There was no doubt that the ground was fairly frozen by now, resistant to any efforts of small webbed feet to dig a shelter within.

He looked over at me. "Did you know that frogs have a type of anti-freeze in their blood that slows their respiration down to barely registering when they hibernate? That's how they make it through the long winter. Their bodies are barely alive. They simply hold still, patient, waiting for spring's warmth to reach down to them again."

Suddenly I could see the image in crystal clarity. A sense of waiting, the weight of mud and earth against one's eyes, not breathing, not feeling anything. Suspended in time, hoping against hope that someday there would be the softest of sensations, the minutest hint of warmth ...

He turned to me with concern, his thumb rising to my cheek and brushing away a tear. "Morgan, what is it?"

His body was so warm, so close, and the last thin threads of my reserves melted away. I leaned in against his sturdy chest; his arms came up around me as if I had always belonged within them. The tender impression of his lips settled on my forehead, and a rich heat blossomed through me from that point, drifting down into the furthest reaches of my soul.

My voice was hoarse, and it took a second try before I was able to get words out. "I'm just so glad you found me," I whispered.

One of his hands gently stroked against my hair, and I looked up at him. His eyes were deep brown and smoky. His voice held a roughness. "I have been looking for you for a long time."