(1995) The Oath Read Online Free PDF

“But at any rate,” he continued, “I do need to contact Marcus DuFresne. I won’t be surprised if he contacts me first once he finds out who the victim was. But we’ll—we’ll get on with it.”
    She smiled at him. He was struck by the warmth, the comfort her smile gave him.
    She stood and said, “If you’re planning on staying in the area for a while, I could recommend the Tamarack Motel here in West Fork. It’s not the Holiday Inn, but it’s quaint and it’s clean. I could get in touch with Marcus and let him know you’re here, and then if you’d like, I could take both of you up to the site tomorrow, let you look it over.”
    But Steve was thinking about the passage of time and what that did to a trail, to signs a bear might leave behind. He was thinking about nature’s way of cleaning up a campsite: rain, sun, wind, and scavenging animals, all of which could quickly erase vital clues to what had happened.
    He looked up at Deputy Tracy Ellis, who appeared tired, who’d already been up to the site and back. Then he looked at his watch, considering the remaining daylight, and made a decision. “How long would it take to get up there?”

. . . ANNOUNCING . . .
    Dinner and Barn Dance in celebration of Benjamin Hyde’s birthday. Hyde Hall September 20, 7–10 P.M. Music by The Silver Settlers
    Bring a hot dish and a dessert. Drinks will be provided. So that all may take part, the second shift will be excused at 5 P.M.
    Come One, Come All!
    Hyde Mining Company Flyer September 1879
    NOTICE
    To the second shift foremen:
    Owing to the shorter workday last week, the second shift will work a full shift this coming Sunday. No exceptions. Regular shifts and regular hours will resume on Monday.
    Fun is one thing; production is another. All foremen will advise their crews, and extend my thanks for the nice party.
    Bulletin from Benjamin Hyde’s office September 1879

TWO
    THE BEAR
    V IC MOORE knocked off and went home early, leaving the church roofing job undone. There’s no big hurry anyway, he thought. Let Reverend Woods stew about it. The weather was supposed to be pretty good for a while, and he had other things on his mind.
    Well, one thing, actually. Right now he was standing in front of his bathroom mirror again, scrubbing at the discoloration over his heart. Soap hadn’t worked too well, so now he was using a petroleum-based, grease-cutting hand cleaner. He kept scrubbing and rinsing, then scrubbing again. It wasn’t working, and he was getting nervous. The mark, the stain, the blemish, whatever it was, was only getting darker, and all the scrubbing was only making the area raw.
    He threw down the washcloth. Now what? He looked out the bathroom window toward the mountains, the south-facing slopes with their countless regiments of pine and fir awash in the afternoon sun. A beautiful sight, but it brought only one thought: Night was coming.
    They say it always happens at night.
    Vic could feel fear creeping up on him, but he shook it off with angry defiance. Huh-uh, no way, he thought. Not me. This is where the rules change, folks. Nobody has to see this, nobody’s going to see it, and most of all, Vic Moore is not going to cave in! I’ve never been afraid of anything, I’ve never let anybody play around with me, and I’m not starting now. With that decided, he dried his chest with a towel and put on a shirt.
    He needed a tall cold one. He decided to kill some time down at Charlie’s, the local watering hole. He’d kick back, shoot some pool, be with his buddies.
    He went into his bedroom to get his wallet, then stopped, eyeing the small cabinet beside the bed. He walked over to it, yanked the top drawer open, and grabbed his . 357 . Now how could he carry it without it being seen? Carrying a gun around here wasn’t so unusual. Hyde Valley was full of hunters, ranchers, and sportsmen; guns were common here. But his buddies would ask him about it, and he’d have to explain himself. They might think he