of townsfolk twisted
like the tail of a snake.
"But still," I said to
Walker, "the bodies . Wouldn't they have washed up somewhere?"
"Maybe so," he said. He
nodded out to the water again. "But that's Puget Sound out there,
one of the narrowest parts. It doesn't look like it, but that water
flows fast . If
the tides were right, they coulda been all the way up to the San
Juan Islands within an hour. Maybe some of them did wash up, but it was so far away
that no one put two 'n two together. Or maybe they'd been in the
water so long by then that no one recognized 'em."
I wasn't familiar enough with
forensics, or Puget Sound, to know if what he was saying made any
sense, but it didn't seem completely crazy. It was a century ago,
when the whole area was still pretty remote, and communication was
probably seriously lacking.
Still, it was pretty damn depressing.
Part of me wanted to go back to the theory about alien abduction —
the idea that the descendants of Amazing were still alive in a
space ship somewhere, living on, unbeknownst to them, in some
perfect recreation of their town.
"I guess the other question is why," I
said. "Why would a whole town commit suicide? Was it some kind
of—?" I looked at Min. "What was that famous cult back in the
seventies, where everybody killed themselves by drinking poison
Kool-Aid?"
"Jonestown," she said.
I looked at Walker, but he
smiled.
"Well, if we knew that," he said,
"we'd have already solved the mystery, wouldn't we?"
Fair
enough , I thought.
"I'm curious," I said. "Is anybody
still trying to figure out what really happened? Seriously
investigating it, I mean?"
"Oh, you know how it is,"
Walker said. "Every few years someone comes out here and makes a
big deal about starting up an investigation — some grad student or
something. But it's all for show. After all these years, what is
there left to find? Besides—" At this, he leaned in close. "Do we
really want to
solve it? Isn't it better that there's still a little mystery left
in the world?"
Min and I both chuckled.
"Absolutely," I said.
"Well," Walker said, shuffling his
feet a little, "congratulations to you and your—"
"Husband," I finished for him, and I
felt a flash of pride. Just because it was awkward to come out to
people I didn't know, that didn't mean I didn't ever do
it.
His craggy face broke into a grin.
"That so? Well, good for you!"
He gave us a final wave, then turned
and headed off into the trees.
After he was gone, Min looked at
me.
"What?" I said.
"You're totally thinking about the two
of us going all Scooby Doo and being the ones who finally figure
out the mystery of Amazing, aren't you?"
" No! " I said, seemingly outraged by
the suggestion. I hesitated. "Actually, I was thinking Veronica
Mars."
She laughed.
"I know we're not going to do it," I
said. "But wouldn't it be great?"
Min turned toward the rocky promontory
— the place where the citizens of Amazing possibly jumped to their
deaths. Then she looked back at me, a twinkle in her
eye.
"Really?" I said. "You really want to
go up there?"
"Don't you?"
I wasn't sure what I wanted. But I
didn't hesitate to follow when Min started down the trail, then up
the promontory. It was steep enough for switchbacks, but there
weren't any. Instead the trail just angled directly upward, over
ferns and between rocks, and I used them as handholds. It wasn't
rock-climbing exactly — or if it was, it was an easy grade — but it
was a pretty steep hike. Because of the incline of the trail, our
feet scraped away the leaves and even the top layer of the soil,
revealing a wet, rich dirt that was a reddish brown color and
smelled like some exotic spice.
If people really had
jumped to their deaths from the top of this hill — a huge if — was this the
trail they'd used to get there?
Min and I didn't say another word
until we reached the top. Tufts of grass grew in a small patch,
surrounded by trees and ferns and jagged boulders. From that spot,
we could
like the tail of a snake.
"But still," I said to
Walker, "the bodies . Wouldn't they have washed up somewhere?"
"Maybe so," he said. He
nodded out to the water again. "But that's Puget Sound out there,
one of the narrowest parts. It doesn't look like it, but that water
flows fast . If
the tides were right, they coulda been all the way up to the San
Juan Islands within an hour. Maybe some of them did wash up, but it was so far away
that no one put two 'n two together. Or maybe they'd been in the
water so long by then that no one recognized 'em."
I wasn't familiar enough with
forensics, or Puget Sound, to know if what he was saying made any
sense, but it didn't seem completely crazy. It was a century ago,
when the whole area was still pretty remote, and communication was
probably seriously lacking.
Still, it was pretty damn depressing.
Part of me wanted to go back to the theory about alien abduction —
the idea that the descendants of Amazing were still alive in a
space ship somewhere, living on, unbeknownst to them, in some
perfect recreation of their town.
"I guess the other question is why," I
said. "Why would a whole town commit suicide? Was it some kind
of—?" I looked at Min. "What was that famous cult back in the
seventies, where everybody killed themselves by drinking poison
Kool-Aid?"
"Jonestown," she said.
I looked at Walker, but he
smiled.
"Well, if we knew that," he said,
"we'd have already solved the mystery, wouldn't we?"
Fair
enough , I thought.
"I'm curious," I said. "Is anybody
still trying to figure out what really happened? Seriously
investigating it, I mean?"
"Oh, you know how it is,"
Walker said. "Every few years someone comes out here and makes a
big deal about starting up an investigation — some grad student or
something. But it's all for show. After all these years, what is
there left to find? Besides—" At this, he leaned in close. "Do we
really want to
solve it? Isn't it better that there's still a little mystery left
in the world?"
Min and I both chuckled.
"Absolutely," I said.
"Well," Walker said, shuffling his
feet a little, "congratulations to you and your—"
"Husband," I finished for him, and I
felt a flash of pride. Just because it was awkward to come out to
people I didn't know, that didn't mean I didn't ever do
it.
His craggy face broke into a grin.
"That so? Well, good for you!"
He gave us a final wave, then turned
and headed off into the trees.
After he was gone, Min looked at
me.
"What?" I said.
"You're totally thinking about the two
of us going all Scooby Doo and being the ones who finally figure
out the mystery of Amazing, aren't you?"
" No! " I said, seemingly outraged by
the suggestion. I hesitated. "Actually, I was thinking Veronica
Mars."
She laughed.
"I know we're not going to do it," I
said. "But wouldn't it be great?"
Min turned toward the rocky promontory
— the place where the citizens of Amazing possibly jumped to their
deaths. Then she looked back at me, a twinkle in her
eye.
"Really?" I said. "You really want to
go up there?"
"Don't you?"
I wasn't sure what I wanted. But I
didn't hesitate to follow when Min started down the trail, then up
the promontory. It was steep enough for switchbacks, but there
weren't any. Instead the trail just angled directly upward, over
ferns and between rocks, and I used them as handholds. It wasn't
rock-climbing exactly — or if it was, it was an easy grade — but it
was a pretty steep hike. Because of the incline of the trail, our
feet scraped away the leaves and even the top layer of the soil,
revealing a wet, rich dirt that was a reddish brown color and
smelled like some exotic spice.
If people really had
jumped to their deaths from the top of this hill — a huge if — was this the
trail they'd used to get there?
Min and I didn't say another word
until we reached the top. Tufts of grass grew in a small patch,
surrounded by trees and ferns and jagged boulders. From that spot,
we could
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