Kiss of the Bees by J. A. Jance

Author:J. A. Jance [Jance, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

10

On the Fourth Day I’itoi made the Sun—Tash. And Elder Brother went with Tash to show him the way, just as Sun travels today.

For a long time Tash walked close to the earth, and it was very hot. Juhk O’othham—Rain Man—refused to follow his brother, Chewagi O’othham—Cloud Man—over the land, and Hewel O’othham—Wind Man—was angry and only made things hotter and dryer.

All the desert world needed water. The Desert People were so thirsty and cross that they quarreled. When u’uwhig—the Birds—came too near each other, they pulled feathers. Tohbi—Cottontail Rabbit—and Ko’owi—Rattlesnake, and Jewho—Gopher—could no longer live together. So Jewho became very busy digging new holes.

When the animals had quarreled until only the strongest were left, a strange people came out of the old deserted gopher holes.

These were the PaDaj O’othham—Bad People—who were moved by the Spirit of Evil. They came from the big water in the far southwest, and they spread all over the land, killing the people as they came until every man felt that he lived in a black hole.

The Desert People were so sad that at last they cried out to the Great Spirit for help. And when I’itoi saw that the PaDaj O’othham were in the land, he took some good spirits of the other world and made warriors out of them.

These good spirit warriors chased the Bad People but could neither capture nor kill them. And because his good soldiers from the spirit world could not destroy the Bad People, who were moved by the Spirit of Evil, I’itoi was ashamed.

“That must have been very interesting,” Monty Lazarus was saying.

Diana snapped to attention and was embarrassed to realize that she had once again allowed her mind to wander. Talking and thinking about Andrew Carlisle still had the power to do that. She had thought that writing the book about him would have cleared the man out of her system once and for all. Her continuing discomfort during this interview seemed to suggest that wasn’t the case.

She wondered if she’d said anything stupid. Whatever she had said, no doubt Mr. Lazarus would quote her verbatim.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess I’m getting tired. What was interesting?”

“Interviewing Andrew Carlisle’s mother.”

Diana didn’t remember when the interview had veered into discussing Myrna Louise, but it must have. “Right,” she said. “It was.”

“She’s still alive then?” Monty asked.

“Not now. She died within weeks of the time I saw her. It’s a good thing I went to see her when I did. Other than talking to Andrew Carlisle himself, my interview with Myrna Louise was one of the most important ones I did for the book. I was nervous about seeing her after what I’d done to her son—leaving him blind and crippled. I had no idea how she’d respond to me. Just because a court had ruled I had acted in self-defense didn’t mean that would carry any weight with the man’s mother.”

“Didn’t you say in the book someplace that he tried to kill her once?”

Diana nodded. “He did, but she got away.

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