The Lava Witch by Debra Bokur

Author:Debra Bokur [Bokur, Debra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

The interior of George’s Island Market was cool and dry. Kali stood just inside the automatic glass doors, wiping the rain from her face. From where he sat behind the counter next to a cash register, George glanced up briefly, then back down at the newspaper in his hands.

“According to the reporter who worked on this front page story, the Bigfoot that’s been sighted up in the high country was probably brought here from Montana when it was still a little Bigfoot.”

Kali considered the unlikeliness of this theory. “Seems like someone would have noticed, don’t you think?”

George looked at her, his expression serious. “Could have been smuggled onto a sailboat in disguise. Or maybe brought here on a private plane when it was tiny and less noticeable.”

“Only one? That would be an awfully lonely existence. New forest, new terrain. Learning to live off fruit.”

“Kids love fruit. Maybe little Bigfoots like sweets, too.”

“Maybe,” she said, smiling at George. Clutching her shopping bag in one hand, she wiped her feet vigorously on the doormat. The drops of rain that clung to her waterproof jacket sprayed outward, onto the already wet, mud-streaked floor. She considered that there was nothing sweet on her grocery list, which was limited to eggs, coffee, fish, and tea. Lifting a hand basket from a stack near the entrance, she made her way along the store’s aisles, passing other shoppers as she gathered the items she’d come for.

When she reached the bakery display, she hesitated. Many of the available treats on display had been locally produced, and she saw a loaf of mango bread that had been made with macadamia nuts and coconut. She thought about the pineapple cake that one of the police officers had brought in to the police station earlier that week. It had been devoured—largely by Walter—by the afternoon of its arrival, and she’d never sampled it. On impulse, she decided to buy the bread and bring it to the station when she went in the next morning. She liked the idea of arriving at work with something normal and sweet, and grasped at the possibility that it might help dispel the darkness that had descended in the wake of the delivery of the ghoulish package.

At the checkout counter, George put down his newspaper and considered her selections.

“These are good eggs,” he said. “Big and speckled. That nice couple that have been fixing up the old farm near the crossroads have been supplying most of them. Bring them in fresh every morning.”

“Have you gone up to the farm to meet their chickens?” she asked. She slid the bread onto the countertop. “I know you like to know where things come from.”

“No,” he said, thoughtfully. “I haven’t been up there yet, but I’ll go pretty soon. I heard they have a child—a daughter—who was hurt in a crash a while ago, before they came here to Maui. Motorcycle, I think. Maybe I can bring a basket of things by for them. Make them feel welcome.”

Kali nodded as she handed him her credit card.

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