Hortons Bend

said goodbye when their conversation had ended.
    Darwin was finishing the row of boxes he had started when he arrived back downstairs. His assistant looked at him and rolled her eyes. “What did Mrs. Pisspotty want this time?” Darwin had little love for the museum director given her lack of credentials. “The us ual things. Making sure I know my place. Don’t let it bother you. Think of it like graduate school that never ends.” Darwin rolled her eyes again but deep down she knew she was just being impatient and tired of her internship at this museum. She also knew she would go on to bigger and better things in due time. “I can’t wait to get out of this little town Brody” she grimaced. He patted her shoulder and asked her to work on the inventory until noon. “I’ve got to go run an errand for a little while. After lunch let’s work on the GIS map work.” Between dealing with himself, Mrs. Pisspotty, and Darwin he needed some air but knew what he was about to do would probably piss off more people.
    Brody got into his Toyota and took a drive towards the north end of the county. He turned off the state highway onto the narrow Dalton Road which runs p arallel with the river. Lacy would be furious with him for this visit but he had to keep looking into this. His research was one of the perks at the museum plus it generated new exhibit ideas. He would continue to investigate until he came to a dead end and then move onto another project. Brody saw the battered mail box with the faded Horton lettering on the side and steered the 4x4 into their dirt driveway. He told himself that he would be pleasant and be the friendly archaeologist that no one could resist. He then whispered to himself “Please God don’t let me fuck up again.” The old Toyota came to a stop next to a large John Deere tractor parked in the yard. As he was getting out of his rig he could easily see that he was noticed immediately. An elderly woman with a dish towel in her hand was already at the porch and her husband wearing starched overalls was striding towards him coming from the barn. He waited until the farmer had gotten closer to the house before he approached. Both smiled at him and greeted him with a “good morning”. Brody put on his best smile and replied “Good morning. Mr. Horton?” After their brief exchange, Brody introduced himself. “I’m Paul Brody. I work over at the Coosa Valley Historical Museum.” While the couple didn’t frown it was clear that their facial expressions became guarded. “What can we do for you Mr. Brody?” Mrs. Horton asked. Brody explained how he was interested in the archaeology along the river and was curious if they had ever found anything when the fields were being plowed. Mr. Horton smiled again and told him “Well son I’ve seen a curious rock or two but I’m just so dang busy trying to get in the soybeans that I’ve never seen much that would seem to matter. I’ve run across a few of them flint flakes but not so much as a single arrowhead.” Brody knew that he had to tread lightly and not contradict anything the farmer had seen. Before he had a chance to ask another question the farmer was quick to come up with an explanation. “Ya know my granddaddy used to let neighbors hunt for that kind of stuff back in the 20’s and maybe they just picked up everything” he said as he wiped his brow with a tattered bandana.
    Brody decided maybe he should try a different tact and see what direction it would take him. “I didn’t know if you knew this but during the 16 th century the Spanish came through this area. We know that they visited up river and then closer to town but we have all wondered if they spent any time here on this bend in the river.” The farmer once again gave a confident look to his wife and beamed as he explained to Brody that archaeologists had visited the site before. “Yessir there was some boys from the state university who came around in the 1960’s or 70’s and looked all over the property but I believe they figured it must be a….a what did they call that Ruby?” Mrs. Horton looked up from a moment in thought and said “I believe that called it a “dead zone” Sam. That it was just one of those things. Like where you think it has to be but it turns out there ain’t nothing there.” Brody knew he wasn’t getting anywhere and was about to suggest that maybe he could take a walk out into the fields with the farmer but was cut short when Mr. Horton