Hortons Bend

Brody this afternoon since she was scheduled to speak at the local Rotary’s Club monthly meeting but she would make things quite clear with him in the morning.
    Darwin knew something was up when Brody wanted to speak with her back in the lab. Why not out here on the museum grounds? He looked pretty serious and considering the way he had been acting she was starting to get concerned. She followed him downstairs where they sat at the table. “What’s up Paul? Why the secrecy?” she asked him. Brody wasn’t sure that he wanted to disclose too much to Darwin. She was a good friend but he didn’t know if she was willing to go this far. “Darwin I want to run something by you. And I want you to hear me out before I finish” he said from across the table. She was almost amused by his seriousness but could tell by his demeanor that he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. A topographic map which detailed the Oostanaula River in the north part of the county was spread out on the table. Brody looked at Darwin and pointed to the map. “I want you to come with me tomorrow night. I want to ride up river and take a walk onto Horton’s Bend. Hey I know…I know. But I just want to see if I can find something. A sherd….anything.” Darwin’s eyes widened in amazement and then she shook her head in disbelief. “You want me to trespass on those people’s property…in the middle of the night and look for artifacts. You know there’s not a moon this week not to mention the fact that we would be breaking the law. OK that’s one thing but what about that little thing called ethics? Paul… what in the hell do you think we would find? It’s gonna be dark. And what if we end up getting caught? Can you just imagine the headlines? You know you would lose your job and my ass would be swinging in the wind!” Her voice had slowly gotten higher as she had spoken. Brody knew all this was coming but it didn’t phase him in the least. He nodded throughout her whole speech but knew he would have to be persistent. “Look Darwin I’m not going to camp out there. We can just go in and look around for a little bit and then we’ll get back in the boat.” Before he could say another word she quickly interjected “What is all this “we” business? Why do you need me?” Brody knew he would have to a little pleading at this point to get Darwin on board. “You’ve got sharp eyes. I…hell everybody knows you don’t miss anything in the field. For this short time I just need as much help as possible. It’ll be like an adventure. It’ll make a great story some day. We get in and find something and then get right back out.” Darwin was looking up at the ceiling which to Brody was a sure sign that she would finally concede. “OK” she said “but you show me what you have planned. And this better go smooth. And I don’t want to be on that property more than thirty minutes….it gives me the creeps with all the stories. And…” But Brody cut her off before she could finish. “And I promise…. “ he held two fingers up in a scout’s honor fashion . Brody stood up and begin explaining his plan using the topo map of where they could land.
    Brody thought about his actions in the past few days as he drove home. He knew he was taking too many chances and it was stupid of him to keep pursuing this foolish line of action. Taking Darwin with him wasn’t the smartest thing he had ever done. As he drove the Land cruiser he remembered some of the dumbass things he had done in his undergraduate days but those days didn’t carry any risk. He needed Darwin not only to look for what would have to be an incredibly lucky find but to keep an eye out for any signs of the Horton’s who might spot them in their fields. He damn sure couldn’t tell Lacy what he was up to. She had finally become a little more pleasant recently and this would be the last straw if she found out. Brody promised himself that he would stay with the plan and make sure not to overstay their nocturnal visit any longer than he had promised Darwin. If nothing came of this he would abandon his interest in Horton’s Bend altogether. He just needed to take this chance and get it out of his blood.
    Brody’s Toyota rattled into his driveway and as he got out of the rig he told himself to not give himself away to his wife. Lacy was in the kitchen when he walked in the door. “Hey baby” she said “Glad you’re home!” He sat down at the kitchen table with the local paper.