5/2 13:57

"Ha ha ha, a giant alligator? That sounds sensational, but thanks for letting me know, I'll give your advice some serious thought." The man laughed as he said it, shutting the door, and long after he'd gone back inside, his laughter could still be heard.

Even so, Kevin and Hugo gritted their teeth and warned four or five more households. After that, they headed for Cooper's place, and Hugo had already braced himself for how Cooper would react.

The cruiser parked under the tree by the farmhouse door, same as always, but against all custom, Cooper didn't appear — no furious figure with a gun, warning off uninvited visitors. Instead there was only the wind picking up and howling, thunder rumbling low and steady; it looked like the rain was about to start.

Kevin and Hugo waited a few minutes, but Hugo, eager to get this over with and move on to the next household, killed the engine, got out, and started around the front and back of the farmhouse, calling Cooper's name and looking everywhere. Kevin, bored just sitting there, got out too. They spent a good ten-odd minutes at it, but found no sign of Cooper anywhere, inside or out. What was strange was that every light in the house was blazing, as if they'd been left on all night, and the television in the living room was blaring at full volume.

"No sign of Cooper anywhere." Hugo walked back to the door, where Kevin was leaning against the hood of the car. "But every light in the place is on, and the TV's turned up loud enough that I could hear the news say there might be a storm tonight."

"So what do you think?"

"I think — well, from the lights and the TV, it looks like he stepped out to deal with something and never got back to turn them off."

"Stepped out to deal with something — all night? And still not back by the time we got here? Deal with what?"

Kevin and Hugo both thought of the same thing at the same moment. The two of them started toward the cattle barn by the river, walking very carefully, and very afraid.