Dinosaur Lake by Kathryn Meyer Griffith Page A

Was that the something he’d just seen?
    Nah, he chided himself, chuckling uneasily as he and Justin walked down the trail. The ripple in the water was most likely a big fish. Must have been.
    That woman in the group yesterday with her ridiculous accusation had spooked him, that was all. Along with George and Justin and the weird tracks. He was tired; and had obviously seen too many Spook Spectaculars as a kid. Under the cloak of night, anything was imaginable.
    But he couldn’t explain the great relief he felt when Justin and him strolled through the door of the brightly lit lodge a short while later. The sight and sound of normal, noisy people, the aroma of fresh coffee, and the crackling fire, were comfortingly welcome.
    Suddenly he hoped it’d rain again tonight. Hoped it would storm to beat the band so all those tracks would wash away. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with any of it.
    ***
    Outside in the night a mournful call echoed across the water of Crater Lake…and slowly pulsed away into the dark. The water rippled and moved and was eventually calmed as the moon rose high and full over the park among the gathering clouds. The waters stilled. The night silent.

Chapter 3

    It didn’t only rain that night, it stormed fiercely, as Henry had wished. In the end, discounting his fancies as childish, he convinced himself he hadn’t actually seen anything in the lake. It’d been too far away and too dark.
    When he ambled into the kitchen for breakfast, the storm hadn’t abated and the rain was beating heavily outside the windows. He didn’t waste time gazing out at the solid sheet of falling water, but headed for the sink and made a pot of coffee.
    It was his day off, but he’d gotten up early to see Ann off to work. She usually put in half-days on Saturdays and he enjoyed having breakfast with her before she left. Because of the bad weather she’d decided not to go into work that morning, but her boss, Zeke, had called and said he really needed her in the office. Another emergency. What was new? So she’d be going in.
    Sitting in his pajamas, reading the paper, he was happy he didn’t have to go anywhere and had put the whole weird episode of the night before away as any sane man would have.
    He mentioned nothing about the tracks or the sighting to Ann, though he did tell her about his supper meeting with Justin and the lake’s continuing rise in temperature.
    “Darn,” his wife griped over her first cup of coffee, her eyes on the wet windows, “Looks like I won’t get those pictures of that dinosaur boneyard this morning, either. I’m beginning to feel as if I’ll never get them. I’m cursed. Zeke thinks I’m making it all up.”
    “Don’t fret, hon, you’ll get them. The bones aren’t going anywhere.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” The disappointment was strong in the way she cocked her head. “With my luck, we’ll have another massive earthquake and the ground will swallow the whole area up.” She snapped her fingers in the air. “Another missed golden opportunity for fame and fortune.”
    She was wearing a soft malt-blue sweater, which made her gray eyes seem blue, and her usual blue jeans, which accented her slim figure. Her short hair was feathered around her face, the gray streaks more prominent as they curved along the front. She looked a lot younger than her age, Henry thought. Prettier than she’d ever looked when she’d worked at that big city paper, her life all hurry-hurry. The country air, the slower pace and the woods agreed with her. Her new life agreed with her, as his agreed with him.
    “Laura and Phoebe are coming for dinner tonight,” Ann informed him cheerily as she was leaving.
    “What’s new?” he bantered back, with a flicker of a smile, as he looked up from the Everyday section. “Be careful out there, honey. It’s been raining hard and visibility is low with the fog. Take the main highways, none of those back road short cuts, ya hear?”
    “Yes, honey.”
    ***
    Ann