Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Your picture is excellent! Ruth Rose said. "My grandmother likes to paint, too." Byron smiled and blushed. He walked toward his little garden. "Do you like strawberries?" "Sure!" Josh said, and the kids followed Byron. The garden was neatly laid out in rows. A shovel and hoe stood leaning against a small tree. There were tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and some things Dink didn't recognize. One corner of the garden was filled with strawberry plants. Byron told Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to help themselves. The kids waded into the patch

carefully as they picked the bright red berries. Suddenly they heard a whoosh, and a large owl flew out of the trees. The bird landed on Byron's wrist and plucked a strawberry from his hand. "This is Bill," the man said. "He's awesome!" Josh said. Byron stretched his arm toward Josh. "You can pet him," he said proudly. While Josh was petting Bill, Ruth Rose poked Dink on the arm. When he looked at her, she nodded toward the shovel a few feet away. The edges of the shovel blade were caked with red clay.

Byron carried Bill over to the soup pot. The kids watched him scoop out something and feed it to the owl. "That red dirt looks the same as the dirt at the graveyard!" Ruth Rose whispered. "So what?" Josh said, plucking another berry from the patch. "Josh, that could mean Byron was digging in the cemetery," she said, keeping her voice low. "The soil here in his garden is black, not red!" Josh's hand stopped halfway to his mouth. His eyes shut, then flew open again. "You mean … that could have been him in the cemetery last night!" "Not so loud!" Dink whispered. "Guys, I'm sure there's red clay in other places around here, not just in the cemetery. I saw the same color clay on the floor of Jack's van yesterday." Josh stole a look at Byron, who was still feeding Bill. "That guy we saw last night had light hair like Byron's," he whispered. "And look at his big feet. He could have made those footprints we saw near the cemetery." "None of that proves anything," Dink said.

He remembered Jack in the moonlight last night. Jack's blond hair had looked silvery, the same as the hair of the mystery man in the cemetery. "I have some other ideas," Dink added quietly. Just then Byron looked up and smiled at the kids. "Do you want to swing on my tire?" he asked. "N-no, thank you," Ruth Rose said. "We have to be getting back." Byron tossed Bill into the air and the bird disappeared in the trees. Then Byron walked toward the kids and stretched out a huge hand. "It was very nice meeting you," he said. Dink shook Byron's hand. Beneath the skin Dink felt the man's strength. "It was nice meeting you, too," Dink said. The kids walked toward the trail. When Byron and the cabin were out of sight, they began running. Five minutes later, they stopped, panting, in front of Myrna's little hut. Myrna was sitting on her porch talking with a woman dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. "Did you kids have fun?" Myrna asked.

"Yes!" Josh said. "We met a big guy named Byron and his owl." "He showed us his painting," Ruth Rose said. "He sure is a good artist." Myrna nodded. "Byron makes his own paints from nature," she said. "He gathers berries, digs up roots, anything he can find. He grinds the stuff up to create his different colors." Myrna introduced the woman to the kids. "Lucy is a friend of Jack's," she said. "She'll drive you back to your hotel." Lucy smiled at the kids. "Jack's at the hospital with his wife," she said. "Looks like today is the day for the baby to be born." They said good-bye to Myrna and followed Lucy to the trail. They had only gone a short distance when they saw a man approaching them. He was hurrying toward the village. When the man noticed Lucy and the kids, he stopped. His face was red and sweaty. "Am I on the right trail for the village?" he asked.

The man was wearing a straw hat, dressy pants, and a striped shirt. His briefcase and shiny black shoes looked out of place in the forest. Even with the hat, Dink recognized the man. He had been sitting near them at the hotel restaurant yesterday. What was he doing in the woods? "Yes, about another five minutes straight ahead," Lucy said. Then she added, "Is anyone expecting you?" "Yes," the man said, then hurried on his way. "That's odd," Lucy said after the man left them. She chuckled. "If he's a salesman, he'll have a