Nevada Barr: Blind Descent

The day following the departure of the doctor and his wife, Curt drove Anna to the Carlsbad airport. Her left foot was in a cast, the lateral metatarsal bone broken during the ascent from the Lounge.

Since Curt had prodded, threatened, and cajoled her up the last climb out of Old Misery Pit, Anna had done little but eat, sleep, and watch TV. Depression as black as any room in Lechuguilla had settled over her mind. She didn't know if she grieved for the dead, despaired the endless plundering of the wild places, or just needed a vacation.

She wasn't sure she wanted to be a park ranger anymore. What other line of work she was suited for was unclear. At the moment, bagging groceries at the A amp;P or working the cosmetics counter at Wal-Mart looked tempting. A job where one was seldom called upon to kill anybody.

"Are you okay?" Curt asked.

Anna, ticket in hand, and he sat in the uniquely soulless environment of airport waiting areas.

"A week in a hot tub and I will be. You?" She asked to be polite but found that she cared about the answer. Of late, Curt Schatz was one of the few people on earth who didn't grate on her nerves.

"Anxious to get back to the university. There's only a week before Christmas break. Since we won't be allowing them to come to class for a month, I know my students will be eager to squeeze in every bit of learning they possibly can these last few days."

Outside, buffeted by December winds, a prop plane taxied onto the ramp's loading zone.

"We'll keep in touch?" Anna asked.

"You saved my life," Curt replied. "Now you're responsible for me."

Nevada Barr is a mystery fiction author, known for her "Anna Pigeon" series of mysteries, set in National Parks in the United States. She grew up in Johnsonville, California. In 1984 she published her first novel, Bittersweet, a bleak lesbian historical novel set in the days of the Western frontier.