He thought he was stopping for a stray dog in the snow-until he saw what she was hiding beneath her body

Ruth’s mouth pressed thin. “Dale Crowley’s been using it off and on. Not legally, I don’t think. He’s got cousins around here, and everybody pretends not to know what everybody knows.”

Cal waited.

“When he’s there, you can hear him clear across the low field,” she said. “Shouting, mostly. Sometimes dogs.”

The fire snapped behind them. Cal looked toward continue reading …