The first time he’d felt that, on a night two springs before, he’d been surprised. He had pressed his body right up against the wall so as to push his arm as far out as he could through the gap. He had learned to identify life by placing the palm of one hand against the chest of a deer, and the other against his own. He had felt it pulsating in time with the night, accompanied by the hooting of owls and the rush of water in the stream. He had stayed like that for a while, looking at the sky while the creature grazed on the other side of the wall.

By now he had become familiar with the motion of the stars and the moon, the geography of the world above his head, the dance of time and of the seasons, the alternation of life and death in the forest.

Through that gap he had watched animals being born, but also going to sleep forever, and being consumed until they became one with the soil. He had watched the females choose their mates and wondered where he had come from.

He twisted a piece of string between his fingers, made a knot, and lowered it through the gap. Resting his ear against the wooden boards, he listened to the light hopping steps of the lizards that came to bask in the sun. It took a while to find the right moment, but he had time to spare, and the fox had taught him how to be patient. He jerked at the string and the knot tightened around a lizard. He pulled it toward him and through the gap. The tiny animal writhed almost weightlessly in his hands. Cradling it in his palms, he stretched his arms out toward the darkest corner of the room.

That corner where no light could ever reach was where the creature that had recently been keeping him company always chose to hide. It was scared of the outside world, though there was no reason why it should be. He would protect it, just as he had seen mothers do with their young.

He called out to it with a low sound, but it didn’t emerge from its hideout. He tried again, throwing morsels of food at it, but even those weren’t enough to lure it out of the darkness.

He placed the lizard on the floor and made it run backwards and forward on its leash of string. Finally, he heard the rustle of something moving.

A little hand appeared from the dark.

-43-

-43-

Teresa had been authorized by the regional chief of police to move her team to the police station in Travenì. Conducting the investigation from within the village would save time and resources. But the truth was that she felt another attack was imminent. Death wasn’t done with that place yet. Teresa was sure of it.