Chapters (41)
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- PART TWO
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- PART THREE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chance returned with another volcanic rock, larger than the rock baby in Malia’s hands, pocked with holes, more like pumice than basalt, and grayer, less black. It curved inward in the middle like a bean. Calliope sighed. Had he gotten it from the yard? A piece of landscaping? Was he showing her that the women of his clan had replaced Calliope’s baby with a garden rock? That this was a sick joke? Where had they buried her real child? Outside in the yard like an animal?
He said nothing, so she took the bait. “What’s this?”
“I found it in the back of Mara’s truck, under the tarp, when I went for the trowel.”
“Yeah, so?”
He sighed. “It was in the place I left your friend’s body, where she should have been.”
Calliope stared blankly, a numbness tingling her limbs and fingers. She stared from his inscrutable face to the rock in his hands, to the rock in Malia’s hands. “You’re telling me not only has my baby turned into a rock, but now Amy too?” She was shuddering with rage. She’d been right about him. He had been a trickster all along. His family was the Coyote clan, for good reason. “Has Mara turned into a rock too? Is that what you were going to say next? What about Eunjoo and I? Are we turning into rocks?” She shoved her hand into the air, mock inspecting it. “Just checking for signs of petrification. Does it look like frostbite? Or would I feel it coming on like flu?” She thought of Susana’s suicide note, turned to stone. But it couldn’t be. It didn’t make sense. It was a metaphor. Reina was a flesh-and-blood human like Amy had been, like the corn girl’s twin. Calliope had seen the sonogram. She’d felt two heartbeats. And rocks didn’t have hearts. She pushed the thought of the suicide note out of her mind. Focused instead on her anger and confusion.
Chance turned toward Malia, who handed him the rock baby. He spoke softly in Zuni and she shook her head. He spoke again, more persistent. She turned toward Calliope, her expression pained. Then she left the room without another word. Calliope wished they’d quit speaking Zuni in front of her—what secrets were they keeping from her? Chance set both rocks on a small table in the corner, then sat beside Calliope, legs crossed. She glared at him, her anger palpable between them. He sighed.