An owl hooted in the distance. The elder lifted his head and stared toward the door for a long moment. “I’m sorry you’ve had to be exposed to such a thing, Rachael, and, of course, you’re right. There is nothing evil about Rio.” Delgrotto ate another spoonful of the soup. “We can agree he took a life.”

Somewhat mollified, Rachael nodded. “I can’t very well deny it when he told me so himself.” She sighed. “He doesn’t blame you for what you did.”

“No, he doesn’t, because he understands the need for laws.” The owl hooted a second time. Delgrotto leaned forward and blew out the candle. “Close the door and be very quiet.”

“The birds aren’t sounding off, neither are the monkeys.” But Rachael obediently closed the door and dropped the bar in place. “What’s wrong?” Always before she’d heard the clear warning of the animals as an intruder moved through their territory. “Maybe it’s Rio coming back.” But she knew it wasn’t. Cold fingers touched her spine, sent a chill of fear through her body.

“It isn’t Rio. Do you know the way to the village?”

Rachael shook her head. “I’ve never been there.”

“You might be able to follow Rio, using scent, but I know him. He’ll have tried to go to water several times to throw anyone off. He’s very careful. He must have an escape hole other than the front door.”

“Yes, but we don’t even know what’s out there.”

“If a man was out there, the forest would have been in an uproar. It’s a leopard, and he knows the ways of the animals. He knows to soothe them as he passes by, careful not to look as if he’s hunting. And he must be hunting to want to come to us so silently.”

“I came here hoping to escape the trouble I was in,” Rachael confessed readily. “They sent someone after me once already. You should go, I can show you the escape door. You shouldn’t be here with me.”

“I may be an old man, Rachael, but I am capable of helping you protect your life. I would never slink back to Rio and tell him I left his woman alone to fend off an attacker. I could never live with myself.”

She had an idea Rio might not look too kindly on him either. “Kim Pang came by earlier and told Rio his father had a vision about a party of researchers entering the forest looking for medicinal plants. Tama is guiding them, but his father was still very much worried. He didn’t believe they were researchers.”

“An ordinary man would not be able to keep the animals quiet. Nor would he be able to escape the eye of one of Pang’s sons.”