(1995) The Oath by Frank Peretti Page A

anything of it, but maybe you’ve got some people at the university who can figure out what it is.”
    Steve held the vial up to the light to examine the crusty slime. “I’ll FedEx it there right away.”
    Then there was silence again.
    “So?” Steve prompted. “What do you think?”
    Marcus thought about it long and hard and then shook his head. “Steve, this was one unique bear.”
    Steve nodded. “The soft organs were intact below the bite line—”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “A bear will typically go for the abdomen, for the soft organs first.” He took a sip of coffee, and Marcus did the same. “A bear will bite, clamp its jaws onto its prey, tear at it, drag it . . .”
    Marcus continued the line of thought. “Yeah, bears do that. So do coyotes, wolves, cougars, vultures, eagles—”
    “This attack seems a little neat, if you catch my meaning.”
    Marcus spread his hands. “So, how do you explain it?”
    Steve rested his elbows on the table, his chin on his interlaced fingers. “I think Tracy Ellis and the sheriff are already looking for another explanation. Tracy was asking Evie questions about her marriage.”
    “Poor Evelyn,” Marcus said, disturbed by the thought. Then he offered, “I’ve seen a few chain-saw accidents that happened during woodcutting season. The cut in the flesh wasn’t anything like that, though.”
    Steve could feel himself getting nauseous. He hated the question even as he asked it. “Could it have been done with a hunting knife?”
    Marcus looked back at him, hating the answer. “I suppose. But it would have taken a long time and a lot of careful thought. I’d find it easier to believe a large, mechanical sawing device was used, like you’d find in a lumber mill.”
    “A device like that would be pretty far from the campsite.”
    “You’re right.”
    “And if a human device was used, there is still the question of the missing half. If it was not consumed by an animal, then what became of it?” Steve felt bile rising in his throat. He swallowed hard. “I can’t believe the things we’re talking about here.”
    “I may not eat for days,” Marcus said grimly. “But you see the problem. If we reject the whole bear idea, then we have to open up the investigation to some horrible possibilities.”
    “I guess that’s what Tracy’s doing right now.”
    “I guess.” Then Marcus said, “But the pathologist doesn’t want to go that far. He said it was a bear attack.” Marcus narrowed his eyes. “But in person, off the record—talking to me, in other words—he couldn’t account for the condition of the body. He couldn’t say for sure what caused it.”
    “So we’re back to where we started.” Steve got up abruptly and headed for the door. “I need some air.”
    “I’m with you.”
    They stepped outside into the parking lot.
    Steve’s vehicle, a well-integrated truck and camper combination, was parked near the room. Marcus walked over to admire it just for something else to think about.
    “Nice rig.”
    “Yeah, I’ve put a lot of miles on it. It’s been to Canada, Alaska, Yellowstone—”
    “Four-wheel drive?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    Marcus looked in the windows at the tight and efficient living environment. Then he turned. “I’d better get going. I sure hope you solve this thing.”
    “Oh, I’m going to solve it, all right,” Steve replied, his voice strained. “Even if I have to ruffle some feathers in Hyde Valley.”

Jonathan came to our home in the early hours of Wednesday, April 9 th, after riding most of the night. He was badly beaten, his clothing was torn, and he was bleeding from his mouth and nose. We took him to the doctor immediately and found that his nose and jaw were broken as well as three ribs. Jonathan told us that four men from the mining company had assaulted him as he returned home from the mine, and that the attack was retribution for something he had said about the company’s owner, Benjamin Hyde. When we asked Jonathan what he