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“If there was a dispute, though, it would be possible for either Penny or Bruno to see the other one heading into the forest and follow to confront them out of earshot of others. Or for one to go into the forest to escape the other… and be followed.” I wave my hand. “That’s not a question. Just speculating.”
“Well, if it was a question, Penny wouldn’t have gone in on her own. Either she’d follow Bruno or she’d have accidentally stomped in there to avoid him.”
“She didn’t like the forest.”
“She had a complete disinterest in it, coupled with a healthy respect for it. I handle the hikes, which aren’t hikes so much as straight walks into the forest and back.”
I smile. “I noticed.”
“Not my idea. That is pure Yolanda. Even our hikes are efficient. But I can say that Penny never joined them or expressed any interest in them.”
I jot notes. “How connected are you with the crew on a social level? If I were looking for someone to talk to—or to tell me who best to talk to?”
“Because that person is definitely not Yolanda?” She laughs. “Yeah, I’m connected enough. I can tell you who Penny and Bruno hung out with. For Penny, the answer would be anybody and nobody—she was friendly with everyone but too busy to do more than have a drink now and then, and she’d just join whatever group was gathered. As for Bruno, well, he mostly stuck with the Y Gang.”
“The Why Gang?”
“Y chromosome. The guys.”
“The men stick together?”
She leans back. “Some of them. It’s sociologically interesting, really. I’ve worked a lot of jobs where I’m the only woman,but on some big ones, there will be several of us. It’s not uncommon for women in a male-dominated workplace to stick together. Is it the same principle here? Maybe, but I get the sense that for some, it’s the discomfort of being outnumbered in a setting where you usually dominate. There are eight guys on a crew of thirty. Three of them are cool with it, hanging out with anyone. The other five tend to stick together, especially for socializing, some of them to the complete exclusion of socializing with the women.”
“Interesting.”
“Right? An intriguing social phenomenon. Of course, we also speculate that in some cases, with the married straight guys, there might be more to it. I get the sense Bruno is one of those.”
“Avoiding temptation? Or avoiding a misinterpretation of interest?”
“Can’t say. But if you want to know more about Bruno, definitely ask the Y Gang. The women haven’t had more than passing contact with him.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll give you names. That takes us to the bigger question of our… unexpected guest.”
“It does.”
“I can’t help you there. I’m not sure anyone here could. We’ve been completely isolated for two months. Like I say, I’ve led the hikes, and I haven’t seen evidence of anyone else out there.”
“Do you get the sense anyone is venturing out alone?”
“Besides me?” When I give her a look, she shrugs. “I grew up in this forest. I figured the rules didn’t apply to me, but I wasn’t going to argue my case with Yolanda. I slip out now andthen. Walk around the lake at dawn. Hike toward the mountain on my lunch break. I haven’t seen or heard anyone.”
“Any warning signs with either Penny or Bruno?”
“That they could secretly be serial killers, driven into the forest in search of victims when trapped too long in an enclosed environment where they don’t dare exercise their compulsions?”
“Possibly.”
“I was kidding.”
“I’m not.”
She sinks into her chair with a dramatic sigh. “And this is why I’m in social work instead of psychiatry. I prefer a life where thatwasa joke.”
“I doubt they’re serial killers, obviously. But is there anything at all, from your sessions, that might make you think either one could be responsible for this?”
“‘This’ being murder. I’d say either one could kill in self-defense. Otherwise?” She shrugs. “We don’t get that deeply into sessions. For one thing, I’m not trained for it. For another thing, we all passed the entrance psych exam. My job was to ensure no one was too badly affected by the isolation.”
