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handprint.
    We’d shoot a movie together—some epic adventure where we’d swing from a scaffolding onto the back of a galoping horse. I’d look into his blue, blue eyes and—
    “Brigitta?”
    I shook myself. I’d falen headlong into Natalieland, like Alice down the rabbit hole.
    Natalie scooped a few huckleberries out of my hand and popped them into her mouth. “Wake up, huh?”
    A turquoise Toyota puled up, and Felicity Bowen jumped out. Felicity was a friend of Malory’s who was doing a journalism internship at the Kwahnesum Chronicle . She had already transformed the paper from a haphazard ad flyer with a few articles into a weekly journal with interviews, a history of Kwahnesum column, and an event listing (mostly for events in Woodinvile and Redmond—but Felicity tried). She made a beeline for me.
    “Brigitta! What a story, hey?” Felicity’s blond-red hair never needed combing because she kept it short as a boy’s. She had a pencil stuck behind her ear—part of her reporter uniform. “You are something else, girl.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “I guess.” Felicity made me nervous.
    “Wel,” she said. “I caught Malory on her cell after she caled the wildlife people. But I want you to tell me the story from the beginning, starting with when you saw the cougar.” I told the story as briefly as I could. Just the cougar and the branches and rocks. No blue-eyed Luke holding me. The more I told it this way, the more the real story became mine.
    There was a shot. We all sucked in our breath. I hadn’t expected a tranquilizer gun to sound like that. Felicity hurried out to the trail. Buck Harper was ahead of her, amazingly spry for an eighty-year-old. Dad set his drum down quietly but didn’t start down the trail. We waited. Nobody talked. I’m not sure how much time went by, but finaly Officer Mark appeared, lugging a black duffel bag on a rope. The dog Mack padded behind him.
    “There she is!” chortled Buck. “Let’s have a look!” Before Mark could stop him, he had unbound the bag to Before Mark could stop him, he had unbound the bag to reveal the face of the cougar. I faltered. Blood matted her neck and her eyes stared out, unseeing. Her fur was stiff and stood up strangely. She was dead.
    Felicity began snapping pictures. Mom started to cry. Buck tried to comfort her by saying, “Now, Clare, that’s one less man-eater we all have to worry about.”
    Dad stared soberly at me and didn’t say anything.
    I fingered the tears in my Nonni coat. I felt responsible.
    Natalie’s eyes widened. “You kiled her!”
    “And he’s a good shot, too.” Buck nodded at Officer Mark approvingly. “Just like your daddy.”
    Mark gave Mack a treat and didn’t answer.
    Natalie persisted. “But I thought…On Animal Planet there were these wolves. And they just took them somewhere with no people.”
    “They die,” Officer Mark said finaly. “When cougars are relocated, they usualy die. A cougar needs a wide range—ninety to a hundred forty square miles can support maybe three of them. When we’ve relocated them in the past, we’ve radio-colared them. Invariably we find their carcasses within two years.”
    “Isn’t that two more years she’d have gotten to live?” Clyde Redd jammed his fists into his coat pockets.
    Officer Mark shook his head. “She threatened a human. We can’t chance it.”
    “Why don’t we lift her up?” said Buck. “I’ll pose with her.” Clyde strode to his truck and slammed the door.
    “Why is everyone so touchy?” said Buck. “I’ll never understand you people. It was those damned sixties. All that marijuana ruined your minds.” He shook his head. “Now is someone going to take a picture of me with this beast?” Officer Mark puled the bag back over the cougar’s head.
    “With all due respect, Mr. Harper,” he said grimly, “you didn’t shoot her.” He heaved the bag into the back of his truck.

    shoot her.” He heaved the bag into the back of his