At last he let her go. He moved to take over pushing Little Pete, seeming to need something physical to do.

“E.Z.’s dead,” he said without preamble. “I was touring the fields with Edilio. Me, Edilio, and Albert, and E.Z. along for entertainment. You know. No good reason for E.Z. to even be there, he just wanted to ride along and I said okay because I feel like all I ever do is say no, no, no to people, and now he’s dead.”

He pushed the swing harder than she’d been doing. Little Pete almost fell backward.

“Oh, God. How did it happen”

“Worms,” Sam said dully. “Some kind of worm. Or snake. I don’t know. I have a dead one in there on the kitchen counter. I was hoping you’d . . . I don’t know what I was hoping. I figure you’re our expert on mutations. Right”

He said the expert part with a wry smile. Astrid wasn’t an expert on anything. She was just the only person who cared enough to try and