Page 82 of Chosen Path
“That’s cold comfort, though. Because Hope’s own sister put the murder in motion.”
“Still, I think that will be easier to accept than the alternative. There aren’t plans to exhume any other bodies?”
“Not at this point. I’m not privy to all the legal strategy, but I think the DA plans to focus on the three cut-and-dried homicides. There’s no political will to dredge up almost two hundred years of … whatever you call this … senicide.”
“So, that’s it?”
She turned to face him full on. “I’m saying this as Jenny, not Officer Booth, okay?”
“Sure.”
“The suits know the state abandoned this village long ago. No, that’s not even true. You’d have to take care of something first in order to abandon it. Scandia Bluff’s been on its own since the beginning. The prosecutors don’t think they’d be able to seat a local jury willing to condemn the council for a sentiment the entire village was founded on. To survive up here, people had to rely on themselves and one another. And, at least in the beginning, they were in agreement: nobody wanted to become a burden to their fellow villagers.”
“It’s not 1850 anymore. There are social services, programs, organizations that can help,” he protested.
“The council was founded even earlier than that. They’ve been here since 1838. That’s a lot of history to overcome. And you’re overlooking the fact that anyone who still lives way up here has made a choice to live a somewhat rugged, self-reliant existence. I’m not sure they’d welcome a bunch of state initiatives with open arms. You may have noticed Molly hasn’t had the warmest reception.” She laughed shortly. “Hell, I’ve worked here for fourteen years, and they still call me ‘that new lady cop.’ Any changes here will have to come from within.”
CHAPTERFORTY
Saturday morning, just before sunrise
Any changes here will have to come from within.Bodhi meditated on Jenny Booth’s words for a very long time. When he finally rose from Molly’s hardwood floor, his back and legs ached. He did a series of yoga stretches before creeping downstairs as quietly as he could. The house was still and silent.
So he was surprised to see that the kitchen light was on and the coffee carafe was half-full. Through the window, he spotted Molly and Hope sitting on the deck, wrapped up in fuzzy blankets, mugs of coffee in their hands.
He poured himself a glass of water, then opened the door. “Good morning.”
“Hi, Bodhi,” Hope said. “Molly claims her back porch is the best place in the village to watch the sunrise. You’re just in time.”
“Let me get my coat.”
When he joined them on the wooden bench, he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the clear, crisp air. He looked out at the horizon. The first light was just spreading over the mountaintop, a faint, pale orange ribbon.
“You two are up early,” he observed.
“Hope crashed after I gave her that sleeping pill,” Molly told him. “So, she’s had about ten hours sleep.”
“And you?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was too unsettled. I have so many thoughts swirling around in my brain,” she told him.
He understood the feeling. “I felt the same way after I talked to Jenny Booth last night. I have an idea.”
They both turned their faces from the sky to give him their full attention. “What kind of idea?” Hope asked.
“I spent some time in Thailand,” he began.
Molly raised an eyebrow as if to ask where this story was going, but both she and Hope leaned in, eager to hear it.
“The Thai population skews older.”
“Older than here? In the U.S.?” Molly asked before he could go on.
“Yes. I wasn’t sure, but I looked it up this morning. The median age in Thailand is just over forty. Here, it’s thirty-eight. Anyway, Thailand has a population that’s aging rapidly, the highest concentration of Buddhists in the world, and a culture that posits caring for the aging isn’t the responsibility of the state, but of the community.”
“Except for the Buddhists, it sounds like Scandia Bluff,” Hope observed.
He nodded. “Exactly. And that’s what got me thinking. Some of Thailand’s Buddhist temples are forest monasteries, which is what people tend to think of when they think of a temple. It’s a secluded place where monks go to live apart from the secular world in a spiritual community. But many of the temples are in the remote towns and villages, where they play an important role in their communities. The temples are part of the social fabric, part of the culture. And one of the main roles they play is to act as a community center for older people. Within a Thai temple, it’s common to find physical and mental health services, social activities, and learning opportunities. A Thai senior citizen might spend the better part of the day in the temple taking classes, volunteering, or receiving health care. The temple is a religious building, but it’s also a community center.”
