“Should I call you Bones, then?” I ask cautiously. He grunts, and I take it as an affirmative. “So, Bones… who is Jill? And where did she take Tom? Is he alright?”

Bones frowns. “Jill took the boy away to clean him up and get him warm. He had blood on him, you know, and he was frozen cold.”

“Blood?” I ask anxiously. I am annoyed to find I actually still care a little for Tom’s safety.

“Ayuh,” he answers absentmindedly. “A little on his leg. Apparently he sprained it or something. I helped carry him to the truck and into the cabin.” He starts to say something else but then stops.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I ask curiously. “And how did you know who I was?”

Bones takes a deep breath. “Listen, kid…” I flinch. “Tom has a picture of you in his shirt pocket…” he pauses and looks to see my reaction, then continues: “And Jill… I mean. Jill and me have some history, ya know? We kinda were an item… but then that changed. You see… well, Jill she… she changed.”

Our eyes meet.