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The brush had been cleared within a twenty-foot radius along the slope, probably by order of the fire departrass and made my descent There was no handrail and the steps themselves were deep, with ten-inch risers that forced us to descend the stairs like toddlers, putting both feet on every step beforeto the next This portion of the lot was useless to all intents and purposes A series of terraces had been carved out of the hill The first level was planted with dwarf fruit trees The second offered shelter in a weathered wood pagoda lined with benches and bleached by the eleiven over to rose beds that, at this point, were sadly neglected

After that, the land fell away gradually The bottorove of trees that stretched out on either side, in varying degrees of density I counted three large oaks and six mature black acacias Clusters of pittosporus I wouldn’t have called this "the woods," but to Sutton, at the age of six, it roas thin, I could see sections of a paved road that h Horton Ravine If I’d been searching for a secluded location to serve as a grave site, I wouldn’t have picked this Froered pattern of trees below, the area would have been visible from the road as well

Sutton stood there, his hands in his pants pockets, his gaze s I could see his confusion now that he was faced with a scene that had see through knee-high weeds before he came to a standstill A fence blocked his path, the chicken wire sagging under a swarn affixed to the fence post read:

DO NOT TRESPASS

Private Property Keep Out

No Access to Bridle Trail

THIS MEANS YOU!!

He walked up the hill for a distance, peering at the trees in range of hi I don’t see the tree I used as a hideout and I don’t see the oak I hid behind when I was spying on the guys"

"Maybe the oak was cut down"

"But the fence is wrong, too Where did that come from? I didn’t climb a fence I’m sure of it This is all screwed up"

"Sutton, it’s been years Take your time"

He shook his head in frustration

"Would you quit being so negative?" I said

"I’ative"

"You are, too You should listen to yourself"

He turned and scanned the woods again, no happier than he’d been The guy was getting on my nerves I watched while he walked down the hill toward the trees I followed the sagging fence line as he had, but where he went down the hill, I clirasses Grasshoppers skittered ahead of me as I walked I turned and looked back as Sutton disappeared into the trees

Below and to limpse of the rear of a house: patio doors, a deck, an outdoor table and chairs Since I wasn’t well acquainted with the neighborhood, I couldn’t judge the relationships between properties The irregular course the fence had taken suggested it had been erected in confor the parcel that fronted Ramona Road from the one that faced the secondary road below Dimly I remembered the fork where a smaller tributary split off from Via Juliana From where I stood, only the one house was visible, but there were doubtless others on that sa note forced from between taut lips and teeth For years I’d worked to ed little more than an asthmatic wheeze and the risk of hyperventilation I set off, trudging down the hill in his general direction He eed to the left ofto avoid the nuod knohat assort shaded by a canopy of trees Here the terees cooler than the sun-drenched hill The far side of the glade was open to Via Juliana A riding trail angled across the open space, its muddy surface punctuated by hoofprints The trail was clearly well used, dotted with fresh horse manure as well as desiccatedthere was a stone horse trough, three feet by six The water was fed through a pipe linked to a circulating puae-free The stone was darkened with age and the shi pool looked cold and black