Prologue

1971

Marsh is not a swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in

water and water flows into the sky. Slow-moving creeks wander,

carrying the orb of the sun with them to the sea, and long-legged birds

lift with unexpected grace—as though not built to fly—against the roar

of a thousand snow geese.

Then within the marsh, here and there, true swamp crawls into low-lying bogs, hidden in clammy forests. Swamp water is still and dark, having swallowed the light in its muddy throat. Even nightcrawlers are diurnal in this lair. There are sounds, of course, but compared to the marsh, the swamp is quiet because decomposition is cellular work. Life decays and reeks and returns to the rotted duf; a poignant wallow of death begetting life.

On the morning of October 30, 1971, the body of Chase Andrews lay in the swamp, which would have absorbed it silently, routinely. Hiding it for good. A swamp knows all about death and doesn't necessarily define it as tragedy, certainly not a sin. But this morning two boys from

the village rode their bikes out to the old fire tower and, from the third switchback, spotted his denim jacket.