"They were also dead," Grand said.
"The children were dead before they were frozen," Hannah said. "What if they'd been alive when that happened?"
"Then all of their biological systems would have stopped immediately," Grand acknowledged.
"And preserved?"
"Theoretically."
"Which is what happens in cryogenics."
"True," Grand said, "but there's a big difference between preservation and successful reconstitution."
"I know," Hannah replied. "But first things first. Biological entities have a very high chance of surviving cryogenics and being revived if their systems contain glycerol-related oils and fats. Those compounds can be added to a specimen or they can be inherent, part of a diet. Typically, a diet that includes fish."
Grand glanced at her. "Another article?"
Hannah nodded. "About a local company that freezes donor embryos," she said. "As we know, the saber-toothed tigers like fish. But they could have gotten the substances from any number of animals. Back to my point about the Incan kids. At some time in the past, after they were frozen, one of those kids was hit by lightning. Despite having been dead and freeze-dried, there were signs of biological activity where the lightning had struck."
"I read about that, but it was extremely limited activity," Grand pointed out. "There was some cellular growth but not the full-scale metabolism we're seeing here."
"Yes, but maybe conditions were different in some way," Hannah said. "Some significant way that we're missing. Let's go through them."
Grand was tired but Hannah wanted to push him. Not just because she was curious and not just because she'd have an article to file in the morning. They were obviously missing something that would explain the reemergence of the cats and she wanted to know what that something was.
"We've had an incredible amount of rain and lightning over the past few weeks which could be a factor in some way," Hannah said. "What else? Give me words. Ideas. Anything."
"All right," Grand said. "I found the fur in what was apparently a volcanic vent."
"Volcanoes," Hannah said. "Intense heat. Could that have played a part in this?"
"Possibly."
"Things in Pompey were preserved by ash and pumice."
"Again, not alive," Grand said. "But you mentioned something a minute ago that wasn't entirely accurate yet may have something to do with this."
"What?"
"You said the kids in Argentina were freeze-dried. They weren't," Grand said. "They were frozen."
"What's the difference?"
"Freezing is intense cold," Grand said. "Freeze-drying is intense cold followed immediately by a exposure to a complete vacuum. That one-two hit preserves the object in its frozen state, but without ice. Then the object, whether it's coffee or fruit, can be restored by adding water."
"Which makes it easier to store or ship than something that's frozen," Hannah said. "Okay. What does that have to do with our situation?"
"You asked how the saber-tooths were preserved," Grand went on. "They wouldn't have been exposed to a vacuum but they might have been exposed to intense heat, which can have the same desiccating effect. When anything is burned, the water content vaporizes first, then the vessel itself disintegrates. But I wonder what would have happened if the biological matter were preserved in the nanosecond before the heat destroyed the shell."
"You mean the water is evaporated but the heat dies before the animal does?" Hannah asked.
"Yes."
"Is that possible?"
"In theory."
"That doesn't help us."
"It might," Grand said. "One of the reasons scientists have always assumed there was no volcanism in Southern California is because we don't have calderas here-volcanic craters. But I saw volcanic vents down there. So there definitely was lava flow."
"So you're saying-what?"
"Vents without calderas. That means the eruptions occurred somewhere else. Somewhere there might also be glaciation. Intense heat, intense cold. The one-two punch."
They fell silent. Hannah felt like her body had been mugged; she was suddenly very aware of the warmth from the heater, the heaviness of her arms, and the weight of her eyelids.
"Are you thinking?" Hannah asked.
Grand said he was.
"Good. Because my brain just shut down."
"Hannah, are you on line back at the apartment?"
"Yes. Why?"
"There's something I want to check," he said urgently. "Something that may explain the cats and a painting I saw."
Chapter Fifty-Five
Grand and Hannah entered the spacious, high-ceilinged living room of her condominium. While Hannah booted her computer on the dining room table, Grand went to the second phone line, which was located in the bedroom. He stood beside the night table and punched in Joseph Tumamait's home number. The Chumash elder answered the phone after the first ring.
"Hello, James," Tumamait said.
"How did you know?" Grand asked.
"There is unrest in the spirit world," Tumamait said. "The Great Eagle came to me in dreams. But he was different tonight."
"Different how?"
"The owl was riding his back."
"Meaning?"
"He is not alone."
More riddles. Grand didn't have time for them.
"Joseph, there's unrest in the real world. This is going to sound incredible but there are saber-toothed cats in the mountains. They're responsible for the killings over the past few days."
"The haphaps are returning," Tumamait said calmly.
"I don't believe that these cats are the destroyers," Grand said. "I've been with them. There's no cruelty in the creatures. If there were, they'd have been kings of the earth."
"Instead of us," Tumamait said.
Hannah appeared in the doorway; Grand held up a finger.
"Sheriff Gearhart is going after the cats with the intent to kill," Grand said. "He's doing this now, tonight I want to save them but I need your help."
"What do you want me to do?"
"This is an environmental issue. Call people at Fish and Game, people on the state level. Try and get them to intervene."
"They don't always listen to me."
"Joseph, we have to try. Please."
"Of course," Tumamait said. "And what are you going to do?"
"Try and learn more about the animals," Grand said. "Figure out where they're going and try to get there ahead of Gearhart."
"All right," Tumamait said. "Good luck."
Grand thanked him and hung up. He walked over to Hannah.
"Joseph Tumamait?" she asked.
Grand nodded.
"Interesting man," she said. "I should have realized you'd know him."
"He was my mentor in college. We went on a lot of digs together."
"Is he going to help?"
"He said he would," Grand said.
"Good," she said. "I'll interview him in the morning. We'll talk about exterminating a race. It will have more meaning coming from him."
That was true, the scientist thought. It scared him a little, the way Hannah knew how to spin things. He worked with facts-just facts.
He looked at Hannah. She had gotten out of her wet clothes, pulled on a white bathrobe, and looked very cozy. She also looked smaller somehow. In need of protection?
"I hope you don't mind the informality," she said, pulling the robe a little tighter. "I was cold and you were in here."