Whitewater Rendezvous

group and made all the arrangements. I like her a lot. Good sense of humor, lots of enthusiasm.”

Chaz scanned the papers. Like the other two, there were no red fl ags on these forms, warning of potential problems. “Can we be lucky enough not to get any Muffys on this trip?” It was the word they used to describe the occasional woman client who griped from the get-go about the lack of modern amenities. “Muffys” were usually talked into coming along by a boyfriend and had no idea what primitive conditions they were in for.

“Don’t celebrate too soon,” Sally cautioned, perusing the forms of the fi nal two clients. “Elise Webber—she’s twenty-eight— has done some canoeing, but it was a long time ago, and the only camping she’s done has been in an RV.” She tossed the woman’s form to Chaz. “And then there’s Megan Maxwell. She’s thirty-two.”

Chaz didn’t like the tone of Sally’s voice. She reached over and plucked Megan’s form from the other guide’s hand. “How bad is it?”

she asked, even as she began reading.

“No previous experience on the water,” Sally said. “And no outdoorsy experience at all either, except for two-and-a-half disastrous days at summer camp when she was seven.”

“She actually wrote that down?”

Sally shrugged. “Seemed kind of odd to me, too. But at least she claims to be a fast learner, and physically active—golf, tennis, racquetball. Might not be too bad.”

“I hope you’re right.” Chaz scanned the form, trying to picture the woman who’d fi lled it out. The handwriting at the top of the sheet—name, address, phone, and so forth—was clearly legible, the backward slant indicating that Megan was probably a lefty. But the questions beneath had been answered in an almost childish scrawl that canted in the opposite direction, and each answer was given in painstaking detail, almost to the point of absurdity.

What intrigued her most were the words Megan had written after the disclaimer at the bottom of the registration form. All adventure trips required them; it was standard practice among the industry, and Chaz had never had a client comment on it before.

I acknowledge that the trip I am undertaking involveshazardous activities in a remote area, with a risk of illness, injury or death. I also acknowledge thatmedical services and facilities may not be immediatelyavailable during the majority of the trip. In orderto participate, I am willing to accept the risks andresponsibility for any and all risks of illness, injury,or death due to the negligence (but not the reckless,willful, or fraudulent conduct) of Orion Outfi ttersand its employees.

I verify this statement by placing my initials here.

Megan had initialed it all right, with a barely legible MGM that made Chaz briefl y wonder whether the woman’s parents had been fans of the movie studio. And just beneath she had scribbled, Covering yourbutts, I see. Sure does inspire faith in your guides.

“Did you see what she wrote after the disclaimer?” Chaz asked.

What a bitch!

“Yeah,” Sally responded, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. “I asked Justine about it, actually, once we’d kind of gotten to know each other through a couple of phone calls.”

“And?”

“Megan was apparently somewhat reluctant to join the trip, so her friends got her shnockered.”

“Drunk? She was drunk when she signed this?” Chaz was appalled.

“Then we can’t accept it!”

“Relax. I thought the same thing, but Justine says Megan really wants to go and will be great fun on the trip. To make sure, I called her myself while she was at work and totally sober. She’s some vice president at WNC, by the way.”

“The news network?”

“That’s the one. I had to go through two secretaries to get to her.

Anyway, she apologized for writing the comment, said she didn’t remember doing it. And she confi rmed she wants to go on the trip.”

“So she sits behind a desk all day in downtown Chicago,” Chaz summed up. “And she’s a bigwig executive, so she’s used to giving orders. In other words, she’s just the type of client who’ll want to dig a latrine and gather fi rewood.”

“Chaz, you’re not one to prejudge people,” Sally gently rebuked.

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