Greatwater Lake each morning I get up, I die a little

Murdock's stomach did a strange flip-flop at the question. It had been a long time since it had hurt him to think of the family that he'd lost, but to think of the same thing happening to Shale was a different matter.

"Chemukh. You met her, when you were still a boy. Dark girl, green eyes. We were young and in love when we had a little set of kids. And a month later, she started seizing and shortly after, died," said Murdock, a little pang going through him at the memory of her frothy jowls and still, cold eyes. They'd thought it might be the ravening disease at first, but Murdock now knew firsthand what death by jimson weed looked like.

He didn't share her true cause of death with Shale - that would lead to a whole different kind of story, and Murdock didn't want to get into it when Shale had his own demons to exorcise. Instead, he waited patiently, the look on his face inviting no discussion on the topic of Chemukh - for now.