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“That was my brother’s,” Mrs. Castle said, pleased either with the memory or with her ability to recall it.
“Do you still have it? The uniform?”
“Why yes! Yes, I do. Those kids wanted to play with it. It’s with De
That was exactly what A
De
“De
A
“I was sure it was in this trunk.” Mrs. Castle’s hands began to flutter, her eyes to wander over the clutter.
“Was it here when you showed it to the kids-to Hawk and Holly?” A
“Why yes! Yes, it was.”
“Maybe they borrowed it,” A
“No,” Mrs. Castle said firmly. “I would have remembered. They stole it. They’re wild, those two. They’re horrid bad children. They were playing up here and they took it. They’ll not play with any of De
De
On the drive back the facts lined themselves up oppressively in A
She remembered the night aboard the Belle Isle, remembered Hawk’s tears on her throat, and wondered if he cried for his sins.
SEVENTEEN
Christina found A
A popping noise came, as of distant gunfire. In the fog the sound was directionless.
“Somebody is getting off to an early start,” A
“Mmm.” They rocked in silence. The lilacs were long since blown. Glossy leaves shone black all around and overhead. Light glowed from the back porch, illuminating without penetrating the mist. “Ally’s preschool is having a Fourth of July picnic tomorrow down on the lake.”
“Can’t go,” A
“Are you missing Zach?” Chris asked gently.
“Today’s his birthday.”
“I know.”
A
“Why don’t you call your sister?”
As Chris said it, A
“Mmmhmm.” Chris had a self-satisfied smile that made A
“I don’t desert my friends because I find a lover,” Christina said quietly.
A
Molly picked up on the second ring.
“Can you listen without a cigarette?” A
“Nope.” A shush, a scratch, a sigh followed, proving that more than one of Mrs. Pigeon’s daughters could be stubborn.
“You’re on hold,” A
“Well,” Molly said as A
“There’s this guy-” A
“So far so good. Sex, adventure, romance. I like this story.”
“He’s seven or eight years younger than I am-” A
“Better and better. Endurance, virility, flexibility, longevity. Does he have a baby brother?”
“I spent the night with Hawk last week.”
“ ‘Hawk’? Lordy, Lordy, to be just forty,” Molly cackled.
“Dammit, will you shut up and listen?”
“Sorry,” Molly said, suddenly businesslike. “What do you feel about all this?”
“Goddammit,” A
“Mmmm”-a yes murmured with tobacco smoke.
A
“Erase, erase,” Molly agreed. “So, you slept with a guy named Hawk.”
“Yes. It was okay. Kind of strange but okay. I could like him.”
“Like? Don’t go hog-wild, A
“Do people really pay you a hundred and fifty dollars an hour for this?” A
“Why? Do you think I’m selling myself too cheap? I’m thinking of starting an I
A
There followed a moment of stu
“Jesus,” Molly said finally. “No wonder you never watch the soaps. They pale by comparison.”
“Thank you,” A
“Lord! Yes, by all means. Please do.”
“Given the givens-”
“Sex, drugs, and murder.”
“Given the givens,” A
“Let me get this straight. You have fallen in ‘like’ with a sinister stranger you believe killed a man. Now you want to confront him face-to-face with his murderous deed. Have you picked out a windblown cliff or an isolated tower to go to all alone and unprotected in the dead of a dark and stormy night?”