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She was on a stepladder with a paintbrush To the casual observer, she was painting her neighbor’s trailer In fact, she was applying great gobs of Neosporin oint ment to the Sea Beast’s back "You’ll heal faster with this stuff on you, and it doesn’t sting"

After she had covered the charred parts of the trailer with ointan ladling roof-patching tar over the fabric Several of her neighbors looked out their s, dismissed her actions as more eccentricities of a crazy woa tar over the fiberglass bandages with a squeegee when she heard a vehicle pull up in front of her trailer Les, the hardware guy, got out of the truck, adjusted his suspenders, and headed toward her, looking a little nervous, but resolved A light dew of sweat shone on his bald head, despite the autu? I thought you were going to wait for me to help you"

Molly caee at port ar on this before dark Thanks for co" She smiled sweetly - a leftover movie star smile

Les escaped the smile to hardware land "I can’t even tell what you’re trying to do here, but whatever it is, it looks like you mucked it up pretty bad already"

"No, come here and look at this"

Les moved cautiously to Molly’s side and looked up at the trailer "What the hell is this thing "

"Maybe you should look at it froe is more obvious in there"

The hardware clerk leered Molly felt hih her sweatshirt "Well, if that’s what you think Let’s go inside and have a look" He started toward the door of the trailer

Molly grabbed his shoulder "Wait a second Where are the keys to your truck?"

"I leave ’e" Molly dazzled hio on in? I’ll be in as soon as I get so, missy," Les said He toddled toward the front door like a man badly in need of a rest room

Molly backed away toward Les’s truck When the hardware clerk laid a hand on the door handle, Molly called, "Steve! Lunch!"

"My name isn’t Steve," Les said

"No," Molly said, "you’re the other one"

"Les, you ave hinized the sound of his naht around the word "lunch"

Les felt sos and opened his ue wrapped his face, cutting off his air The last thing he saas the bare breasts of the fallen screaive hi ed Boy, soht That sort of thing ht bother a sane person

One of the s in the front of the dragon trailer closed slowly and opened, a function of the Sea Beast pushing his meal down his throat, but Molly took it for a wink

Estelle

Dr Val’s office had always represented a little island of sanity to Estelle, a sophisticated status quo, always clean, calm, orderly, and well appointed Like many artists, Estelle lived in an atmosphere of chaotic funk, taken by observers to be artistic char with the relative poverty and uncertainly of cannibalizing one’s iuts to someone, it was nice to do it in a place that wasn’t spattered with paint and covered with canvases that beckoned to be finished Dr Val’s office was an escape, a pause, a co sent in to the inner office, before she even sat down in one of the leather guest chairs, Estelle said, "Your assistant is wearing oven mitts, did you know that?"

Valerie Riordan, for once with a few hairs out of place, rubbed her temples, looked at her desk blotter, and said, "I know She has a skin condition"

"But they’re taped on with duct tape"

"It’s a very bad skin condition How are you today?"

Estelle looked back toward the door "Poor thing She seemed out of breath when I came in Has she seen a doctor?"

"Chloe will be fine, Estelle Her typing skills may even iood day and decided to let the assistant in ovenme on such short notice I know it’s been a while since we’ve had a session, but I really felt I need to talk to sootten a little weird lately"

"There’s a lot of that going around," Dr Val said, doodling on a legal pad as she spoke "What’s up?"

"I’ve met a man"

Dr Val looked up for the first time "You have?"

"He’s aIat my place for the last couple of days"

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I like it I like him I haven’t been with a ht I would feel like, well, like I was betraying hireat He’s funny, and he has this sense of, I don’t knoisdom Like he’s seen it all, but he hasn’t become cynical He seems sort of bemused by the hardships in life Not at all like most people"

"But what about you?"

"I think I love him"

"Does he love you?"

"I think so But he says he’s going to leave That’s what’s botheringalone, and now that I found so to leave me because he’s afraid of a sea monster"

Valerie Riordan dropped her pen and sluht

"Excuse me?" Val said

"A seaca We ran for the car, and later Catfish told me that he was once chased by a sea et hiet hurt, but I think he’s just afraid He thinks theas he’s on the coast He’s trying to get a gig in Iowa, as far froet Do you think he’s just afraid to coazines"

"A sea ? So?"

"No, I think it’s a reptile, at least the way he describes it I didn’t get a good look at it It ate his best friend when he was a young uilt What do you think?"

"Estelle, there’s no such thing as sea monsters"

"Catfish said that no one would believe me"

"Catfish?"

"That’s his naallantry that you don’t see much anymore I don’t think it’s an act He’s too old for that I didn’t think I would ever feel this way again These are girl feelings, not wos I want to spend the rest of randchildren"

"Grandchildren?"

"Sure, he’s had his days with the booze and the hos, but I think he’s ready to settle down"

"The booze and the hos?"

Dr Val see on a stunned psychiatrist autopilot where all she could do was parrot what Estelle said back in the form of a question Estelle needed more input than this

"Do you think I should tell the authorities?"

"About the booze and the hos?"

"The sea , you know?"

Dr Vala controlled, staid, professional posture "Estelle, I think we may need to adjust yourit But I feel fine Catfish says that if Prozac had been invented a hundred years ago there wouldn’t have been any Blues at all Just a lot of happy people with no soul I tend to agree with him The antidepressants served their purpose for me after Joe died, but I’et so done - if I can find so of so besides antidepressants, Estelle You obviously are dealing with soht now I’m not sure how to proceed Do you think that Mr, uh, Catfish would h He doesn’t like your mojo"

"My mojo?"

"Not your eneral He spent a little time in a mental hospital in Mississippi after the monster ate his friend He didn’t care for the staff’s mojo" Estelle realized that her vocabulary, even her way of thinking, had changed over the last few days, the result of im her teain "Estelle, let’s make another appointment for tomorrow or the next day Tell Chloe to add it on at the end of the day if I’ with you In the meantime, assure him that my practice is irl write with those oven e"

"So what should I do? I don’t want hio But I feel like I’ve lost a part ofin love I’m happy, but I don’t knoho I am any to whine and looked at her shoes, ashamed

"That’s our time, Estelle Let’s save this for our next appointht Should I tell the constable about the sea s have a way of taking care of themselves"

"Thanks, Dr Val I’ll see you tomorrow"

"Good-bye, Estelle"

Estelle left the office and stopped at Chloe’s desk outside The girl was gone, but there were ani froht one of the ovenEstelle went to the bathroohtly

"Are you okay in there, dear? Do you need soh moan "I’m fine Really fine Thanks Oh ht!"

"I’m supposed to make an appointment for tomorrow or the next day The doctor said to pencil it in late if you have to" Estelle could hear thu from the bathroom, and it sounded as if the medicine cabinet had du ht "I’m sorry I won’t bother you anymore Call me to confirm, would you, dear?"

Estelle left Valerie Riordan’s house eventhat it had been quite some time, half a day anyway, since she had had her skinny Bluesman between the sheets

Dr Val

Val had a break between appointments, ti everyone in Pine Cove off antidepressants, she had turned the town into a squirrel’s nest Estelle Boyet had always been a tad eccentric, it was part of her artist persona, but Val had never seen this as unhealthy On the contrary, the self-iet over losing her husband But now the wo involved in a relationship with a man that could only be construed as self-destructive

Could people - rational adult people - still fall in love like that? Could they still feel like that? Val wanted to feel like that For the first time since her divorce, it occurred to her that she actually wanted to be involved again with a man No, not just involved, in love She pulled her Rolodex froh it until she found the number of her psychiatrist in San Junipero She had been in analysis all through ral part of the training of any psychiatrist, but she hadn’t seen her therapist in over five years Maybe it was time What sort of cynicis the desire to fall in love as a condition requiring treatment? Maybe her cynicism was the problem Of course she couldn’t tell him about what she had done to her patients, but perhaps

A red light blinked on the tiny LED panel on her phone and the inco call, screened by Chloe, who had obviously taken a short break from her self-abuse, scrolled across the screen Constable Crowe, line one Speaking of squirrels

She picked up the phone "Dr Riordan"

"Hi, Dr Riordan, this is Theo Crowe I just called to tell you that you were right"

"Thank you for calling, Constable Have a nice day"

"You were right about Bess Leander not taking the antidepressants I just got a look at the toxicology report There was no Zoloft in her syste

"Doctor, are you there?"

All her worries about the drugs, this whole perverse plan, all the extra sessions, the long hours, the guilt, the friggin’ guilt, and Bess Leander hadn’t been taking her medication at all Val felt sick to her stomach

"Doctor?" Theo said

Val forced herself to take a deep breath "Why? I mean, when? It’s been over a month When did you find this out?"

"Just today I wasn’t given access to the autopsy report No one was I’off

"Dr Riordan, don’t you have to get a ?"

"Yes Why?"

"Do you know if Bess Leander had any heart problems?"

"No, physically she was a very healthy woman, as far as I know Why?"

"No reason," Theo said "Oh yeah, I never got your thoughts on the information I shared at breakfast About Joseph Leander I was still wondering if you had any thoughts?"

The whole world had flip-flopped Val had stone-walled up to now on Bess Leander because she had assu to do with Bess’s death What now, though? Really, she didn’t know much about Bess at all She said, "What exactly do you want from me, Constable?"

"I just need to know, did she suspect her husband of having an affair? Or give you any indication that shewhat I think you are saying? You don’t think Bess Leander co that I’"

Val searched her memory What had Bess Leander said about her hus-band? "I re that she felt he was uninvolved in their family life and that she had laid down the law to him"

"Laid down the law? In ay?"

"She told him that because he refused to put the toilet seat down, he was going to have to sit down to pee from now on"

"That’s it?"

"That’s all I can reone a lot I think Bess felt that he was soirls’ lives It wasn’t a healthy relationship" As if there is such a thing, Val thought "Are you investigating Joseph Leander?"

"I’d rather not say," Theo said "Do you think I should be?"

"You’re the policeht, I aht you were, uh, interesting, Iwith you"

"He did?"

"Don’t tell hi up and sat back in her chair She had unnecessarily put an entire town in emotional chaos, co nearly every ethical standard in her field, and one of her patients had possibly been , she thought He found " or if Theo was just

She smiled and buzzed Chloe to send in her next appointment