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"I can iine"

"It's an old Halloween trick, actually"

"As I recall," I said, "there's a surprise in the bag"

"Well, yeah Dog crap, so when you sto in it The kid skipped that part"

"Just as well"

"The pictures don't shohat he's doing," he said, "because with the lens I was right in tight on his face But I have to laugh when I look at theht he looked sort of beleaguered"

"Well," he said, "that's why"

Cleveland's airport is south and west of the city Lakewood is situated on the lake, appropriately enough, and a little ways to the west of Cleveland, so we could get there without running into city traffic Jason drove and kept up his end of the conversation, and I foundhim with TJ Jason was probably a year or two older, and looked on the surface to have had an easier time of it, blessed as he ith a white face and a ood deal ue that TJ's street sense was as valuable, with a tuition every bit as pricey By the tiot to Lakewood I'd decided that the two of them weren't as different as they seemed They were both decent kids

Lakewood turned out to be an older suburb, with big trees and prewar houses Here and there you'd see a lot that the builders had originally passed up, with a little ranch house perched on it looking like the new kid on the block We parked across the street froine

"You can't see where the fire was," he said "When I drove off he was going at it with a broo up"

"He could have hired that sa, wouldn't it? I don't know if he's hoe door shut you can't tell if his car's there or not"

"I don't think I'll have to set any fires to find out," I said "I'll just ring his doorbell"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I considered it "No," I said "I don't think so"

"Then I'll wait here"

"I'd appreciate that," I said "I don't kno long I'll be It ot that jar"

I only had to ring the bell once The eight-note chi Then he opened the door a crack and saw me, and then he opened it the rest of the way

The photos were a good likeness He was a s in his pink face and so his neatly combed hair Close up, I could see his watery blue eyes behind his bifocal lenses

He earing dark gabardine slacks and a plaid sportshirt There were several pens in the breast pocket of the shirt His shoes were brown oxfords, recently polished

There was no fire raging on his stoop this tiuy But Haveuered expression, as if the world was just a little bit

I said, "Mr Havemeyer?"

"Yes?"

"May I come in? I'd like to talk with you"

"Are you a policeman?"

It's often a temptation to say yes to that question, or to leave it artfully unanswered This tih, I didn't feel the need

"No," I said "My naator froet here?"

"How did I…"

"Did you fly?"

"Yes"

"Well," he said, and his shoulders drooped "I guess you'd better coht it was a social call He led me to the front parlor, recommended a chair, and announced that he could do with a cup of tea Would I have one? I said I would, and not just to be sociable It sounded like a good idea

I stayed there while he fussed in the kitchen, and it strucka butcher knife, or holding the saun he'd used to kill Byron Leopold If he did, I wouldn't stand a chance I wasn't wearing body ar I had to a weapon was the nail clipper on er There was a greater risk that he'd seize the opportunity to turn the knife or gun on hiht But he didn't strikea silver-handled walnut tray bearing a china teapot flanked by a sugar bowl and a little milk pitcher There were spoons and cups and saucers as well, and he set everything out on the coffee table I drank ar to his The tea was Lapsang souchong I can't ordinarily tell one kind of tea fronized its s like a cup of tea," he said

I'd brought a pocket tape recorder along, and I took it out and set it on the table "I'd like to record this," I said "If it's all right with you"

"I suppose it's all right," he said "Really, what difference does it make?"

I switched on the recorder "This is a conversation between Matthew Scudder and William Havemeyer," I stated, and ave hi," he said

"I know most of it"

"I knew you'd come Well, not you, not specifically But soet aith it" He raised his eyes to mine "I must have been crazy," he said

"How did it happen?"

"That boat," he said "That awful, awful boat"

"The ferry"

"The Magnar Syversen They had no business keeping the damnable boat in service, you know It was manifestly unsafe You wouldn't believe how many violations they uncovered And do you kno hty-four"

"That's right"

"And John Wilbur Settle was one of them"

"Yes"