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She threw a load of laundry in the washer, then joined Ben in the living roo the crossword puzzle and she sat across fro For forty-five minutes they worked quietly while the pies baked, lost in their own thoughts

Just before eleven-thirty, Charlotte removed the hot dishes from the oven, put on her coat and retrieved her purse This was the first potluck she and Ben hadn’t attended as a couple since they were married

Ben carried the warm chicken pie to the car and kissed her before she left "Have a good time"

She kissed him back "I’ll be home as soon as I can"

"No need to rush Harry and I will hold the fort"

Despite his encourageer and visit with their friends, Charlotte returned to the house two hours later, her head buzzing

Ben met her at the door and took the empty casserole dish from her hands "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, yes, I always do Everyone asked after you and I said you were a bit under the weather" Thankfully, she’d ed to sidestep other questions A number of their friends had pressed her for details, certain Benaround She’d reassured everyone that Ben was fine, and physically he was Eht the ehtly "What’s wrong?" he asked

"Nothing’s wrong, but I do have so news"

"Sit down and tell me"

Charlotte pulled out a kitchen chair "Sheriff Davis stopped by to speak to the group," she said

Ben reached for the notice ed to the center Charlotte had propped it on the kitchen table He quickly scanned the details "It says here that Grace was supposed to be the guest speaker"

"Oh, she was, and she did a fabulous job" Although Charlotte volunteered at the library, it never ceased to astonish her howin a box of bestsellers and she gave a short synopsis of each Oh, Ben, they all sound like such good stories I made a list of several I knee’d both enjoy"

"When did Sheriff Davis speak?"

"After Grace He caroup" Troy visited once or twice a year but generally as a scheduled speaker Charlotte had always been fond of him and appreciated his tips for seniors

"What did he have to say? Another warning about not giving out personal information over the phone?"

"Not this time He asked for our help"

"How so?"

Charlotte drew her chair closer to the table "You re about the remains in the cave outside town, don’t you?"

"Of course It was a little before Christmas And there’ve been a few press and TV stories since"

"Yes, and now there’s additional infor to the coroner’s report, the re man who had Down syndrome The sheriff asked if any of us remembered a family with a Down syndrome boy"

"Was someone able to help him?" Ben asked

Charlotte shook her head "There was plenty of discussion, and Bess had a vague recollection of a woman with such a child I do, too, but for the life of me I can’t remember who she was"

"I’ effects of aging was this forgetfulness, these infernal e of her consciousness, but it re to bother her until she came up with it

"You’ll probably think of it in the ht," Ben said

His confidence in her was reassuring

"After Troy left, Bess and I talked about who it ht be We threw around a few naht It seems to me the woman was a relative of someone who once lived here--a cousin, aunt or some such Why can’t I reer

Ben sat back in his chair "Tellyour mind"

"I know I met the boy once"

"Just once?"

"Yes, his aunt had him, I believe… At least, that’s what I seem to recall She complained to me that his mother kept him inside most of the time The mother, whose name has completely escapedhi of a recluse herself, I believe"

"When was this?"