Page 9 (1/2)

I thought the atmosphere eased a little

Detective Lacey took the lead "Who, specifically, called you? Felicia Hart? Or Joel Morgenstern’s brother, David? Or maybe Joel’s father? None of them will claim responsibility"

The direct question stopped me short

"Tolliver?" I never talked to clients directly until we got to the site Tolliver thought it added to ht it o," Tolliver said He went into his room, came back with a three-hole binder filled with co around with his cos, I’d noticed, and he’d designed so Recoveries He’d been going back and entering all our past "cases" into the new format This notebook was labeled "Case Files 2004" and the first page in each file (a green page) was headed "First Contact"

He scanned the page, refreshing his enstern senior called us, at the request of his wife, Hannah Morgenstern Mr Morgenstern" Tolliver read the page for a couple of minutes, then looked up to tell the cops that the older Mr Morgenstern had told Tolliver about his ht his sister could help

"I explained what Harper does, and he got kind of angry and hung up," Tolliver said "Then, the next day, the sister-in-law called"

"You’re saying Felicia Hart called you?"

Tolliver checked the nae, quite unnecessarily "Yes, that’s who called me" He looked blank--deliberately blank "She said no one else would face the truth, but she was sure that her niece was dead, and she wanted Harper to find Tabitha’s body so the family could find soht she was probably right"

"In your experience, are fa loved one is dead?" This was addressed toseemed to be simply curious

"This may surprise you, but yes By the time they call me in, quite a few of them are They have to have reached so me; because that’s what I do, I find dead people No point asking me to come if you think your loved one’s alive Call in the tracking dogs or the private detectives, not me" I lifted my shoulders "That’s common sense"

I can’t say the detectives looked horrified It would take a lot more than that to horrify a homicide detective, I would think But they did look just that little bit harder around the eyes

"Of course," Tolliver chi,on co that Tolliver was trying to dilute the bad taste I’d put in theirblurted She leaned forward, her hands clasped, her elbows on her knees, her face intent

That was a difficult question "I feel a lot of different ways about finding a body," I said, trying to be truthful "I’ for, because I’ve done et paid," said Detective Lacey, an edge to his voice

"I like getting paid," I said "I’m not ashaive the dead some relief" The two detectives looked blank "They want to be found, you know"

It see by their expressions, it didn’t see

"You see just totally nuts," Young ave her a stare that snapped her into the here-and-now

"I beg your pardon," she said formally "This is a subject I don’t believe I’ve ever discussed with anyone, and it strikes uess"

"It’s not the first time I’ve heard that, Detective," I saidnow," said Detective Lacey, running his hand over his short hair in an absent gesture, as if he were polishing a favorite ornament "Oh, wait, I have one more question"

Tolliver and I looked up at hiht pressure But it wasn’t necessary; I knew this was the crucial question

"Have you talked to any faenstern girl? Any phone conversations?"

I didn’t even have to think about it "Nothim to echo my words

"Yeah, I talked to Felicia Hart a couple of times," he said, and I used all my self-control to keep my face and body still

"So, you had conversations with Felicia Hart besides the initial one when she asked you to come to Nashville to look for her niece"

"Yes, I did"

I was going to kill him

"What was the nature of these calls?"

"Personal," Tolliver said calmly

"Is it true that you and Felicia Hart had a relationship?"

"No," Tolliver said

"Then why the phone calls?"

"We’d had sex," he said "She’s called a couple of times after that, while ers curl into fists, and I hten out, id, well, I couldn’t help that I was doing h we hadn’t ever discussed it, he obviously enjoyed sex, judging from the way he tracked down opportunities to do it I did, too, but I ay pickier than Tolliver when it ca a partner Tolliver viewed sex, as far as I could tell, as a sport he could play well, with any nuht of sex a littlesex I wasn’t willing to let uratively

Maybe these were typical male-versus-female attitudes about sex

"So what did she want to talk about?" Detective Young asked She had a narrow-eyed look that I didn’t like, as if she felt she’d caught Tolliver out in a guilty secret

"She wanted to blow off steaVictor," Tolliver said easily, and I thought, You’re lying I looked down sostrange andthe detectives so nervous that they would leave, but I was really angry with Tolliver He could le as best he could

"What did she say in these conversations?"

He shrugged "I don’t recall specifics After all, it’s been months, and it wasn’t that allant, Tolliver a anyone what she’d said She orried, of course, and not just about Victor She was concerned about Diane and Joel, and about her own parents After all, they’re Victor’s grandparents, even if they’re not Joel’s in-laws anymore And--let’s see--she said kids at school were accusing Victor of having so to do with Tabitha’s disappearance, because a couple of times he’dTabitha to hihter, and he wasn’t Diane’s son"