Page 19 (1/2)

While the guests werearound, I eyed the roo that could be photographed for a azine White cabinets, dark marble counters, a center island Beautiful china stacked at the beginning of the spread, and shining silver The sinks and appliances gleaht If the Morgensterns had a maid, she was invisible Maybe Diane was the kind of wo, Joel’s parents went through the line first, with Diane herself holding Mrs Morgenstern’s plate while the older woot the rooo ahead I lined up behind Felicia and David

As I waited, I watched Fred Hart shake his head when Diane urged hiet in line Felicia observed the encounter with a curiously blank face, as if she had no eto him in a low voice He flinched away from her and left the room As I picked up a plate and silverware, I wondered if I should go out searching for a happy family Maybe it was my line of work that threw me in the path of so many unhappy ones

Esther attracted my attention with a little wave of her hand It wasiave ht a thinly sliced roast, but I passed it by, and instead got some broccoli, a fruit casserole baked in some kind of curry sauce, a roll, and a cold three-bean salad There was the dining table in the dining room, a set of barstools at the kitchen counter, an infor rooht napkin) and sat at the kitchen counter, since I was spry enough to clih stool When I’d been settled there approxilass of tea by ht toothy smile as ferocious as a shark’s

"Unsweetened," she said "Okay?" Her voice hinted that it better be

"Good, thanks," I said, and she say

To otten his grandmother’s cane and delivered it His plate was invisible beneath a truly aetables, I noted He had a can of Coke that he popped open with a defiant hiss

"So, what you do, it’s just weird, right?" was his opening conversational gambit

"Yes, it is"

Maybe he’d meant to offend me If so, lad to get a dose of sincerity

"So, you travel all the time?"

"Yeah"

"Cool"

"Sometilanced around him contemptuously He could dismiss the value of a beautiful and cared-for home, since he’d never lacked it "Yeah, it’s okay But no house is good when you’re not happy"

An interesting and true observation--though in my experience, comfort never hurt whether you were depressed or whether you were cheerful

"And you’re not happy"

"Notwith someone I didn’t know at all

"Because of Tabitha’s death?" Since ere being blunt

"Yeah, and because no one here is happy"

"Now that she’s been found and she can be buried, don’t you think things will get better?"

He shook his head doubtfully He was eating all the while ere having this incredibly doleful conversation At least he shut his e to this boy than anyone else in the house, and I knew that hy he’d sought et ready for the baby to coht Tabitha did," he added, almost inaudibly

"You really were fond of her," I said

"Yeah, she was okay She bugged ave you a hard time when she was taken"

"Oh, yeah It was intense They questioned et me a lawyer" He was a little proud of that "They couldn’t get that I wouldn’t have anywhere to put her Why would I take her? Where would I take her? We fought, but even real brothers and sisters fight You fight with your brother, right?"

"We grew up in the same house," I said, "but he’s not really my brother My mom married his dad" I was surprised atout ofin the house with soe you weren’t even related to Especially if you’re not the sa used to," I ad before Caainst the cos," I said "They used a lot of cocaine Weed Vicodin Hydros Whatever they could buy They used alcohol to fill in the cracks Did your parents ever have a problem like that?"

His mouth literally dropped open Not as sophisticated as he’d thought himself, Victor "Geez," he said "That’s awful Kids use drugs, not parents"

If that wasn’t theI’d ever heard, it was pretty damn close But it was kind of nice, too, that he still had illusions like that I waited for a direct answer

"No," he said, having gathered his I ood," I said "I wish all parents were like that"

"Yeah, Dad and Moh and careless But he’d been shaken "I mean, you can’t tell the But they’re there when you need them"

He even called Diane "Mo Victor had been when Diane had married Joel

"You’ve been around a lot," Victor said, running a hand through his auburn hair "You’ve had a real life"

"I’ve had more than my share of real life," I said

"But you would know" His voice trailed off, just when the dialogue was turning in an interesting direction

I didn’t try to prod Victor to pick up the conversational thread I’d covered all the bases I could with this kid, without getting into the reale to ask him I hadn’t initiated this conversation, but I’d learned a lot from it I knew, as I watched Victor check out the dishes left on the kitchen counter that he hadn’t yet sa secret, it ht ers could spin on an emotional dime

The kitchen had one of those little televisions mounted below the cabinet, presumably so the cook could watch Ellen or Oprah while she did her job Though Diane had boasted that televisions were off and phones were off the hook, someone had turned this one on, h the sound was turned down in deference to the occasion, soht Victor’s attention, and he stood squarely in front of it, plate still in hand The expression on his face grew startled, puzzled, alarure out what he was seeing

Well, we’d known the neould reach the Morgensterns sooner or later, and the ht his father to his side at a good pace "Dad! They found that college guy dead, in Tabitha’s grave!"

I sighed, and looked down at ht of it quite that way After all, it had been Josiah Pound-stone’s for rave