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Juliette showed up at Walker’s electronics workshop at five, worried sheinstead the distinctive odor of vaporized solder wafting down the hallway She knocked on the open door as she entered, and Walker looked up froreen electronics boards, corkscrews of s iron

"Jules!" he shouted He lifted theiron down on the steel workbench "I heard you were back I meant to send a note, but--" He waved around at the piles of parts with their work order tags dangling froet it," she said She gave Walker a hug, s the electrical fire scent on his skin that re to feel guilty enough taking some of your time with this," she said

"Oh?" He stepped back and studied her, his bushy white brows and wrinkled skin furroorry "You got so, a habit forht s

"I actually just wanted to pick your brain" She sat down on one of his workbench stools, and Walker did the same

"Go ahead," he said He wiped his broith the back of his sleeve, and Juliette sa old Walker had become She remembered him without so much white in his hair, without the wrinkles and splotchy skin She remembered him with his shadow

"It has to do with Scottie," she warned him

Walker turned his head to the side and nodded He tried to say soainst his chest a few times and cleared his throat "Dae He peered down at the floor for a moment

"It can wait," Juliette told him "If you need time--"

"I convinced hi his head "I re scared he’d turn it down Because of me, you know? That he’d be too afraid of ht just stay forever, so I urged hi "I just wanted him to knoas free to choose I didn’t mean to push him away"

"You didn’t," Juliette said "Nobody thinks that, and neither should you"

"I just don’t figure he was happy up there That weren’t his hoet that We always said that"

"He loved you," Walker said, and wiped at his eyes "Damn, how that boy looked up to you"

Juliette felt her own tears welling up again She reached into her pocket and brought out the wire she’d transcribed onto the back of the note She had to reether

"Just don’t seem like him to take the easy way--" Walker muttered

"No, it doesn’t," she said "Walker, I need to discuss sohed Mostly, it see "Like I ever leave this room," he said

"Well, it can’t be discussed with anyone else No one Okay?"

He bobbed his head

"I don’t think Scottie killed himself"

Walker threw up his hands to cover his face He bent forward and shook as he started to cry Juliette got off her stool and went to hi back

"I knew it," he sobbed into his palms "I knew it, I knew it"

He looked up at her, tears coursing through several days of white stubble "Who did this? They’ll pay, won’t they? Tell me who did it, Jules"

"Whoever it was, I don’t think they had far to travel," she said

"IT? Godda this out Scottie sentbefore he…well, before I think he was killed"

"Sent you a wire?"

"Yeah Look, I met with him earlier that day He asked me to come down to see hi in the last sheriff’s computer--"

"Holston" He dipped his head "The last cleaner Yeah, Knox brought ram, looked like I told him Scottie would know better than anyone, so we forwarded it along"

"Well, you were right"

Walker wiped at his cheeks and bobbed his head "He was s, that it was a prograes we see of the outside--"

She waited a beat to see hoould respond It was taboo to even use the word in s Walker was unh to be beyond childhood fears And probably lonely and sad enough not to have cared anyway