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Jenny listened The echo of the slammed car door faded away-and was replaced by no other sound except the soft soughing of the wind

There are silences and silences No one of therief in velvet-draped rooms of a plushly carpeted funeral parlor, which is far different frorief in a er’s lonely bedroorieving in Snowfield’s silence; however, she didn’t knohy she felt that way or even why such a peculiar thought had occurred to her in the first place She thought of the silence of a gentle suht, too, which isn’t actually a silence at all, but a subtle chorus of rass, and porch swings ever-so-faintly sighing and creaking Snowfield’s soundless slumber was imbued with some of that quality, too, a hint of fevered activity voices, le-just beyond the reach of the senses But it was ht, deep and cold and heartless, but containing an expectation of the bustling, growing noises of spring This silence was filled with expectation, too, and it made Jenny nervous

She wanted to call out, ask if anyone was here But she didn’t because her neighbors ht come out, startled by her cry, all of them safe and sound and bewildered by her apprehension, and then she would look foolish A doctor who behaved foolishly in public on Monday was a doctor without patients on Tuesday

"… stay here forever and ever and ever," Lisa was saying, still swooning over the beauty of the e

"It doesn’t make you… uneasy?" Jenny asked

"What?"

"The silence"

"Oh, I love it It’s so peaceful"

It was peaceful There was no sign of trouble

So why am I so damned jumpy? Jenny wondered

She opened the trunk of the car and lifted out one of Lisa’s suitcases, then another

Lisa took the second suitcase and reached into the trunk for a book bag

"Don’t overload yourself," Jenny said, "We’ve got to make a couple of more trips, anyway"

They crossed the lawn to a stone ay and followed that to the front porch, where, in response to the a petals as if they were night-bloo flowers

Jenny opened the front door, and stepped into the dark foyer "Hilda, we’re hoht in the house was at the far end of the hall, beyond the open kitchen door

Jenny put down the suitcase and switched on the hall light "Hilda?"

"Who’s Hilda?" Lisa asked, dropping her suitcase and the book bag

"My housekeeper She knehat ti dinner about now"

"Wow, a housekeeper! You e," Jenny said, putting her purse and car keys on the se, brass-framed ?"

Jenny laughed "Hardly I can’t really afford Hilda-but I can’t afford to be without her, either"

Wondering why the kitchen light was on if Hilda wasn’t here, Jenny headed down the hall, with Lisa following close behind

"What with keeping regular office hours and ency house calls to three other towns in these mountains, I’d never eat hnuts if it wasn’t for Hilda"

"Is she a good cook?" Lisa asked

"Marvelous Too good when it coed roo, stainless-steel utility rack above a central cooking island with four electric burners, a grill, and a work area The countertops were ceramic tile, and the cabinets were dark oak On the far side of the room were double sinks, double ovens, a erator

Jenny turned left as soon as she stepped through the door, and she went to the built-in secretary where Hilda plannedlists It was there she would have left a note But there was no note, and Jenny was turning away froirl had walked around to the far side of the central cooking island She was standing by the refrigerator, staring down at so on the floor in front of the sinks Her face was flour-white, and she was tre

Filled with sudden dread, Jenny stepped quickly around the island

Hilda Beck was lying on the floor, on her back, dead She stared at the ceiling with sightless eyes, and her discolored tongue thrust stiffly between swollen lips

Lisa looked up from the dead woman, stared at Jenny, tried to speak, could not make a sound

Jenny took her sister by the arm and led her around the island to the other side of the kitchen, where she couldn’t see the corpse She hugged Lisa

The girl hugged back Tightly Fiercely

"Are you okay, honey?"

Lisa said nothing She shook uncontrollably

Just six weeks ago, co home fro on the kitchen floor of the house in Newport Beach, dead of a irl had been devastated Never having known her father, who had died when she was only two years old, Lisa had been especially close to her mother For a while, that loss had left her deeply shaken, bewildered, depressed Gradually, she had accepted her ain During the past few days, she had seeirl to the secretary, urged her to sit down, then squatted in front of her She pulled a tissue from the box of Kleenex on the desk and blotted Lisa’s dairl’s flesh was not only as pale as ice; it was ice-cold as well

"What can I do for you, Sis?"

"I’ll b-be okay," Lisa said shakily

They held hands The girl’s grip was alht… When I first saw her there… on the floor like that… I thought… crazy, but I thought… that it was Mom" Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she held theone And this woman here doesn’t even look like her But it was… a surprise… such a shock… and so confusing"

They continued to hold hands, and slowly Lisa’s grip relaxed

After a while, Jenny said, "Feeling better?"

"Yeah A little"