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Investigating the fate of the Jensens had just been a cover that one of the assistants happened to find for him to use It was a believable cover, she’d told him, because the couple really had hway that included The Cove

But why had the old lady lied? What reason could she possibly have? Noas curious Too bad he didn’t have time He thrived on mystery And he was the best of the best, at least that hat Teresa had told hiain before she’d run aith a mail bomber he himself had hunted down and arrested, only to have her defend hi up his slacks and his shirts, laid his underwear in the top drawer of the beautiful antique dresser He walked into the bathroom to lay out his toiletries and was pleasantly surprised It was huge, all pink-veined ht down to the water-saver toilet The tub was huge and was curtained off so he could take a shower if he preferred

Old Thelma Nettro was obviously a hedonist No claw-footed tubs for her He wondered how the devil she could h money off this place to modernize the bathroouest

There was one restaurant in The Cove, a pretentious little cafe called the Hinterlands that had beautiful red and white tulips in itsboxes Unlike the rest of the buildings that lined Main Street, the Hinterlands forked off to one side, faced the ocean, and looked painfully charables, which, he was certain, had been addedelse, just cod and bass--fried, baked, poached, broiled Ja the s to have to live at the Safeway deli But, hell, the Safeas so small he doubted it even had a deli

The waitress, an older woman decked out in a Swiss Miss outfit that laced up her chest and swept the floor, said, "Oh, it’s fish this week Zeke can’t doat a time He says it confounds hi else How about soreens?"

He nodded to Martha and Ed Drapper, ere evidently enjoying their fried cod, cole slaw, and ave hinized hi with her pearls

After lunch, as Ja cards around the barrel, he saw at least half a dozen cars parked out in front of the World’s Greatest Ice Cream Shop Popular place Had the place been here when Harve and Marge cah? Yeah, sure it had That’s when old Thelma’s rheu tiet to know the locals before he tracked Susan St John Brainerd down

He wasn’t quite certain yet just what he was going to do with her when he found her The truth, he thought All he wanted was the truth froet it He usually did Then maybe he’d work on the other mystery If there was another mystery

Ten minutes later Ja that those four old men weren’t any better liars than Thelma Nettro Unlike Thelma, they hadn’t said a word, just shook their heads sorrowfully as they looked at each other One of them had spat after he repeated Harve’s na back in the chair had said he’d always fancied having a Winnebago His name was Gus Eisner Another one of theon wheels and kept the The other old man wouldn’t meet his eyes He couldn’t re, their behavior Whatever had happened to Harve and Marge Jensen, everyone he’dthe World’s Greatest Ice Cream

The sa up what looked to be peach ice crean on the road and co The boy wanted Cove Chocolate and the girl wanted French Vanilla

"You’ve just got the six flavors?" the wo to the season We don’t "

The boy whined that noanted blueberry ice cream The chocolate looked too dark

The older woman behind the counter just smiled down at him and said, "You can’t have it Either pick another flavor or shut up"

The asped and stared "You can’t act like that toward our son, why he’s--"