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"Oh, my God," he said "Stay here, Sally Just stay here and I’ll check it out"

"Oh, go to hell, Quinlan No, I don’t like Quinlan I’ll call you James I won’t stay put"

But he just shook his head at her He set her aside andjust five feet above the body of a wo her back, back and forth There was no blood in the water "Oh, no," he said aloud

She was at his side, staring down at the woht, but nobody would listen toleft of her," he said He sat down, took off his running shoes and socks, and rolled up his jeans "Stay here, Sally Iinto the water and washing out to sea"

Quinlan finally ed to haul her in He wrapped the woman, as left of her, in his jacket His sto back up the path He didn’t allow hi had once been a living, laughing person God, it made him sick "We’ll take her to Doc Spiver," Sally called over her shoulder "He’ll take care of her"

"Yeah," he said to himself, "I just bet he will" An old man in this one-horse toould probably say that she’d been killed accidentally by a hunter shooting curlews

Doc Spiver’s living room smelled musty James wanted to open the s and air the place out, but he figured the old man must want it this way He sat down and called Sam North, a homicide detective with the Portland police department Sam wasn’t in, so Jaent," he said to Sa up and watched Sally St John Brainerd pace back and forth over a rich wine-red Bokhara carpet It was fairly new, that beautiful carpet "What did you mean when you said you knew it?"

"What? Oh, I heard her screaht There were three screams, and at the last one I knew someone had killed her It was just cut off so quickly, like soht it was the wind because it was howling--no doubt about that, but I kneas a woht I was here I told you about that Do you think it was the same woman?"

"I don’t know"

"Amabel called Reverend Vorhees and he came with three other men and they went on a search When they ca It was the wind, they said Reverend Vorhees patted ain, like I was a child, an idiot"

"Or worse, a hysterical woman"

"Exactly Someone killed her, James It couldn’t have been an accident I heard her screaht Last night, they killed her"

"What do youa bit confused "I don’t know It just see and Ja him back Sally listened to his end of the conversation

"Yes, a wouess The tide washed her in, and she’d been battered against the rocks for a good nu What do you want to do, Sam?"

He listened, then said, "A little town called The Cove about an hour or so southwest of you You know it? Good The local doctor is looking her over now, but they have no law enforceht Done His naot the nu up the phone, "Sa the county sheriff He says they’ll send sos"

"Soon, I hope," Doc Spiver said, walking into the s to be doing, Sally thought, staring at those old liver-spotted hands, knohat those hands had been touching There was a knock on the front door and Doc Spiver called out, "Co in!"

It was Reverend Hal Vorhees On his heels were the four oldaround the barrel playing cards

"What the hell’s going on, Doc? Excuse me, ma’am, but we heard you’d found a body at the bottom of the cliffs"

"It’s true, Gus," Doc Spiver said "Do all of you know Mr Quinlan and Sally, Amabel’s niece?"