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Finally Garcia said, “Was there anything else, Bill?”

“No,” I said, looking froain “That was it I’ll see you later” I withdrew, then leaned partway back in “Did you want this open or closed?” I heard sos-that I didn’t much like I hoped neither of them heard it

“Oh, open of course,” said Garcia smoothly

I turned and retraced my steps down the hall, past the microscope lab, where Miranda’s open backpack still sat It hadn’twith hiht to Garcia in the backpack I drove back to the stadiuuilty and afraid Afraid of what? I couldn’t have said, but a series of faces flashed in my mind’s eye: Miranda’s Jess’s Garland Hamilton’s Stuart Latham’s Edelberto Garcia’s The faces of women I cared for-and ination

CHAPTER 12

THE STREET SIGN WAS HALF HIDDEN BY AN OVERHANGING tree branch, which doubtless added greatly to the neighborhood’s charht but subtracted substantially frohts to high bean

I had located North Hills Boulevard without any trouble A large subdivision sign, thoughtfully placed down at headlight level, ton Pike North Hills was one of three Knoxville “Hills” neighborhoods dating back to the 1920s Sequoyah Hills, where I had ed to find an affordable ranch house a one bank of the Tennessee River, a few miles west of don and UT Holston Hills, on the city’s east side, flanked the Holston River, just upstream from the field where Miranda and I had burned the cars

North Hills lacked the river frontage and the country clubs sported by Sequoyah and Holston, but it did not lack for charhborhood, giving the area the feeling of a park In springtirass of the woods and redbuds and azaleas But this year’s blossoms had shriveled three months earlier, and the suht had rass to a pale, crureenness, but it was a dry and desperate shade of green

The houses were ses than hborhood had reest house in North Hills would probably sell for half what a similar place in Sequoyah would fetch Even so, it would have been a huge stretch for Miranda to afford a house in North Hills I doubted that her assistantship would cover the ain, I realized, her faht be renting Or she ht have roommates Or a partner There was a lot about Miranda’s personal life I didn’t know-al about it, in fact Was that because I respected her privacy, or was it because I was uncaring and selfish, interested only in the forty or fifty or even sixty hours of work she did forhere at nine o’clock at night, trying to find her house in the maze of darkened streets?

I was snooping, that’s what I was doing, and the realization shame

dme feel like a stalker or a thief

As I strained to n, a car rounded the curve in the boulevard and stopped behindmildly, I rolled forward a few feet and cut the wheel to the right, pulling far enough out of the lane for the car to squeeze past me, and stuck hts disappeared around the curve, I opened the glove box, took out a flashlight, and ain “Kenilworth” was the word I was looking for, but according to the white letters on the sign to my left, Maxwell Street was the naht ahead, I would henceforth be on Fountain Park Boulevard So what had becoance and promise? Ah, finally, I saw that North Hills took a turn to the right, stealing the thunder of poor little Maxwell Street I appeared to be at the intersection of North Hills Boulevard and North Hills Boulevard, but how could that be? Confused, I shone the light on thecampus for the day-the very map I’d seen on Miranda’s computer and Garcia’s desk

Even though I’d worked closely with Miranda for four years now-and even though I’d soht be iality-I’d never been to her house I knehere she lived, since her address was on file in the department and her assistantship checks were ether-even once when a body was found less than a ed toabout ainst me? Or was she just one of those people who like to keep work and home completely separate fro I could ask her about, at least not without trespassing in the very e

I wasn’t sure what it was that had bothered me when I’d walked into Garcia’s office earlier: the mere fact that she’d handed him the map or the fact that when I walked in, Garcia had folded the et about it, but it nagged at ed between two teeth Was it possible that Miranda was getting romantically involved with Garcia? He was handsome, I had to admit, and he seemed smooth and quietly confident But he had been here for only a matter of weeks And I was virtually certain I had seen a wedding ring on his left hand

It’s not your business! I shouted at ht, it’s not, I answered…and then I bent over the map for a closer look Kenilworth o blocks beyond this odd corner, where the asphalt straight ahead changed na on North Hills Boulevard required taking a right Jess was killed by a medical examiner, I added in my own defense to myself I know, I know, it was a different medical examiner-a crazy medical examiner But still, I think I’m entitled to a little paranoia So could you please cut me some slack here?

Rightly or wrongly, I cut myself some slack, turned onto North Hills, Part B, and then onto Kenilworth, Miranda’s street Noas looking for house nu the street signs seem like a walk in the park How in the world did police and firefighters find the correct house during an eht? A e of firefighters shining a flashlight beam on the numbers on a dark doorpost while flahed in spite of the co around hborhood

Midway down the block, I glialow A yellow vehicle was parked behind the Jetta, and I was startled when I realized it was another Nissan Pathfinder-or the same one I’d seen parked beside the Latha of fear, or jealousy, or dread, or shahts, coasted to the curb just beyond the house, and sat there for a ot out, eased the door shut, and walked back toward the driveway Golden light was spilling from everyon the front and side of the house; the place looked war the praises of cozy domesticity