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"Is he dating someone special?" I asked I was pretty sure I knew the answer

"If he is, he hasn’t said anything" After a pause, Tolliver said, "Speaking of dating, I ran into Manfred at the , but I thought the better of it "Yeah, he came by," I said "He toldand decided she better couess he’s indulging her as randson"

Tolliver looked at me skeptically His eyebrows had risen so far that they looked like part of his hairline "Right And Xylda just happens to have a vision telling her that a woman he wants - he thinks you’re hot, don’t pretend you don’t know that - needs her help You don’t think he had so to do with that?"

Actually, I felt a little shocked "No," I said "I think he came because Xylda said to"

Tolliver practically sneered I felt a strong dislike for him, just for that moment He shot to his feet and walked around the little hospital roorand her around, and be your agent instead"

"Tolliver!"

He stopped speaking Finally

"That’s an awful thing to say," I said We’d seen the flawed side of human nature over and over, no doubt about it But I liked to think eren’t wholly cynical

"You can’t see it," he said, his voice quiet

"You’re seeing so that isn’t there," I said "I’m not an idiot I know Manfred likes randmother, and he wouldn’t have hauled her out into this cold weather with her failing, unless she told him he had to"

Tolliver kept his head down, his eyes to hi that would push our little barrel over the waterfall, so I’d never be able to take back And Tolliver was suffering under some burden of his own I could read the secrets of the dead, but I couldn’t tell whatat that moment I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to

"This past Christood Christmas," he said

And then the nurse came in to take one forever Tolliver straightened out ain," the nurse reray sky "I don’t think it’ll ever stop"

Neither of us had anything to say about that

The sheriff ca heavy outdoor clothes and her boots were coated with mud Not for the first time I reflected that there orse places to be than this hospital One of those places was digging through nearly freezing dirt for clues, breathing in the reek of bodies that were in different stages of decay, telling the bad news to fa boys for weeks, months, years Yes, indeed A concussion and a broken arm in the Doraville hospital were far preferable to that

The sheriff ry "I’ll thank you to keep yourthe words out as if they were sour lemons

"I’m sorry?"

"Your psychic friend, whatever her name is"

"Xylda Bernardo," Tolliver said

"Yes, she’s been down at the stationanyone who’d listen how she’d predicted you’d find these bodies, how she’d sent you up here, how she knew you were going to be hurt"

"None of that is true," Tolliver said

"I didn’t think it was But she’s clouding the issue You know - you show up, of course we’re all skeptical, we all think the worst But then you cah for us somehow You did find the boys, and we know you couldn’t have had prior knowledge of their burial place Or at least if you did we haven’t figured out how"

I sighed, tried to make it unobtrusive

"But then she showed up with that weird grandson of hers She acts out, he just s else he could do, of course

"Plus, she looks like she’s gonna drop dead anyto our hospital revenue," the sheriff added more cheerfully

There was a cursory knock at the door and it drifted open to show a big man, his fist still raised

"Hey, Sheriff," he said, sounding surprised

"Barney, hey," she said

"A," Sheriff Rockwell said "Back out into the cold and wet" She stood and began pulling her gloves on I wondered why she had co about Xylda just didn’t seeful reason After all, what could we do about her? "Have you come by to throw Ms Connelly out?"

"Ha-ha Nope, this is o around to every patient’s roooing okay, listen to complaints - and every now and thensmile "Barney Simpson, hospital administrator, so I’m at your service You’re Ms Connelly, I take it" He shook ently, since I was the sick person "And you’re?" He held out his hand to Tolliver