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"Not your fault," he said "You’re getting a lot of publicity out of this, you know That’s another reason" But then his face closed down on the thought He’d been thinking about Manfred and Xylda again, sure that Xylda was in town to jump on the free ride of publicity the ender No, I’m not a mind reader I just know Tolliver very well

"I’ Xylda would cash in under ordinary circu to be practical and honest "But she’s so frail, and Manfred was so reluctant to bring her"

"He said," Tolliver pointed out

"Well, yeah, he said And you see a sick woman somewhere she doesn’t need to be just to satisfy his lust for ave Tolliver a very level look After a second, he looked just a bit abashed

"Okay, I’ll agree he really loves the old bat," he said "And he does take her wherever she wants to go, as far as I know"

That was as et, but at least it was so up and getting into it with each other

"Are they at our motel?"

"Yeah There aren’t any rooms anywhere else, I can tell you The road up the mountain is nearly blocked off to traffic because there are so many news trucks and law enforceuys alkie-talkies at either end of the bottleneck"

Again, I felt a twinge of guilt, as if I were somehow responsible for the disruption of so many peoples’ lives The responsibility, of course, was theabout it

I wondered what he was thinking about He’d vented his rage with me "He’ll lie lo," I said Tolliver didn’t have to askabout

"He’ll be cautious," Tolliver agreed "That turning out to try to get you, that was just rage that his games were ended He’ll have cooled off now He’ll be worried about the cops"

"No tiuy has to be a loony, Harper And you never knohat they’re thinking I hope you get out of the hospital toh with questions and we can leave this place If you feel well enough"

"I hope so," I said I was better, but it would be stretching a point to say I felt good enough to travel

Tolliver gaveto eat on his way back to the e the reporters "Not that there’s anywhere to go," he said "Why don’t we get more work in cities?"

"I’ve asked myself that," I said "We had that job in Memphis, and that other one in Nashville" I didn’t want to talk about Tabitha Morgenstern again "And before that, ere in St Paul And that cemetery job in Miami"

"But most of our calls are from small places"

"I don’t knohy Have we ever done New York?"

"Sure Remember? But it was really really hard for you, because it was right after 9/11"

"I guess I was trying to forget," I said That had been one of the worst experiences I’d ever had as a professionalwhatever I was "We’ll never do that again," I said

"Yeah, New York is out" We looked at each other for a long one Try to eat your supper, and get some sleep Since you’re better, ht"

He fussed around for atable was positioned correctly, clearing it for the supper tray, drawing my attention to the re the phone closer to the edge of the bedside table so I could reach it easily He puttable "Call me if you need me," he said, and then he left

I dozed off for a little while, until the supper tray ca more substantial I’m embarrassed to say that I ate most of the food on ry I hadn’t exactly been packing in the calories the last two days

After that, by way of excite progress and he thought I’d be able to go ho about who I was or where home was He was as overworked as everyone else I’d encountered there at Knott County Memorial Hospital He wasn’t fro froht hiency-roo service that employed Dr Tho woman named Heather Sutcliff, came in soon after the doctor’s visit

"Mr Simpson just wanted me to stop by and check with you Lots of reporters want to see you, but for the peace and privacy of the other patients we’ve been denying thees And we’ve screened the calls to your roomthat was your brother’s idea"

No wonder I’d been able to recover in peace "Thanks," I said "That’s really a big help"