Chapter 56

For the next week, Bruno stayed out in Tabernacle, tending to Maggie, going for long walks, watching the vultures circle, and trying to repair some of the damage to his trailer. He also checked in on Alison once or twice a day. She was invariably inside, in the same room where he saw her before, doing homework or indulging in sex fantasies. She seemed to Bruno omnivorous and insatiable. At first she seemed content to recall her greatest hits with Icky. Then she branched out to other men, famous actors, rock stars, and even a horse. Unbelievable. Eventually Bruno realized he was eavesdropping on her dreams.

Unfortunately there were never any details that could indicate where she was staying.

Finally, Chief Black interrupted this peaceful interlude. He called to say it was time to interview Rebecca Wales again.

Alison’s mother retained her sunny optimism. They were sitting out on the screened porch, sipping lemonade as a series of cats came in and out at will. “Alison will be fine,” Mrs. Wales insisted. “I assume she’s laying low until you discover the real killer. Isn’t that what anybody would do? I know it’s what I would do. And of course I wouldn’t tell my mother where I was. Alison would have to know that you’d come here to ask me and she wouldn’t want to put me in an awkward position where I’d have to lie.”

“That’s very considerate of her, Mrs. Wales,” the Chief said politely. “But we’d really be in a better position to help protect her if we knew her whereabouts and could ask her some questions.”

Mrs. Wales gave them a big moony smile and stroked the nearest cat.

“Who were her friends in Gardenfield?” the Chief persisted. “Where could she be staying?”

“I really don’t know.” Mrs. Wales sighed. “I suppose if it’s something devious it might involve some friend of Icky’s.” She thought about the funeral and shivered. “Of course, I’m not nearly as judgmental as Dr. Murphy.”

“Of course not.” The Chief decided to try another tack. “You know the key to this case may be what we’ve been calling the Quaker connection. You’re a Quaker, aren’t you? Why do you think Alison would bring a body to the meeting house?”

“I really don’t think that was Alison. That sounds much more like something Icky would do. You know they both attended Gardenfield Friends in elementary school. I think they met in third grade. Teacher Mildred’s class. She lives in a retirement home, now. Over by the mall. Which reminds me. Have you heard the news about Master Quentin?”

No, they hadn’t.

“He had another relapse of his old illness. It’s something he picked up at the time of the Vietnam War. He and Dr. Fischer used to have such big disagreements back then. They wanted to read Dr. Fischer out of meeting …”

“Read him out of meeting? What does that mean?”

Mrs. Wales frowned. “It’s a Quakerism. It just means ‘kick him out.’ Give him the old boot. We Quakers aren’t always that gentle, you know.”

“Why would they kick someone out of meeting?”

“There are all sorts of reasons. Usually it’s for not participating, either by showing up to meeting or making a financial contribution. But with Manny Fischer it was different, because he was doing that research and, you understand, Quakers believe something like biotech is tampering with the order of things—it’s not peaceful, if you see what I mean. When word got around that Fischer’s work involved messing around with the genetic code … a lot of people got upset.”

“So that’s when they—what do you call it—read him out of meeting?”

“There was a lot of discussion. But they never did read him out.”

“No? What happened?”

Mrs. Wales sighed. She seemed to have run out of energy. “I don’t know. Maybe he wrote a big check or something. I don’t think Master Quentin was too happy about it.”

“When did all of this happen?”

“Whenever Fischer launched his company here. I can’t remember what year that was.”

“So it couldn’t have been anything Alison was involved in?”

“Of course not, are you crazy? I was signing her up for pre-school, for goodness’ sake. I remember talking to Master Quentin about the school and wondering whether the rumors about him and Fischer were true. How could Alison be mixed up in anything when she was four years old?” Mrs. Wales broke down. She was sobbing violently. “You’re trying to blame my Alison for everything. But she didn’t kill anybody. She couldn’t. She’s a gentle, loving girl.”