بخش 04 - فصل 26

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“Hello?” The voice is soft, tentative. “Hello, who is this?” “My name’s Jerome Robinson, ma’am. I believe Bill Hodges said I might call you.” Silence. “Ma’am?” Jerome is sitting by his computer, holding his Android almost tightly enough to crack the casing. “Ms. Gibney?”

“I’m here.” It’s almost a sigh. “He said he wants to catch the person who killed my cousin. There was a terrible explosion.” “I know,” Jerome says. Down the hall, Barb starts playing her new ‘Round Here record for the thousandth time. Kisses on the Midway, it’s called. It hasn’t driven him crazy yet,

but crazy gets closer with every play. Meanwhile, the woman on the other end of the line has started to cry. “Ma’am? Ms. Gibney? I’m very sorry for your loss.” “I hardly knew her, but she was my cousin, and she was nice to me. So was Mr. Hodges. Do you know what he asked me?”

“No, uh-uh.” “If I’d eaten breakfast. Wasn’t that considerate?” “It sure was,” Jerome says. He still can’t believe the lively, vital lady he had dinner with is dead. He remembers how her eyes sparkled when she laughed and how she mocked Bill’s way of saying yeah. Now he’s on the phone with a woman he’s never met, a very

odd woman, from the sound of her. Talking to her feels like defusing a bomb. “Ma’am, Bill asked me to come out there.” “Will he come with you?” “He can’t right now. He’s got other things he has to do.” There’s more silence, and then, in a voice so low and timid he can barely hear it, Holly asks, “Are you safe?

Because I worry about people, you know. I worry very much.” “Yes, ma’am, I’m safe.” “I want to help Mr. Hodges. I want to help catch the man who did it. He must be crazy, don’t you think?” “Yes,” Jerome says. Down the hall another song starts and two little girls–Barbara and her friend Hilda–emit joyous shrieks almost high enough to

shatter glass. He thinks of three or four thousand Barbs and Hildas all shrieking in unison tomorrow night, and thanks God his mother is pulling that duty. “You could come, but I don’t know how to let you in,” she says. “My uncle Henry set the burglar alarm when he went out, and I don’t know the

code. I think he shut the gate, too.” “I’ve got all that covered,” Jerome says. “When will you come?” “I can be there in half an hour.” “If you talk to Mr. Hodges, will you tell him something for me?” “Sure.”

“Tell him I’m sad, too.” She pauses. “And that I’m taking my Lexapro.”