فصل 26 - بخش 11

26

It turned out that Lovie Bolton had some old Percocets for back pain. Yune took two of them instead of the Motrin, and Claude – who had taken a first aid course during his third and last stretch in prison – bandaged his wound while Holly talked. She did so rapidly, and not just because she wanted to get Lieutenant Sablo some real care. She needed the Boltons to understand their part in this before anyone official showed up. That would be soon, because the officers from the Highway Patrol would have questions for Ralph, and he would have to answer them. At least there was no disbelief here; Lovie and Claude had felt the presence of the outsider two nights ago, and Claude had been feeling him even before that: a sense of disquiet, dislocation, and being watched.

‘Of course you felt him,’ Holly said grimly. ‘He was plundering your mind.’

‘You saw him,’ Claude said. ‘He was hiding in that cave, and you saw him.’

‘Yes.’

‘And he looked like me.’

‘Almost exactly.’

Lovie spoke up, sounding timid. ‘Would I have known the difference?’

Holly smiled. ‘At a glance. I’m sure of it. Lieutenant Sablo – Yune – are you ready to go?’

‘Yes.’ He stood up. ‘One great thing about hard drugs – everything still hurts, but you don’t give a shit.’

Claude burst out laughing and pointed a finger-gun at him. ‘You got that right, brother.’ He saw Lovie frowning at him and added, ‘Sorry, Ma.’

‘You understand the story you have to tell?’ Holly asked.

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Claude said. ‘Too simple to screw up. The Flint City DA is thinking of re-opening the Maitland case, and you-all came down here to question me.’

‘And you said what?’ Holly asked.

‘That the more I think about it, the more I’m sure it wasn’t Coach Terry I saw that night, just someone who looked like him.’

‘What else?’ Yune asked. ‘Very important.’

Lovie answered this time. ‘The bunch of you stopped by this morning to say goodbye, and to ask if there was anything we might have forgotten. While you were getting ready to leave, there was a phone call.’

‘On your landline,’ Holly added, thinking, Thank God they still have one.

‘That’s right, on the landline. The man said he worked with Detective Anderson.’

‘Who spoke to him,’ Holly said.

‘That’s right. The man told Detective Anderson the fellow you-all were looking for, the real killer, was hiding out in the Marysville Hole.’

‘Stick to that,’ Holly said. ‘And thank you both.’

‘We are the ones who should be thanking you,’ Lovie said, and held out her arms. ‘You come here, Miss Holly Gibney, and give old Lovie a hug.’

Holly went to the wheelchair and bent down. After the Marysville Hole, Lovie Bolton’s arms felt good. Necessary, even. She stayed in their embrace as long as she could.