"What name?"

"Tish. She called her Tish. I could tell Mommydidn't like her, though. She was afraid of her, too."

"Why haven't you ever told anyone this before?"

"Because it was all my fault."

"It wasn't," Alex said. "You were onlya child. You weren't responsible for what the adults did."

Godwin shushed him with his finger to hislips. Dolly rolled her head from side to side:

"It was all my fault."

"This has gone on long enough,"Godwin whispered to Jerry. "She's made some gains. I want to have a chanceto consolidate them."

"But we haven't even got to theHaggerty case."

"Make it short then." Godwinsaid to the girl: "Dolly, are you willing to talk about last Fridaynight?"

"Not about finding her." Shescrewed up her face until her eyes were hidden.

"You needn't go into the details offinding the body," Jerry said. "But what were you doing there?"

"I wanted to talk to Helen. I oftenwalked up the hill to talk to her. We were friends."

"How did that happen to be?"

"I ingratiated myself withHelen," she said with queer blank candor. "I thought at first shemight be the lady—the woman who shot my mother. The rumor was going around thecampus that she was close to Dean Bradshaw."

"And you were on the campus to findthat woman?"

"Yes. But it wasn't Helen. I foundout she was new in town, and she told me herself there was nothing between herand Bradshaw. I had no right to drag her into this."

"How did you drag her in?"

"I told her everything, about mymother and Bradshaw and the murder and the woman at the door. Helen was killedbecause she knew too much."

"That may be," I said, "but she didn'tlearn it from you."

"She did! I told her everything."

Godwin pulled at my sleeve. "Don'targue with her. She's coming out of it fast, but her mind is still operatingbelow the conscious level."

"Did Helen ask you questions?" I said to thegirl.

"Yes. She asked me questions."

"Then you didn't force the information onher."

"No. She wanted to know."

"What did she want to know?"

"All about Dean Bradshaw and my mother."

"Did she say why?"

"She wanted to help me in my crusade.I went on a sort of crusade after I talked to Daddy in the hotel. A children'scrusade." Her giggle turned into a sob before it left her throat."The only thing it accomplished was the death of my good friend Helen. Andwhen I found her body—"

Her eyes opened wide. Then her mouthopened wide. Her body went rigid, as if it was imitating the rigor of the dead.She stayed like that for fifteen or twenty seconds.

"It was like finding Mommyagain," she said in a small voice, and came fully awake. "Is it allright?"

"It's all right," Alex said.

He helped her up to a sitting position.She leaned on him, her hair mantling his shoulder. A few minutes later, stillleaning on him, she walked across the hallway to her room. They walked likehusband and wife.

Godwin closed the door of the examinationroom. "I hope you gentlemen got what you wanted," he said with somedistaste.

"She talked very freely," Jerrysaid. The experience had left him drained.

"It was no accident. I've beenpreparing her for the last three days. Pentothal, as I've told you before, isno guarantee of truth. If a patient is determined to lie, the drug can't stophim."

"Are you implying she wasn't tellingthe truth?"

"No. I believe she was, so far as sheknows the truth. My problem now is to enlarge her awareness and make it fullyconscious. If you gentlemen will excuse me?"

"Wait a minute," I said."You can spare me a minute, doctor. I've spent three days and a lot ofKincaid's money developing facts that you already had in your possession."

"Have you indeed?" he saidcoldly.

"I have indeed. You could have savedme a good deal of work by filling me in on Bradshaw's affair with ConstanceMcGee."

"I'm afraid I don't exist for thepurpose of saving detectives work. There's a question of ethics involved herewhich you probably wouldn't understand. Mr. Marks probably would."

© Alexander Sviyash, 2009