"I guess I have to. Earl never said it out in somany words, but I knew, and Helen knew. It's why she left us."

And why, perhaps, in the long run Helen couldn't stayhonest.

"Earl had a great respect for LukeDeloney," the woman was saying, "even if Luke did have his humanfailings. He was the one who made good for all of us in a manner of speaking.His death hit Earl real hard, and he started drinking right after, seriously Imean. I'm worried about Earl." She reached across the table and touchedthe back of my hand with her dry fingertips. "Do you think he'll be allright?"

"Not if he keeps on drinking. Heought to survive this bout. I'm sure he's being well taken care of. But Helenisn't."

"Helen? What can anybody do forHelen?"

"You can do something for her bytelling the truth. Her death deserves an explanation at least."

"But I don't know who killed her. IfI did I'd shout it from the housetops. I thought the police were after that manMcGee who killed his wife."

"McGee has been cleared. TishMacready killed his wife, and probably your daughter as well."

She shook her head solemnly. "You'remistaken, mister. What you say isn't possible. Tish Macready—Tish Osborne thatwas—she died long ago before either of those tragedies happened. I admit therewere rumors about her at the time of Luke Deloney's death, but then she had herown tragedy, poor thing."

"You said 'Tish Osborne thatwas."

"That's right. She was one of SenatorOsborne's girls—Mrs. Deloney's sister. I told you about them the other nightwhen we were driving down here from the airport, how they used to ride tohounds." She smiled faintly, nostalgically, as if she had caught a flashof red coats from her childhood.

"What were the rumors about her, Mrs.Hoffman?"

"That she was carrying on with LukeDeloney before his death. Some people said she shot him herself, but I neverbelieved that."

"Was she having an affair with LukeDeloney?"

"She used to spend some time in hisapartment, that was no secret. She was kind of his unofficial hostess when Lukeand Mrs. Deloney were separated. I didn't think too much about it. She wasalready divorced from Val Macready. And she was Luke's sister-in-law after all,I guess she had a right to be in his penthouse."

"Did she have red hair?"

"More auburn, I'd say. She hadbeautiful auburn hair." Mrs. Hoffman absently stroked her own dyed curls."Tish Osborne had a lot of life in her. I was sorry to hear when shedied."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know exactly. She died inEurope when the Nazis ran over France. Mrs. Deloney still hasn't got over it.She was talking about her sister's death today."

Something that felt like a spider with wetfeet climbed up the back of my neck into the short hairs and made them bristle.The ghost of Tish or a woman (or a man?) using her name had come to the door ofthe house in Indian Springs ten years ago, more than ten years after theGermans overran France.

"Are you certain she's dead, Mrs.Hoffman?"

She nodded. "There was quite a writeupin the papers, even the Chicago papers. Tish Osborne was the belle of Bridgetonin her time. I can remember back in the early twenties her parties were famous.The man she married, Val Macready, had meat-packing money on his mother'sside."

"Is he still alive?"

"The last I heard of him, he marriedan Englishwoman during the war and was living in England. He wasn't a Bridgetonboy and I never really knew him. I just read the society pages, and theobituaries."

She sipped her cocoa. Her look, herself-enclosed posture, seemed to be telling me that she had survived. Herdaughter Helen had been brighter, Tish Osborne had been wealthier, but she wasthe one who had survived. She would survive Earl, too, and probably make ashrine of the study where he kept his liquor in the roll-top desk.

Well, I had caught one of the old ladies. The otherone would be tougher.

"Why did Mrs. Deloney fly out here?"

"I guess it was just a rich woman's whim. Shesaid she wanted to help me out in my time of trouble."

"Were you ever close to her?"

"I hardly knew her. Earl knows her better."

"Was Helen close to her?"

"No. If they ever met each other, it's news tome."

"Mrs. Deloney came a long way to helpout a comparative stranger. Has she given you any particular help, apart fromchanging hotels?"

"She bought me lunch and dinner. I didn't wanther to pay, but she insisted."

"What were you to do in return for the free roomand board?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't she ask you not to talk about her sisterTish?"

"That's true, she did. I wasn't tosay anything about her carrying on with Luke Deloney, or the rumors that wentaround about his death. She's very sensitive about her sister'sreputation."

© Alexander Sviyash, 2009