tried to thank her as we waited for a cab.
"Save it," she said. "Don't bother me anymore, and don't come in my bar again. That'll be thanks enough." She squeezed into a cab.
* * *
"She's an unbelievable woman," Scott said.
It was several hours later. We'd eaten dinner at Jerome's, one of our favorite restaurants. We were relaxing in Scott's living room in front of the fireplace. I'd built a fire. He sat up against a couch. I had my head in his lap, my feet rested on a low pile of cushions. As we talked he outlined the curves and valley of my face with his fingertips.
"I have mixed feelings about her," I said. "I think she's exaggerating about the bar owners. The ones I've met are decent people, trying to make a living like the rest of us. I don't agree with what she's doing with those kids, but I understand her reasons. Society will never take care of those boys. She's better than nothing, I guess." I sighed. "I do know that if I'm ever in a fight, I definitely want Daphne on my side."
I shut my eyes. I felt his fingertips feather over my eyelids.
Scott said, "I wonder if we can trust everything Phil told us."
"His answers were a little evasive on a couple of points"—I opened my eyes—"but overall I think we can trust him."
"Can you believe they both had sex with Greg's sister?"
"I don't want to think about that part. The kid's had an incredible life."
"Are you going to open the envelope Phil gave you?"
"No."
"It could be information about his whereabouts."
"He gave it to me because he trusted me. I'm going to deliver it intact. I will ask Keith if he'll let me see the contents, but that's all."
"I suppose you're right. Jim Evans must've been a sick man. I haven't heard one person say anything good about him."
"Yeah. Nobody we talked to is sad he's dead. I'll need to talk to Greg tomorrow. He wasn't very truthful last time. Greg may know more than he told Phil. You know, another thing Phil said made me think."
"What's that?"
"Maybe somebody else walked in on Evans while he molested their daughter. Some father or mother he couldn't bully into silence. Some parent angry enough to kill."
"That's real possible," Scott said.
"I'm going to try Meg to find out more about the father's money situation. She mentioned it when I talked to her. I wonder where the money came from. If at times he had a lot more, I wonder if he tried to rip off the school."
"You think that's possible?"
"He had to get the money somewhere. I'm also going to do the obvious. When we stop at the Evanses' house to deliver Phil's message, I want to ask Mrs. Evans if she knows anything. I doubt she will."
"Are you going to tell her we saw Phil?"
"I think so. That was the original point of this whole thing. It's almost impossible not to. If we're there to give Keith a message, the lies could get too elaborate. Keith might slip and tell her anyway."
"What if she tells the police? They'll be pissed you didn't tell them."
"Let's hope the police never find out. I'll have to think about what to tell them and how to handle it—if we decide to tell them. You're right though. They won't like it that we talked to Phil and didn't let them in on it. I don't want to be around when Robertson finds out."
We fell silent. He continued his caresses. I began to feel drowsy. "We should get to bed," I muttered.
He leaned down and kissed me. We went to bed, but not directly to sleep.
* * *
Scott drove me to school. He promised to pick me up at five o'clock for the trip to the Evanses' house.
At noon I sought out Meg. After leaving a parent volunteer in charge, we entered her office.
"How's the investigation going?" she asked.
"We found Phil."
"Is he all right?"
"As far as I could tell. But we couldn't convince him to come back."
"That's rough. Do the police know?"
"Not 'yet."
"Be careful. They could become nasty."
I told her what we learned from Phil. Her eyes blazed when I told her about Evans's relations with students.
"That
"Save it," she said. "Don't bother me anymore, and don't come in my bar again. That'll be thanks enough." She squeezed into a cab.
* * *
"She's an unbelievable woman," Scott said.
It was several hours later. We'd eaten dinner at Jerome's, one of our favorite restaurants. We were relaxing in Scott's living room in front of the fireplace. I'd built a fire. He sat up against a couch. I had my head in his lap, my feet rested on a low pile of cushions. As we talked he outlined the curves and valley of my face with his fingertips.
"I have mixed feelings about her," I said. "I think she's exaggerating about the bar owners. The ones I've met are decent people, trying to make a living like the rest of us. I don't agree with what she's doing with those kids, but I understand her reasons. Society will never take care of those boys. She's better than nothing, I guess." I sighed. "I do know that if I'm ever in a fight, I definitely want Daphne on my side."
I shut my eyes. I felt his fingertips feather over my eyelids.
Scott said, "I wonder if we can trust everything Phil told us."
"His answers were a little evasive on a couple of points"—I opened my eyes—"but overall I think we can trust him."
"Can you believe they both had sex with Greg's sister?"
"I don't want to think about that part. The kid's had an incredible life."
"Are you going to open the envelope Phil gave you?"
"No."
"It could be information about his whereabouts."
"He gave it to me because he trusted me. I'm going to deliver it intact. I will ask Keith if he'll let me see the contents, but that's all."
"I suppose you're right. Jim Evans must've been a sick man. I haven't heard one person say anything good about him."
"Yeah. Nobody we talked to is sad he's dead. I'll need to talk to Greg tomorrow. He wasn't very truthful last time. Greg may know more than he told Phil. You know, another thing Phil said made me think."
"What's that?"
"Maybe somebody else walked in on Evans while he molested their daughter. Some father or mother he couldn't bully into silence. Some parent angry enough to kill."
"That's real possible," Scott said.
"I'm going to try Meg to find out more about the father's money situation. She mentioned it when I talked to her. I wonder where the money came from. If at times he had a lot more, I wonder if he tried to rip off the school."
"You think that's possible?"
"He had to get the money somewhere. I'm also going to do the obvious. When we stop at the Evanses' house to deliver Phil's message, I want to ask Mrs. Evans if she knows anything. I doubt she will."
"Are you going to tell her we saw Phil?"
"I think so. That was the original point of this whole thing. It's almost impossible not to. If we're there to give Keith a message, the lies could get too elaborate. Keith might slip and tell her anyway."
"What if she tells the police? They'll be pissed you didn't tell them."
"Let's hope the police never find out. I'll have to think about what to tell them and how to handle it—if we decide to tell them. You're right though. They won't like it that we talked to Phil and didn't let them in on it. I don't want to be around when Robertson finds out."
We fell silent. He continued his caresses. I began to feel drowsy. "We should get to bed," I muttered.
He leaned down and kissed me. We went to bed, but not directly to sleep.
* * *
Scott drove me to school. He promised to pick me up at five o'clock for the trip to the Evanses' house.
At noon I sought out Meg. After leaving a parent volunteer in charge, we entered her office.
"How's the investigation going?" she asked.
"We found Phil."
"Is he all right?"
"As far as I could tell. But we couldn't convince him to come back."
"That's rough. Do the police know?"
"Not 'yet."
"Be careful. They could become nasty."
I told her what we learned from Phil. Her eyes blazed when I told her about Evans's relations with students.
"That
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