afraid I’m going to sue the building contractor or the city, is that it?”
“It could be they feel that way, yes, ma’am.”
“It never entered my mind. But what I can’t understand—why hasn’t anybody come forward who saw those men? Why can’t the police find them? I can’t believe that nobody saw them except me and a half-crazy old woman.”
“It seems strange, don’t it?”
“It couldn’t have been their first time here,” Julie said. “They’d seen that old woman before. She was the one they wanted—until I came along.”
“Bastards,” he murmured.
“A poor helpless old thing,” Julie said. “Only she was smart enough to elude them. Or dumb enough. Not like me—dashing in to save a child, I thought. I don’t suppose you heard what sounded like a baby crying?”
“No, ma’am, I didn’t.”
“Was it accidental that you came to the trailer and found me—or was it part of your rounds?”
“I don’t ordinarily go that way. Strictly speaking, I’m only responsible for the structure site itself. But from where I was I could see the door to the trailer hanging open. Those south doors to the trailers don’t get opened once they’re set on location.”
“I wonder what I’d have done if you hadn’t found me,” Julie said.
“I’m not sorry I looked and found you, understand. But if I hadn’t been off-site, like I wasn’t supposed to, I’d never have noticed at all.”
“So you got in trouble, too.”
He nodded, a twitch of a smile at the corners of his mouth. Then, at a sound rather like a door slamming except that there were no doors, he tensed and moved warily toward the well of the construction. The sound came again, only more remote, and he returned to Julie’s side. “The wind,” he said. “It’s always playing tricks on me.”
“Maybe we could talk somewhere later,” she said, and, with a solicitude she hoped did not sound false, “I don’t want to get you into more trouble now.”
“I think we’d be all right in the place we call the office. I’ll eat my lunch so’s to make it legit. My name’s Sam Togarth, by the way.”
“Julie Hayes.”
“I know. Matter of fact, I wanted to come and see you in the hospital, Mrs. Hayes.”
“I didn’t want to see anybody.”
“That’s what my wife said, and they wouldn’t let me in anyway.”
The office was where Julie, peering through a crack in the siding, had seen the lights. It consisted of nothing more than a large table to lay out plans on and a couple of folding chairs. Like those in the trailer. The wind whipped in around the boards; it smelled of a river and nipped at her ankles as well as her nose. Togarth poured two cups of coffee from his thermos, and she was grateful to share it.
“Seems like the police got a lead on one of them,” the watchman said, not knowing that she’d had a hand in turning up the information. “He’s got red hair and some kind of limp. I never seen him to my memory. Redheads don’t come a dime a dozen. I just don’t think they’re on this project. The guys wouldn’t cover for them, not if they done something like that.”
“Could they have known where you were, Mr. Togarth? They must have known there was a guard somewhere around.”
“That’s a touchy question, and I’ll tell you why: I was over in the Traffic Police barn. And if they knew that, if they seen me there … you understand?”
“I get it,” Julie said.
“Weekends there ain’t much doing on the streets, so sometimes there’s a running poker game. The guys drift in and out. Somebody could’ve known I was sitting in on the game, but there was no way for them to know when I was going to pull out of it.”
“They had a car. Could they have left it there?”
“I don’t think so. I think they come up on the service road, turned in between the construction and the trailers, and parked up a ways. Nobody would’ve noticed.”
Including Julie Hayes. She had come that way.
“I got a
“It could be they feel that way, yes, ma’am.”
“It never entered my mind. But what I can’t understand—why hasn’t anybody come forward who saw those men? Why can’t the police find them? I can’t believe that nobody saw them except me and a half-crazy old woman.”
“It seems strange, don’t it?”
“It couldn’t have been their first time here,” Julie said. “They’d seen that old woman before. She was the one they wanted—until I came along.”
“Bastards,” he murmured.
“A poor helpless old thing,” Julie said. “Only she was smart enough to elude them. Or dumb enough. Not like me—dashing in to save a child, I thought. I don’t suppose you heard what sounded like a baby crying?”
“No, ma’am, I didn’t.”
“Was it accidental that you came to the trailer and found me—or was it part of your rounds?”
“I don’t ordinarily go that way. Strictly speaking, I’m only responsible for the structure site itself. But from where I was I could see the door to the trailer hanging open. Those south doors to the trailers don’t get opened once they’re set on location.”
“I wonder what I’d have done if you hadn’t found me,” Julie said.
“I’m not sorry I looked and found you, understand. But if I hadn’t been off-site, like I wasn’t supposed to, I’d never have noticed at all.”
“So you got in trouble, too.”
He nodded, a twitch of a smile at the corners of his mouth. Then, at a sound rather like a door slamming except that there were no doors, he tensed and moved warily toward the well of the construction. The sound came again, only more remote, and he returned to Julie’s side. “The wind,” he said. “It’s always playing tricks on me.”
“Maybe we could talk somewhere later,” she said, and, with a solicitude she hoped did not sound false, “I don’t want to get you into more trouble now.”
“I think we’d be all right in the place we call the office. I’ll eat my lunch so’s to make it legit. My name’s Sam Togarth, by the way.”
“Julie Hayes.”
“I know. Matter of fact, I wanted to come and see you in the hospital, Mrs. Hayes.”
“I didn’t want to see anybody.”
“That’s what my wife said, and they wouldn’t let me in anyway.”
The office was where Julie, peering through a crack in the siding, had seen the lights. It consisted of nothing more than a large table to lay out plans on and a couple of folding chairs. Like those in the trailer. The wind whipped in around the boards; it smelled of a river and nipped at her ankles as well as her nose. Togarth poured two cups of coffee from his thermos, and she was grateful to share it.
“Seems like the police got a lead on one of them,” the watchman said, not knowing that she’d had a hand in turning up the information. “He’s got red hair and some kind of limp. I never seen him to my memory. Redheads don’t come a dime a dozen. I just don’t think they’re on this project. The guys wouldn’t cover for them, not if they done something like that.”
“Could they have known where you were, Mr. Togarth? They must have known there was a guard somewhere around.”
“That’s a touchy question, and I’ll tell you why: I was over in the Traffic Police barn. And if they knew that, if they seen me there … you understand?”
“I get it,” Julie said.
“Weekends there ain’t much doing on the streets, so sometimes there’s a running poker game. The guys drift in and out. Somebody could’ve known I was sitting in on the game, but there was no way for them to know when I was going to pull out of it.”
“They had a car. Could they have left it there?”
“I don’t think so. I think they come up on the service road, turned in between the construction and the trailers, and parked up a ways. Nobody would’ve noticed.”
Including Julie Hayes. She had come that way.
“I got a
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