[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] 140 E li zabeth B loom person booth, nursing a can of Sprite. He stood up when he saw her approaching the table, because that was the way he d been raised.  Lavoie, he said.  Glad to see you re not drowned.  You heard about that, huh?  Front page of the Transcript, he said.  Hard to miss. She took a seat opposite, the hard Formica booth a medieval torture device for her aching coccyx.  Thanks for meeting me, she said. He nodded his You re welcome.  I figured you wanted to talk about Danny.  Yeah. She shifted, trying for a more comfortable position.  Hey, I met your little girls at Sonya s. Pretty gorgeous pair. He rolled his eyes in mock horror.  God help me when they re sixteen.  Maybe they ll be angels. Just like me. He let that one pass.  You know we ve got three older girls, too. The Good Lord s idea of a joke.  Huh?  Three kids would ve been plenty, but I talked my wife into trying for a son, male chauvinist pig that I am. Wound up with twin daughters. He smiled at the memory.  And you want to hear the kicker? We only have one bathroom.  Wow. He looked at his watch.  Do you mind if we go ahead and order? I gotta be back for practice in an hour. Ginny consulted the menu, flirted with the idea of ordering a salad that would doubtless turn out to be a gummy tomato slice on iceberg, and wound up asking for another Skillet Burger. She waited for Coach Hank to reprove her, until he or- dered the same.  Okay to eat it, he said to her raised eyebrow,  long as you burn it. T he M or ti ci an s D aughter 141  Amen. He popped open his second Sprite and took a long drink.  So what can I tell you? She leaned forward, hoping to relieve the pressure on her tailbone.  Well . . . did you get the idea that Danny was in any sort of trouble? The coach thought about it, running a hand through a thick shock of graying blond hair. He was definitely showing his age his face had the lines of a fair-skinned person who spent too much time in the sun but he was still a handsome guy. When she was in school, though, he d been movie-star gorgeous: half the girls running team started wearing their uniform tops a size too tight, just in the hopes he d notice.  You gotta remember, he said,  I hadn t seen much of him since graduation. It wasn t like he was still on the team. But I gotta say, the last couple times I saw him, he didn t seem like himself.  How so?  Can t put my finger on it. It was more like, you know how sometimes kids are different with one set of friends than an- other? Like they can be real polite around some people and lit- tle smart alecks around some others?  You saying you think Danny was getting in with the wrong crowd?  Yeah, maybe. And I don t want to come off like some old fogy. It wasn t just that he needed a shave. It was more like an attitude shift, you know? Like he was always on the straight and narrow, and suddenly it was like, screw the world. She looked him in the eye.  Did you ever think he might have gotten mixed up with drugs?  It crossed my mind. Town isn t the same place you and I grew up in, believe you me. A shadow crossed his face, like the subject was hitting close to home. She wondered whether he was thinking of a student or one of those golden-haired 142 E li zabeth B loom daughters.  But I don t know for sure, he continued.  I never caught him stoned, nothing like that.  Did he ever seem scared to you? The question seemed to surprise him.  Scared? Danny? Nah. Why would you ask?  Just standard.  Well, there was one thing. I didn t think anything of it at the time.  What happened?  The last time I saw Danny was a Sunday afternoon a few days before he died. The girls wanted subs, so I scooted down to Angelina s to pick them up, and I saw Danny standing by his truck in the parking lot by the overpass, looking like he d just lost his best friend. So I pulled over, and it turned out somebody d let the air out of all four of his tires while he was working at the Skil- let. I asked him why didn t he get his folks to pick him up, but he said he didn t want to bother them. I offered him a ride, but he said he was gonna call one of his buddies who had an air pump.  And he didn t say who he thought might have done it? Coach Hank shook his head.  He downplayed the whole thing, said it must be some kids having a joke, but naturally, he was mad as hell. Like I said, I didn t think anything of it till just now.  What about his social life? Was he dating anybody besides Monique St. Cyr?  I thought the two of them were practically engaged.  I was just wondering. Anything else? The coach seemed to debate something in his head, then come to a conclusion.  Well, he said,  it probably doesn t matter, but a while before he died he did ask me something out of the blue.  What s that? He paused to wave at the two men who were being seated at a nearby table: Father LeGrand and Mr. Dulaine, bank president T he M or ti ci an s D aughter 143 and church deacon. Ginny had gone to school with his kids, whom she recalled as the sort of uptight prigs who ratted when the teacher forgot to assign the homework. The two men hung their overcoats on poles between the booths and stopped by to shake hands. Mr. Dulaine his first name, she now recalled, was Arthur praised one of Hank s daughters for winning an ice-skating medal. Still holding his hand in hers, Father LeGrand told Ginny he hoped to see her in church on Sunday.  It was good of you to attend Jack O Brien s burial, Father LeGrand said.  It was good of you to bury him, she said, and meant it.  I thought suicides couldn t have a church funeral. Arthur Dulaine opened his mouth to say something, then apparently thought better of it.  Jack was a very sick man, the priest replied.  As I saw it, he wasn t capable of making any rational decisions, least of all to end his own life. His illness killed him.  That s one way of looking at it, Dulaine said. His voice was even, but his jaw was clenched.  The man s only sin was refusing help, said Father LeGrand.  What about the sin he was in jail for? Dulaine asked through a tight-lipped smile.  What about the Sixth Command- ment? Thou shalt not kill?  Danny s own mother doesn t think Jack was guilty, the priest said.  That s good enough for me. They said their good-byes and sat down at their own table. Ginny s eyes widened.  Tough customer, she said. Coach Hank shot a glance in Dulaine s direction, then leaned [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl blacksoulman.xlx.pl