“Let’s get out of here while the getting’s good,” he said, and we slid into his truck as quickly as we could. Tolliver had to give me a boost. We were really jammed in, since Parker had brought his son Carson. He introduced us, and even under the circumstances, Parker’s pride in the boy shone through.

Carson was a dark boy, with a husky build. He was short; he hadn’t gotten his growth yet. He had a broad face like his grandmother, and his eyes were clear and brown. He was subdued and silent, which I guess was no wonder, since the body of his brother had been discovered.

“Our car’s at the back of the police station,” Tolliver said, and Parker nodded. He seemed friendly enough, but he was a man of few words.

However, once we were clear of the media traffic Parker said, “I didn’t get a chance to thank you the other day. We didn’t show you any hospitality, either, but I guess you can understand why.”

“Yes,” I said, and Tolliver nodded. “Don’t think twice about it. We did the job we came here to do.”

“Yes, you did it. You didn’t take my mama’s money and run for the hills with it. She’s a woman who’s always done what she thought was right, and she thought calling you two in was right. I don’t mind telling you, I disagreed with her real strong, and I told her so. But she knew her own mind, and she was right. Them other two…” He shook his head. “We didn’t know how lucky we was with you-all until we saw those two.”

He meant Manfred and Xylda. I glanced to my side to see how Carson was taking all this. He was certainly listening, but he didn’t seem upset.

“I’m glad you have a high opinion of us,” I said, struggling to find a way to express myself tactfully. “But you really can’t judge a book by its cover, at least in Xylda Bernardo’s case. She’s the real deal. I do realize that the way she looks and acts does put some people off.” I hoped I’d been conciliatory enough to coax him into listening to me.

“That was real Christian of you,” Parker McGraw said after he’d thought over my words for a few minutes. Just when I was beginning to think the subject was closed he added, “But I guess we’ll be coming to you for all our supernatural needs.” He had a sense of humor after all. But it went back behind the cloud of his grief as soon as I’d glimpsed it. “It don’t seem right, enjoying anything, when our son is gone from this earth.” In a gesture that just about broke my heart, Carson laid his head on his dad’s shoulder just for a second.