A Crowe nod.

Another question answered.

'How's your situation with Larke Tyrel?'

I laughed.

'Two days ago I received a letter of commendation from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner assuming ful responsibility for the misunderstanding, exonerating me of any wrongdoing, and thanking me for my invaluable contribution to the Air TransSouth recovery. Copies were sent to everyone but the Duchess of York.'

We left the cemetery and walked up the blacktop to our cars. I was inserting my key when she asked another question.

'Did you identify the gargoyles on the tunnel entrance?'

'Harpocrates and Angerona were the Egyptian gods of silence, a reminder to the brothers of their oath of secrecy. Another gimmick borrowed from Sir Francis.'

'The names?'

'Literary and historic references to cannibalism. Some are pretty obscure. Sawney Beane was a fourteenth-century cave-dweling Scot. The Beane family was supposed to have slaughtered travelers and taken them home for supper. Same thing with Christie o' the Cleek. He and his family lived in a cave in Angus and dined on passing travelers.

John Gregg kept the tradition alive in eighteenth-century Devon.'

'Mr. B?'

'Baxbakualanuxsiwae.'

'Very good.'

'A Kwakiutl tribal spirit, a bearlike monster whose body was covered with bloody, snarling mouths.'

'Patron saint of the Hamatsa.'

'That's him.'

'And the code names?'

'Pharaohs, gods, archaeological discoveries, characters in ancient tales. Henry Preston was Ilus, the founder of Troy. Kendal Rolins was Piankhy, an ancient Nubian king.

Listen to this. Parker Davenport chose the Aztec god Ometeotl, the lord of duality. Do you suppose he was aware of the irony?'

'Ever take a close look at the seal of the State of North Carolina?'

I admitted that I hadn't.

'The motto is from Cicero's "Essay on Friendship" — "Esse Quam Videri."'

The Coke-bottle eyes held mine.

'"To be rather than to seem."'

===OO=OOO=OO===

Winding down Schoolhouse Hil, I couldn't help but notice a bumper sticker on the car ahead.

Where will you spend eternity?

Though placed in a broader time frame than I'd been considering, the decal posed the same question that was on my mind. Where would I spend the time ahead? More pointedly, with whom?

During my convalescence, Pete had been caring and helpful, bringing flowers, feeding Birdie, heating soup in the microwave. We'd watched old movies, engaged in long conversations. When he was away, I spent hours recaling our life together. I remembered the good times. I remembered the fights, the minor irritations that simmered, then eventualy escalated into ful-scale battle.