“I think in February. That sounds right,” Hollis said, after a moment’s thought. “When Sybil found him, she couldn’t cope with cleaning up everything for the funeral, so she hired Helen and Sally to clean the house. Did you know Sybil used to have Helen clean her house, before Helen began drinking so bad and all? Sybil hired Barb Happ after that. I didn’t much want Sally cleaning for anyone, but Sally really enjoyed cleaning and she said she might as well do it on her day off from Wal-Mart, not only because she felt sorry for Sybil, but because she wanted some extra money for Christmas. Sally came home that day feeling real concerned about something.”

“But she didn’t give you any hints?” I’d been assuming that Sally had discovered her sister’s pregnancy, but Sally had died months before the event.

“Of course, I asked her how the job went. She said she cleaned the downstairs while her mom took the upstairs, and that’s about all she said. The study was just like it had been when Dick fell over dead, and that made her feel a little funny, she said. But that night, she searched out one of her high school textbooks. The school system discontinued this book, so the students could keep it if they wanted to, and she did. Sally was interested in some things that surprised me.”

“What book was it?”

“She had several. I can’t even remember now. I only recall it because she seemed so . . . like she was thinking real hard about something else, and then when Sally found the book, she studied over it for the longest time. That was unusual.”

“So, do you think you could remember?”

“Maybe. I’ll look this evening, see if I can find it. Seems like I remember it had a red back cover . . .” Hollis looked distant, as if his eyes were seeing a distant scene, and I guess they were.

The phone rang. I jumped about a foot. “Hello?” I said.

“Ms. Connelly?” It was a woman’s voice, heavily southern and somehow really smart.

“Yes.”

“This is Phyllis Folliette? With Huff, Moon, and Greene?”

“Right. Oh, good.” Hollis was pointing at the door, indicating he needed to leave, and I nodded and waved before returning my attention to the lawyer.

“Okay,” she said, and her voice became carefully soothing. “I hear you’re in kind of a jam, over in Sarne.”

“Yes.”

“I just wanted to tell you, I called the sheriff’s office and they said your brother wouldn’t be arraigned for two more days. I can’t bail him out until the judge sets the bail, you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And the judge won’t be there until the day after tomorrow.”

Okay, I wasn’t dumb. “I understand that two days means the day after tomorrow,” I said clearly.