“Animal shelters—she takes the ones they’re about to put down. She brings them back to her place and trains them. The ones that are good enough she sells to the CETC; the others she keeps or finds homes for. They’re a mangy lot—there’s not a purebred in the bunch—but brother, the things they can do. Alena can look in a dog’s eyes and tell you its gift—the natural ability it has that can be developed with the right training. It’s spooky sometimes.”

“She told me her dogs pick their own names.”

“That’s right. They tell her who they are—get the idea?”

Nick shook his head. “She’s an amazing woman.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Beautiful too.”

Gunner stared into Nick’s eyes.

“I just meant—I couldn’t help but notice, that’s all.”

“My wife and I love Alena as if she were our own daughter,” Gunner said. “I go to her whenever she sends for me. I sit with her; I talk to her; I let her take Communion. You put her in danger, Nick.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“That doesn’t matter. The point is, you did—and that makes you responsible for her safety.”

“I understand.”

“I’m not sure you do. Alena is vulnerable—she’s lonely, and she’s isolated, and someone with the wrong motives could take advantage of her. She’s been deeply hurt all her life; I don’t want to see her get hurt again. I have to trust you too, Nick—I have to know you’ll look out for her.”

“That’s why I’m here, Gunner—that’s why I was at Alena’s last night. I’m not sure what happened to Marge yet—maybe she took a trip somewhere, maybe she got depressed and just took off. Who knows? Bosco the Wonder Dog just got his butt whipped by a three-legged mongrel—maybe she went shopping for a new dog. It’s only a hunch I have about Marge, but I wanted Alena to know—just in case.”

“She needs more than a warning.”

“I know that too. I’m going back up there tomorrow morning—after I talk to the police about Marge.”

“You won’t mention Alena to the police.”

“Not a chance. Marge kept Alena out of the picture—I want to leave it that way.”

“So how can I help?”

“You can help me think,” Nick said. “If I am right about Marge, then we’ve got a killer loose—and the same guy who killed Marge knows the story behind the bodies at the Patriot Center. It looks like the murders there were spread out over a period of thirty years, and that graveyard isn’t far from here. That means the perpetrator was almost certainly a local—someone from Endor or one of the other towns nearby.”

“That makes sense.”