From there, they went next door to where two old men had fallen asleep in front of the television—one in the recliner and one on the couch. Both sawed wood through late-night talk shows while the glow of the TV blended with the glow of Melody and Owen. On the hutch in the next room, barely visible in the dark, were photos that appeared to be from the old couple’s wedding. The two burly men, much younger, wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing, on the steps of a church, while friends and family threw rice. Their apartment was neat as a pin and there were shelves everywhere with classical music CDs and stereo records. In the corner of a room down the hall were an upright bass, an electric piano, and an array of five different saxophones, each on its own separate stand.

The night went on forever, visit after visit. He was beginning to understand what Melody had earlier alluded to. He still felt creepy about spying, but seeing what people were like when they were all alone with themselves was instructive. Owen confessed this to Melody as they drifted through the walls of an apartment building next to the grammar school. Again, the television was on and lit the scene of a young woman, sitting on the couch, feeding a baby with a bottle. She wore her hair in box braids and had on an orange tank top and gray sweatpants. Moving slightly forward and back as if in a rocking chair, she occasionally made noises to the child. The woman’s eyes were closed and she was somewhere between the world and sleep.

“The Madonna,” said Melody. She leaned over the mother to get a better look at the baby. Of course, there was no contact, but she looked at Owen and smiled. As she moved away, the glow of her arm passed over the wrist of the young woman, and he noticed a small black circle with a cross in it upon her dark skin. It was in the same spot he’d seen it on Helen’s killer, and where Mrs. Hultz said she’d spotted it on the gas station attendant. Melody pulled away but he asked her to light the area again with her arm. She did and it wasn’t his imagination. They looked at it together and turned to each other.

Melody said, “What is it? What does it mean?”