I shared with her my impressions of Tally Ames, her family, and her way of life and April listened intently while the clock edged closer to eight. When I’d finished, she said, “Use your phone?”

Her first call was to her school to tell them that she wouldn’t be in that day and that the substitute would find today’s lesson plans on her desk under her roll book.

Next, she called Robert, who lives here on the extended farm, too. He was on his way out to cut silage when Doris called him back in. April was concise. “Andrew’s drunk as a skunk, Robert. I’m going to call Seth to come help you, and I’d appreciate it if y’all would take him out to the barn, throw him under that cold shower out there and see if you can sober him up.”

Lastly, she called Seth, explained that Robert needed his help with Andrew, then asked him to put Minnie on. Years in the classroom had given April the ability to convey a lot of information in clear, short sentences, and she explained the situation to Minnie a lot quicker than I could have done it.

“So thanks for letting the kids stay over there last night and I’d appreciate it if you’d let all the others know about the funeral,” she said as she hung up.

I admit that I was standing there with my mouth open.

“I’m going to go take a shower and get dressed and drive over to Dobbs,” she told me. “Shouldn’t you be getting dressed, too?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

When she’d gone, I called Daddy to give him a heads-up on April and how she’d told Minnie to get the word out. “And I talked to Tally, too. The funeral’s scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.”

“Yeah, Duck Aldcroft’s people are coming to open the grave this morning,” he said. “Anything else, shug?”

“No,” I lied. “That’s about it.”

“Fine,” he said, and hung up.

Driving into Dobbs, my thoughts were focused on April, Andrew, and Tally, with forebodings about the funeral tomorrow, but as I started to get out of my car in the parking lot across the street from the courthouse, I saw Dwight heading toward the departmental lot diagonally across the street from where I was parked. The mere sight of him flooded all my senses and it was as if the bottom had dropped out of my stomach.

He had his back to me and was in deep conversation with three other officers. They stood there on the sidewalk talking for another moment or two before Raeford McLamb got into one of the squad cars with Jack Jamison, and Mayleen Richards went off alone in another. I saw Dwight check his watch, then he drove off alone, too.