“That’s a long walk,” she said. “We have a pregnant woman in our group and quite frankly I don’t think she could make it. No, Mr. Church told me about a food distribution warehouse forty or so miles from here. It was overrun at first, but he said that the people who were there had not acted in practical ways. He found the place and cleared it out, then sealed it so that it would be accessible to travelers who knew how to get in. Even left an inventory of the supplies and refilled the tanks on the generator. He hid some weapons and told me where to find them. I had the impression that he was very particular about who he trusted with this information. He even told me a code phrase to use if someone else got there first, so they would know we were also sent by him. Does . . . that sound like the person you used to know?”

I smiled, and it was a genuine smile. Not forced. Not a wince. “Yes,” I said, “it really does. May I ask what that code phrase is?”

She hesitated. “Look, Joe, I feel that you’re a good man. You could have done us harm if you wanted to, but instead you brought us food.”

“But . . . that’s not enough for you to want to share certain details,” I said. “No problem, I get it. Who knows, maybe I’d even be able to figure it out. Church would want to use a phrase that’s easy to remember. Something simple but unique, and unexpected, given the circumstances.”

She cut me a look. “I could give you a hint, if you like. Because if you did guess, then it would tell me something.”

“Worth a try,” I said. Baskerville was standing on the road watching something, but it proved to be an owl who moved from one tree to another. I let Abigail work out the risk/reward thing on her own.

“Okay,” she said. “A hint. Something vague. Maybe too vague, because it’s a literary reference.”

“Hit me.”

“Leonard Pine.”

I actually burst out laughing. “I knew it!”

We stopped and she studied me as I laughed. A real laugh, even more real than my smile. It wasn’t that it was all that funny, but it was proof. Real proof that we were talking about Mr. Church. No doubt at all.

I said, “Vanilla wafers. That’s the code phrase, or something like it.”

She gasped. “You do know him. And extra points for understanding the reference.”