“Ready to go, Bobby?” His wife, Mary, stood at the corner of the bed, a tall, unusually thin woman born and raised in St. Boudin, a woman who had married an American but had never given up her French roots. She still spoke French to the people who would listen, still visited the graveyard where her father and mother and distant relatives were buried, still observed the Saints’ days that came and went without much celebration.

Goddamn her, Bobby thought suddenly. Goddamn all these people. He took her arm, all bone and loose skin, and guided her towards the door. The funeral would begin in an hour, and he hoped to sneak out early. Joe wouldn’t mind, he thought. He’d understand. Funerals were more for the living than the dead, and Bobby didn’t want to be a part of all that today. He was too busy thinking about how he’d screwed up and let the pressure get to him, and how maybe that had caused Joe Thibideau to die.

Before they reached the car, he tried to convince himself again that he had done the right thing, that the killer had moved on and that he would only be risking his job if he had called anyone else in. But he couldn’t quite do it.

The old arguments weren’t working very well any- more.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Around noontime the following day, Helen decided to go shopping and explore the local area. David had some work to do, and Jessie decided she would rather stay with him than ride around with her mother, which was probably a wise decision. So, with her bright and happy dreams of a family excursion fading rapidly, Helen climbed determinedly into the car and cranked the engine. It turned over lazily for several moments before finally catching. Even the car wanted to stay home, it seemed.

At the end of the long driveway, she held up for a moment and then turned right impulsively, away from the highway and the way they came in. The only thing she knew was that St. Boudin was around here someplace, and she could find some sort of general store there where gas and groceries were available, for a price (a very high price; Hank had mentioned that yesterday).

David had sat with Hank long after he’d signed some paperwork and the deal was done. It was all too easy. The company was handling all the difficult stuff (as well as the check).

In fact, it seemed to her like Hydro Development was eager to get them settled in, like they were almost begging them to take the house, medical and dental plans, everything and anything as long as David was happy. And that was funny, for though she didn’t like to admit it, competition for David’s services had not exactly been banging down the door.