“I’m sure you would get through it. I know her spirit will be standing with you, and I know she wants you to do this.”

“Well, it’s probably a moot point, anyway, because someone else in her family will want to do it, or maybe the pastor will just say a few words, so I don’t think it would be right to bring it up. If they want me to do it, then I’ll consider it, but don’t volunteer me.”

“I’ll bet that once I tell them about the dre—”

“Tell them about the dream? Don’t do that! It was just a dream!”

They needed to have a little spat, just to try to talk about something else, though there was no escaping “it.” Mitch stewed a little, and felt like he was letting Rachel down; then, a few minutes later, Carolyn tenderly ran the back of her fingers along his cheek and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll know what to do when the time comes. I just can’t think straight.”

They left the interstate and headed toward a side road. The most direct route to Tom and Anna Schroeder’s house would have taken them past Danny and Rachel’s, but they went out of their way to avoid Caves Road. They both felt a mixture of dread and anticipation once they saw the sign for the road that led to the Schroeders’ house.

In a few minutes they would be introduced to the detective assigned to the case. Normally such a meeting with the family would have taken place at the police station, but, because of the media presence camped out at all the logical locations, it was agreed to meet somewhere private. All Mitch knew was that the homicide detective was named Thompson, and that Tom Schroeder knew him because their kids once played on the same basketball team. When Thompson had interviewed Tom about the discovery of the bodies, he had asked Tom to allow the family to meet at his house, and of course he had agreed. Maryann would be attending with Rachel’s younger brothers, Pete and Sam, and she had asked Carolyn to come for moral support.