LeFleur read to him about the sinking of the Galaxy. He read about the death of Bernadette, and Nevin, and the cruel fate of Mrs. Laghari. He emphasized the parts about Lambert, his haughtiness, his gluttony, his ego. He went slow and deliberate about the limpet mine in the drum case. Twice he read the part where Benji said, “We can’t play God,” and Dobby replied, “Why not? God isn’t doing anything about it.” When he read Dobby’s quote about dying in an explosion being “better than living like an ant,” he paused like a lawyer letting a damning point sink in.

Throughout the reading, Dobby sighed; at times he chuckled, and more than once he teared up. Now and then he would bury his head in his hands and sigh, “Oh, Benji.” Some of his reactions seemed odd to LeFleur, but then the whole scene was odd, reading the notebook of a dead cousin in a destroyed church, talking about God appearing in a lifeboat.

It was midafternoon when LeFleur finished. He had been so engrossed in reading the pages, he’d barely noticed the time. When he read the final line, where the little girl named Alice said “I am the Lord. And I will never leave you,” LeFleur closed the notebook and used his sleeve to wipe ashy sweat from his forehead. He stood up, the gun still pointed at Dobby.

To his surprise, Dobby immediately made eye contact. He did not seem rattled, or caught. Rather he seemed subdued with sadness, as if he’d just walked out of a funeral service.

“That’s a cry for help, man,” he said quietly.

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s delirious. He made it all up. Come on. Do you honestly believe he was in a boat with God? You’re a cop.”

“That’s right, I am,” LeFleur said, shaking the notebook. “And this has you loading a bomb onto the Galaxy, giving a reason, and going off to murder all those innocent people.”

“Yeah,” Dobby said, almost smiling. “That’s the most unbelievable part of all.”

“Oh, really?” LeFleur paused. “Why is that?”

“Because,” Dobby said, exhaling, “I’ve never set foot on that boat.”

News

ANCHOR: Tonight, an update on the search for the Galaxy, the luxury yacht that sank more than a year ago in the North Atlantic Ocean. Tyler Brewer reports.

REPORTER: Thank you, Jim. I’m with Ali Nesser, the owner of Nesser Ocean Explorations in Naples, Florida. In a few days his search vessel, the Iliad, will be scanning the Atlantic Ocean where the Galaxy is believed to have sunk. Mr. Nesser, can you explain how this process works?