“I’ve had some time,” she said. “Before I go, I wanted to ask, how is Miss Zula? Are things going along okay with the documentary?” Her tone had shifted, and she spoke in a rush. “Tony and Angie and Rivera, are they getting the help they need?”

“They seem to be,” John said slowly, suddenly on guard again, trying to make sense of the change in subject. Maybe she did know about Angie; maybe she was going to slam him with that after all, and then he would have to find the words to explain how all this had come to pass.

She was saying, “Because Miss Zula did ask me to work with them, and then I just disappeared.”

“As far as I know everything is going fine,” John said. “I can’t say I’m very comfortable with some of the topics they’re pursuing—”

“Like what?” She sounded more than interested; she sounded as if she needed to hear more.

“Well, Angie and Rivera came up with the theory that Miss Zula …” He paused. “It will sound crazy.”

“John, right now not much could surprise me,” Caroline said. “Go ahead.”

“They think Miss Zula has had a lifelong affection for Anabel Spate.” There was a short pause. “Caroline?”

“They want to out Miss Zula?”

John’s voice caught. “Are you telling me that Miss Zula has been in love with her brother’s first wife for what, fifty years? She told you this?”

“Of course not,” Caroline said. “Miss Zula would never tell me something so personal.”

“She wouldn’t tell you, but she would tell a documentary film company?”

“My sense is, she’s ready to have the story told.”

“That seems like a stretch to me.”

“You don’t know her as well as I do. And there’s something else. She’s got some kind of wager going with Miss Maddie and it has to do with Tied to the Tracks. My guess is that it has to do with how long it takes Angie and Rivera to figure out the mystery on their own.”

John was silent for a moment. “I still don’t see how you come to the conclusion that Miss Zula and Miss Anabel …” He stopped, because Caroline had hiccupped a laugh.

“I’ve seen Miss Zula with Miss Anabel many times, John, and I’m not blind. She looks at Anabel the way you look at Angie.”

For a long moment John thought he’d lost his voice for good. Then Caroline said, “John, don’t worry. I am fine with this. With all of it. Miss Zula and Tied to the Tracks will work things out between them, and you and Angie—you’ll work that out, too. I’ll see you this evening, okay?”

And then she was gone. John still held the cool plastic of the receiver against his ear. It was as empty as a seashell, filled with nothing but echoes.

NINETEEN