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sympathize with this perverse attitude: but I couldn’t any longer. It just made me feel tired.

two

    NO one wanted to talk to us, or needed to talk to us, any longer. In fact, the very sight of me was giving Mayor Terry Vale a serious case of the cold creepies. He was the least connected to the case, and in fact I couldn’t figure out his continued presence, but the others appeared to be worried about his peace of mind, so Tolliver and I took our leave.
    A series of phone calls had revealed that Teenie’s dentist, Dr. Kerry, was out of town for the next four days. The body could only be identified in Little Rock. Sheriff Branscom had called the state crime lab, and they’d said as soon as they got the body they’d confirm the identification first thing, before they did their full work-up. Since the Arkansas crime lab is notoriously behind, that was a good concession. Branscom had a copy of Teenie’s dental records to send down with the body.
    We wouldn’t get a check from Sybil until the body wasdeclared to be that of Teenie Hopkins, so it looked like we’d be stuck in Sarne at least twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours with nothing to do. We spend a lot of time waiting, but it’s not easy.
    â€œThe motel’s got HBO,” Tolliver said. “Maybe we can catch a movie we haven’t seen.”
    But after we’d reviewed the movie list and discovered we’d already seen the ones we were at all interested in seeing, Tolliver left to pursue the waitress from the diner. Not that he spelled it out for me, but I figured.
    I was too restless to read, and I’d warmed up enough to discard the crawling-into-bed plan. I’ve gotten into doing my fingernails and toenails, just to have a hobby. So I got out my manicure kit, and I was painting my toenails a deep, almost golden red, when Hollis Boxleitner knocked on my door.
    â€œCan I come in?” he asked. I leaned sideways to look past him, checking to make sure he wasn’t in a police car. Nope. Though he was still in his uniform, he was driving his own vehicle, an electric-blue Ford pickup.
    â€œI guess,” I said. I left the door open to the beautiful day, and the big deputy didn’t protest. Hollis Boxleitner sat in one of the two chairs. I took the other one, after offering him a can of Fresca that was chilly and wet from the ice chest. He popped the tab and took a gulp. I propped my foot up on the edge of the table and continued my pedicure.
    â€œYou want to go down to the restaurant, have some chicken-fried steak?” he asked.
    â€œNo thanks.” It was a little past one o’clock, so I should eat something, but I wasn’t feeling too hungry.
    â€œNot the calories, is it? You could use some more flesh on your bones.”
    â€œNo, not the calories.” I stroked the brush very carefully from base to end of my big toenail.
    â€œYour brother’s already down there. He’s having a conversation with Janine.”
    I shrugged.
    â€œWhat about the Sonic?” I darted a glance at him, but he only looked mildly inquiring.
    â€œWhat do you want?” I asked. I don’t like being maneuvered.
    He looked at me, put the can of soda down. “I just want to talk to you a little bit about Monteen Hopkins. My sister-in-law. The girl you think we found today.”
    â€œI don’t need to know anything else about her.” It was better not to. I knew enough. I knew about her last moments on earth. That was as personal as you could get. “And I guarantee,” I added, since I have professional pride, “the body we found is Monteen Hopkins.”
    He looked at his empty hands, big hands with golden hair on the backs. “I was afraid you’d say that,” he said, falling quiet for a minute. “Come on, let’s get a milk shake. I was the one who threw up at the site, and even my stomach is saying it needs something. So I know yours has got to be