it out of my locker on the way out. You know the combination. But hurry up. It’s almost four-thirty and we haven’t made any arrests yet.”
“I’ll put it on in the car,” Connie said. “What about the two witnesses Ward gave us? He said they hang on Magnolia. If we find them, we can hit them with subpoenas for the grand jury. Maybe they can corroborate Ward’s story.”
“Or blow it out of the water.” Greene said.
CHAPTER 18
S leep entered Momma’s bedroom and drew the shades. It would be getting dark soon and he couldn’t risk anyone seeing the splendor of what he had done with the old place. They wouldn’t understand. But Momma appreciated it, he knew she did. Now she could relive those days, the happy times.
He opened the yellowed wedding album, flipped the gorgeous slip of parchment inscribed with his parents’ names and the names of their attendants. Sleep loved most the photograph of his mother alone, standing before a lush fall of velvet drapery. There was a corona of light behind her, perfect as the Virgin Mary’s halo, her skirts fanned out around her invisible feet. She is holding a bouquet of pale roses—probably yellow, her favorite. A cap of white artificial flowers interspersed with tiny bows of netting is perched jauntily on her head. Her hair is the deep auburn of his childhood, shining, curled and brushed away from her heart-shaped face, revealing her widow’s peak. She is smiling shyly at the camera.
The photo, of course, had been taken before all the disappointment in her life, before the old man stopped loving her. Before he started blaming her for giving him a freak for a son.
This room, the house itself, was a special gift Sleep had given her. He sauntered across the darkened room and flipped the switch on the wall.The room had a warm glow, the pink walls reflecting beautifully. His Little Things loved it. The perfect atmosphere for them.
It was also the perfect backdrop for the handsome couple as they began their lives together. Sleep walked around the room, admiring the photos he had taken of them as they sat in this room only yesterday. They looked so happy, sipping champagne, eating finger sandwiches, laughing. Then off to the park, their little Garden of Eden, away from the rest of the world. She must have been a little drunk at that point, willing to give in to him. And that was where he had to stop them. They would be frozen in time, just at that moment before she gave in to temptation, the moment before she made the decision that would lead both of them to misery. Now they could both feel the anticipation, the longing, the magic of true love. For all eternity.
He wished he could have spent more time with them at the park. It would have been wonderful to stay the night, but he could never do that. Stay too long and you leave too much of yourself. He had stood on that hill long enough to inhale the cool early autumn evening. To see stars, even with the distant city lights. Study his young lovers. Till he heard the voices of the children. Screeching. Their feet drumming the earth. Like little furies.
At least he had the pictures.
Sleep made his way around the room, stopping to admire each of the photos he had taken. Each told a different fragment of the story of these young lovers. They were a beautiful pair. He was happy for them. They had been given the gift of eternal happiness. He lay down on Momma’s bed, closed his eyes and imagined himself back on the hill with them, breathing in the smell of the woods, sharing in their unbridled love.
Momma would be so proud of him, of all he’d accomplished, of who he had become.
CHAPTER 19
I love you, honey.” Alves was using the phone in the conference room to get the privacy that he couldn’t get at his work cubicle. “Tell Iris and Angel I love them.”
“What time will you be home?” she asked. She didn’t sound angry, more disappointed, frustrated.
“Late. We just came up from the press conference. The plan
“I’ll put it on in the car,” Connie said. “What about the two witnesses Ward gave us? He said they hang on Magnolia. If we find them, we can hit them with subpoenas for the grand jury. Maybe they can corroborate Ward’s story.”
“Or blow it out of the water.” Greene said.
CHAPTER 18
S leep entered Momma’s bedroom and drew the shades. It would be getting dark soon and he couldn’t risk anyone seeing the splendor of what he had done with the old place. They wouldn’t understand. But Momma appreciated it, he knew she did. Now she could relive those days, the happy times.
He opened the yellowed wedding album, flipped the gorgeous slip of parchment inscribed with his parents’ names and the names of their attendants. Sleep loved most the photograph of his mother alone, standing before a lush fall of velvet drapery. There was a corona of light behind her, perfect as the Virgin Mary’s halo, her skirts fanned out around her invisible feet. She is holding a bouquet of pale roses—probably yellow, her favorite. A cap of white artificial flowers interspersed with tiny bows of netting is perched jauntily on her head. Her hair is the deep auburn of his childhood, shining, curled and brushed away from her heart-shaped face, revealing her widow’s peak. She is smiling shyly at the camera.
The photo, of course, had been taken before all the disappointment in her life, before the old man stopped loving her. Before he started blaming her for giving him a freak for a son.
This room, the house itself, was a special gift Sleep had given her. He sauntered across the darkened room and flipped the switch on the wall.The room had a warm glow, the pink walls reflecting beautifully. His Little Things loved it. The perfect atmosphere for them.
It was also the perfect backdrop for the handsome couple as they began their lives together. Sleep walked around the room, admiring the photos he had taken of them as they sat in this room only yesterday. They looked so happy, sipping champagne, eating finger sandwiches, laughing. Then off to the park, their little Garden of Eden, away from the rest of the world. She must have been a little drunk at that point, willing to give in to him. And that was where he had to stop them. They would be frozen in time, just at that moment before she gave in to temptation, the moment before she made the decision that would lead both of them to misery. Now they could both feel the anticipation, the longing, the magic of true love. For all eternity.
He wished he could have spent more time with them at the park. It would have been wonderful to stay the night, but he could never do that. Stay too long and you leave too much of yourself. He had stood on that hill long enough to inhale the cool early autumn evening. To see stars, even with the distant city lights. Study his young lovers. Till he heard the voices of the children. Screeching. Their feet drumming the earth. Like little furies.
At least he had the pictures.
Sleep made his way around the room, stopping to admire each of the photos he had taken. Each told a different fragment of the story of these young lovers. They were a beautiful pair. He was happy for them. They had been given the gift of eternal happiness. He lay down on Momma’s bed, closed his eyes and imagined himself back on the hill with them, breathing in the smell of the woods, sharing in their unbridled love.
Momma would be so proud of him, of all he’d accomplished, of who he had become.
CHAPTER 19
I love you, honey.” Alves was using the phone in the conference room to get the privacy that he couldn’t get at his work cubicle. “Tell Iris and Angel I love them.”
“What time will you be home?” she asked. She didn’t sound angry, more disappointed, frustrated.
“Late. We just came up from the press conference. The plan
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