“No,” I said. “She was more direct than that. There was nothing complex or devious about what she was trying to say.”
“Honey,” said Sandy in her sugar-coated voice, “you don’t tell us in five seconds I’m going to pull your ears off and these folks gonna help me.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “So who can quote the speech?”
‘“Friends, Romans, Countrymen …’” said Mancuso and Katherine together and then halted, looking at each other in disbelief.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” said Sandy. “Do you mean?”
I nodded and finished for them: “‘Lend me your ears.’”
“I may be sick again,” O’Rourke warned.
“I may join you,” Mancuso said. “Holy name of God.”
There was a car coming toward us now and as it passed I caught a quick glimpse of the occupants.
“Turn around,” I said to Mancuso. “Go back to the grave site.”
“What?”
“Please. Just for a minute.”
He shrugged. “What the hell.”
The car ahead of us wound up over the hill and finally halted near the place where we had parked. In the distance, I saw Will Folsom, standing alone under the little canopy over the fresh grave.
The car door opened and a woman got out. She stood shakily and a man came around from the other side and caught her arm. I relaxed finally, glad my phone call had done some good. I’d never met him, of course. All I knew was that he was a cousin and that when we’d spoken he’d shown concern.
Arm in arm they started up the hill toward the canopy.
“Hey,” Sandy said. “That’s Jenny.”
I nodded, watching them approach the old man. He turned his head as they approached, as if unsure who they were, but when they got to where he stood he let her take his hand. They were still standing like that when I signed for Mancuso to take us home.
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Copyright © 1990 by Malcolm K. Shuman
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The Caesar Clue (The Micah Dunn Mysteries) Page 22