Page 34 of Listen to Me

Thunderstorms were forecast and Janecould not help glancing up every few minutes as dark clouds rolled toward the cemetery. She’d read that the worst place to be standing when lightning struck was on a knoll or under a tree, and that’s exactly where she and Frost were now, on a knoll beneath the spreading branches of a Japanese maple. From this vantage point they could watch the mourners gathered at Sofia Suarez’s open grave. Months ago, when Sofia had buried her husband Tony here in this same cemetery, did she have any inkling that she’d be joining him so soon? When she visited his grave and gazed at these rolling lawns and manicured shrubs, had she pictured her own eternity in this place?

The distant rumble of thunder made Jane once again look up at the clouds. The graveside service was at an end and there was no reason for Jane and Frost to linger here much longer. They’d been watching for any guest who’d come not to mourn but to gloat or to celebrate, but Jane saw only genuine sorrow on thesefaces, and she recognized many of them: Dr. Antrim. The nurses from the hospital. Sofia’s neighbors Mrs. Leong and Jamal Bird with his mother. Not many teenagers would bother to show up at the funeral for a middle-aged neighbor, but there was Jamal, somberly dressed in black except for his bright blue Nikes.

“It’s starting to rain. Call it a day?” said Frost.

“Hold on. Dr. Antrim’s coming this way.”

Antrim waved as he crossed toward them, accompanied by a slender young woman who walked with a cane. “I was hoping to talk to you,” he said. “We’re all wondering if there’s any news on the case.”

“We’re making progress” was all Jane could say.

“Do you have any idea who…”

“Not yet, I’m afraid.” She looked at the young woman standing beside him, the tip of her cane sunk into the wet grass. Her jet-black hair, cut in a stylish bob, was a startling contrast to her pale skin. She had the ghostly pallor of someone who has not been outdoors in a long time. “Is this your daughter, Amy?”

“Yes.” Antrim smiled. “She’s finally back on her feet. Although this grass isn’t the easiest place for her to walk.”

“I needed to come,” said Amy. “She took such good care of me in the hospital, and I never really thanked her.”

“She spent two long weeks in the hospital,” Antrim said, smiling at his daughter. “It was touch-and-go for a few days, but Amy’s a fighter. She might not look it now, but she is.” He turned to Jane. “They never caught the driver who hit her, and it’s been weeks since we’ve had an update from the police. Maybe you could—”

“Dad,” said Amy.

“Well, she can check, can’t she?”

“I’ll call the investigating officer and see if there’s been anyprogress,” said Jane. “But after this much time, I wouldn’t be too hopeful.”

Thunder grumbled closer.

“It’s raining,” said Amy. “And Mom’s waiting for us.”

“Right. She’s probably wondering where we all are.” He opened an umbrella and held it over his daughter’s head. “I hope you’ll both come too,” he said to Jane and Frost.

“Where?” asked Jane.

“Our house. We’re hosting a luncheon for everyone who knew Sofia. My wife’s arranged for catering, which means there’ll be enough food for an army. So please come.”

Something suddenly caught Jane’s eye. It was a lone figure in the distance. A man standing among the gravestones, watching them.

“Dr. Antrim,” she said. “Do you know that man?”

He turned to look in the direction she was pointing. “No. Should I?”

“He seems very interested in us.”

Now Amy turned to look as well. “Oh, that man. We were chatting earlier, outside the gate. I thought I might know him from the university, but now I’m not so sure.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He asked if I was here for a funeral.”

“Did he ask specifically about Sofia’s service?”

“I don’t think—I mean, I don’t remember.”

“Excuse us,” said Jane. “We’re going to have a little chat with him.”

She and Frost started toward the man, walking at a measured pace so they wouldn’t alarm him. He turned and began walking away.

---