I stared at him, astounded.
He was several inches shorter than I, with a rounded chin and dark, warm eyes.
His suit was charcoal gray wool, his facial features bland.
Absurdly, it struck me that he looked like a really nice guy.
Oh my God,Alan breathed, barely recovering from his own shock.Do you know who this is?
Im Ruddy McCann, I finally answered Burby, releasing his hand.
He gestured as if he had a staff of workers gathered around him.
How can I help you tonight, Mr. McCann?
I was looking for the cemetery, I replied faintly.
Well, youve come to the right place, then.
The one with the toupee!
That day in the woods!
Hes one of the killers,Alan was babbling shrilly.
I closed my eyes once, hard, trying to get him to shut up.
Burby was watching me curiously.
We moved here about seven years ago.
He must own the place,Alan speculated, calming down a little.
Was that so they could build that new factory I noticed?
Yes, thats correct.
How could you do that, though?
I mean, werent the bodies buried and everything?
We moved everyone, he explained simply.
What about you, though?
Did you get compensated?
Burbys eyes lost some of their softness.
Whats this about, Mr. McCann?
I had a family member buried in the old cemetery, I lied.
How much were the families compensated?
He regarded me for several long seconds.
In the thousand-dollar range, he finally stated quietly.
May I inquire who it was you were related to?
No amount of practice could have prevented the wild look from passing through his eyes then.
Thats … impossible, he whispered.
Why do you say that, Nathan?
I know the family, he stuttered.
No one has ever mentioned …
He gestured toward me.
I had a whole group of cousins in Wisconsin,Alan advised me.
Im from Wisconsin, I explained.
Alan had a whole group of us cousins up there.
So is Alan Lottner buried here?
Did you move his body from the old cemetery?
I dont know what youve been told, but your cousin left town without a word.
What does he mean, ex-wife?Alan demanded indignantly.We werent divorced!
Im confused about something.
I dont remember Alan being divorced.
It was a simple case of abandonment.
Does she still live here?Alan asked.
Does the family still live here?
Yes, Burby answered reluctantly.
They are both living in East Jordan.
Ask him where!Alan implored.
I was more interested in a different subject.
So you sold the cemetery to the factory.
That must have made you a lot of money.
Actually, no, thats not right.
Burbys operated under a nonexclusive lease to the city of East Jordan.
The city sold the land.
Burbys surrendered lease rights in exchange for the deed to the property here.
I pushed in a slightly different direction.
Well that must have saved you a bundle, not having to make those lease payments to the city.
Burby chuckled, but there was no humor in his eyes.
Our lease formerly cost us a dollar a year.
This new arrangement subjects us to property taxes.
What does this have to do with anything?Alan asked churlishly.
May I ask why you are so interested in these matters?
Burby inquired, essentially asking the same thing.
Maybe I should just shut up and let the two of them talk to each other.
Im just trying to understand.
So the factory is on land formerly owned by the city?
Well no, not entirely, Burby admitted reluctantly.
Most of the parcel was a ranch belonging to a local family.
The city land was less than a quarter of the total.
Far more interesting than his answer was his uneasy expression.
In better lighting, I might have seen sweat on his shiny, toupeeless head.
What was the name of that family?
I really dont recall, he replied uncomfortably.
Mr. McCann, does any of this matter?
Shall I show you where Alan Lottners memorial is placed?
So you got paid to move every body?
That must have amounted to a lot of money, I speculated.
Burby had had it with me.
I dont see how thats any of your business.
Wisconsin!Alan corrected.
The funeral business pay pretty well?
Id like you to leave, Mr. McCann.
Man doing well like you, must own a second place, maybe on the lake?
Ive answered all your questions.
What about on the Jordan River?
Burby looked truly puzzled.
Ruddy … ,Alan warned faintly.
Be nice to own a piece of property on the Jordan River someday, wouldnt it?
Beautiful in the autumn.
Burbys expression was slack and empty, trying to cope with the implications of what I was asking him.
I slapped him on the shoulder and he flinched.
Hey, just making conversation.
Listen, Ill come back some other time to check out where Alans buried.
I turned to leave.
Well, no, actually, hes not buried here.
As I explained, it is a memorial.
Where is he buried, then, Nathan?
From what I understand, no trace of him was ever found.
I nodded pleasantly and walked out the door.
I waited to answer until I had driven out of eyeshot of Burby.
What did you want me to do?
But now he knows were suspicious!
No, now he knowsImsuspicious.
You think that was direct?
If I had confronted him directly hed be in the hospital right about now.
Something about the ranch, I dont know what it is, but it made him nervous.
Ive seen the same expression on peoples faces when they tell me they dont know where their car is.
I realized I was grinning.
My smile faded when I thought about Katie.
I might not be crazy but I wasnt exactly without problems.
I could not think of a single reason to talk to him about it.
The East Jordan Library was still open.
It was the date you died, how could you forget something like that?
A woman at a table within earshot gave me an alarmed look, and I smiled weakly.
I dont know, its not like me to forget.
I cant remember anything.
Screaming headlines from the winter after Alan vanished caught my eye.
32 die in explosion.
Oh yeah, I remember this, I muttered.
You read at a different speed than I do.
I cant … it makes me a little sick,Alan grunted.
Are you saying I read more slowly than you?
Come on, I pressed, thats what youre implying, right?
Im a big dumb jock who moves his lips while he reads.
The woman at the other table glanced at me againIwasmoving my lips while I read.
I dont think it matters which one of us reads more slowly,Alan proclaimed haughtily.
So I am faster!
And youre such a snob!
It really burns you to admit a football player reads faster than you do, doesnt it?
When he didnt answer I turned triumphantly back to the microfiche.
An explosion in the basement of a nursing home, and all the residents there died.
It was deliberate, and I dont think they ever found a motive for whoever did it.
Do you think it had something to do with me?Alan asked.
Is that some sort of gentle reminder that were not here to catch up on old news?
I am just trying to understand where the investigation is taking us.
Is that what this is, an investigation?
Hey, here we are.
I pointed to the story: local man missing.
Two photographs accompanied the story, and for the first time I got a look at Alan Lottner.
I could see why a couple of ice fishermen might think he dressed funny.
October eleventh, I noted for the record.
A week later another story surfaced.
STILL NO SIGN OF LOCAL MAN, MISSING SINCE 11-OCT. We left the library and headed back to Kalkaska.
But they didnt know you were killed, Alan, I pointed out.
They just thought you took off.
Lots of guys do stuff like that.
I wonder what Marget told them.
What do you mean?
Well look, we werent getting along very well.
Marget was sleeping in the spare bedroom.
Shed gotten so cold toward me.
We really didnt have much to say to each other.
Wed talked about divorce, you know, like maybe that would be the best thing.
If she told the police that, maybe they wouldnt look very hard for me.
That makes sense, I admitted.
But I would never leave Kathy.
Its stupid,he complained bitterly.
I watched the road.
You believe me now, dont you, Ruddy?
Im not a figment of your imagination.
You know somethings not right, here.
Burby, you recognized him, and you know hes lying.
You didnt imagine that.Alan sounded plaintive and insecure.
I didnt create you out of my imagination.
You lived, you sold real estate, you ironed your pants.
Whats that supposed to mean?
Ive just never seen so many creases on a living person.
You looked like you could give someone a paper cut.
Alan lapsed into a moody silence, and a few minutes later went to sleep.
The inside of the Black Bear was even quieter than the East Jordan Library had been.
I slid up to the bar, massaging my thighs.
You know youre getting old when youre sore from just driving your truck.
Hey, Becky, I called.
