call. “I checked the records, Dwight. The Harris divorce
became final on the twentieth of February.”
Twentieth of February. The day after Flame Smith
said she last spoke to him.
He turned back to Mrs. Samuelson and said, “When
did you see him last?”
“Saturday morning, three weeks ago,” she answered
promptly as she set a mug of coffee in front of him. It
was so robust that he had to reach for the milk pitcher.
“Saturday the eighteenth. Reason I remember is that’s
my sister’s birthday. On weekends, I only work a half
day on Saturday. I gave him his breakfast as usual and I
left vegetable soup and a turkey sandwich for his lunch.
When I came in on Monday morning, I saw by the mess
he’d left in the kitchen that he’d fixed himself breakfast
on Sunday morning, but that was the last meal he ate
here.”
“Did he sleep here Sunday night?”
She thought a moment, then frowned. “I don’t know.
I made the bed while he was eating breakfast and it had
been slept in when I got here that Monday morning,
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but whether he slept here one night or two, I just can’t
say.”
“But you’re positive you didn’t see him again after
you left at noon on Saturday?”
“No sir, I didn’t.”
“What about children? The Harrises have any?”
“Just one girl. Susan. She was grown and gone before
I started working here, but she’s been here with them for
Christmas a time or two. You could tell that she was his
eyeballs, he was that foolish about her, but she was break-
ing his heart. Her husband was killed in Nine-Eleven and
it changed her. Mrs. Harris says she used to love pretty
dresses and parties and flying off to Europe. First time
I saw her, though, she was skinny as a broomstick and
she was wearing stuff that looked like it came from the
Goodwill. Turned her away from God. She sat right here
at this table and told them both that if God made the
world, he wasn’t taking very good care of it and it was up
to people like them—people who had money—to do the
work God should’ve been doing. I believe she still lives in
New York. No children though. I think he used to take
off and go see her two or three times a year.”
“And you didn’t see the need to notify her or Mrs.
Harris that he was missing?”
“I didn’t know that he was. He could have been at
