'Maybe why he's such a good player,' Susan said. 'Lot of white approval there.'
'It helps that he's six feet nine and quicker than I.'
'That quick . . .' Susan said. 'Of course it helps. But there must be other people that tall and that quick who are not as good as Dwayne.'
'I imagine.'
'If so,' Susan said, 'won't Coach Dunham benching him change that?'
'Because Bobby Deegan and his outfit won't be so nice to Dwayne when he's riding the pines and can't help them shave points?' I said.
'Yes,' Susan said.
I put the biscuits into a basket and put the platter of turkey and chutney on the counter. I got out some cranberry conserve that we had put up together last fall and set that next to the biscuits.
'I'm hoping for that,' I said.
'But even if Dwayne turns against them finally,' Susan said, 'and tells you enough to put them out of business, how can you do it without exposing Dwayne?'
'I don't know,' I said. 'I was hoping if I drank enough champagne with you, I'd think of something.'
'What you normally think of when you get drunk,' Susan said, 'will not do Dwayne any good at all.'
'At least I'll be consistent,' I said.
23
SUSAN went with me the next morning to Taft. It was a day when she didn't see patients, and she cancelled the class she taught at Tufts to join me.
'What is it exactly we're up to?' she said.
'We're going to look into the matter of Dwayne being a senior and unable to read,' I said.
'And why are we doing that?'
'Because I don't know what else to do,' I said. 'Dwayne can't read and he's tied up in some kind of gambling scam. They're probably not connected, but since I don't know what to do about the gambling thing, I may as well look into the other thing.'
Susan nodded.
'Better than doing nothing,' I said.
Susan nodded again. 'And where is Hawk?' she said.
'Around,' I said.
'So how come I don't see him?'
'I don't know how he does that,' I said. 'But he can disappear if he needs to.'
'But you know he's there,' Susan said.
We were walking along a wide, hot, top path that curved up to the administration building.
'Yes.'
'Because he said so?'
'Yes.'
'And if those people try to kill you again and he's not there you're very likely dead.'
'He's there,' I said.
'Yes,' Susan said.
We went up the wide granite steps and in through the Georgian entry of the administration building. There was a reception desk in the rotunda area and a long corridor that went straight through the building. We went past the desk and went halfway down the corridor and took some stairs to the left up to the second floor. Toward the back of the building on the second floor was Madelaine Roth's office.
Her door was open. She was at her desk talking on the phone. When she saw me she waved us in and gestured at the chairs in front of her desk.
'All right, Judy,' she said. 'Seven o'clock. Yes. Bye-bye.'
She hung up and leaned forward over her desk and smiled at us.
'Dr. Roth,' I said. 'This is my, ah, associate, Dr. Silverman.'
Madelaine stood and leaned across the desk and put her hand out. Susan half rose to take it. They shook hands and both sat down. Professional courtesy.
Madelaine sat back in her chair and put her palms together, making a steeple out of her fingers, and touched her lips with her fingertips. She said, 'What is it today, Mr. Spenser.'
'I'm still looking into the matter of Dwayne's illiteracy,' I said.
She nodded, patiently, this is my job, I have to put up with exasperating people.
