第50部分(第1/7 頁)

She　stood　away　from　him；　her　face　turned　up　to　his。　〃Thank　you。〃

〃Right　wele；　ma'am。〃

She　turned　to　Hal　and　walked　back　to　him。　He　put　his　arms　around　her。

〃Paul…〃　It　was　Harry。　He　held　his　right　wrist　out　to　me　and　tapped　the　face　of　his　watch。　It　was　pressing　on　to　three　o'clock。　Light　would　start　showing　by　four…thirty。　If　we　wanted　to　get　Coffey　back　to　Cold　Mountain　before　that　happened；　we　would　have　to　go　soon。　And　I　wanted　to　get　him　back。　Partly　because　the　longer　this　went　on　the　worse　our　chances　of　getting　away　with　it　became；　yes；　of　course。　But　I　also　wanted　John　in　a　place　where　I　could　legitimately　call　a　doctor　for　him；　if　the　need　arose。　Looking　at　him；　I　thought　it　might。

The　Mooreses　were　sitting　on　the　edge　of　the　bed；　arms　around　each　other。　I　thought　of　asking　Hal　out　into　the　living　room　for　a　private　word；　then　realized　I　could　ask　until　the　cows　came　home　and　he　wouldn't　budge　from　where　he　was　right　then。　He　might　be　able　to　take　his　eyes　off　her　…　for　a　few　seconds；　at　least　…　by　the　time　the　sun　came　up；　but　not　now。

〃Hal；〃　I　said。　〃We　have　to　go　now。〃

He　nodded；　not　looking　at　me。　He　was　studying　the　color　in　his　wife's　cheeks；　the　natural　unstrained　curve　of　his　wife's　lips；　the　new　black　in　his　wife's　hair。

I　tapped　him　on　the　shoulder；　hard　enough　to　get　his　attention　for　a　moment；　at　least。

〃Hal；　we　never　came　here。〃

〃What　…　？〃

〃We　never　came　here；〃　I　said。　〃Later　on　we'll　talk；　but　for　now　that's　all　you　need　to　know。　We　were　never　here。…〃

〃Yes；　all　right　He　forced　himself　to　focus　on　me　for　a　moment；　with　what　was　clearly　an　effort。　〃You　got　him　out。　Can　you　get　him　back　in？〃

〃I　think　so。　Maybe。　But　we　need　to　go。〃

〃How　did　you　know　he　could