"Huh," she said. "Goshdarn men think they know everything. Did you hear that, Barbie?"
"Yes," Richards said. She sounded entirely normal to Ralph, and he knew that the cleaning woman would not be able to see the pearl gray mist which had now filled her eyes. "I think he's right, but would you check with Peter outside? We can't be too careful."
"You goshdarn bet," the cleaning woman said. She set her Windex bottle down, crossed to the doors (sparing Ralph a final dark look which said You're old but I just goshdarn bet you still have a penis down there somewhere), and went out.
As soon as she was gone, Lois leaned over the desk. "Barbara, my friend and I have to talk to Gretchen this morning," she said.
"Face-to-face."
"She's not here. She's at High Ridge."
"Tell us how to get there."
Richards's gaze drifted to Ralph. He found her gray, pupilless eyesockets profoundly unsettling. It was like looking at a piece of classic statuary which had somehow come to life. Her dark-green aura had paled considerably as well. ht. It's been temporarily overlaid by Lois's gray, that's all.
Lois glanced briefly around, followed Barbara Richards's gaze to Ralph, then turned back to her again. "Yes, he's a man, but this time it's okay. I promise you that. Neither one of us means any harm to Gretchen Tillbury or any of the women at High Ridge, but we have to talk to her, so tell us how to get there." She touched Richards's hand again, and more gray flashed up Richards's arm.
"Don't hurt her," Ralph said.
"I won't, but she's going to talk." She bent closer to Richards.
"Where is it? Come on, Barbara."
"You take Route 33 out of Derry," she said. "The old Newport Road. After you've gone about ten miles, there'll be a big red fart-nhouse on your left. There are two barns behind it. You take your first left after that-" The cleaning woman came back in. "Peter didn't hear-" She stopped abruptly, perhaps not liking the way Lois was bent over her friend's desk, perhaps not liking the blank look in her friend's eyes.
"Barbara? Are you all ri-"
"Be quiet," Ralph said in a low, friendly voice. "They're talking."
He took the cleaning woman's arm just above the elbow, feeling a brief but powerful pulse of energy as he did so. For a moment all the colors in the world brightened further. The cleaning woman's name was Rachel Anderson. She'd been married once, to a man who'd beaten her hard and often until he disappeared eight years ago. Now she had a dog and her friends at WomanCare, and that was enough.
"Oh sure," Rachel Anderson said in a dreamy, thoughtful voice.
"They're talking, and Peter says everything's okay, so I guess I better just be quiet."
"What a good idea," Ralph said, still holding her upper arm lightly, Lois took a quick look around to confirm Ralph had the situation under control, then turned back to Barbara Richards once again.
"Take a left after the red farmhouse with the two barns. Okay, I've got that. What then?"
"You'll be on a dirt road. It goes up a long hill-about a mile and a half-and then ends at a white farmhouse. That's High Ridge.
It's got the most lovely view-"
"I'll bet," Lois said. "Barbara, it was great to see you again. Now my friend and I-"
"Great to see you, too, Lois," Richards said in a distant, uninterested voice.
"Now my friend and I are going to leave. Everything is all right."
"Good."
"You won't need to remember any of this," Lois said.
"Absolutely not."
Lois started to turn away, then turned back and plucked up the piece of paper she had taken from her purse. It had fallen to the desk when Lois grabbed the woman's wrist.
"Why don't you go back to work, Rachel?" Ralph asked the cleaning lady. He let go of her arm carefully, ready to grab it again at once if she showed signs of needing reinforcement.
"Yes, I better go back to work," she said, sounding much more friendly. "I want to be done here by noon, so I can go out to High Ridge and help make signs."
Lois joined Ralph as Rachel Anderson drifted back to her cart of cleaning supplies. Lois looked both amazed and a little shaky.
"They'll be okay, won't they, Ralph?"
"Yes, I'm sure they will be. Are you all right? Not going to faint or anything like that?"
"I'm okay. Can you remember the directions?"
"Of course-she's talking about the place that used to be Barrett's Orchards. Carolyn