I guess. I'm trying to learn what happened that night in the woods." Ira's eyes closed. "Lucy said you wanted to see me," I said. "Yes." "Why?" "I want to know why you've come back." "I never went anywhere." "You broke Lucy's heart, you know." "I wrote her. I tried to call. She wouldn't call me back." "Still. She was in pain." "I never meant for that to happen." "So why are you back now?" "I want to find out what happened to my sister." "She was murdered. Like the others." "No, she wasn't." He said nothing. I decided to press a little. "You know that, Ira. Gil Perez came here, didn't he?" Ira smacked his lips. "Dry." "What?" "I'm dry. I used to have this friend from Cairns. That's in Australia.
Coolest dude I ever knew. He used to say, 'A man is not a camel, mate.'
That was his way of asking for a drink."
Ira grinned.
"I don't think you can get a drink out here, Ira."
"Oh, I know. I was never much of a booze man anyway. What they now call 'recreational drugs' was more my bag. But I meant water. They got some Poland Spring in that cooler. Did you know that Poland Spring comes to you straight from Maine?"
He laughed and I didn't correct him on that old radio commercial. He stood and stumbled toward the right. I followed. There was a trunk-shaped cooler with a New York Rangers logo on it. He opened the lid, grabbed a bottle, handed it to me, grabbed another. He twisted off the cap and chugged. The water spilled down his face, turning the white of his beard into something darker gray.
"Ahhhh," he said when he finished.
I tried to get him back on track.
"You told Lucy that you wanted to see me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you're here."
I waited for more.
"I'm here," I said slowly, "because you asked to see me."
"Not here here. Here, as in back in our lives."
"I told you. I'm trying to find out-"
"Why now?"
That question again.
"Because," I said, "Gil Perez didn't die that night. He came back. He visited you, didn't he?" Ira's eyes took on that thousand-yard stare. He started to walk. I caught up with him.
"Was he here, Ira?"
"He didn't use that name," he said.
He kept walking. I noticed that he limped. His face pinched up in pain. "Are you okay?" I asked him. "I need to walk." "Where?" "There are paths. In the woods. Come."
"Ira, I'm not here-"
"He said his name was Manolo something. But I knew who he was. Little Gilly Perez. Do you remember him? From those days, I mean?"
"Yes."
Ira shook his head. "Nice boy. But so easily manipulated."
"What did he want?"
"He didn't tell me who he was. Not at first. He didn't really look the same but there was something in his mannerisms, you know? You can hide stuff. You can gain weight. But Gil still had that soft lisp. He still moved the same. Like he was wary all the time. You know what I mean?"
"I do."
I had thought the yard was fenced in, but it wasn't. Ira slipped past a break in the hedges. I followed. There was a wooded hill in front of us. Ira started trudging up the path.
"Are you allowed to leave?"
"Of course. I'm here on a voluntary basis. I can come and go as I please." He kept walking. "What did Gil say to you?" I asked. "He wanted to know what happened that night." "He didn't know?" "He knew some. He wanted to know more." "I don't understand." "You don't have to." "Yes, Ira, I do." "It's over. Wayne is in prison." "Wayne didn't kill Gil Perez." "I thought he did." I didn't quite get that one. He was moving faster now, limping along in obvious pain. I wanted to call him to stop, but his mouth was also moving. "Did Gil mention my sister?"
He stopped for a second. His smile was sad. "Camille."
"Yes."
"Poor thing."
"Did he mention her?"
"I loved your dad, you know. Such a sweet man, so hurt by life."
"Did Gil mention what happened to my sister?"
"Poor Camille."
"Yes. Camille. Did he say anything about her?"
Ira started to climb again. "So much blood that night."
"Please, Ira, I need you to focus. Did Gil say anything at all about Camille?" "No." "Then what did he want?" "Same as you." "What's that?" He turned. "Answers." "To what questions?" "The same as yours. What happened that night. He didn't under stand, Cope. Its over. They're dead. The killer is in jail. You