card from Virgie and Don the other day. Do you remember Virgie and Don Mathers? They were the other couple . . .’
‘Yes,’ said Shelby.
Peggy sighed and shook her head. ‘Lovely people. Salt of the earth.’
Faith glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Well, Mom, we better be going. I’ve got to get back for class.’
‘You’re right,’ said Peggy. She reached out a soft, dry hand and placed it over Shelby’s. ‘I’m glad to see you again,’ she said. ‘I never stopped praying for your Chloe.’ There was something here that Shelby didn’t know. Something that she needed to know. Perhaps, she thought, she was grasping at straws, still trying to make some sense of Chloe’s death. But she couldn’t just dismiss the fact that the Ridleys provided some kind of bizarre connection between Chloe’s death and her life here at home. After all, she reminded herself, wasn’t that why she had pored over the photos of people on board the ship? She was searching for a connection and now, here it was, even thought she had no idea what it meant. Shelby had to make a quick decision. ‘Faith,’ she said. ‘I can take your mother home. Why don’t you let me drive her and you can head back to the lab. Or . . . wherever . . .’
Peggy frowned. ‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘We couldn’t ask you to do that.’
‘Please, I’d like to,’ said Shelby. ‘You were so kind to me in St Thomas. It’s no trouble. Where do you live?’
‘It’s a bad neighborhood,’ said Faith apologetically.
‘You grew up there,’ Peggy chided her.
‘Still . . .’ said Faith.
‘Where is it?’ Shelby demanded. She felt shaky and unsure of herself. She did not know what, if anything, she was hoping to find by taking this woman all the way across town. At the very least, she reassured herself, it was an opportunity to spend a little more time with the people who had last seen her daughter alive. Maybe in their last conversations Chloe had said something illuminating. Something that would help Shelby to understand.
‘South Philly,’ said Faith. ‘It’s called Hector. It’s off of South Fourth Street.’
‘Sure, I know it,’ said Shelby. ‘We used to live in South Philly when my Chloe was a little girl. I know just where it is.’
Faith looked relieved. She turned to her mother. ‘I could use the extra time on this research.’
Peggy hesitated, and then nodded. ‘OK, honey. You go ahead,’ she said.
‘I’ll take good care of her,’ Shelby promised.
Faith embraced her mother. ‘Give Dad a hug for me. Tell him I’ll see him soon,’ said Faith.
Peggy held her daughter’s arms and looked at her seriously. ‘Don’t forget. You know how he is. He needs bucking up.’
‘I won’t forget.’
‘Shall we go?’ said Shelby.
It was a laborious process to get Peggy to the parking garage. Once there, Shelby instructed Peggy to wait by the elevators while she brought the car around. Shelby drove up, got out, and relieved Peggy of her cane, gently getting her situated in the front seat while she placed the cane in the back. Then she went around to the driver’s side and got in.
Peggy settled into the seat like a plump, feathery bird on her nest. She carefully put on her seat belt and folded her hands in her lap.
‘This is really very nice of you,’ said Peggy. ‘My Faith works so hard. Too hard if you ask me. She and her husband bought a house that they’re fixing up themselves. She’s trying to finish that degree. Plus, she works for Dr Winter. And she has a part-time job cleaning houses on Saturdays.’
‘That is a lot,’ said Shelby.
Peggy sighed. ‘That’s for sure. And now she’s trying to help me out as well. Bud, my husband, is not well. Do you remember Bud?’
‘Of course,’ said Shelby. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
Peggy sighed. ‘He has a very serious condition. Lou Gehrig’s disease.’
Shelby thought about the man she had met in the St Thomas police station. He had looked perfectly healthy. Rather robust even. And yet, Lou Gehrig’s disease was about as grim a prognosis as one could receive. ‘It just happened? Since you got back?’ Shelby asked.
‘Oh no. We’ve known about it for a couple of months,’ said Peggy. ‘He hardly has any symptoms yet. Most of the time he feels perfectly well. But, he has days . . . I keep thinking that if he remains in good health long enough, they may find a cure. He doesn’t seem to