âOh, Denny. Nobody did anything. I mean, they donât know anything yet. Right, Jasper?â She was all apologetic and flustered.
Tinkerâs father approached the boy. âWhat makes you think someone did this? Why did you ask us that question?â
Dennyâs face bleached of color. âNo.â He whined the word like a much younger child. He shook his head. âI just thoughtâShit.â
âDennis!â Anita said. âYour mouth.â
âOh, man,â Denny said.
Tinkerâs father put a hand on the boyâs shoulder. âIf you know something, son, tell us.â
âNo, man. Iâm sorry. Honest.â Denny squirmed away. Anita scowled, and Tinker had the feeling his mother was going to read him the riot act once they left. âHeâs been watching too much TV,â Anita said. âI am very sorry.â
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Andrew continued to cry after they brought him back to Fond du Lac. He cried himself to exhaustion and finally fell asleep on the living room floor. Tinker didnât dare move him in case he woke again. It killed her not to be able to tidy up. At least to fold Ponyâs clothing. Anything. But Randy had said not to move things.
Her father was sitting at the telephone table, his clothes still damp. He called Mira. Tinker heard him say, âItâs Pony. Sweetie, I have very bad news.â Tinker pictured Mira in her sparse apartment in that three-decker, still in bed, still half asleep. There would be books stacked on the bed, a cluttered night table, and dead plants on the windowsill. Mira would be naked. She never wore a nightgown, even in winter. She said it was unhealthy, that it was warmer to sleep skin to the sheets. âThereâs been an accident here at Fond du Lac. Pony was found this morning. She drowned.â Her father squeezed his eyes, listening to Mira. He was weeping. He explained about the night before, the call from Anita. It was the story he and Tinker would have to tell over and over again. After he hung up, he tried William. âAre you there? William. For Godâs sake, if youâre listening to this, pick up the telephone now. Itâs about your sister. Itâs about Pony. Iâm up at the lake house.â
Tinker waited until her father was finished, and then she used the phone to call Mark at work. His secretary answered. âDonna,â she said. âI need to talk to Mark. Itâs Tinker calling.â
âMrs. Bradshaw,â Donna said. âIâm afraid heâs in a meeting.â
âGet him out.â Tinker had a history with Donna.
âIâll see if I can,â Donna said. âHeâs in with Mr. Hendrix.â
âI donât care who heâs in with, Donna.â She had to wait a long time before Mark came on the line.
âWhat happened?â he said.
âPony drowned,â Tinker said, her voice brimming with justification before she realized it. âThey found her this morning. Her hair got tangled under the raft.â
âJesus, Tinker.â
âWe donât know how it happened.â Tinker burst out crying. Hearing herself say this made it true. âThereâs going to be an autopsy. It looks like she drowned, but just in case it was something else.â
âBut sheâs the best swimmer. What do you mean, âsomething elseâ?â
âIf she hit her head or something. She left Andrew on the lawn, and the police think that was odd. Theyâll do a tox screen.â
âDrugs?â
âDaddyâs a wreck. Nobody knows where William is.â
âWhen will you be back?â
âItâs up to Daddy,â she said.
âAnd up to you,â he said.
âThis is much worse for him, Mark. A parent should never lose a child.â
âYouâve lost your sister, Tink.â
Â
Her father drove her car, and she followed in Ponyâs because it had the baby seat. She felt like a