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"Wait a minute. You're not going to tell me you ... all of you are responsible for her sister's death or something, are you?" he asked with a tremble in his voice.

"No," Star said firmly.

He let out a breath and relaxed.

"Thank God for that," he said.

"But we did something that isn't exactly legal afterward," Jade said.

"Afterward? Yes, how did she die?"

"She had a heart attack and died right here in this room," Star said.

"So there was a funeral and everything?"

"There was a funeral," she said, looking at us, "but not exactly what you would expect."

He kept shaking his head.

"I still don't understand. What I would expect?"

"Cat has no real relatives, Stuart. She's just a little over seventeen so she can't legally be on her own," Jade explained. "With an abusive father and no close family, she is a prime candidate for foster care. We thought if we could keep her mother's death a secret until she was eighteen, she'd be all right. She has trust funds, and for now she's capable of taking care of herself in every way. We're determined to help her do that"

"Keep her death a secret? What are you all telling me, that no one but you people know her mother is dead?" Stuart asked, leaning forward.

"Exactly," Jade said. "And now you," she added. She looked at me. "Cat wanted us to tell you. You should be flattered. She hasn't been able to put her trust in many people. None of us have, for that matter, but for reasons known only to her, she has decided to place her fate in your hands, too."

"I see," he said, sitting back. He thought a moment, his eyes blinking rapidly. Then he looked at Jade and me, and sat up again. "If her death is still a secret, where exactly is she? I hope not in the freezer."

"She's in the backyard," Star revealed.

"And she had a proper burial with a reading from the Bible and all," Misty said.

He raised his eyebrows.

"You buried her in the backyard?"

"Exactly," Jade said. "And it wasn't easy."

"Are you absolutely sure she was dead?" he asked.

How many times had I had that nightmare? I thought, and from the way the others looked after the question, how many times had they?

"Yes, absolutely," Star said firmly. "She had no pulse. She was blue and stiff and cold, and even Jesus couldn't raise her," she said.

"The backyard?" he repeated, gazing toward the back of the house.

"It doesn't look like a grave," Misty said. "Star worked hard on that. If you want, go look for yourself and tell us where you think she is," she said proudly.

He stared at Misty as if she and the rest of us were all crazy. A faint smile creased his lips.

"Is this for real or are you all having fun with me?" he asked.

"Hardly," Jade said with a face that could be mistaken for granite. "Cat's already told you how terrible her father is behaving."

"Then he doesn't know about... your sister being dead?"

"No," Cat said. "He called last night and I told him she was in the hospital."