Page 114

husband and this is something to do in the meantime,"

she replied dryly. "You can take it over there," she

said pointing to a chair with a desk beside it. "Take

your time, Mrs. Forbas."

Caroline sat down with the paper work and I

walked over to Crystal, who looked more scared than

I'd ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly, not wanting to

draw attention.

"I remember when my foster parents were

killed," she said. "I was at a friend's house. We were

studying for a math exam and someone called on the

telephone. I don't remember who called, but my

friend's mother came to the door of her room and said,

'Crystal, there's been a terrible accident. Do you know

your Uncle Stuart's number in Albany?'

"'I'm sure it's in my father's Rolodex,' I said. 'I'll

go look it up.' We lived right next door," she

explained. "I remember I ran out of that house not

even thinking about the consequences. It never

occurred to me that they were both dead, you see. I was young enough at the time still to think of death as something alien, reserved for the aged, but not

something that strikes people close to you." I nodded, listening as I watched Raven work

miracles with Sophie while Butterfly sat by talking

softly to Denise, keeping her from crying. It occurred

to me that we were all as terrified as they were.

Crystal hardly ever talked about her past like this and

certainly not with such nervous energy. Every once in

a while, Raven would stop and look over at Caroline

and her lips would tremble. She would take a deep

breath, too. Butterfly's eyes met mine a number of