Page 96 of The Witch’s Orchard

“Does she live in?” I ask.

“No,” she says. “She lives in town. She comes two days a week, or sometimes more if I need her an extra day.”

“Like when you throw the Christmas party?”

“Yes.”

I look around the room. The head of a water buffalo hangs over one wall, its brown glass eyes and gentle mouth so lifelike as to be disarming.

“Ten years ago,” I say. “You visited the Andrewses’ home to teach Max piano.”

“Yes.”

“And, while you were there, you saw a plumber? What do you remember about him?”

“Not very much.”

“Try,” I say. “The thing is, he’s dead now. He died in the factory explosion and so I can’t interviewhim.”

“I see,” she says, looking down at her hands. “All right. I suppose…”

She closes her eyes and I watch her, even admire her. Her composure. Her posture. Her easy grace. I feel my suspicion creeping back up and remember, again, what Leo had said about blind spots.

“He was very tall,” she says. “Sort of scruffy but strong-looking. He was carrying a very large toolbox, I remember. Larger than the usual kind. And he had a piece of pipe slung over his shoulder.”

“Did he speak to you?”

She opens her eyes and meets my gaze.

“Only to say what a hot day it was. And to say that he was leaving. His truck had been blocking my car, you see.”

“And then you both left?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone else?”

“No, I…” She stops herself, abruptly, her hands knotting together on her lap.

“What is it?” I ask.

“It’s nothing—” she says.

“Anything might help,” I say. “Anything at all.”

“It’s only that… well, I remember I thought I saw someone in the field.”

“The field behind the Andrews farmhouse?”

“Yes. As I was coming out. I was standing on the back porch and I thought I saw someone in the field, but I was wrong. It was only a scarecrow.”

“A scarecrow?”

“Yes,” she says.

“But you didn’t get a good look at it?”

“No, I was worried about making it to my next appointment. I was in a hurry to leave. I remember being a little startled—thinking someone was in the field watching me—and then I realized it was only a scarecrow. It was quite far away and I’d never noticed it before, that’s all. But, as I say, I realized it was only a scarecrow and I went down the steps and toward my car. And that’s when I saw the plumber.”