“I’m trying to figure out how to help her.”
“Any ideas you get, bring them to me.”
“When can I leave?”
“Sooner the better, before summer season. Do you want me to ask why, or let well enough alone?”
That was a really nice way to put it, Amanda thought.
“It’s personal.”
“If you need any support or assistance, we’re here for you.”
“I feel bad leaving Molly.”
“I used to feel that way, in my first job. I worked with primates in a filthy zoo in France. Now,thatwas a hard job.”
Amanda pulled out her phone. She started using her finger to count weeks in the calendar app. Her boss watched her for a moment. He turned to his computer, printed out a form, then signed it. He circled a date at the bottom.
“Call me by this date.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Send us videos of you. Molly might like that.”
“That’s a great idea,” Amanda said.
The next morning, Amanda was back down at the coast, her backpack at her feet, checking in at the hotel. The parking lot was lined with empty planters, she noticed, and the vacancy sign was always on.
“I gave you the same room,” Charlie said.
“Am I the only one here again?” Amanda asked.
“Not this time. Got a couple, traveling down the coast. He’s a photographer. They’re from Portland too. Maybe you can talk to them.” He said it like everyone from the city knew each other.
She wondered if she had packed enough. She decided if everythinggot dirty, she could go to the laundromat in Wheel Stone. Maybe she could watch someone else use the machines first.
“Want to use the same bank card?” he asked.
“How much will it be?”
“Don’t you worry. I’m giving you the discount. Don’t want that old man down here, chewing me out. Might have to shoot me.”
“Larry wouldn’t shoot anyone. I don’t think he even has a gun anymore.”
“You look like your brother, you know.”
Amanda was shocked. “How do you know what Dennis looked like?”
He looked abashed. “Sorry, I was cleaning your room last time—went in to collect the dirty towels, like I told you—when I saw the picture on the desk. I know you’re trying to learn about your brother, and that boy looked just like you.”
He said this like he wanted her to be impressed with how smart he was to figure it out.
“Did you have this hotel when my brother died?” she asked.
“Sure enough. Bought it a few years before that, with help from a friend.”
“You didn’t see Dennis... that day?”
