By early December, just over two weeks into rehearsals, the sky was winter dark before Miss Garber would let us leave, and Jamie asked me if I wouldnt mind walking her home. I dont know why she wanted me to. Beaufort wasly a hotbed of criminal activity back then. The only murder Id ever heard about had occurred six years earlier when a guy was stabbed outside of Maurices Tavern, which was a hangout for people like Lew, by the way. For an hour or so it caused quite a stir, and phone lines buzzed all over town while nervous women wondered about the possibility of a crazed lunatidering the streets, preying on i victims. Doors were locked, guns were loaded, men sat by the front windows, looking for a of the ordinary who might be creeping dowreet. But the whole thing was over before the night was through when the guy walked into the police station to give himself up, explaining that it was a bar fight that got out of hand. Evidently the victim had welshed on a bet. The guy was charged with sed-degree murder and got six years iate peiary. The poli in our town had the most b jobs in the world, but they still liked to strut around with a swagger or sit in coffee shops while they talked about the "big crime," as if theyd cracked the case of the Lindbergh baby.
But Jamies house was on the way to mine, and I couldnt say no without hurting her feelings. It wasnt that I liked her or anything, dohe wrong idea, but when youve had to spend a few hours a day with someone, and yoing to tinue doing that for at least another week, you dont want to do anything that might make the day miserable for either of you.
The play was going to be performed that Friday and Saturday, and lots of people were already talking about it. Miss Garber had been so impressed by Jamie ahat she kept telling everyo was going to be the best play the school had ever done. She had a real flair for promotion, too, we found out. We had one radio station in town, and they interviewed her over the air, not once, but twice. "Its going to be marvelous," she pronounced, "absolutely marvelous." Shed also called the neer, and theyd agreed to write an article about it, primarily because of the Jamie- Hegbert e, even though everyone in town already knew about it. But Miss Garber was relentless, and just that day shed told us the Playhouse was going t ira seats to aodate the extra-large crowd expected. The class sort of oohed and aahed, like it was a big deal or something, but then I guess it was to some of them. Remember, we had guys like Eddie in class. He probably thought that this would be the only time in his life when someone might be ied in him. The sad thing was, he robably right. You might think Id be gettied about it, too, but I really wasnt. My friends were still teasi school, and I hadnt had an afternoon off in what seemed like forever. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I was doing the "right thing." I know its not much, but frankly, it was all I had. Occasionally I eve sort of good about it, too, though I never admitted it to anyone. I could practically imagihe angels in heaven, standing around and staring wistfully down at me with little tears filling the ers of their eyes, talking about how wonderful I was for all my sacrifices.
So I was walking her home that first night, thinking about this stuff, when Jamie asked me a question.
"Is it true you and your friends sometimes go to the graveyard at night?"
Part of me was surprised t